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My name is Caitlin and my fiance and I are looking into moving to Salem OR. We are planning a trip to visit in September, but we still want to know about the city from other people's perspectives. I was wondering if anyone can give us a list of positives and negatives about Salem OR... What are the wonderful things about living in Salem? What are the negatives? Are there a lot of job opportunities? How about activities? We are soooooo very curious to know what anyone and everyone thinks! No need to sugarcoat anything... just lay it out for us! Thank you so much!
I live just outside Salem, and it is a very nice town! It is not too big, and not too small. I like living in the rural part, not in a town, and there are a lot of nice towns very near Salem. If you like historic type towns, Independence comes to mind. For a nice little farm town, I like Stayton/Sublimity to the east. All are easy commuting distance to Salem. If you like the downtown type home, Salem is great. It has a lot of historic homes downtown, but no big commercial buildings. They have a limit on height in the city, and there are not any big billboards, either. Parking is free downtown for shopping, can be a bit of a pain for working there. Lots of state buildings and state offices, of course, as well as county (Marion). Salem is about equidistant from skiing in the winter and beaches in the summer (or winter if you like watching storms). Gardening is great here, almost everything grows (including weeds) since we don't have much of a 'winter' - it rarely snows here. It will get down to freezing several times a year, but rarely a hard frost. I have been here 10 years, and visited many more, and only once, I think, have I seen it get to 18 degrees. Only once have I seen a bad ice storm, and only once have I seen more than 4" of snow that lasted for more than a day.
We are also within an hour and a half of Portland and the airport for the zoo, museums and many other attractions. Nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.
All in all, very convenient. Salem is beautiful in spring, when all the cherry blossoms are blooming, (it is called "cherry city") and in the fall, when the decorative maples show all their gorgeous colors. Lots of farmers markets, fruit stands, and u-pick all around, too. Rainy Nov-May - if you are from CA you will think it gloomy and gray. I am from Alaska, and I revel in the rain instead of snow and dark. It is in your perspective. If you suffer from hay fever, you will have it bad here in the spring. Lots and lots of things are grown here, putting out their pollen, not the least of which is hay and grass for seed!! Let us know what kind of work you would be looking for, I would say the jobs are about normal, retail, fast food and dining, state office, as well as many other types are available. You can check online for state and county jobs.
Housing and land prices are a bit high, as are state income taxes and electric, depending on where you are from and what you are used to. Do your homework on that kind of stuff so you are prepared. If you are more specific on what you are looking for, both in jobs and in housing/land we can be more specific on answers! Happy looking!
I agree with eagler river, salem is a great place to live..We are retired and landed in here 5 years ago via a motorhome bought small house and have never looked back..People are friendly, the climate easy to take and there is plenty to do..One thing we look forward to that California really doesnt have is all the ymmy fresh veggies and furits in the summer..We just about overdose on the corn , berries and cherry and apples..One thing we don't understand is why we don't have some the resturants that portland does and a barnes and noble but that is just us..Oh and we have summer evening meant for a porch swing a walk they are wonderfull...
come up and visit..
you'll like it
I think your perspective on Salem will depend on what you are used to. I came from Chicago to Portland to Salem. I loved living in Portland.
Cons:
1) Good restaurants are seriously lacking. We have a few, but just not as many as I would expect for a state capital.
2) There isn't a lot of nightlife/cultural things for young couples. We went out a lot in Portland.
3) The downtown is a work in progress. It has been somewhat neglected, but there is a lot of revitalization going on and there has been a lot of improvements in the 9 years we have lived here.
4) There is only one bridge across the Willamette River in Salem.
5) True of all Oregon schools, we have some excellent schools, but there are some significant funding problems.
Pros:
1) Coming from bigger cities, there is no traffic here. I know Salemites would disagree, but traffic is not bad at all.
2) There is plenty of outdoor hiking, fishing, rafting, camping around here.
3) It is close enough to Portland to hit the cultural things.
4) The city has tree codes, so there is a lot of green on our streets.
5) We have a lot of parks.
6) We have fabulous local produce in the summer/fall. Hood strawberries are insanely delicious. You really can't get them out of state. They have a high sugar content so they don't last long once picked.
7) There are a lot of community festivals. Tulip, Iris, Covered Bridge, Art Fairs, etc. The Salem Metro area is fairly community focused. You wouldn't think a Tulip Festival would be fun for kids, but my kiddos spent an hour at the duck races. Lots of that kind of stuff around here.
Our housing prices are higher for the incomes people have. We have urban growth boundaries to prevent sprawl. (All Oregon cities do)
We have higher income and property taxes, but no sales tax and fees like registering a car are inexpensive.
We are the state capital and it is by far the largest employer. After that it is Salem Hospital. We have customer service centers for T-mobile and Wachovia. We have a Norpac plant as well.
We have Willamette University downtown and Corban College. We have Chemeketa Community College in Salem and Western Oregon University is in Monmouth which is close by.
The city is mellow. I do miss the hustle and bustle of a larger city, but for kids the slower pace is nice. Portland is only an hour away so everything is easily accessed. If you are looking for a high energy town with a great music scene or restaurant scene you will be disappointed in Salem.
If you want a more slow paced lifestyle, easy access to all of your needs, Salem will be just fine. It just depends on what you are looking for.
While we don't have a Barnes and Noble, we have a Borders bookstore. I like to head into Portland and spent the day putzing around Powell's personally.
I want to thank all of you for replying so quickly! I really appreciate it.
My fiance and I are coming from a small town in California called Tehachapi. It's a very small community with nothing much going on, and when I say it, I mean it! Hahaha. When coming from to Tehachapi to Salem, we aren't expecting a whole lot, because we aren't coming from a whole lot. Tehachapi is incredibly small, with very little to do, and not many job opportunities. We have a very small, 4 screen movie theater, and 5 main intersections with stoplights. There is never any traffic (unless the city is doing road work) and in recent years, the crime rate has dramatically increased. Joe and I are looking for something more! Tehachapi is so incredibly small, that the highlight in the last 10 years was getting a KMart! Recent controversies are all about whether or not we should get a WalMart. We feel "stuck in a rut", and want something more.
That being said, moving to Salem sounds amazing! We want a small town feel, but with more to offer. I want to raise our future children in a place with a low crime rate and good education. I want a place that feels safe and we can call home. I worry sooooo much about the job opportunities seeing as we are coming from a place with none what-so-ever! Joe is wonderful with computers, and I am a licensed Esthetician in California, so I could work in a salon/spa. I think we are up for whatever, but we just need more info!
I personally dislike snow with a passion, but my future husband is in love with it! How far away is Salem from a place where we could enjoy for the snow for a day? How far away is it from the beach?
I want to thank everyone again, and I am looking forward to reading all of your posts!
Caitlin- I can relate, I moved to Salem from a smaller town (pop. 15,000) here in Oregon and I love it. There is more to do, more stores, museums,job opportunities, etc.
There is a great day spa in Keizer called Radiance Salon & Spa that is fairly new and really nice. I'm sure there are others in town too.
The beach is, on a good day (with light traffic) about an hour drive. The road (Hwy 22) to the coast is a two-lane road so if there is an accident, or you get stuck behind a slow moving vehicle, it will take longer.
For snow, Hoodoo is close (I'm not sure exactly how close,I think within an hour drive. I don't ski, but I'm sure someone else can tell you about that).
I'm not sure if you're planning on renting or buying. I would suggest renting for a while until you know what part of Salem you want to buy in. West and South Salem are the nicer parts of town. To get to West Salem you have to cross the Marion street bridge which can get congested during the morning and afternoon commutes.
Check out craigslist to get an idea of what homes and apartments rent for. A lot of apartment complexes and private owners advertise on there.
Good Luck, I hope your visit in September goes well.
It actually takes two hours to get to Hoodoo. It's not a miles thing, just hilly and snowy.
We have snow that sticks once every 4 years or so. It does "snow" every year but it doesn't stick. My son is 8 and has gotten to play in the snow twice. It lasted about a week or so.
Coming from a small town, Salem has a lot to offer.
Salem is not that rosy of a town. There are some major issues wrong with it. First off, I will admit that in the Spring the town looks nice with all of the foilage and in the Fall (again) it looks nice to see the colors change in that same foilage.
However, here is what I find wrong with this town. The unemployment rate is horrible at 10%. Don't believe me? Just click this for the stats. ---> Salem]Jobs | SimplyHired
That site doesn't even mention the fact that there are people who have been looking for work in this town for more than a year and no longer get unemployment. Hence, the number is actually higher concerning the unemployed.
I live 11 blocks from the capital in "felony flats" and even here, the prices of the houses is way to high. Just two houses down from me, the owner wants $225k!
The school here seemed not to put any personal effort into helping the truly needy children. There are no after-school programs to help them with math or reading should they need it.
The public transportation system is outright awful. "Cherriots" (the name of the public transportation system) has continually and year after year raised their prices (to which I understand due to the higher cost of oil). However, did they really have to cut services too? The buses near my home used to come once every 30 minutes. Now, they come once an hour and it is usually late. A few times (because they cut back on how often the bus runs) I have been denied to board a bus because it was simply to crowded. So, I got to be the lucky one to miss a dr.'s appt. and have to pay the missed appt. fee. Other problems with the bus system is that it runs from basically 6:00 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. Then on Saturdays the buses run at a slower pace and there is no bus service at all on Sundays. I feel sorry for people that can't take a job because the job is a graveyard shift, or they work at a movie theater and don't get off of work until after the buses stop running, or their job requires them to be there on a Sunday (such as a mall job because malls are busiest on the weekends).
Personally, I think that this town could use more night spots.
If you're into politics, Salem is obviously the place to be. The population of Oregon is only a little more than 3 million, so you can see the whole system in action at a glance, so to speak. If you are a gardener, this area is paradise, the horticultural capital of the continent. Check out the Oregon garden, for starters. There's a certain old-fashioned feel to Salem, very Donna Reed. The bureaucrats create a certain social stability, with lots of cute little houses. Salem is never going to be trendy, but it is homey. Lots of people like that sort of thing.
Tazula are you for real? Ten percent unemployment? The link you offer has info from 2006. Get a clue for God's sake.
Unemployment is probably around 7% which is where the state average is. Salem's economy is somewhat shielded with the government jobs. Not much, though, in private sector to jump about.
Salem lacks restaurants. My friends and I travel to the Pearl District in Portland for real cuisine.
Salem also seems to attract a lot of low class, trashy people. I've always asserted that it's due to the prisons and the State Hospital and the people they attract. We have more than our fair share of the lower classes.
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