What's wrong with Salem? (Portland, Albany: apartments, rentals, houses)

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by NCDavid

Thanks, Larry and Steve. I'm 69 and retired too. Interesting that you are both retired, with opposite views of Salem: boring and not boring. Points out, I guess, that it depends on what you consider boring. I like to golf, hike and fly fish, eat at good ethnic restaurants. I see all of that in and around Salem, and if the city is "sleepy," that's probably okay with me. I'm not looking for excitement.
HereOnMars, I don't know where you got the idea I want a city with more to do at night. My original post said the opposite.
I wasn't asking for advice on where to relocate. I was asking why some folks don't like Salem, and I'm getting that from some of your posts. There are no correct answers, just opinions, which I was looking for and appreciate. I haven't read anything yet that makes Salem sound unattractive. To the contrary, it sounds like a nice mid-size city that would be a good fit for an active retiree like me.
Thanks to all.

You might like joining the Chemeketans, which is the local outdoor club.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

I'm retired, and would not consider living in Salem because it's boring. The employment base is state workers, who are not known for originality. Willamette University's main claim to fame is its law school, and lawyers are not known for originality. It's a nice, conservative, sleepy bedroom city. McMinnville has more cultural events and community involvement than Salem.

A good example of what is wrong with Salem is the Oregon State Fair. They have a big site in the middle of town, so what did they do? They paved the whole thing and turned it over to commercial vendors who pay big rent. Their attendance figures are down. All over the state there are examples of local food and craft fairs that draw big crowds into pleasant environments while really involving local people in a celebration of community. Not the Oregon State Fair. It's a bureaucratic nirvana that just draws kids because of the concerts and carnival.

There is a decent theater group halfway to Dallas called the Pentacle Theater. It was built about 50 years ago, and puts on some good shows. Salem refurbished the downtown Elsinore Theater for stage shows about 25 years ago, but there is no real performance center like the Hult in Eugene or the Schnitz in Portland.

If you think the Oregon State Fair is indicative of what Salem has to offer, I get that you wouldn't like it. Not a fan of it either. I also think it brings up a good point about Salem the state capitol vs. the city. The Fair is run by the State's Parks and Rec department, not the city of Salem. So it is a state event, not a city event. It isn't meant to celebrate anything local about Salem.

The big local events would be the World Beat Festival, the Bite and Brew, and the Art Fair. About 30,000 attend the World Beat Festival. The Bite and Brew was transferred from the Rotary Club to Hoopla's capable hands two years ago and they have made nice improvements. This year Hoopla and the Bite and Brew were combined so events stretched from the Capitol to the park. The Art Fair has been a local event for many years. How many people does an event need to draw to count as a big crowd?

I also think the couch races are funny. Salem has a permanent derby track which gets commandeered for the couch races in Sept. It is put on by the Capitol City Theater, which is the local comedy club.

The Elsinore gets used for many community performances, but not for as many public performances. As a parent I have attended many kids concerts, ballet/dance recitals, choir performances, etc there. It is well used by the community, but not in the way that you are thinking with public shows and such. But nothing in Salem will be on the level of the Schnitz or Keller. Willamette does host the Oregon Symphony every year. They come and play here around Christmas time. Can't compare the two anyway since PDX metro has 2.2M vs. 300,000 for the Salem metro. Totally different ballgame.

I don't know anything about the Hult in Eugene and what it offers.

[Metlakatla]

I used to live close to Willamette University and loved it, especially those spring evening when we walked to hear the Oregon Symphony there. Willamette also hosted a series one year that featured talks by well-known authors. Both Willamette U. and Chemeketa C.C. have community-oriented activities on a regular basis. Salem is close to Silver Creek Falls, Yamhill wine country, a short drive to Portland, the Cascades and the coast. For the most part, it's got good river-bed-valley floor gardening soil, and there are entire neighborhoods where everything is completely covered in cherry blossoms during the very earliest part of the spring, and that's truly beautiful.
I always found that Salem had "just enough" of everything. Enough decent restaurants, enough cultural activities, enough coffee shops, enough parks and art galleries. I've always heard that it has no nightlife to speak of, and I could see how that could bother some people, but that was never a concern of mine. If you're looking for Portland style scene, though, you won't find it in Salem.

Another thing about Salem is that there are pockets of so nice/not so nice areas in every part of town. Even the area known as "Felony Flats" has some truly beautiful old homes and classic neighborhoods.

Like others have said, it all depends on what you want in a community. Personally, I think it's about the best place in Oregon to live.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

You might like joining the Chemeketans, which is the local outdoor club.

I thought they were like the Willamatans, another prior membership of mine.

[GeekOfTheOzarks]

I recently moved to Salem from Portland and while Portland definitely has more going on there are tradeoffs. Real estate prices in Portland are considerably higher than Salem and although they got clobbered like so many other markets over the past five years or so, they will be skyrocketing again soon. Portland would definitely be a good choice if you are a real estate investor.

Portland has been very up-front about encouraging population growth lately but infrastructure expansion is not keeping up and their traffic, currently painful at certain times of the day, is guaranteed to get bad enough to make your ears bleed in the coming years. The promise of more public transportation will be great for the 2% who are able to take advantage of it ... the rest will be sitting in traffic watching the trains go whizzing by.

As far as quality of life, other than the traffic and real estate issues, I think both Salem and Portland offer a fairly comparable quality of life. That's because much of what makes Oregon great is found in smaller communities outside the bigger city limits anyway.

It is definitely a slower pace here in Salem, along with fewer jobs and a smaller selection of cultural activities, however either city would be a great place to settle down and stake a claim!

[Steve Pickering]

You are never gonna catch up with infrastructure. Too much deferred maintanance.

[bler144]

Picking up an older thread, perhaps, but I think some of the perception of whether Salem is boring or not depends on one's willingness to drive 15-30-60 minutes.

If you're wanting world class amenities in your neighborhood, Salem's probably not your place. If you're willing to pick up and drive for an hour, the options are boundless - the coast to the west, Eugene to the south, Santiam/Jefferson to the east, and Portland to the north, and wine country a short hop to the northwest.

One's opinion on restaurant options will also probably depend on what you're comparing it to. It's a big drop down from Portland, and probably a step or two even behind Eugene. But as GoTO notes, if you're renting or trying to buy in the Portland market right now, you may not have anything left in your budget to get out to all the great restaurants anyway.

[Webfoot_Wa]

I was born in Salem, we lived out by Bush Park went to St Jo's for 6yrs until the logging dried up in the area (50's-60's) then off to Washington where I grew up. Salem always had a special place in my heart, we saw downtown has revamped and modernized, the Smoke Shop was gone (snif..snif) and the orchards in west Salem have been replaced with condo's but it still has that small town feeling which we like. We love the quiet non congested lifestyle Salem has to offer and will move there in the spring.
We are semi retired living in the deserts of New Mexico (Truth or Consequences pop 5k) left Seattle 7yrs ago because of the population boom and traffic.
One question we have is where are the senior living areas located? cost of living comparable to other towns in the area? the relocation pack I requested is "in the mail" 3weeks now, may have to ask again..I have many more questions but it's supper time
feel free to add anything relevant to this...

Thanks
Webfoot

[oregonbirder]

Originally Posted by Webfoot_Wa

One question we have is where are the senior living areas located?

Thanks
Webfoot

We are everywhere

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Webfoot_Wa

One question we have is where are the senior living areas located? cost of living comparable to other towns in the area? the relocation pack I requested is "in the mail" 3weeks now, may have to ask again..I have many more questions but it's supper time
feel free to add anything relevant to this...

Thanks
Webfoot

Drive out Wallace road until it turns from 4 lane to 2 lane. Turn right at the stop light at the bottom of the hill.