Salem or Vancouver? (Portland, Eugene, Wilsonville: sales, house, purchase)

[NCDavid]

I grew up and lived most of my life in Renton, suburb of Seattle. I'm 70 and retired, like fly fishing, golf and good Asian food. Two years ago I made the mistake of moving to a small town in Western North Carolina. I hate it. I'm waiting for my house to sell so I can move back to the PNW. I'd been thinking of moving to Salem since a daughter lives nearby in Aumsville. Now I'm wondering if Vancouver, WA, would be a better alternative (no income tax, closer to Portland and big-city stuff). I like living near a big city, but not in one, with access to good medical care and good restaurants. Any thoughts or comparisons between the two cities, Salem and Vancouver, or a better alternative?

[bler144]

Presuming you're retired, depending on what kind of income you have, it may be exempt from OR taxation as well, in which case you'd benefit more from Oregon's lack of sales tax.

State Taxation of Retirement Income in Oregon - Yahoo Voices - voices.yahoo.com

IMO neither Vancouver nor Salem has particularly great restaurants, though I'd say Vancouver is slightly better on that score, likewise off-peak it's a pretty short hop to areas of very good dining in Pdx. Likewise you have access to a major airport, better hospitals, etc.

My major concern with Vancouver is the bridge situation. While you wouldn't be traveling in rush hour, I do think you'd find I-5/205 traffic dictating when you traveled down. Coming back up to the city on a Sunday afternoon can be a snarl, and the I-5 traffic north of the curves and at the Interstate bridge can be stop and go. And this is even before they settle on actually working on a new I-5 bridge, which may or may not be a toll bridge, but in any case will probably make for a rough year(s) of river crossing.

Eugene (particularly north Eugene) might be a third option. Like Vancouver it's about an hour, but with much less traffic to get there. The metro area is about 350k. Or perhaps a southern Pdx suburb like Wilsonville?

What sort of rent/purchase price are you looking at on housing, as that will be a major consideration.

[Silverfall]

I don't know the Vancouver restaurant scene.

Salem has a decent restaurant scene. We've had a lot of new restaurants open in the past few years. You will get better Asian food in Portland but we have some good ones down here, China Gourmet has been open less than a year and they have good Chinese food. Red Ginger has some good Asian/PNW fusion food. Hong Kong house is good too. Super Pho has good pho. Adobo Republic opened up this year which is Filipino food but I haven't been there yet.

There is a local food blog called Eat Salem that has restaurant reviews and a list of many of our restaurants in town. Salem and Vancouver are very different to me.

I used to live in Portland and work in Vancouver and going over the bridge was a bear. Traffic is worse now, then back then. I also think you should look at the other things nearby like the vineyards. There are many, many wonderful pairing dinners that happen at the local vineyards. Great food, great wine and often for charity. I'd think about what things you love to do and that may help steer your choice toward one city over another.

Does anyone know if the Camas paper mill is still open? I know many are closed and when I worked in Vancouver we would occasionally get the smell. You'd want to confirm if it is still open and then pick an area out of smell range.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Does anyone know if the Camas paper mill is still open? I know many are closed and when I worked in Vancouver we would occasionally get the smell. You'd want to confirm if it is still open and then pick an area out of smell range.

I still see the plumes of smoke, and their website says they're functional: Georgia-Pacific Camas Mill Overview

That said, I don't think the smell is what it used to be - if it were Fisher's Landing wouldn't be such a 'desirable' part of Vancouver. Even Camas itself attracts a fair amount of the well-heeled.

[tsmw47]

NCDavid understand your desire to head back to PNW have lived in NC for 30 years and still miss Oregon. Now that we are both retired think about a move back but no family in that neck of the woods so don't know......Hope you find a good place you'll enjoy