Northwest Salem (Portland: fit in, rent, crime rate)

[Kenny48]

I am a retired single gay man. I am interested in a house, on Northwest 6th St and considering making a bid on it. I was wondering what kind of neighborhood this is.

To me it appears to be a nice are, of smaller older homes. This is the type of neighborhood I have been looking for, but I know nothing of Salem. I am currently in Florida, and miss living in the Northwest. I had been looking for something around Portland, but honestly I cannot afford anything there outside of mobile homes.

I would appreciate any feedback, as to how I would fit in this area and whether I would like it there.

Thanks!

[leastprime]

Across/near the middle school?
About 1 km to Wallace and shopping (grocery, drugstore, hardware, library, etc)
short-term rent if you can until you find a place that you like.
PM the address. WS resident 50 yrs.

[Kenny48]

Thanks for the reply. The house is a small house, on sixth about 3/4 of a block in from what appears to be an industrial park. The address is 1067 6th St NW it's up for auction, and I was thinking of putting a bid on it. It's a fixer upper. I would bid low, so I dont' know if I'd get it. Don't know what comparable homes are going for, as I haven't seen others around there listed.

[Silverfall]

I would look on crimereports.com and see what kind of crimes are happening in the neighborhood recently and then have a quick chat with Salem PD about the overall crime rate in that part of West Salem.

I don't think locals would describe it as a nice area of older homes, but all of that is subjective.

[Kenny48]

Thanks to leastprime for your feedback. Silverfall, yes they are older smaller homes. The neighborhood is comparable to where I live now in Florida, but that is much of Florida. Lower income families, in smaller older ( not classic ) homes.

Silverfall, I'm not sure just what you mean. You need to be a little more descriptive. I'm not looking for a McMansion in a deed restricted neighborhood. We have too many of them down here, full of crabby old snowbirds from up north. It's hard comparing the Southeast, to the Northwest as it's really comparing apples and oranges. For instance, if I drive around here with a Bernie sticker on my car, it's sure to get keyed, or worse. Same goes for people finding out that I am a gay man. My house could be burned to the ground. That's what I'd like to get away from. There is little to do here as well. The nearest beaches are 50 miles away. No I didn't choose to live here, I ended up here because my parents were here, and I'm an olnly child. Unfortunately after 20 years of working at Florida wages, it's hard to find somewhere were I could afford to buy a house. Houses around these parts, go for anywhere from 20k to 60k for your typical Florida block home. On the radio you have a choice of country, country or country. There are no theaters or concerts other than the occasional local festival where once again it's all about "country". No book stores to speak of, no museums. Need I say more. So that neighborhood didn't look all that bad to me. I'm not concerned about petty theft, heck around here we have home invasions. Everyone has a gun. I'm not really comfortable living that way. This is normal for these parts. So all I'm looking for is a little constructive feedback. Thank you!

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Kenny48

Thanks to leastprime for your feedback. Silverfall, yes they are older smaller homes. The neighborhood is comparable to where I live now in Florida, but that is much of Florida. Lower income families, in smaller older ( not classic ) homes.

Silverfall, I'm not sure just what you mean. You need to be a little more descriptive.

I didn't think you were looking for a McMansion. The homes in that neighborhood aren't generally maintained all that well. People needing lower priced homes tend to go toward the Richmond neighborhood in central Salem or to the southern part of the Highland neighborhood. Richmond has some beautiful old tree lined streets there where the landscaping in Kingwood Park/the flats is pretty much non-existent. It is just a visual vibe. Go to Google Maps and "walk down" Trade and 21st, 23rd street is just gorgeous when the trees come in. The google car came through in the early spring it looks like so the trees aren't full. Richmond has more large trees so it just gives the neighborhood a more welcoming vibe. Plus it has a community garden.

Just saying that locals wouldn't call it nice because of the lack of curb appeal/maintenance of the homes and lack of trees. Most of the crime in all of these working class neighborhoods tends to be petty thefts and domestic violence type of crimes.

[Metlakatla]

That neighborhood is pretty variable. Well-kept homes are right next to ones that are a little ragged around the edges. While it doesn't have Richmond's gracious cherry-tree lined streets, it's not too bad a place.

[gputnam]

Originally Posted by Kenny48

For instance, if I drive around here with a Bernie sticker on my car, it's sure to get keyed, or worse. Same goes for people finding out that I am a gay man. My house could be burned to the ground.

That's just horrible!! We're also in the process of moving to Salem. We're presently in Portland where, thankfully, support and acceptance of the LGBTQ is mostly the norm. We certainly hope that's the case in Salem, too. We're finding that it's important to really drive around neighborhoods and assess the condition of surrounding houses. It's interesting that on one street everything can look good, but the next street over it can be pretty sketchy. We are also introducing ourselves to prospective neighbors and asking them about the neighborhood and the house(s) we're interested in. That can tell a lot. Good luck!

[cargoman]

Originally Posted by Kenny48

Thanks for the reply. The house is a small house, on sixth about 3/4 of a block in from what appears to be an industrial park. The address is 1067 6th St NW it's up for auction, and I was thinking of putting a bid on it. It's a fixer upper. I would bid low, so I dont' know if I'd get it. Don't know what comparable homes are going for, as I haven't seen others around there listed.

I have driven through that area and it does not impress me. I can give no comment on the quality of the people but I can say that the crime maps show an uptick around that area. That area behind Safeway and the industrial complexes just has a bad feel to me.

[cargoman]

Originally Posted by gputnam

That's just horrible!! We're also in the process of moving to Salem. We're presently in Portland where, thankfully, support and acceptance of the LGBTQ is mostly the norm. We certainly hope that's the case in Salem, too. We're finding that it's important to really drive around neighborhoods and assess the condition of surrounding houses. It's interesting that on one street everything can look good, but the next street over it can be pretty sketchy. We are also introducing ourselves to prospective neighbors and asking them about the neighborhood and the house(s) we're interested in. That can tell a lot. Good luck!

I have lived in West Salem for over three years. Up until last August when i purchased my own home I was renting from a married lesbian couple in West Salem. Not once in all the time of knowing them did they have a negative run in with anyone that might have issues with their lifestyle. no property damage, no flyers, no sideways looks that were meant to be noticed...etc.