Salem, OR or Durham, NC (Portland, Redwood: transplants, chapel, camping)

[Silverfall]

Well welcome to Salem. You haven't been to La Capitale yet or just not on your fav list? I love WOM too. Creme brulee french toast is great!!

Salem is an odd pocket of weather. My hubby works in Corvallis and they often get rain, hail and ice that seems to miss us here. Our weather is not as bad as Portland's, where I lived for 10 years as well.

I'm glad you are enjoying living here and pretty much every one I know would agree with you that we need a really good trendy bar here. There is supposed to be one going in downtown in Liberty Plaza (which is where the Starbucks is). I guess they are taking the downstairs space and will be our first open until 4am bar in town.

[jrkliny]

I thought maybe there was something unique about the Salem weather so I checked the NWS statistics. The numbers for December are pretty much the same as Portland and other cities in western Oregon. The averages are 25 cloudy or mostly cloudy days, 19 days with at least some rain and those light spits of rain accumulate to be 6.8" for the month with an additional average of 1.6" of snow. I do understand that a 60% chance of rain does not mean that it rains 60% of the time, but the official numbers really look very uninviting. I have no doubt that the area is GREEN during the wet months of the year.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by jrkliny

I thought maybe there was something unique about the Salem weather so I checked the NWS statistics. The numbers for December are pretty much the same as Portland and other cities in western Oregon. The averages are 25 cloudy or mostly cloudy days, 19 days with at least some rain and those light spits of rain accumulate to be 6.8" for the month with an additional average of 1.6" of snow. I do understand that a 60% chance of rain does not mean that it rains 60% of the time, but the official numbers really look very uninviting. I have no doubt that the area is GREEN during the wet months of the year.

When I lived in Portland the mornings were always foggy because the gorge meets the Willamette. We don't have foggy winter mornings like we did in Portland.

I don't think our weather is unique, but my hubby has often called me from Corvallis and it will be pouring or hailing there and we are just spitting here. It seems that the fronts just soften before they hit Salem sometimes.

[southbysoutheast]

Originally Posted by jrkliny

I thought maybe there was something unique about the Salem weather so I checked the NWS statistics. The numbers for December are pretty much the same as Portland and other cities in western Oregon. The averages are 25 cloudy or mostly cloudy days, 19 days with at least some rain and those light spits of rain accumulate to be 6.8" for the month with an additional average of 1.6" of snow. I do understand that a 60% chance of rain does not mean that it rains 60% of the time, but the official numbers really look very uninviting. I have no doubt that the area is GREEN during the wet months of the year.

Here's a link to another thread with more reactions to my posting from people who lived in Salem. //www.city-data.com/forum/orego...1-5-years.html

[jrkliny]

The absence of fog should be a nice plus. I would think that would show up in the % of available sunshine but maybe the effect is not large enough. Both Portland and Salem show a bit under 25% of available sunshine for the month of December. That seems very dark so I checked the statistics for where I live on Long Island, NY. It seems pretty cloudy here in December but at least we are at the national average which is 50%.

[southbysoutheast]

December is cloudy and its cloudy right now, but the weather was mostly sunny and beautiful right up until Thanksgiving. It has also been sunny and beautiful in December and it's supposed to be sunny and beautiful Christmas weekend. Ultimately, I think the people who love it here don't mind trading a mild if mostly cloudy winter for the really incredible weather you get most of the year. I had the same fear before I moved here, but the weather in Salem is far from what one imagines it to be after seeing what is often reported and said about the PNW.

[jrkliny]

Thanks for the positive perspective. Actually, I pretty much took Portland, Eugene and Salem off my short list. At this point I am thinking more about Medford-Ashland and am none too happy that the December - March sunshine is well below the national average. I guess I should be able to tolerate a few months of 40-50% of available sunshine, especially considering all the positive statements I am getting about Salem winter weather.

[mamh]

Where on earth does this dark and gray stuff come from..Yes, at this minute its raining but its not dark out or gloomy, its simly raining..It does not keep one from going about their daily lives,its mellow and wet..
Do you expect bright sunglasses weather everyday, you don't have that on long island,my husband is from there and that is the coldest place i've ever been in the winter..Shoot we garden out here in the winter..
Come visit us next month and you might find some cooler weather but not gloomy stuff like you expect..
Sorry I'm getting carried away but read our daily weather log and see.
Please come visit salem.

[southbysoutheast]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Well welcome to Salem. You haven't been to La Capitale yet or just not on your fav list? I love WOM too. Creme brulee french toast is great!!

Salem is an odd pocket of weather. My hubby works in Corvallis and they often get rain, hail and ice that seems to miss us here. Our weather is not as bad as Portland's, where I lived for 10 years as well.

I'm glad you are enjoying living here and pretty much every one I know would agree with you that we need a really good trendy bar here. There is supposed to be one going in downtown in Liberty Plaza (which is where the Starbucks is). I guess they are taking the downstairs space and will be our first open until 4am bar in town.

I had a great Croque Monsieur my first time at La Capitale, but the roasted chicken and steak the next two trips were just good. My love of WOM is a comfort food thing, I've enjoyed every meal there and the fried chicken takes me back to my favorite meals in the south. And I've had some fantastic meals at Morton's including the Cioppino and brick roasted chicken. But I'm glad we have La Capitale and its certainly one of the better restaurants in Salem.

[Fiddlehead]

To the OP,

Salem is much more underrated than Durham. A beautiful area, with green fields around and recreation everywhere. A dull town though. However, I will say it never bubbled like the other towns in the PNW during the housing bubble, precisely because few people in say Santa Barbara or San Jose, CA were fantasizing about moving to Salem. That is a HUGE plus in my book. It is affordable and the housing prices are not likely to collapse like in the overleveraged areas (Bend, Medford/Ashland, Coast).

If it were me, I'd choose Salem over Durham. You have Portland and Eugene close by for nightlife, and a gorgeous environment. Durham would probably be more fun on a daily basis though, and I suspect wages would be better.

As for weather, I think people are cheerleading in this thread. I agree that the PNW weather is not harsh, nor does it rain every minute of the day. However, it is cool/cold cloudy, and damp, with short days, for months on end. It rained almost 80" the winter I moved to Corvallis from Colorado! Great for gardening, but this is the SAD capital of the lower 48 for good reason. I recall several colleagues who left the Willamette Valley for the southwest because they could not stand it. It is a very personal thing. My wife never minded it, but I can tell you I feel noticably better about winters in S. Oregon, even though it is colder. We just had a bright, cold spell that she did not care for, but I was in heaven. I don't mind the rain, but I really like a spot of sun and some crisp, dry cold in winter. I only tell you this because it can be very difficult for some people, and not for others. You need to think about what YOU need. People who complain about the winters in the PNW have ample reason. I have never read of anyone complaining about gloom in Durham, but I personally would find the summers quite trying there.

Best of luck.