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I am a single mom moving to Salem this spring. We currently live in Scottsdale AZ, and I am losing my home because the bank wont refi us, and my 400K home is now worth about 240K, like most in my neighborhood. I dont have family in Salem, a cousin and a family friend, thats it. I have been a mortgage processor for the last 10 years, and here in AZ, those jobs are few and far between, due to massive lay offs. I was wondering if that is the situation in Salem too? I really want to live there after we were there a couple years ago on vacation. It seems like a great place to raise my kids and do lots of out door things with them. Thanks...
I really mean this not to be a put down, or a negative trope on Salem, BUT, are you serious?!! Oregon is an economic hell hole right now, and Salem is one of the last places in Oregon I would EVER want to live! Seriously reconsider my friend!!!! When did you visit? probably in the summer or spring?
I will add it is one of the most annoying and awful places to drive around in the entire state. I hate driving through Salem as it is congested and and complicated to find your way around. And as mentioned before, there is only one bridge across the river which makes for huge bottlenecks during peak hours.
I will add it is one of the most annoying and awful places to drive around in the entire state. I hate driving through Salem as it is congested and and complicated to find your way around. And as mentioned before, there is only one bridge across the river which makes for huge bottlenecks during peak hours.
There comments are from 2008. The unemployment rate was different back then.
What do you find complicated about driving in Salem? It's laid out in a pretty typical grid pattern.
Silverfall gave us good advice when I asked the same questions 1.5 years ago. I recently looked at an old thread I started when I was thinking of moving to Salem and I thought it might be useful to post an update now that we've been living here for over a year. Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.
We absolutely love Salem. We moved in July of 2008 and rented a house in West Salem for the first nine months. We really liked West Salem because there's just enough of everything (restaurants, stores, bars, parks & rec) for you to leave the car parked and walk where you need to go. We enjoyed walking the hills and taking in the incredible views of the Valley. Honestly, there should be a state park at the peak where you can see every mountain from Ranier (across the border in WA) to Jefferson and most of the Willamette Valley in between. But traffic over the bridge to West Salem could be heavy in the morning and afternoon and I sat in enough traffic in Atlanta to last the rest of my life (admittedly, it's always a 10 minute bike ride, but we never did fully commit to biking).
When it came time to buy we chose a house just south of downtown Salem in Bush Pasture Park. I'm a grad student at Willamette and my wife works there too so the commute now is literally a walk in the park (or a 3 minute drive). Houses are still very affordable here and we love our nifty-fifties rancher (complete with avocado fridge). We don't have kids yet but the area is supposed to have good schools.
If you love to cook and eat fresh food this is the place. Marion County literally has the most diverse agriculture in the entire country and it shows at the markets. Apparently the only real truffle oil made in the US is from the valley, and we just found a great local olive grower. Our own garden did very well the first summer and we're planning to plant a lot more this spring. If you drive 10 minutes in any direction you're back in the beautiful farmlands and hills that produce the food and wine the Willamette Valley is famous for. And if Salem doesn't have it it isn't far.
Salem itself has a small but good restaurant scene that is rapidly improving. Some of the best food in the world is in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco and I think the Willamette Valley's agriculture is starting to draw some real talent to the area. When you have the time and money for a truly incredible meal, make a reservation in Portland.
The recreation here is unbeatable. The Cascade Range is 30 minutes to the east, the Coastal Range is 30 minutes to the west, the coast itself is just over an hour to the east, and Portland is 45 minutes to the north. We love to explore these areas and every time we do we find more to enjoy. Even though law school doesn't leave much time for it, we've been able to go biking, hiking, fishing, boating, whale watching, and wine tasting. Next on the list is camping, skiing, crabbing, and berry picking.
If you're thinking about moving here you're probably wondering about the weather but my wife and I have decided that Oregonians are raised to lie about the weather to outsiders because they hate Californians and its part of an elaborate scheme to keep them from moving here. It did just rain for three straight days, but really it doesn't do that very often and it doesn't rain much at all during the summer. One time I met a friend and longtime resident at a restaurant and the first thing out of his mouth was, "How about this weather? Depressing huh." My response was to point out the window at the beautiful and cloudless blue sky. My wife and I love to joke about it and often celebrate good weather by asking how terrible and depressing the weather was that day. We do that a lot. One friend swears that it rained for six months straight 15 years ago. Maybe it did, all I can tell you is that the weather would have to be a lot worse to be anything near depressing. And when it does rain it doesn't storm like it does in the south and midwest. Its usually just a light mist. There was one thunderstorm this summer and people were panicking. Someone in my office came in and said, "the radio said we should stay away from the windows." My wife and I thought that was hilarious because we've been riding out regular afternoon tornadoes and occasional hurricanes in the south and midwest for years.
If there's one thing Salem could use it's a truly great bar. Our 20s are behind us so its not that important but you just need a good beer in a solid bar every once in a while. There are several candidates but no clear winner yet. I hear that the best place in town just opened up and there's another one opening that could contend. I'll let you know after I go.
Here's a our list of our favorites in Salem:
Top Restaurant: Word of Mouth Bistro - breakfast, lunch & dinner, love it
Runner up: Morton's - romantic, very good French-creative cuisine
Coffee: Gov's Cup, The Beanery, French Press
Mexican: La Hacienda Real
Burger: Willamette Burger Co.
Pizza: Straight From New York
BBQ: Adam's Ribs
Chinese Delivery: Hong Kong House
Japanese: Fuji Rice Time
Indian: India Palace
Thai: Thai Orchid
Pho: Vietnam Restaurant
Bakery: Cascade Baking Co., Croissant & Co.
Markets: The Saturday Market, Salem Public Market
Bars: Jammers (eclectic), Johnny's (younger/newer), Magoo's (old school)
Winery: Eversham Wood, but go find your own fav there are literally hundreds
24hrs: Muchas Gracias
Other Good Eats: The Wild Pear, King Doughnuts, The Dairy Lunch, Cafe 22, White's
I really mean this not to be a put down, or a negative trope on Salem, BUT, are you serious?!! Oregon is an economic hell hole right now, and Salem is one of the last places in Oregon I would EVER want to live! Seriously reconsider my friend!!!! When did you visit? probably in the summer or spring?
I find it very hard to believe that anyone who has actually lived here has that negative an opinion of Salem. It isn't perfect, but Salem has far more to offer than you have seen. I just came back from visiting my brother in Spokane, WA, where the weather was rainy, foggy, and dismal. My drive to the Portland airport on Friday was sunny and beautiful, and I just took these photos from my front door in Salem this morning. I doubt many people would find anything that generalized and negative helpful anyway, but I don't know why you would want to post something so misleading.
I really mean this not to be a put down, or a negative trope on Salem, BUT, are you serious?!! Oregon is an economic hell hole right now, and Salem is one of the last places in Oregon I would EVER want to live! Seriously reconsider my friend!!!! When did you visit? probably in the summer or spring?
Anyone who lives in Phoenix, as I have done for the past six years, should know what a hellhole is. A place like Salem, despite the problems, must look like paradise. That said, I have just spent two days in Salem. As a child we came here frequently to visit relatives, but I have never tried to live here. And, even though it all adds up, I couldn't do it. There is a feeling of constriction in Salem, which I realize has always been there for me. It depends on what you're looking for. Lots of people probably wouldn't be bothered by it.
Oh yes, the crime seems bad. The entire parking lot at my motel is monitored at the front desk, and someone is watching it most of the time.
Anyone who lives in Phoenix, as I have done for the past six years, should know what a hellhole is. A place like Salem, despite the problems, must look like paradise. That said, I have just spent two days in Salem. As a child we came here frequently to visit relatives, but I have never tried to live here. And, even though it all adds up, I couldn't do it. There is a feeling of constriction in Salem, which I realize has always been there for me. It depends on what you're looking for. Lots of people probably wouldn't be bothered by it.
Oh yes, the crime seems bad. The entire parking lot at my motel is monitored at the front desk, and someone is watching it most of the time.
You know a lot of folks that come back from other parts of the country forget how compacted our cities are here due to the urban growth boundaries. Folks that want larger lots and more space between things often express the same sentiment about being constricted.
The crime is actually normal for a city of our size. We rate lower than the national average for violent crimes and higher than average for petty crimes like car break-ins and theft. Most of the hotels sit along Hawthorne and off Lancaster which are higher crime areas.
You know a lot of folks that come back from other parts of the country forget how compacted our cities are here due to the urban growth boundaries. Folks that want larger lots and more space between things often express the same sentiment about being constricted.
The crime is actually normal for a city of our size. We rate lower than the national average for violent crimes and higher than average for petty crimes like car break-ins and theft. Most of the hotels sit along Hawthorne and off Lancaster which are higher crime areas.
I have been traveling around and thus didn't see Silverfall's remarks on my post until now. However, after spending a couple of nights in Corvallis and other places, I reached the same conclusion. The problem I have with Salem and other cities in western Oregon is because of the urban growth boundries. The apartments I saw were along freeways, on busy streets, and all seemed to look like barracks. People are compressed into urban areas, and then there is all that wonderful farmland on either side. While I total approve of Oregon's commitment to the preservation of farmland, it means that I, an Oregon native, will have to abandon any thought of living in western Oregon again.
Just one more observation. There seems at this time to be little interaction between the heavily urbanized core, and the farmland. Unfortunately, I am still remembering the situation as it was when I was a child, in the forties and fifties. We lived in Portland, but had many relatives out on farms, as most people did. Our major activities were camping, fishing, and hunting. There was a deep interaction between country and city. Now there appears to be a schism.
That said, I believe Salem has done a lot as a city to maximize its potential.
But, I want country with access to city, and will have to find it somewhere else.
Stay away from Salem Oregon or anywhere in Oregon for that matter. It is the most depressing place I have ever been. All it does is rain and not the kind of rain/storm that is interesting with thunder, it is a depresssing mist like with low clouds where one would feel like you are in a tunnel.
The people are far from progressive. There is no cultural ethnicity of any kind. The people, who originate from here I feel sorry for....due to the constant gloom and doom they seem very out of it and slow like their brains are just stuck.
There is no growth in Salem, the downtown is a wreck with no shopping except for your everyday cheap stores like JC Penney etc.....as far as apartments go there are none except for the ugly white trash like wooden structures that are hidieous ....Perhaps it is OK for retired people whom I have seen a lot of even though if I was retired I would want to live somewhere that has good weather not where it is moist, damp and drap nine months out of the year. I have seen some frightening looking characters walking around, not their fault but if you are at all a smart progressive person stay away from this dump that needs a complete overhaul....it is over priced that is why 17 % percent live in poverty. The people seem rude and nosey probably due to their misery of having nothing to do.
Portland at least has shopping with a nice Nordstrom and somewhat fine dining. I feel sorry for the people of Salem having to live in such a crappy little city where no one cares about what goes on. Alot of shady people because there is no one to answer to because it is now where USA so no one moniters the goings on of some of the shady dealings going on in this liitle city. There are a lot of poor people in the area that are out to cheat people, they lie about everything so I hope the elderly people that live here watch out and any other new people that may think this is an honest little city but it seems to have quite a few people who are out to con you... I have dealt with shady landlords and been straight out lied to by an agent trying to rent a house. They ask for outrageous deposits in the safer areas. Some of these morans must think that people are stupid but they themselves are too dumb to realize that most anyone coming from out of town can see through their charlatin ways.....I have seen landlords try to pass off dumps with high prices that peoples saleries could not even pay for. There are so many uneducated people that are in need of mental health services..... Oh and the lack of good health care is a huge deal in Salem as well, lack of Physians etc etc etc....Portland is also overpriced.....Stay away from the Pacific Northwest unless you are possibly as strange as some of people that reside here......
I lived in Salem for a year. I didn't realize there were positives...
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Reflections on 1.5 years in Salem, Oregon
