Salem - city with a small town atmosphere??? (Portland, Woodburn: house, good schools)

[deem]

Hi -trying to get some information on Salem.. we are looking for sunny days, some rain (once in awhile) not terribly winters ... a bit of a tourist city/town with a family atmosphere - trendy shoppes, cafes, medium house pricing, good schools(jr and high)
lots to do outdoors - biking, fishing, camping, walks, gardening
Any input appreciated..

[dachmom]

I'm not sure Salem is the right place for you if you want rain "once in a while". It rains quite a bit here. We mostly get rain all winter, and sometimes a little snow. It rains in the spring and fall, but we usually have nice warm summers. The weather forcast for next week is rain every day, and this is April. The rain will probably be light rain to sprinkles, but still wet. We do get occasional downpours, but you learn to adapt to the rain. If you want rain "once in a while" you might want to consider towns further south or eastern oregon.

[Marko3]

I agree with Dachmom, anywhere you're looking to move in Oregon, you need to know that there will be rain, and unless you're from Washington or Northern California, it's most likely going to be more rain than you're used to. I would definately say it's more than "once in awhile". Don't let that deter you though, summers are great. I wouldn't really consider Salem a tourist town. Woodburn, which is about 12 miles north of Salem has some touristy areas, including factory outlet stores if you're looking for the trendy shops. There is alot to do outdoors in Oregon when the weather is nice (summer) pretty much anywhere you decide to call home.

[bobmulk]

I live in Salem. It's definitely not a touristy town. It's the state capital and has a large number of state workers, not a lot of industry. I would say it's very much a family friendly town--that's shown by the rapid growth in the school population.

Salem is more affordable than the other metros in the state, but the wages are lower. A large number of people commute to the southern suburbs of Portland where jobs are more plentiful and wages are higher. As for things like gardening, biking, fishing, camping, etc. that's all close by.

The weather here is moderate but we do get a lot of rain. The winters are rainy and this year we're having an unseasonably rainy spring. For a few years we had rather dry springs. Must be the climate changes, I guess. Summers and autumns here are glorious.

[oregon_mom7]

Originally Posted by deem

Hi -trying to get some information on Salem.. we are looking for sunny days, some rain (once in awhile) not terribly winters ... a bit of a tourist city/town with a family atmosphere - trendy shoppes, cafes, medium house pricing, good schools(jr and high)
lots to do outdoors - biking, fishing, camping, walks, gardening
Any input appreciated..

WELL IVE BEEN HERE SINCE FEB AND ITS RAIN ALMOST EVERYDAY IF YOU DONT LIKE RAIN DONT MOVE BUT THERE A UP SIDE TO IT ALOT OF COOL THINGS YOU CAN DO SHOPPING PARKS AND GREEN GREEN NICE PEOPLE AND GOOD FOOD