Edumacate me about Salem, Oregon

[Crowbob]

Considering a move there, 1 year minimum committment. Climate, cost of living, culture, quirks?

[Tobra]

I have deja vu, check it

Possible move to Salem or Portland

[Crowbob]

Thanks, Mike.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Thanks, Mike.

No, Toby

Mike came up with the clever quote when I said something about it being "beer week" in Sacramento; struck me as funny anyway.

That thread sort of bashes on Salem a bit as I recall. I went to college there. It is pretty small town, but had several prisons in the area, check out where you don't want to live more than anything else, stay away from the halfway houses.

I always got around town on a bicycle, place lends itself to that. Easy drive to the beach, Bend is a bit farther, seem to remember Paul, the crotchety Mustangophile, formerly of the pristine green S lived out that way. He played pool at a place in Salem, a few blocks from the Capitol.

[HardDrive]

Depends on what your looking for. Salem is small town for a capital city. I have always found people to be friendly there, but its a bit rural for my taste. The surrounding countryside and the Willamette valley in general is very beautiful.

[jyl]

Doesn't Randy live around Salem?

I visited Salem. Once.

[LWJ]

I am still not a fan.

Larry

[RWebb]

Salem has the ugly climate of Orygun, but w/o the quirkiness of Eugene, or the urbane sophistry of Portland.

it's boring, but maybe you want boring?

pretty sure Paul played pool in a small town in the low Cascades, but I could be wrong...

people are friendly there, yup, same as elsewhere in the state

Salem is closer to the good vineyards (compared to Eugene)

Lemme see, what else is good about it... unh???

post what you're looking for more specifically; maybe we can think of something

[LakeCleElum]

A fair percentage of population is made up of "formerly migrant" farm workers.

[James Brown]

They held witch trials there, murdered a bunch but there are still some there, lurking.......

[Crowbob]

Sorry, Toby.

I'm not looking for anything in particular. I don't necessarily have to live in the city itself. Country life is fine with me. How feasible is commuting? I see Wiki notes a porn star as Salem's claim to famous people. I'd probably explore the GNW. Never been there.

Thanks for the info...

[Eric Hahl]

Rains, a lot. Grey sky, a lot, but beautiful summers after July 4th until about October, sometimes into November. I'm serious. It's like Seattle here with all the rain. But that rain is what makes it so green and you will never see more green than in the Pacific NorthWet, um, er, NorthWest. The Coast range mountains near Tillamook (West of Salem) average 110 inches of rain per year. We don't get that much here obviously as those mountains block the weather and drop the rain there but dang it get depressing waiting for the Sun to pop out.

Commuting is no problem. The city is not that big and traffic flows pretty well. Salem is decent. I've lived and worked around Salem and this area for about 20 years now. West or South Salem seem to have nicer neighborhoods but anywhere out a little bit in the country is nice. Its more mountainous on the West side, flatter in the Valley to the East until you get to the Cascade mountain range where you will find beautiful snow cover volcanoes year round. I believe Mt. hood is the only mountain to keep skiing open all year on the Palmer Glacier. The U.S. Ski team practices there in the summer.

Great thing about Salem is it's an hour drive to the coast on the West or an hour drive to the Cascade Mountains East of the city.

Salem is only 60 miles south of Portland on the freeway so doesn't take too long to get there.

You have a Porsche? You'll love the country roads around here. Twisty and well maintained. We used to rip them up with our sport bikes back in the day and now enjoy them with 4 wheels.

We have a great bunch of Porsche guys from this forum around the Portland area that get together once a month for burgers n beers, we BS a lot and are planning arrive and drives around the area.

Like wine? The Willamette Valley is chocked full of nice wineries. How about hiking or hunting? There are so many areas to explore.

[Crowbob]

Thanks, Eric! Exactly the info I was looking for. What about cost of living? I'd rent or lease (preferably a small 1 or 2 bed house) within 1/2 hr drive of downtown Salem. Possible? I'd leave the p-cars back here, though.

[Eric Hahl]

Cost of living is not bad. I'm judging that from living here though. I know its much cheaper in some areas of the country but also much higher in places like little Russia, crap, I mean California.

Yes, you'll find lots of rentals within 1/2 hour of downtown. probably more 2-3 bedroom houses. There are a lot of duplexes and triplexes throughout the area as well.

Regular gas just hit $3.65/gal here this morning. Fuel always seems to be a little bit higher here for some reason. Just looked at craigslist salem for housing. Looks like 2-4 bdrm places are going on average from $700-1300/month. Decent apartments would be in the $500-600 range.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

A fair percentage of population is made up of "formerly migrant" farm workers.

not in comparison to Woodburn!

[RWebb]

Country life can be found, but Oregon has Land Use rules that prevent sprawl (one reason the commuting is not as bad as elsewhere; and that the roads are still fun to cruise) - one downside is that when you limit sprawl, you also limit the housing out in the country.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by James Brown

They held witch trials there, murdered a bunch but there are still some there, lurking.......

Ha!

Wrong Salem...

[RWebb]

Salem, Orygun has witches but no trials esp. for them...

[herr_oberst]

Salem is the gateway to McMinnville. . .

(If you like your old Porsches well done, you'll know what this means)

[Tobra]

If you are into classical music, Willamette's music dept usually has a few concerts a year worth attending, or did when I went there.