Relocating to Salem, OR from CA (lease, loft, low crime)

[aroseinrain]

I lived there for a year AND this was 15 years ago... so take it for what it's worth:

Too conservative for me (I grew up in Eugene).
Not hip or cool or fun.

Salem is a state capital... Imagine Oregon's version of Sacramento....

[TJCalif]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

I would never live in Monmouth over Salem, but that's me. You can't compare a town of 2,000 people to 150,000.

People don't like Salem because 1) we have a larger Hispanic population than Corvallis or Eugene and I'd love to tell you there isn't a bias here in Oregon but there is; 2) the east side of Salem is ugly. Poor city planning in my opinion; 3) It has more conservative politics than Portland, Eugene, or Corvallis; 4) It isn't hip. Salem is a very slow paced, family oriented city. We lack an kind of hipness. 5) There really aren't any clubs for young singles; 6) Our crime rate is on par with Eugene, but the State Penns are located in Salem. It used to be that criminals would get released and just settled in Salem so we had a disproportionally high crime rate here. They passed a law a few years ago that criminals had to go back to their home counties after release. This caused the crime rate to really drop in Salem but most people in the state don't realize this and think of Salem as a high crime area because of the State Penns.

So...that is why people say negative things about Salem.

I understand now. I'm used to Hispanics so that is no big deal. From many Salem threads, I noticed that Hispanics are heavily concentrated in North and NE Salem around Lancaster.

Family-oriented cities tend to be conservative with lack of hipness.

Wow, I didn't know that Oregon State Prison is in Salem. I know that Oregon State Hospital (mental institution) is there. Where are the low maxium security prison and the correctional facilities for women and youth & juveniles in Oregon? I hope all aren't in Salem too. LOL!

Conservative, family-orientated capital city of Salem with lack of hipness automatically makes me think of Sacramento, CA with Fontana Prison nearby.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by TJCalif

I understand now. I'm used to Hispanics so that is no big deal. From many Salem threads, I noticed that Hispanics are heavily concentrated in North and NE Salem around Lancaster.

Family-oriented cities tend to be conservative with lack of hipness.

Wow, I didn't know that Oregon State Prison is in Salem. I know that Oregon State Hospital (mental institution) is there. Where are the low maxium security prison and the correctional facilities for women and youth & juveniles in Oregon? I hope all aren't in Salem too. LOL!

Conservative, family-orientated capital city of Salem with lack of hipness automatically makes me think of Sacramento, CA with Fontana Prison nearby.

Maclaren is the male youth prison in Woodburn. Hillcrest is the girls youth prison, and is in south Salem. The minimum security is on State street, and there is the maximum once on Aumsville highway between Aumsville and Salem.

[TJCalif]

Interesting! This post may be off the topic for my Salem thread but its also Oregon that I am moving to. LOL!

Is rehabilitation rate high in Oregon? Is capital punishment prohibited in the state?

I know Oregon allows domestic partnerships in Portland, medical cannabis, and euthasania (doctor-assisted suicides). That's pretty liberal except for conservative spots such as surburbs, coastal range, and both central and eastern sections of the state. However, Oregon has anti-urban sprawl, which is a big plus. I would hate to see Oregon becoming more like California in the future.

I found it very interesting that crime rate in Oregon is above national average in all categories like everywhere but the homicide rate is very low though.

No sale taxes is another pro of living in Oregon even though some people debate that no income tax and sale tax in Washington is so much better than Oregon. Anyway, I think it's more expensive to live in Washington especially anywhere near Seattle. What do you think about the debate between Oregon and Washington?

[TJCalif]

I found several rental homes in Salem and I would like to ask the residents for their knowledge about the neighborhood.

There is one rental house I like on NE Locust Street near Oregon School for the Deaf.

There is another rental home not far from Fred Meyer on Commercial Street.

Are they in good or bad part of Salem? I looked at the map and it seemed like they are located in North/Northeast Salem to me and I remember they are areas of higher crime rate due to higher Hispanic population and low-income residents.

Does anyone know about websites where I could look up nice rental homes in Salem and its surrounding areas?

Any info you can share with me would be very helpful and deeply appreciated.

[domodogs]

Originally Posted by Transplanted In Oregon

This was the part of the thread that made me laugh and decide I needed to reply. Volcanos give quite a bit of warning before they blow. St. Helens, in Washington State, went off in 1980, long before I was here but I've talked to many that were. They talk about the nuisance of dusting ash off the cars every morning but little else. I'd be far more concerned about staying out of a flood zone than worrying about a volcano (CVO Website - Wright and Pierson, 1992, Active and Potentially Active Volcanoes in Oregon). And I'd take either of those over living through another surprise Loma Prieta earthquake again.

I experienced both national disasters.

I also went through the Loma Prieta quake (which happened 5 months after my now ex was transfered to San Jose - I thought "Great, I move to CA and it slides off into the ocean!").

TJ - points east get greater ashfall because of the jet stream. I was living in Missoula, Montana - almost 500 air miles due east from MSH - when it blew in '80. I was actually doing the 2nd week of Army Reserve summer camp duty in Helena at the time. Our unit, being a construction engineering unit, wound up doing ash removal with our road graders, bulldozers and dump trucks. Our military equipment was better designed to filter out the course ash (it's pumice after all - very abrasive). The ash looked like dirty snow, several inches thick. We got a lot more ashfall than western Oregon did. Blacked out the sun for a couple of weeks like a thick fog. You couldn't buy a car air filter or a pair of panty hose anywhere - they were sold out. (People were wrapping their car air filters with panty hose to keep the ash out of their engines).

I was also here in Portland when it started venting again. Never saw any ash fall.

Volcanoes here aren't like the volcanoes in Hawaii or the one in Iceland that have lava flows because of the way that the plate tectonics work here. The biggest danger with Cascade range volcanoes is the lahars (massive mud flows from the rapidly melting glaciers and snow).

I'll take the volcanoes over the violent earthquakes, considering the frequency of each.

[TJCalif]

The responses to this thread has been slow lately.

By the way, thanks for the response on volcanoes.

Anyway, the neighborhoods are important so I would like to know more about it especially about apartment complexes.

Any suggestions on nice apartment complexes with good reputation in South Salem? I had to ask because I noticed that most apartments in South Salem doesn't have good review ratings except for Willamette View, Brookside Townhouses, and Robin Lanes.

I was told to avoid West Salem no matter what because of high crime rate around the apartments there. However, I found one apartment with excellent apt review ratings and it's in West Salem right before you get out to the country on the way to Rickrell. Does anybody know about Eola Heights? Would you recommend me to check it out?

What about Broadway Town Square in Central Salem and Willamette Landing on the border of Grant and Highland sections of Salem?

These apartment complexes are what I like based on what I saw on the Internet. I will visit them later but I also would like to hear from Salem residents as well.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by TJCalif

The responses to this thread has been slow lately.

By the way, thanks for the response on volcanoes.

Anyway, the neighborhoods are important so I would like to know more about it especially about apartment complexes.

Any suggestions on nice apartment complexes with good reputation in South Salem? I had to ask because I noticed that most apartments in South Salem doesn't have good review ratings except for Willamette View, Brookside Townhouses, and Robin Lanes.

I was told to avoid West Salem no matter what because of high crime rate around the apartments there. However, I found one apartment with excellent apt review ratings and it's in West Salem right before you get out to the country on the way to Rickrell. Does anybody know about Eola Heights? Would you recommend me to check it out?

What about Broadway Town Square in Central Salem and Willamette Landing on the border of Grant and Highland sections of Salem?

These apartment complexes are what I like based on what I saw on the Internet. I will visit them later but I also would like to hear from Salem residents as well.

Broadway town square is in a rejuvination district so it is a hodge podge over there. Some really nice places and not so nice, all together.

I had some friends that lived in Willamette Landing for a while. Their apartment had an amazing view of the river and they spent loads of money on heating. The apartments are poorly insulated, per my friends experience. The apartment itself was well maintained, but budget for high heating bills.

[aroseinrain]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Broadway town square is in a rejuvination district so it is a hodge podge over there. Some really nice places and not so nice, all together.

I had some friends that lived in Willamette Landing for a while. Their apartment had an amazing view of the river and they spent loads of money on heating. The apartments are poorly insulated, per my friends experience. The apartment itself was well maintained, but budget for high heating bills.

...but also remember that public utilities won't be as expensive in Oregon either, so they may just cancel each other out.

[TJCalif]

I agree that Willamette Landing on Water Road on the borders of Grant and Highland neighborhoods has amazing river views.

I had to ask because I know Highland area has high crime rate, according to the City of Salem website. Should I be concerned about Highland?

I thought that utilities are well-priced in Oregon due to marine climate all year long.

How long ago did your friends live at Willamette? Is it possible that the apt. complex renovated its insulating system by now?

Maybe I don't mind paying for high heating cost as long I have gorgeous river views.