Salem, Keizer, Monmouth thoughts (Marion: buying a house, buying, construction)

[familyadventures]

We will be out this coming week for a visit / house hunting trip. Curious to know (updated) thoughts on NW vs SE Salem as well as Keizer, and Monmouth. Some of the forum answers are great but others are years old and I know the areas have been changing. We will be relocating from MN later this summer and are working with a realtor who is giving us great insight but I appreciate other thoughts too! I’ll be working in Salem (south) and don’t want to be unable to get home if something floods, don’t want to be stuck in traffic for 30 minutes to drive 5 miles home, etc. (would rather drive and keep moving if I have to be in the car). Kids are more academic than sporty (middle school and elementary). We are pretty liberal and looking for the right area. Thanks in advance!

[leastprime]

How far south?

[FullArmor]

Flooding in town is fairly rare and I haven't ever worried about being able to get somewhere. To get from West Salem to SE Salem you have to use the bridge. It does get very backed up during rush hour and can be pretty frustrating. As well as if there is an accident. If commuting from Monmouth you'd have to either go River Rd or Hwy 22 (over the bridge). River Rd does flood on occasion, but I believe it is fairly rare. I would choose SE Salem or Keizer personally. Either will be the easiest for commuting.

Most anywhere in the I5 corridor is going to be fairly liberal.

[texasdiver]

I have a cousin who's kids are in South Salem HS and they like it. They have a good IB program and are very academic. It's an historic older HS more in the center of town. Mom is a physician and they can live anywhere they want in the Salem area. Sprague HS covers the more suburban area further south. Also a good school but probably a bit less diverse as it is more suburban. West Salem HS would be the newer more affluent suburban HS but daily drive across the bridge can be sucky and it is mostly just residential subdivisions over there. All the shopping and events are on the east side of the river.

I would not plan your life around flooding other than to avoid buying a house in a flood zone. It's not really a major problem anywhere in the Willamette Valley.

[familyadventures]

Thanks everyone! Spent time in town and got to see a lot... Liked both West and SE but in the end, the house and yard won out so I’ll deal with the bridge

[leastprime]

Some 55+ years in WS.
I remember only 1 time when you could Not cross the Bridge. It was about 15 ya when some one was trying to jump off the Marion St bridge, and the city didn't have contingency plans to convert the remaining Center St bridge to a bidirectional bridge. Finally someone figured out that you can use a 4 lane one-way bridge to a bidirectional bridge in a 1+3, 2+2, or 3+1 configuration. Pretty simple really.

I went to SSHS as did our son, 30 years later, WSHS was in construction.