What's wrong with Salem? (Portland, Eugene: home, employment, neighborhood)

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

Drive out Wallace road until it turns from 4 lane to 2 lane. Turn right at the stop light at the bottom of the hill.

Look for the signs that say Salemtowne.

[Webfoot_Wa]

Silverfall, we really enjoy your input and knowledge of the area. Do you have and links for housing? prefer the south end near the hospital, park. Or any hard copies relating to employment and housing. I drove Para Transit for over 25yrs working with the ADA, seniors, physically and mentally disabled. thanks

[NCDavid]

I also appreciate your input, Silverfall. Last visit to Salem, I was impressed by some neighborhoods in West Salem. The major negative seemed to be the bridge bottleneck separating it from downtown. Since I'm retired, that's not much of an issue. As a Realtor, what's your advice/comment about West Salem vs the south end as my new retirement location?

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Webfoot_Wa

Silverfall, we really enjoy your input and knowledge of the area. Do you have and links for housing? prefer the south end near the hospital, park. Or any hard copies relating to employment and housing. I drove Para Transit for over 25yrs working with the ADA, seniors, physically and mentally disabled. thanks

For rentals (apartments, houses??) or to buy?

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by NCDavid

I also appreciate your input, Silverfall. Last visit to Salem, I was impressed by some neighborhoods in West Salem. The major negative seemed to be the bridge bottleneck separating it from downtown. Since I'm retired, that's not much of an issue. As a Realtor, what's your advice/comment about West Salem vs the south end as my new retirement location?

They are both nice parts of town. The bottleneck is Wallace Rd, not really the bridge. The lights are poorly timed and it just backs up over the bridge. You can typically get off on the Rosemont exit with little traffic, so if you are in the Eola area, the bridge really isn't an issue even in rush hour.

You also need to understand that Salem's definition of bad traffic is not the same as say Portland's. If you have to get on Wallace during rush hour, it might take you an additional 10 minutes of time. People generally go the speed limit here so keep that in mind when reading about traffic woes.

What I like better about West than South is the ease to downtown. You can walk or ride a bike over the pedestrian bridge from Wallace Marine Park right into Riverfront Park and downtown Salem. Parking can be a pain downtown, but if you like to walk, the pedestrian bridge is great.

South has better access to Minto Brown park which I personally love. It is a natural park in the wetlands there, so it isn't a manicured park, but they have about 10 miles of trails right now. A pedestrian bridge will be built from Riverfront to Minto Brown and the city of Salem is in a grant process to have Bonneville Power purchase 310 acres from an investor for the rest of Minto Brown Island. It would increase that park by about a third. It's a great park if you love to walk or have pets.

South is a bit easier for errands as Home Depot, craft stores, etc are all on the other side of the bridge. I think as a retiree either would be fine.

[Webfoot_Wa]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

For rentals (apartments, houses??) or to buy?

a rental for two adults and one 8lb Maltese
thanks

[bhdaniels]

We are moving to the area in 6 months. What are the recommendations regarding Jefferson? We are really interested in Dallas because it is a small community, but have all the amenities we are looking for.

[ga rice]

What's wrong with Salem? Nothing's wrong with Salem, it's just I remember a time when I'd take my date, turn off 99E-Portland Rd onto Lancaster and be at the South Salem Drive-in in a couple of minutes. Salem grew up and I grew old. The two don't go together real well.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by bhdaniels

We are moving to the area in 6 months. What are the recommendations regarding Jefferson? We are really interested in Dallas because it is a small community, but have all the amenities we are looking for.

I lived just north of Jefferson for 10 years. It is a lovely rural community with an easy commute to either Albany or Salem. Highly recommended.

[oregonbirder]

Originally Posted by ga rice

What's wrong with Salem? Nothing's wrong with Salem, it's just I remember a time when I'd take my date, turn off 99E-Portland Rd onto Lancaster and be at the South Salem Drive-in in a couple of minutes. Salem grew up and I grew old. The two don't go together real well.

Boy that brings back memories, only my date was my mom and siblings I remember playing outside until the movie started and a huge treat for us was something, anything from the snack bar. You know, that was really a fun time then sitting in the car watching a movie on a huge screen with the speaker hanging from the window. How time flies and things change.