Anyone live in/near Salem, Oregon? Or visited?

[football76]

So my wife may be getting transferred to Salem. We currently live in Irvine, CA (SoCal). The only thing I know is that houses are about 40% of what they cost here and it gets cold up north (obviously). While I'm not too bummed on the cold factor, as I just recently moved from MN, I have to admit that I know nothing about Salem or Oregon.

So what's the 411? Looking for any and all feedback/info. Anything I should be aware of?

 

[Ill_W1N]

My bestfriend lives there. I go atleast once a year for Duck games. They bleed yellow and green around there. A lot of college students. Real estate is cheap there like you know. It rains A LOT. Doesn't get much colder than california except at night. Portland is only about 45 minutes from there and has a pretty good night life.

 

[Silver2003Cobra]

A LOT of liberals in Salem.. if you like out door activities, you'll love the area. Year around Skiing on Mt Hood, plenty of fresh water lakes for summer activities.. basically a sportsmans paradise.

 

[FiveSpeed]

I'm about 30 minutes from Salem. As another guy said... A lot of liberals. Plenty to do and you won't have to drive far to ski/snowboard, go camping, or visit the beach.

 

[football76]

Thanks for the replies guys. Not big on the liberal thing but I've been getting into mountain biking and desperately want an excuse to buy an ATV.

How are the winters? We're looking to buy a new 2nd vehicle- would 4 wheel drive be a must? (other car is a Civic)

 

[bumplime]

I grew up in Salem and have lived in the area for 30 years. I currently have a residence in Dallas, which is twelve miles west of Salem headed towards the Coastal cities of Lincoln City and Newport. I like the little town a lot. It's quiet, very friendly and has a relatively low crime rate and the real estate market is much better for the buyer.
I also have a residence about 40 miles southwest of Salem in Corvallis, home of the OSU Beavers. It's a nice town, not a lot to do and very expensive real estate ue to the college and Hewlette Packard.

Here's the reality of Salem: some nice areas where you can live peacefully and raise a family. Some decent schools but nothing to Get excited about. Sports teams are ok but your child isn't going to be playing for a great coach or team in Salem.
All of the main roads need some repair and during rush hour, they're clogged. I've got no idea what the night life offers, I don't go out often and rarely in Salem.
The people of Salem are a huge mix of nationalities. There is a HUGE population of illegals, mainly Mexicans. A fairly large population of Russians and old soviet block nationals. A pretty decent sized population of Japanese students attend Western Oregon University.
Crime is a problem..lots of Meth and the associated theft an burglaries. The gang populations seems to have dropped since the 90s but it could just be that I don't see them anymore.
The best thing about Salem is you're a 30 minute drive away from Woodburn Drag strip, an hour away from the mountains for hiking, hunting an some good fishing, you're an hour away from several Coastal towns where you can fish, relax or go out on your ATV. Specific riding areas are Sand lake, which is fairly small but very close, Florence is awesome and about 1.5 hour drive away, further south is Winchester Bay, Coos Bay, etc and all have some nice sand. Willamina is about a 45 minute dive and has some good trail riding, Browns Camp is further away but is loaded with trails.

Winters are not bad. Once in a while we see a little snow, 1-3 inches is the most. More often than snow we get some ice, again it isn't too bad. We get a fair amount of rain but it's liveable. 4wheel drive isnt necessary. In fact you'd be fine without it, however you may enjoy a 4wheel drive truck to haul your quad to the dunes with

If you can, make a trip up before your wife gets transferred and visit the surrounding communities and see if you'd be happier out of Salem. Salem has a lot of newer Sub divisions am they're damn near stacking houses on top of one another.
Feel free to PM me any particular questions and I'll do my best to answer them.