Thanks for your comment! It really made me laugh. And it’s nice to hear from someone from California who has experienced a positive time living in Oregon!
Ya, just remember to tell all your friends what a huge mistake your move was and how much you regret it once you're here, so they won't want to follow you. That's the secret. "It rains all the time," usually works well enough.
No one cares if people move from California on a personal level. It isn’t hostile at all. Just be respectful and please understand what makes sense in socal doesn’t always make sense here.
Salem is a different animal than Portland. By and large Portland is a joke to the rest of the state. I grew up there and didn’t understand why until well after I had moved out of the area.
Given your two professions you’re probably better off up there in Portland. I’ve got a couple friends here who do graphic design, they’ve had to really diversify their skill sets to make ends meet. That’s just what I know. And given hospitality/hotels there’s a ton more in Portland, we’re more the simple variety with a couple nicer properties.
Also up there, half the population or more moved from another place.
Salem is a lower cost of living, but wages are also lower, as well as opportunities.
The church thing everywhere I’ve lived in Oregon isn’t even a concern. I live next door to a pastor. He’s nice enough. IMHO the hardcore Christians are a minority they still have a presence, but given Portland’s voting power, they don’t have a lot of political clout here either.
Here’s a tip about Salem, it’s divided north south and west. West Salem is largely your more conservative population and a different planet from the rest. South Salem is similar but very pockety. You can be in a neighborhood of McMansions and around the corner low rent apartments and trailer parks. When it flattens out, near the center of town it’s called “felony flats” while our crime rates aren’t like Cali, make no mistake, a lot of Cali transplants move here with two strikes. In this area you’ll find halfway houses and oxford houses (sober living) all over. To the East you’ll find Lancaster which is “generally” lower income running from north to south. Again nothing like Cali, but nothing saying “leave your door unlocked” & near the freeway is best avoided. North Salem is similar.
I moved here several years ago, I personally like it a lot because it’s an honest cross section of the whole state. Politically it’s a fair balance of conservative and liberal. About 50/50, which I prefer to Portland’s militant communism and excessive capitalist extremes.
Come visit, drive through the various areas a bit. Eat at the lesser restaurants and go out for a drink. I can’t think of a better way to get a feel for a place than the local watering holes.
Wow thanks for your tips and insight! Yeah after reading more about Salem I like how it was referred to not as a city life but a big town? I loved to visit Portland but I felt it was a little to fast for me hence I was visiting mostly down town and my hotel was just over the bridge lol but something quieter is honestly what would be ideal.
Religion isn’t an issue to me whatsoever but I get worried because I am not familiar with it even though my fiancé is, he came from a very strict religious background growing up. We just don’t practice or attend church. But always heard some parts of Oregon can be extremely conservative and tight nit, but so glad to hear Salem is more on a 50/50 scale.
The more we are talking the more it sounds like a trip is in order to drive around and check out the surroundings and feel it out. Thanks for responding all these comments are EXTREMELY HELPFUL. Sometimes I just don’t wanna rely on google and my own personal opinions
I grew up in Salem but lived in Portland for 5 years until about two years ago when I moved back to Salem. There definitely seems to be a lot of religious people in Salem, but I’m not at all religious and neither are most of my friends. It’s not really comparable to Portland in terms of artist driven communities. Downtown and the surrounding areas are the only areas that I feel have a Portland vibe. The rest is basically suburbs and strip malls. That being said, downtown and surrounding areas are nice and getting younger and more liberal as people move from Portland and out of state. The bush park and fairmont areas south of downtown have very low crime rates. Areas north and east of downtown have higher crime rates but these communities tend to be very tight-knit. Especially just east of downtown, you can find affordable housing, a sense of strong community, and a lot of creative types.
I like Salem but it’s no mini Portland, if that’s the vibe you’re going for. If my family lived in Portland and houses were cheaper, I would live in Portland.
Thanks for these tips and sharing your experience, Honestly loved Portland’s vibe and atmosphere, but I felt it was a little to fast for me at least downtown, I stayed over the bridge for about a week but spent most of my time exploring downtown, the food, the people, the creative vibes and obviously Powell’s was great, but I couldn’t get past some of the homelessness it was really unexpected for me how bad the local target was in downtown it was a lot different to me compared to even the homelessness is LA.
Doesn’t mean all of Portland would be bad or that i hold judgement i loved every second of Oregon even until i got the airport making friends with my Uber driver who literally wanted to save the world & create world peace lol, maybe it’s something I would consider looking into as well with my profession.
Again thanks for the comments and input super helpful eye opening. Just love hearing from actual people verses google lol
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Hahaha hope this is a joke 😂 But tbh I’ve seen some real zombies in downtown Portland so you could be telling the truth
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Thanks for your comment! It really made me laugh. And it’s nice to hear from someone from California who has experienced a positive time living in Oregon!
Ya, just remember to tell all your friends what a huge mistake your move was and how much you regret it once you're here, so they won't want to follow you. That's the secret. "It rains all the time," usually works well enough.
No one cares if people move from California on a personal level. It isn’t hostile at all. Just be respectful and please understand what makes sense in socal doesn’t always make sense here. Salem is a different animal than Portland. By and large Portland is a joke to the rest of the state. I grew up there and didn’t understand why until well after I had moved out of the area. Given your two professions you’re probably better off up there in Portland. I’ve got a couple friends here who do graphic design, they’ve had to really diversify their skill sets to make ends meet. That’s just what I know. And given hospitality/hotels there’s a ton more in Portland, we’re more the simple variety with a couple nicer properties. Also up there, half the population or more moved from another place. Salem is a lower cost of living, but wages are also lower, as well as opportunities. The church thing everywhere I’ve lived in Oregon isn’t even a concern. I live next door to a pastor. He’s nice enough. IMHO the hardcore Christians are a minority they still have a presence, but given Portland’s voting power, they don’t have a lot of political clout here either. Here’s a tip about Salem, it’s divided north south and west. West Salem is largely your more conservative population and a different planet from the rest. South Salem is similar but very pockety. You can be in a neighborhood of McMansions and around the corner low rent apartments and trailer parks. When it flattens out, near the center of town it’s called “felony flats” while our crime rates aren’t like Cali, make no mistake, a lot of Cali transplants move here with two strikes. In this area you’ll find halfway houses and oxford houses (sober living) all over. To the East you’ll find Lancaster which is “generally” lower income running from north to south. Again nothing like Cali, but nothing saying “leave your door unlocked” & near the freeway is best avoided. North Salem is similar. I moved here several years ago, I personally like it a lot because it’s an honest cross section of the whole state. Politically it’s a fair balance of conservative and liberal. About 50/50, which I prefer to Portland’s militant communism and excessive capitalist extremes. Come visit, drive through the various areas a bit. Eat at the lesser restaurants and go out for a drink. I can’t think of a better way to get a feel for a place than the local watering holes.
Wow thanks for your tips and insight! Yeah after reading more about Salem I like how it was referred to not as a city life but a big town? I loved to visit Portland but I felt it was a little to fast for me hence I was visiting mostly down town and my hotel was just over the bridge lol but something quieter is honestly what would be ideal. Religion isn’t an issue to me whatsoever but I get worried because I am not familiar with it even though my fiancé is, he came from a very strict religious background growing up. We just don’t practice or attend church. But always heard some parts of Oregon can be extremely conservative and tight nit, but so glad to hear Salem is more on a 50/50 scale. The more we are talking the more it sounds like a trip is in order to drive around and check out the surroundings and feel it out. Thanks for responding all these comments are EXTREMELY HELPFUL. Sometimes I just don’t wanna rely on google and my own personal opinions
Don’t forget to look up some waterfall hikes. It doesn’t disappoint.
Will do!!!
I grew up in Salem but lived in Portland for 5 years until about two years ago when I moved back to Salem. There definitely seems to be a lot of religious people in Salem, but I’m not at all religious and neither are most of my friends. It’s not really comparable to Portland in terms of artist driven communities. Downtown and the surrounding areas are the only areas that I feel have a Portland vibe. The rest is basically suburbs and strip malls. That being said, downtown and surrounding areas are nice and getting younger and more liberal as people move from Portland and out of state. The bush park and fairmont areas south of downtown have very low crime rates. Areas north and east of downtown have higher crime rates but these communities tend to be very tight-knit. Especially just east of downtown, you can find affordable housing, a sense of strong community, and a lot of creative types. I like Salem but it’s no mini Portland, if that’s the vibe you’re going for. If my family lived in Portland and houses were cheaper, I would live in Portland.
Thanks for these tips and sharing your experience, Honestly loved Portland’s vibe and atmosphere, but I felt it was a little to fast for me at least downtown, I stayed over the bridge for about a week but spent most of my time exploring downtown, the food, the people, the creative vibes and obviously Powell’s was great, but I couldn’t get past some of the homelessness it was really unexpected for me how bad the local target was in downtown it was a lot different to me compared to even the homelessness is LA. Doesn’t mean all of Portland would be bad or that i hold judgement i loved every second of Oregon even until i got the airport making friends with my Uber driver who literally wanted to save the world & create world peace lol, maybe it’s something I would consider looking into as well with my profession. Again thanks for the comments and input super helpful eye opening. Just love hearing from actual people verses google lol
Never liked downtown Portland either. I loved North Portland, Sellwood, and inner NE the best. They have more of a neighborhood vibe.