Life in the capital is a bit slower than life in the city (Portland)  but Salem residents are just fine with that. Trading the urban metro for some peace and quiet is a deal they’d take any day. If a life with beautiful outdoor opportunities and wine tastings galore is a appealing then put Salem on your shortlist. 

**Here are some pros from a local on living in Salem:** 
*-Convenient to get around and to beaches, mountains, etc. Traffic is congested during commute hours, not bad during other times.*
*-Parts of town are relatively attractive, downtown is nice, several good parks.*
*-Summer is great, but quite short, although it varies year to year. One year it rained almost daily with temps in the 60’s until the end of June when the rainy season started again in early Sept. One year it was 106 in May and rainy season held off until late Sept, which locals tell me was a rare season.*
*-People generally friendly and conscientious.*
*-Surprising number of good local restaurants and grocery stores.*


For more reviews of what living in Salem is like from locals check out: [**The Buzz**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/salem?page=buzz)

Wine Life in Willamette 

The Best Thing About Salem?

If peaceful glasses of wine and bike rides inside and outside the city don't sound like you, Salem’s probably not an ideal fit. It’s more or less a large small town, where everything’s closed by 10 and the places that are open before then tend to be quiet. Young, non-white, and liberal people in particular tend to not like it in Salem with the exception of pockets near the university, and you might be shocked by the number of confederate flags you see in the capital of a state with Oregon’s general reputation. Portland’s only an hour away for those looking for an escape, but it would make more sense to live closer if you're looking for that vibe. 

**Here's a local on living in Salem (vs. Portland):**
*Salem, on the other hand, is a great place to settle down and get comfortably domestic. It’s cheaper to live here than Portland (though affordable housing is becoming increasingly rare), and there is a lot less competition for jobs. And, of course, it’s the state capital so there are a lot of state agencies and employees. It’s easier to get around town, and just generally getting stuff done is simpler. But the trade-off is that Salem has a lot less to offer culturally. It’s a lot more homogenously white, middle and lower-middle class folks. There aren’t nearly as many high-quality restaurants or cultural events. There are some parks and nice natural spaces, but none of them really rise to the level of Portland’s better park areas. There’s adequate shopping and other services, but it’s much more middle America.*

Same Thing

The Worst Thing About Salem?

The benefits of living near the Willamette Valley and the Willamette River highlight the lifestyle of Salem. Kayaking, hiking and camping spots are bountiful near the city, and trips to the vineyards are popular for residents and tourists alike in the summer months when rain is less frequent. Native Salem-ites are described as "small-town friendly" and conservative, tending to live more slow-paced lives than their Portland neighbors.

If you're interested in seeing what's happening in Salem check out the calendar of events: https://www.travelsalem.com/events/


Lifestyle of Salem

Unless you’re working for the state, jobs are hard to come by in Salem. Outside of politics, education jobs from the public school system and Willamette University are the only other major hiring block Salem itself really has to offer. If you're moving here without a job then best to be a WFH'er. 


Workstyle of Salem

If you find the stress-inducing pace of Portland (or Seattle or SF or LA) exhausting, and having a locally grown glass of wine on a quiet Friday evening is appealing, put Salem on your shortlist. Many of the people who move to Salem are doing so to escape something: a more expensive or chaotic city, a population they think is too liberal, or a population they think is too conservative. Whatever your reason for trying to escape where you presently live know that for some Salem has served as an excellent alternative. 


Escape

Why You Should Move Here Now?

While Salem isn’t Portland in terms of a downtown scene it does have bars and restaurants and several condominium and apartment buildings, many new with more on the way, where you can live and walk out at night. If you are lucky enough to work downtown then you can skip the car and maybe get a bike for taking advantage of all the bike lanes that run throughout the city. The 
demand for more affordable housing in cities near the major metros on the west coast means downtown should be on the rise for years to come. 
- Downtown


Young Professionals

Downtown

Central Salem has beautiful Historic District neighborhoods with beautiful vintage homes. They are extremely walkable to the State Capitol, Willamette University or Salem Health Hospital so if you work in any of those locals you’ll like it here. Although these neighborhoods are a bit quieter than the newer downtown blocks they still have walkable access to the Broadway revitalization zone, which has casual pubs, pizza joints  and movie theaters for local entertainment. 
- Central Area
- Historic District


DINKs/SINKs

Central Area

If golf club living is your preference then check out the Illahe Hills neighborhood. Home to Creekside Golf Club, it is filled with upscale and luxury homes, all within a golf cart ride to the club. No membership in the club is required to live in the neighborhood so you can enjoy the lush greenery and never bother to don the cleats. You can also sign up for a social membership if you want to enjoy the meals and cocktails without the links. If you prefer luxury homes without the golf community vibe then look at Croisan Mountain. All luxury homes set up high with beautiful views and plenty of room for the kiddos to play on the tree-lined blocks and big yards. 
- Illahe Hills
- Croisan Mountain
- Laurel Springs
- Alderbrook


Families

Illahe Hills

Salem

**What is it like to live in Salem, OR?**

Here are our observations after living in Salem for seven years, hope it helps those contemplating moving to the area.

We are mid-thirties w/ kids, lived in a few large and small cities across the US from New England, to NC, NV, IL and others.

Pros:

Convenient to get around and to beaches, mountains, etc. Traffic is congested during commute hours, not bad during other times.
Parts of town are relatively attractive, downtown is nice, several good parks.
Summer is great, but quite short, although it varies year to year. One year it rained almost daily with temps in the 60’s until the end of June when the rainy season started again in early Sept. One year it was 106 in May and rainy season held off until late Sept, which locals tell me was a rare season.
People generally friendly and conscientious.
Surprising number of good local restaurants and grocery stores.
Cons:

Job market lacks diversification beyond government jobs, but not surprising for a small capital city.
While housing may be cheaper than Portland, incomes in Salem are less also. Home prices/rents are recently very high and far stretch the budget of the average family here, no different than Portland. Several of our friends are selling their homes while prices are high so they aren't caught upside down during next economic downturn, which they believe is on the horizon. Salem historically has had a very cyclical “up and down” housing market, price wise.
Slow pace. People walk, move and drive very slowly here. Drives some “type A” people nuts. Town is definitely “type B”.
Large portion of the city looks unkept and run down; lot of blight. West Salem, Keizer and South areas are decent. West Salem access truly a burden during commute hours adding 20 mins or so to daily drive each way.
Frequent property crime, even in nice areas. Blatant drug activity conducted out in the open during daylight hours downtown. Unbelievable amount of homeless people. We feel safe overall though.
Surprising amount of racial intolerance reported by minority friends. Not a diverse area. Shocked to see Confederate flag stickers and flags on trucks in area, which thankfully is not an everyday occurrence.
People are friendly, but not socially inclined group who keep to themselves. Some locals hesitant to accept newcomers since many stay a short time. We have made friends here, but took a considerably longer time vs. other places we have lived.

**Is Salem, OR conservative? If Salem is not conservative, is it as open-minded and progressive as Portland is?**

Salem, Oregon is majority liberal, but as I often tell people—liberal by Oregonian standards is not necessarily the typical definition of liberal.

Most Oregonians favor state-focus and state solutions over federal guidelines, and that is becoming ever-increasingly attractive as the rest of the country essentially shits on our state with all the taxes we pay into federal.

People who have never been here and know nothing about us shit on our state almost constantly. Same for Cali and Washington.

Oregon is very small and state-focused, rather one identifies as liberal or conservative here.

Oregonians are proud of our state, and we try to take care of our people.

**Would you rather live in Portland, OR or Salem, OR?**

Having lived in both, it really depends on what you’re looking for.

Portland is amazing for a dense, urban feel. There are countless great places to eat, entertainment, cultural events and activities, shopping, parks and natural attractions, and an endless supply of interesting people. But, it’s also expensive, overcrowded, and busy. Jobs are highly competitive, traffic is a constant nightmare, and a lot of Portland’s uniqueness and charm has been paved over by high-rise snobbery and elitism.

Salem, on the other hand, is a great place to settle down and get comfortably domestic. It’s cheaper to live here than Portland (though affordable housing is becoming increasingly rare), and there is a lot less competition for jobs. And, of course, it’s the state capital so there are a lot of state agencies and employees. It’s easier to get around town, and just generally getting stuff done is simpler. But the trade-off is that Salem has a lot less to offer culturally. It’s a lot more homogenously white, middle and lower-middle class folks. There aren’t nearly as many high-quality restaurants or cultural events. There are some parks and nice natural spaces, but none of them really rise to the level of Portland’s better park areas. There’s adequate shopping and other services, but it’s much more middle America.

Fortunately, Portland and Salem are only about an hour’s drive apart so you can easily pop between them as needed. I currently live in Salem, but have coworkers who live in Portland and commute here to work. (I tried that for a while but my sanity couldn’t handle it.)

**Pros and cons to living in Salem?**

We moved to West Salem from Utah in order to shield our kids from the stigma of being ex-Mormon in a predominantly Mormon community. That worked pretty well. Few people care what church you go to—if you go to a church at all. However, we were disappointed with how very conservative/Republican people are in West Salem. If you’re Republican, move to either West Salem or Keizer. If you’re Democrat, move to South Salem. As far as things to do, it was very, very difficult, at first, to find the activities I wanted for my kids. But we did find them. There is at least one (but usually two) of everything. One or two good soccer clubs, one good ballet studio, one good independent film theatre, one good community theatre. I’m sure people will chime in and say there are more than that. My point is, you probably only NEED one of each of these things, so you survive. But it isn’t like Salt Lake City or Portland. OH: there is no skating rink, no ice rink, and now, sadly, no Nordstrom. The entire downtown mall is dying. This is all kind of forgivable, though, because, hooray, we now have an In-N-Out Burger nearby in Keizer.

Salem, Oregon

Cherry City

Looklyloo Score: 80

We're on it!