Reviews & Comments
Walla Walla, WA
Wanna be -
8/7/2007Walla Walla is full of "wanna bees." Seriously, the town is cute, quaint, nice scenery, however, there is no diversity and the downtown scene is just plain ridiculous. The town gets soooo hot in the summer and they do not even offer an aquatic center or a small public pool, unless you want to count the three foot pool for kids under ten. The town is basically retirees and people who want pretend that they are living in conneticut or something. They have no mall or good shopping areas, you have to drive an hour to get somewhere to shop. The town is isolated and very conservative. Lack of growth, diversity, and not very progressive sums it up! Also, the housing prices are inflated for a rural area that lacks recreation and opportunity.
Salem, OR
Meth -
8/7/2007I lived in Salem for over 2 years and I will say that Salem has a very serious problem with meth.
I know that "meth is everywhere," however, you see more people in Salem on meth than Seattle or Portland combined. Salem has 2 prisons, a huge psychiatric hospital, and juvenile institutions. It is basically an institution
town with a lot of scandals and criminals reintegrating back into the community after they are released. Salem
has an affordable cost of living, however, drug crimes and dealers are everywhere. I would be cautious in considering moving to Salem if you have or intend to have a family. Salem is not a good place to raise children.
I would suggest Corvallis or Eugene as an alternative.
Seattle, WA
Spendy -
4/4/2007I moved to Seattle from Eugene,Oregon last year. The transition was smooth and I felt right at home here in West Seattle. Seattle is a beautiful and unique community. The puget sound and olympic mountains are majestic. On my morning walks I am able to enjoy the aesthetics all around me. However, Seattle is expensive and the job growth is rather bleak. There are more wealthy people per capita in Seattle than anywhere else in the country. 65% of the population do not have children. So if you have a family, Seattle may not be the place for your or your kids. This is a rich person's town.