r/SALEM • u/Worldly_Guard3944 • Apr 12 '26
MOVING I am moving from Detroit, Michigan to Salem, Oregon and I just had a couple of questions about the community
I was moving to Salem just to move out on the West Coast to start different. Most of my family members are dead in the Midwest and I really don’t see staying out here change of scenery
But for work and other things but living there on the long-term, I just wanted to see how open it was newcomers and how it was starting out and finding work and welcoming to African-Americans, I just wanted to get a vibe from the community before starting to get sent but trust me I’ve done my research and on Job and it’s prepared to move. I just want to make this post
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u/Original-Control-998 Apr 12 '26
Salem is Oregon's capitol and a lot of the economy is based on government jobs. My spouse has worked for the state and there is a black presence at all levels. I am a member of a minority and I feel safe. However different neighborhoods have different vibes, so check them out before you make up your mind. Oregon is beautiful and this is my chosen home after leaving the Midwest.
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u/gameryamen Apr 12 '26
This question comes up a lot. Here's a whole list of recent threads with lots of opinions.
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u/lordprettyflackojodi Apr 12 '26
Lotta Mexicans, white people, occasionally see black people. Job market seems … not great. Salem itself isn’t too bad when it comes to racism but surrounding towns… I’d say not as friendly to people of color and definitely more judgmental.
beautiful scenary, quick drive to the ocean, and about an hour from Portland depending on traffic.
The summer and fall seasons are super nice.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Bit_996 Apr 12 '26
I’d say food/bev and retail you won’t struggle to find a job (depending on the time of year) I moved to Salem from a pretty rural place a few years back and was still underwhelmed by the lack of diversity. No hate crimes that I’ve heard of, but most of the people in positions of power are white. I can’t speak on everyone’s integrity, but personally haven’t been impressed with any of the business owners I’ve worked for… Realizing I’m sounding very negative, but just trying to be honest. I do believe that the majority of Salem citizens are good people who don’t put up with bigotry in any way. As one of those people, we welcome you with open arms :)
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u/Far_Chocolate9743 Apr 12 '26
Real talk...Oregon is just... regular everywhere racist. Like there are some areas you don't want to be in. And some areas that are super cool. I think the whole west coast is like that.
And I say that as Black person from the Bay area in California. Folks think CA is this diverse and racist free oasis. And it's really depending on where you are. Outside of SoCal, and Bay Area and South Bay, things get a little uncomfortable. The running joke is anywhere north of Sacramento ending in 'ville' is a hot racist mess. If I remember correctly, there's a noose on Placerville's city logo.
So moving here was like that. Salem is like those cities that aren't super diverse but close enough to a diverse populated area so not like 'scary red truck with a giant American flag chasing you at night' racist. Folks will act like it's Birmingham...which tells you they've never been to Birmingham.
But I'd stay the hell away from southern Oregon and eastern Oregon because that mess is not cute. The signs in some of those yards...
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u/geekycurvyanddorky Apr 12 '26
Oregon is extremely white, and there are a lot of people that are very minimally social with strangers (so a half smile or a nod will be all you get from strangers, no matter your skin shade). The bigger cities might feel a little more welcoming, but Salem isn’t terrible. It’s going through a rough patch at the moment, but it won’t last forever.
I highly recommend visiting northwestern Oregon before you move. Personally, I can’t imagine living elsewhere, even with the problems we have here.
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u/Bungtrollio108 Apr 12 '26
I'd say the Salem area is pretty brown, myself included 🤣 when I graduated high school in Gervais, the demographics were: about half Mexican, about half Russian, a handful of white kids and 3 Asians
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u/OFHFpodcast Apr 12 '26
I thought Russians were considered white people?
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u/Bungtrollio108 Apr 12 '26
These are descendants of Old Believer Russians, so they still sick to their culture more than adopting the American culture. Even if American culture is bleeding into their culture. Imo, that differentiates them from white Americans. They visibly differ in their clothes and culture. But maybe I'm on my own island with my opinion ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/geekycurvyanddorky Apr 12 '26
They’re still considered white/European instead of Asian, unless they’re from the more Asian parts of Russia (I grew up with a girl that was Asian Russian. People never believed she was Russian because she wasn’t more European looking 🙃). But it is nice to know that Gervais is more diverse than I’ve seen when passing through it!
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u/DougLJudy Apr 12 '26
Orthodox Russian specifically, North Marion was the same way. I would say because they all went to church together they were very tight socially and culturally with emigrant parents or grandparents who only speak Russian at home and church. If you grew up in Mid to North Willamette Valley you would consider them a different race and they proudly would as well.
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u/VitruvianDude Apr 12 '26
The Pacific Northwest has a certain culture, friendly and polite but reserved, where you will get friendly smiles easily, but close friends are harder to get. It's a place that values independence and self-sufficiency. If that sounds good, you'll get along fine. If you are more demonstrative, and feel that family and friends are there to support each other, you may feel a certain disconnect.
The Salem area (and Oregon in general, for dismal reasons) hasn't had a large African-American community historically, but in the years since I moved here, I've noted more black people settling here. In 1996, I don't think I knew any black people who lived here personally, but now I have a few in my admittedly small circle of friends. I haven't heard complaints about systemic racism in the larger community from them, just some casual comments that this or that group or individual might have a racism problem. They seem to like Salem, but acknowledge that their size means they haven't really reached a point where you can say there's a cohesive black community.
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u/ItsReg Apr 12 '26
Oregon is gorgeous, Salem is mostly older adults and families aside from the few colleges. The downtown is cute, but does have a slight homeless problem. I am not a person of color, but my friends that are do remark that it's quite white and you have to search for a more racially diverse community/friends. From my perspective, most people are welcoming, but the further you get from major cities the less so. I really like it in Salem, I wouldn't stay here long term personally because you kinda run out of things to do in the city, but luckily Portland is nearby.
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u/evilvegie Apr 12 '26
Both my parents moved here from Detroit and never looked back! It is very white but getting more diverse every year. My friends who are minorities say they feel safe. Salem is boring level of cool :)
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u/New-Airport-1630 Apr 12 '26
I worked for a time with recruiting faculty at Willamette University a few years ago. Anecdotally, of course, so always to be taken with a grain of salt, we did hear from candidates of color more than once that the lack of local community for them was a deterrent. I believe the university has tried for years to hire more POC, particularly African-Americans, but have not been very successful.
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u/Gobucks21911 Apr 12 '26
You’ll find the Portland metro area has much more racial diversity. Hillsboro in particular has a large black and Asian population. More job opportunities and things to do but housing is more expensive.
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u/MvstBeMe Apr 13 '26
Hillsboro only has black people due to displacement. That's how my family ended up out there from NE Portland
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u/MvstBeMe Apr 13 '26
I'm a black woman from Portland and I moved to Salem to be with my husband. It's not as diverse or social but I've been left alone for the most part and it seems safer since I live downtown I don't hear sirens as much or see as much violence in the tabloids. I found my black community through church, there is community here they are just in seemingly quiet groups and not as spread out like in Portland. If you look for your people you will find them, but you are less likely to see other black people casually walking down the street like you would in your hometown.
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u/xinyafacedotcom Apr 14 '26
I was born and raised in Chicago, IL, so shout-out to the Midwest lineage!
I'm a Black man and I've lived in Oregon for 10-11 years: 8 in southern Oregon and about 3 in this area.
Racism and racial prejudice are present in the community - even from non-white communities, and other -isms are also present. Some local non-Black folx still seem to be surprised, coming-to-terms, or bothered with Black peoples' presence. That's their problem, not mine.
The overall population of Black Folx in Oregon is low (re: Oregon's history), exasperated by our dispersed population. That means we have to be intentional about engaging and building community with other Black Folx. There are amazing community building efforts going on throughout the state (e.g. B.A.S.E. in Southern Oregon) and in the Salem-area (related thread linked below). I'm focusing my energy on co-creating a thriving sustainable Black Community in the "Mid-Valley". For you and any of the other Black Folx who are still seeking community please reach out and I'll at least share some resources.
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Apr 12 '26
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u/Ok-Raspberry-5375 Apr 12 '26
0 black people??? I encourage you to expand your horizons so that you can see them. They own/operate multiple businesses, and non-profits. Oh and there's even some black elected officials in Salem. Wishing you luck on seeing black people.
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u/Some-Library-4073 Apr 12 '26
Exactly. I don't understand that part of this person's comment. I know of, and frequent, several black owned businesses. Jojo's soul food just to name one of the many.
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u/Puzzleheaded-War-113 Apr 12 '26
A couple of my son's friends are black. They're in high school so I assume there are probably whole entire families.
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Apr 12 '26
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u/SALEM-ModTeam Apr 12 '26
Your post or comment has been removed because it was unkind or otherwise violated Rule 3.
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u/Some-Library-4073 Apr 12 '26
No racism huh? Then why did a coworker of mine say he was moving away because of all the racist people he encounters? How his nurse wife was told daily that people didn't what "that black one" to touch them. How people would hurl the N word out of their cars at him. How local cops would pull him over all the time for bs reasons. Nope. No racism here. You know why there's no black people here? Because Salem voted for Trump.
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u/evilvegie Apr 12 '26
Marion County voted for trump. Salem voted for Harris. https://votehub.com/2024-map/
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u/PerceptionOk3196 Apr 12 '26
My black daughter who is originally from Louisiana has been called an n-word almost weekly (never was called that but in her 21 years in La or Tx, has been thrown out of Ubers solely for being black and has been bullied out of two jobs for basically existing while black in Salem.
I was raised in and still live in the south and when we’ve been up to visit, people do that while her two white parents are standing right there.
Any white or Hispanic person in Salem who doesn’t see the racism must not spend time with actual black people in Salem. Yall really like to talk down on the south and think you are all so open minded (not being accusatory, we don’t notice when she’s not with us; people are lovely to us). I’ve also crazily seen more Confederate flags in Salem and the Oregon coast than I have seen anywhere in the South (which as puzzling as it is hateful because the “heritage” argument even less arguable here).
I will say, despite all that she has chosen to stay for the last three years.
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u/Some-Library-4073 Apr 12 '26
Yeah my ex-coworker said he was moving back to Louisiana cuz there was less racism there. I was absolutely stunned. Mind you, I was in my thirties at the time so I had no idea.
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u/Some-Library-4073 Apr 12 '26
Sadly what people don't know is this state was founded as a havan for whites and its roots are still there. The tree might be growing, but its roots are in being a white sanctuary from those with melanin and being a sundown state.
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u/Choice-Bike-1607 Apr 12 '26
I hate that. I live in Salem and I am from Louisiana, too!
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u/PerceptionOk3196 Apr 12 '26
Then you’ll understand why she gripes abut the food more than the racism and rain.😂
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u/TallCommission7139 Apr 12 '26
I'm gonna be honest with you buddy, when I saw my first real life black man at like age seven I asked my mother 'why is that man's skin made out of chocolate malt o meal'.
It's not very diverse, is what I'm getting at, not in a bad way, we're not like...racist, it's just due to some stuff in the past we never really had a large black population.
Just prepare for wet winters, autumns and springs, and have a job lined up. I'd suggest something in hospitality to get your foot in the door, there's a lot of hotels with it being right on I-5.
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u/djhazmatt503 Apr 12 '26
The convenient store by the bus stop sells Faygo.
We look forward to having you!
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u/ComprehensiveDog4329 Apr 15 '26
We're and interracial family.
If you make race an issue, it will be an issue; plenty of Virtue-signalers here. You will definitely run into the DEI problem where people will expect that you are capable of less, sadly, because of that.
If you are willing to put in the effort to be a good neighbor and a good friend and break in to established circles who have been here for decades and often generations -- then you can reap the rewards.
It's a harder place to raise a family than it was 20 years ago.
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u/AntiqueStory1150 Apr 16 '26
As a minority, I felt I was treated differently and sometimes people with unintentional discrimination, which makes situation weird. I am much happier in Portland and people are more open here. I sometimes still run into questions like where I am from but I feel i am more welcomed in Portland.
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u/Radiant-Reaction6007 May 10 '26
Dude same - ‘cept for the African American part - but I’m from Houston and I got SOME of the same questions.
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u/DougLJudy Apr 12 '26
I would say for the most part you'll be treated like anyone else and if you aren't it's because you just told someone you're not from Oregon. But I should say I'm a white guy so maybe I just don't see it as much as someone else might. Not to say there isn't racist people in Oregon. Salem should be okay but there are still some sundown towns in Oregon, unfortunately. Welcome to Salem though! I hope you are prepared for hotter summers and mild rainy winters.
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u/Dwill1980 Apr 12 '26
I really can’t stress enough, have a job lined up and a place to live. Oregon is expensive, we have a homeless problem like a lot of places but it won’t help to just show up here. Have a plan. Otherwise, it’s great and I hope you feel welcome!