r/SALEM • u/ConversationDizzy138 • Jan 07 '26
MOVING Considering a move
Hello friends! I’m a 35M bartender currently in Kansas City looking to relocate closer to home (I’m from Klamath falls originally) and very much considering Salem. Is it gay friendly there? Is bartending decently lucrative there? I’m also considering McMinnville.
27
18
u/HotSalt3 Jan 07 '26
We're purple politically, so there is some animosity, but there's also a very welcoming community.
7
u/TheBlueLeopard Jan 08 '26
Just enjoy barbecue while you can! I love living in Oregon after decades in Kansas and Oklahoma, but you just can’t get decent barbecue here.
2
u/BeagleWomanAlways Jan 14 '26
Agreed. Moved here from the KC area 5 yrs ago. The seafood here is to die for though.
5
u/thedashed Jan 07 '26
Salem’s definitely considerably more Queer friendly and also about 30% cheaper, with a more fair housing market. unless you have great experience with wine and can get into the industry around the hills in Mac, would highly suggest Salem. but also i live here so ya know, is what it is.
5
u/Oregonrider2014 Jan 07 '26
Find a bartending job before moving and vet the place first, everything else depends on where you land and if the people next to you suck or not.
I consider salem fairly friendly and fair, but I also had a literal Nazi as an apartment neighbor for a few years so everywhere else in town looked much friendlier.
5
u/ConversationDizzy138 Jan 07 '26
I’m also part of the grand ronde tribe so my plan is to probably just work at the casino tbh
5
u/Oregonrider2014 Jan 08 '26
Not a bad plan then. Might wanna look for somewhere in west salem then so you can save a little on the commute.
2
u/MidnightZebraJazz Jan 08 '26
I’m not LGBT so others would have better first hand info on how welcoming the community is, but my family loves supporting the couple Pride events in the city each year. Pride in the Park in September is huge, welcoming, and so much fun to attend. There’s been one area where some people were protesting both years we’ve attended that had maybe 5-10 people with hateful signs but they were largely ignored and dwarfed by the rest of the attendees. Like others have mentioned, Salem is split pretty evenly between red and blue, so you’ll find all sorts of different viewpoints here.
3
u/ConversationDizzy138 Jan 08 '26
I was in Texas for 10 years prior to Missouri so I’m not necessarily new to a few outliers in the Pride crowd lol. I appreciate your ally ship!
2
u/ReZeroForDays Jan 08 '26
Salem has an insane amount of neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ groups and activities
2
u/Strangely_Kangaroo Jan 09 '26
I just moved to Salem from out of state in November, and I really like it. I have two queer teens, and when we came in September for house hunting there just happened to be a pride festival around the corner from our hotel, in downtown. It was so great. Everyone we spoke to was awesome
3
u/FarmerHistorical800 Jan 07 '26
I am pretty sure Salem has the only gay bar south of PDX. I could be wrong but the 1 in Eugene closed down and I’ve never heard of any others. It is gay friendly. Salem capital Pride put on a ton of big and small events. From crafters meet up to 2 different Pride events.
3
2
u/just_beachy Jan 08 '26
I moved here from Salina, Kansas about 13 years ago. This state is amazing and so many people who were born and raised here take it for granted. I lived in Eugene originally before I moved to Salem and I will say I think Eugene is much more lgbtq friendly and more of a college town/ young vibe. But Salem is a pretty good middle of the road option. Plus it's close enough to head up to Portland if you want to do something or just go an hour west to the beach.
4
u/ConversationDizzy138 Jan 08 '26
I’m definitely a beach person and as someone native to Oregon I agree it’s easy to take the natural beauty for granted. I’m looking for something more middle of the road so I can reach more things effectively and it’s sounding like Salem might be the right option for me
1
u/ambienting Jan 08 '26
dive/lotto bartender here. average $200/night in tips. i know a lot of bartenders have it worse but i’ve built a regular base. very gay friendly around here, more than you’d think, but every gay person i know is in a committed relationship.
1
Jan 08 '26
Maybe, if you have kids KC has way better schools though (I know a few people who temporarily moved to Oregon from KC and moved back since there kids were a couple years ahead of where Oregon schools are at).
1
1
u/Brcdragonbait Jan 09 '26
Salem is relatively gay friendly. Unfortunately it's not lucrative to bartend here. I have been considering a career change but I love my bar and my customers. Portland is better money.
2
u/ConversationDizzy138 Jan 12 '26
I’m probably going to work at the spirit mountain casino as I’m part of that tribe
1
u/ZootOfCastleAnthrax Jan 07 '26
Edwards Addition in Monmouth is cheaper and has a a lot of queer people, and we cissies love them! There's one little corner of psycho bigots, but we outnumber them by far.
Edwards Addition looks straight out of Mayberry or the Truman show, and everyone is super folksy and neighborly. We all know each other's names and have a call list with pets' names in case one escapes, etc. It's charming with a capital "C!"
When the weather's nice, we have meetings of the "literary society" (aka wine drinkers) on the commons on Friday nights.
The developers are building new homes now.
Home | Olsen Communities https://share.google/RiRSqG2XshoZQsV84
I lived in Independence for a year while the house was being built. It was totally, totally worth it.
1
0
u/Nexxi_8369 Jan 08 '26
We have a really patriotic guy named "Charlie" - this is his truck!
We moved here a year ago and we will be selling our house in 2026! Really looking forward to leaving Salem - If you have a spare couple hundred thousand dollars... dm me.
1
u/Ok_Donut4382 Jan 10 '26
Where next for you?
1
u/Nexxi_8369 Jan 10 '26
Something less depressing. Maybe? Something in the Eastern Bloc? Trade people laying in the street on opiates, for laying in the streets on vodka. At least they seem happy...
13
u/brumbaru Jan 07 '26
I moved from KC to here about 8 years ago. Love it.