The only question I get is "how do we get too"? Visitors all over the city looking at maps that must not be very user friendly. I also have to laugh when a so called tour guide,tells visitors that Rockafellas is haunted.

Not what you would expect. All the Witch Shops were driven out of town with the rental increase designed to get them out. A few still operating but tourists will be really disappointed this October. Soon tourism will be minimal as more and more up scale pooch and clothing stores replace the reason for tourism...the witches!

Salem is what it has always been! A Joke there is no personal reason to come here unless you want over priced food, tours and for residents over priced rent and taxes. I moved out of Salem cause there was no control on Rental Prices and there Section 8 Program is the largest in the nation and won't accept you unless your in the Mayors Club of folks.

Nick Finestone, your comment was deleted for flagrantly violating our terms of use.

salem has alot to offer everyone from its past and present. if a tourist asks i just tell them the truth not the made up crap in the tourist joints.if they ask where to go for history i send them to derby wharf and the pem. both those places cover it all.

I tell them to ignore the witch-themed stuff and enjoy it for what it is, a coastal New England community with a few cool places to shop and eat.

Donna: Your very insulting to say that a tourist who is interested in Witchcraft is not high caliber. I originally came there because of the witch shoppes over 10 years ago but fell in love with the history, architecture, restaurants, regular shops and the community. Salem felt like home to me as soon as I stepped in the city. I find my self to be a high caliber person with varied interests and so are other family of mine and friends who come their frequently. I always came in October because my birthday is in the month but I continue to come at different times of the year. Not for nothing but tourism dollars are the same color as every other dollar. If people come originally for the witchcraft its my belief that they come back for other things that they find in Salem that makes Salem a wonderful city. Don't judge others for their beliefs.

How would you feel,as a resident,to recommend a freind to come to Salem and have them see the drunks ,needles,traffic and so on? I would like to know what the tourists think.

As new resident, having been in Salem for just a handful of weeks now, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised. Salem has a lot to offer including a great downtown area with many excellent shops and dining establishments. So far I have met many wonderful people, strangers who are open to chatting and engaging in conversation- which is often hard to come by nowadays. I have yet to experience the horror of tourism season at it's height but I would encourage tourists to come to Salem outside the traditional visiting season. Although the quirky witch stories may drive tourists to our home there's so much more to see beyond the witch museums.

As a new resident I would encourage tourists to take advantage of all Salem has to offer. Sure, if ghost tours interest you then of course partake, however recognize that Salem has a rich history in addition to the (embellished) stories of the witch trials. My hope is that beyond the initial attraction tourists are inclined to dig deeper and delve into the historical sites and maritime landmarks which truly make Salem unique.

I confess that I used to be the Ebenezer Scrooge of Halloween. But after twenty years in the city as an adult (I came back from college just in time for the tercentenary) I feel like Salem and I have both changed. I disagree with whoever was griping about the witch businesses being driven out by high rents; there seem to be plenty of them as far as I can see, and the ones that have vanished have been replaced by businesses that can operate year round—that's an incredible change from 1992, when vacant store fronts almost seemed to be the norm (some people can even complain about a sunrise, I guess). How I answer the question depends a lot on whether I am being asked what it is like to live here, vs what it is like to visit here as a tourist. The former question is easy (I love it!), but the latter question I usually have to follow up with some questions of my own about what the potential visitor is interested in. I try to let people know, nicely, that there is a much bigger history to Salem than the Witch Trials, and that the actual Trials have nothing directly to do with actual magic, wicca, paganism, the tarot or Halloween. But I have also learned not to judge. If a grown person wants to walk around in a Halloween costume in broad daylight in mid-September, who am I to judge that?

It's nice to see a few posts on here that are positive. Salem has it's issues just like any other city but I swear some of the people on here would gripe about a unicorn sitting on a pot of gold in their front yard! It used to be all the bitter, pessimistic rants were on the SNews site but now a fair number of them have found their way over to Patch.

As to the topic of discussion, I take a very similar approach to Antoine. Find out what they are interested in. Direct them that way and also mention the varied history of Salem, the PEM and the places to go for dinner and music.

I love Salem and describe it as a gateway city to the rest of the North Shore. At ~45,000 people, it has a lot to offer for it's size. Artsy and cultural, Salem also has a rich maritime history. The PEM is amazing. Although much of the witch controversy took place in what is now Danvers, I thoroughly enjoy all of the wiccan wonders, new age metaphysics, and Halloween hooplah. The citizens care about the community and the mayor is incredibly devoted to making Salem a better place. The fact that Salem was asked to hold the North Shore Pride parade (and the overwhelming turnout at the parade) speaks volumes about the people and the culture in Salem. Drawbacks: lack of good dive bars and over-nosiness.

I've only lived in Salem for 3 years. I have a lot of friends and family on the west coast who come to visit us and they're always asking me what Salem is like and what they should do. I tell everyone that it's an adorable little New England town where I can walk to one of my favorite breakfast places in the morning, or go take a walk on the wharf, and say hello to the friendly people I have met who walk by. We get a few beers in the evening and listen to great music in the summer, and shop at the farmers market, enjoy some ice cream, etc. The month of October is high energy and absolutely crazy but it's a blast. I tell everyone I know to come visit here and experience the amazing atmosphere and rich history. My out-of-town guests love it!
However, living here, and trying to start a business in Salem is cut-throat and almost everyone is out to get you. Rent is too high for a seasonal city and there are way too many pointless laws, ordinances, and opinionated people. Some things haven't changed since 1692.

I love Salem. That's all. This is why I live and own a business here.

We love Salem! My husband is originally from Long Island and I from a town in Ct. called Naugatuck.
Surprisingly we found out that Naugatuck was called Salem way back when!
We love the way there is always different things to do.
We love when our friends visit from other states because they fall in love with it too.
You can find many interesting things to do,the PEM is excellent.Right now they are celebrating Ansel Adams incredible photography.
We have a great farmers market on thurs. nights.Salem State has fabulous people like Maya Angelou.
Movies on the green,a great Mayor who really cares about Salem.
A ship called Fame that is wonderful to go for a sail.
Ferry service to Boston!!
Many,many more beautiful dog parks and parks for children.
Trolleys,great restaurants.
Salem is awesome, if you don't enjoy all it has to offer you are not getting out enough to the right places! :-)

Salem is a place of arbitrary depth and fascination particularly for a town this size. There are layers and veils of community that don't even know that the others exist. The hipsters and the punks and the lawyers and the brahmins and the old money cogniscenti and the witchy-kitchy set and the yuppies and the townies and the Puentistas and party kids from Salem State and whomever. They all pass through the town like separate animation cells, set on overlays, not intersecting, over the background of 350+ years of history they don't even appreciate -- most of them -- as the foundation of their lives, thrumming under every day's rhythms and events, the petty rivalries, the politics, the ripples and even the cracks in the sidewalks, the patterns of the tides in the oddly hemmed in waterways. How odd that the richest town in North America, the beacon of liberal free trade and internationalism, blasted to its knees, would later be remembered only for the ignomy of the Danvers witch hysteria, which never involved witches? This town lost more riches than the China trade over the last 150 years, and most of the newcomers don't really understand why the witch's robes make some of the people here blush. It's not necessarily about you, folks. It's about what you came here and didn't bother to learn, and distract everyone else from learning.

TJ, I live in The Point. It's noisy, but it isn't unsafe if you mind your own business.

Most of the crime in the Point is petty property crime, or violence among people who know one another -- it is not the crime I left closer to Boston -- assaults on strangers, for kicks/money and/or due to mental health or drug issues.

People who freak out about it are prissy. Appreciate what an oasis this is. My old neighborhood outside Davis Square had rents 150%-200% higher than in the Point, and a crime rate much higher. The crime in the Point is just about exactly that of the area around the Harvard science library and Cambridge Rindge and Latin high school -- not your high crime zone -- an area of Cambridge known for seven figure condos, just east of Harvard Square.

Research public policy and statistics instead skin and the languages, stop moaning that things change, and you might find that working on strategies to *adapt* was a more positive mode than the panicky way that you deal today. Instead, most people in Salem -- dare I say the majority -- demonize the poor -- dare I say the minorities. It was the same (for you history buffs) when Catholics first arrived, or any new ethnic group -- yet the traders out of Salem profited as well as they did because of their fame in communicating well and dealing fairly with persons of all cultures they encountered.

Why is it that Salem had such clear vision abroad, and has such poor vision reading our best interests close up?

I think some people's post have already been deleted. But in addition to what Shava says in rebuttal, I think it is fair to say that some people who are unhappy in Salem, probably would be unhappy anywhere in Greater Boston. Particularly the Wiccans require a lot more "live and let live" than people from some other parts of the country are prepared for. And understanding the point neighborhood requires both racial and cultural tolerance that is often in distressingly short supply from people whose ancestors were distrusted immigrants only a few generations ago. As for the crime rate: on friday, seven people were arrested people in Salem; less than half that number were arrested on anything that could be called a felony; all but one of them had names that clearly marked them out as Anglos. It's just one day, but I think it's pretty average.

I like Salem overall.......But it use to only cost $1.65 for a cup of coffe at the local DDs.....but with the new parking meter its now $ 1.65 plus 75 cents an hour to park there...there must be at least 50 new parking meters....thank you salem.

I moved to Salem in 1995 & purchased a home in 1997 in the Derby Wharf neighborhood. Salem feels like home to me & I am more than happy to sit & chat with tourists who are looking for things to do. I usually tell them to jump on a trolley & take a narrated tour & let them know they can jump on & off all day, stopping at places that really interest them. If you can't be happy & proud of the city you live in, you're probably miserable & should move!

As an outsider who has yet to visit your town thank you all for giving your honest opinions. There are so many sides to Salem and so many points of view about it depending on who you are and whether you like or dislike the town.

Salem has limitless potentially. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Mayor Driscoll. She is singlehandedly retarding the growth of this great City. Her schools are a mess, her budget is a joke, her police and fire are stretched thin, her myopic view towards business (we're business friendly, as long as that business is a bar) is both narrowminded and extraordinarily dangerous from an ability to withstand economic swings through business diversity standpoint - all in all, she's a nightmare.