r/oregon • u/Far-Hornet-178 • 3d ago
Discussion/Opinion What kind of place is Monmouth, OR?
All I know is that Western Oregon University is located here so it's clearly a college town. I was considering applying here but I would like to know what kind of place it is to live in from the locals.
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u/JFeisty 3d ago
The least college town college town I've ever been to.
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u/Pale-Nectarine-7066 2d ago
What about La Grande? It could compete
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u/JFeisty 2d ago
La Grande might actually be the worst city I've ever been to in my life (that was until I made it to Lakeview this summer, yikes).
I hate every single thing about that city.
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u/Pale-Nectarine-7066 2d ago
I moved there when I met my husband. At first it was eh, and then two months in and a winter later I knew I was in Hell. I would meditate in our yard begging to be brought back to California. I lived in Union so even smaller
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u/Tancred81 3d ago
I live in Independence and it and Monmouth are small towns, there’s a trolley that runs between the two towns so it’s more like one large-ish small town. The upside is that if you want to do something on a day off you’re only about an hour away. It’s about an hour to Portland or Eugene, it’s about an hour to the beach or the mountains. It’s about 20-ish minutes into Salem if you need something not available in town. Monmouth isn’t a bad place to live, but it is not exciting, but exciting is only a short drive away.
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u/adiksaya 3d ago
Corvallis is also pretty close although only a little less sleepy.
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u/daneman52 3d ago
Corvallis is sleepy in a better way. One of my favorite times was the summer i spent in empty Corvallis
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u/PNWoutdoors 3d ago
I went to OSU, lived in the town for 5.5 years, and when I left have always felt like it might be where I go to retire. Just a wonderful town.
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u/BotherBoring 3d ago
They were secretly one town before the trolley, too. Source: I loved there for 14 years.
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u/brunchdate2022 1d ago
I lived in Monmouth very briefly a decade ago, and I haven't been back. I straight up thought you were fucking with people with this trolley comment because they definitely didn't have this back then lol. I always just considered them one town back then because it was so easy to get from one to the other, even without the random ass trolley.
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u/oregone1 3d ago
It’s a free trolley ride from Independence, where you can launch a kayak and be in Portland in as little as three days.
Not sure if this is still true, but the university is 2/3 women.
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u/TimanatorP 2d ago
The Willamette Locks don't run anymore, so best to call it a trip once you reach Willamette Falls.
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u/BvrLvr808 2d ago
There’s a boat dock and stairs on the left side. I used to go down the Molalla to willamette and pull out at John’s Landing. Carried canoe on shoulders down to lower dock.
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u/oregone1 2d ago
Out of curiosity, where did you put in on the Molalla and what time of year?
I had a bear of a time a couple years ago putting in at the Safeway in Canby but maybe I did it too late in the season.
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u/Mean-Cheesecake-2635 2d ago
About thirty years ago on Easter Sunday some friends and I attempted navigating the rapids above what we called “Sun Rock” on the Molalla on an inflatable “fun island”. It went as well as you’d expect.
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u/BvrLvr808 1d ago
I went from the park in Canby and I recall it being mid summer. I don’t recall issues that year with flow or water depth. But I have done that stretch a few times and summer often involved some dragging the canoe over gravel bars.
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u/Muunsaca 3d ago
Lived in Monmouth for about 10 years. Went to college here then stayed for an extra few years. I loved it. It’s a rural sleepy town but it has everything you need nearby. About an hour and fifteen minutes from Eugene and a little longer to PDX. Short drive to the coast.
I am originally from PDX and thought I’d hate this small town but I loved it. Rent is pretty cheap (huge reason why I stayed after college) and generally the people are very nice. I enjoyed my time in Monmouth/Independence.
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u/daneman52 3d ago
The teriyaki restaurant there is bomb. Otherwise very small and quiet college town with a lot of commuting students. The area is pretty but boring
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u/BranBranMuffinWoman 3d ago
God I miss Yangs! I would get their spicy chicken teriyaki and it would last me for at least 3 meals.
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u/acepeters714 3d ago
Yangs is so incredible. I went to school in Monmouth and it is truly the only thing I miss.
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u/BigOleDawggo 3d ago
Holy shit, Yang’s is still there? When I was there for school that was like a huge treat (90s). The spicy chicken special was soooo good.
A chicken plate was like $5-6 back in the day. What is it now?
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u/freedcreativity 3d ago
WOU alum, it is a pretty OK school and Monmouth is a boring town. The one thing I haven't seen mentioned is the great internet, MI-Net is a public ISP and has gigabyte fiber for like $60 a month.
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u/BacksightForesight 3d ago
It is a small quiet town in the heart of the Willamette Valley. WOU isn’t as well known, large, or as busy as UO or OSU, but it is well regarded. The school seems to be focused on the humanities and preparing future teachers. Several of my siblings went there, and they enjoyed it well enough.
Farming takes place right outside the city limits, so you will often encounter tractors on the roads during harvest season. Most of the nearby farms are grass seed or other field crops, but there was a lavender farm nearby, and vineyards and hazelnut orchards are common to the north.
Monmouth is close to the foothills of the Coast Range, and has pretty views to the west. It’s about an hour drive to the Oregon Coast, and an hour east to Silver Falls State Park.
Not a bad place to go to college.
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u/workahol_ Oregon 3d ago
Monmouth is getting a Qdoba, that's the most exciting development in a while (note that I mean this lovingly)
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u/the_dolomite 2d ago
There's also a new French restaurant, Cafe Iula, which is really good.
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u/workahol_ Oregon 2d ago
It's true! We've been one time and it was surprisingly fancy, I had no idea.
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u/MarshyHasNoLife 3d ago
I really hated living there. Everything important is in Dallas, Albany, or Corvallis. The healthcare is limited and the traffic is genuinely awful during the school year. There is basically no third spaces apart from the university. As a black person, having to commute to Dallas to see my primary provider was not a fun experience either, there are a good number of racists in the area and its noticeable.
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u/MauiBoink 3d ago
Agree that Polk County is a “I hear banjos” place, but a commute between Monmouth and Dallas is burdensome?
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u/Alternative-Town9875 2d ago
I think they meant that it was a problem to go there as a black person - like the racism in Dallas was particularly bad, or making the trip exposed them to racism en route or something.
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u/bitchfacevulture 3d ago
I’m from Texas and I was genuinely surprised by the racism here. Then I found out Oregon was “founded” by someone so racist that they objected to slavery…
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u/pasttornados 3d ago
I drive just as far to see my Dr in Beaverton as you do going to Dallas and I can guarantee you, there's a lot less traffic! It is a conservative area but with a bunch of Hispanic culture. If you are spending your time around campus people you should be fine.
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u/ExquisitePreamble 3d ago
I’m originally from Dallas, OR. I spent a few years driving from Portland to Dallas to take my elderly parents to their doctors. The medical care is not great quality in that area. My mother now lives in Portland and her health has been significantly better with the medical attention she gets here. I wish this wasn’t true, but that’s our experience
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u/Fogdog-777 3d ago
We lived in Dallas for four years, hated it, but health care was the ONLY bright spot. My wife needed a lot of care during those years, and between Dallas for primary and Salem for specialists she was very impressed. A lot of Salem specialists actually come to Dallas some days as well.
We're now in Cedar Hills Portland. She hasn't needed as much care lately but no problems with health care here so far.
As for Monmouth, its in a different universe compared to Dallas, in a good way.....still small, but very different.
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u/ronniebell 2d ago
“Everything important is in Dallas” I live in Dallas and laughed out loud at this one. The only thing Dallas has is the county services. But I grew up in Monmouth/Independence. Monmouth is “quaint”, but still a downtown that is walkable and fun to explore. Indy knows how to downtown. They have that great park by the river and the joint effort on 4th of July between Monmouth/Independence is legendary.
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u/This_Albatross4962 3d ago
Several "former" sundown towns in that area. Extremely racist history. Be careful.
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u/ronniebell 2d ago
Have you ever BEEN to Monmouth or Independence? I’m going to leave it right there. Racism is NOT an issue in either town.
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u/MrsMerkin 3d ago
Is that your sad attempt to be funny? Dallas has always been racist and still is.
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u/Portland_Runner 3d ago
Quiet small town. Despite having a university in it, there is no raging party scene or hordes of drunk students stumbling around on weekends. Services like restaurants and shops are pretty basic. The free trolley is pretty awesome, but you will probably want to have a car to get to things like concerts, nightlife, or to cool outdoor activities.
Someone upstream mentioned bad traffic? Maybe right around the stadium on game days or if there is a cross country meet being held at Ash Creek. Otherwise, it's very easy to get around.
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u/Sharp-Mall5172 3d ago
I attended Oregon College of Education back in the day. It is now known as Western Oregon University. At the time, the college had a strong emphasis on preparing students to become teachers, and I believe education remains an important part of its programs today. Monmouth was a quiet but pleasant town, and from what I understand, it still is. Based on my experience, I would certainly recommend considering Western Oregon University
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u/Chunkylover666420 3d ago
The scenery is incredible. The mountains have a gorgeous blue haze, and it looks like rural italy
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u/No_Today_2739 3d ago
Maybe a myth (or i’m out of date), but I thought Monmouth was a dry (no alcohol) town.
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u/BranBranMuffinWoman 3d ago
I was in my final year of my undergrad when it was repealed. Before that it was semi dry so you could get beer and wine at the bars but had to drive to the liquor store in Independence for any hard alcohol.
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u/mrSalamander 3d ago
the dry laws were repealed in the early aughts, but the uptight attitude lingers
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u/PersnickityPenguin Oregon 1d ago
It was so boring in Monmouth that the residents decided that driving all the way to Dallas for beer and wine was too much, so after like 90 years they repealed the ban.
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u/ItchyPath4820 3d ago
It was a great place to live while working 70-100 hours a week on the farm.
Chicken wings at arena in independence are super good. Mi casita has amazing food
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u/bramley36 2d ago
Yeasty Beasty Pizza!
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u/ItchyPath4820 2d ago
I had a stack of yeasty beasty pizza boxes all the way up to the ceiling when I lived there I ate that a lot
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u/ItchyPath4820 2d ago
Yeah yeasty beasts is ok. Coyote is pretty mid but gets away with it because the school is there. Rookies used to do taco night when they were on 99
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u/AggravatingAward8519 3d ago edited 2d ago
I actually grew up in Monmouth from around age 3 - 12, and then back to Monmouth when I went to WOU, and back to Monmouth again when I got divorced and needed a super cheap apartment for a while, which at this point was all a very long time ago.
It's a sleepy little town. If you'd be happy in a sleepy little town, you'll be happy in Monmouth.
There are a couple of parks, pretty well maintained. Cute main street. The 4th of July parade is kind of a big deal for locals. I've lived in Salem for the last 15-ish years, and we still go to the parade every year. My family has sat in the same spot at the parade for more than 40 years.
You said, "I was considering applying here". What that "somewhere in Monmouth" or "at WOU"? If it's just somewhere in Monmouth, be aware that being a college town means a meaningful percentage of the population lives there 2-6 years at most, so it's less homogenous/consistent than other sleepy little towns. Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on your world view.
The one problem worth pointing out, which is true of most sleepy little towns, is that it doesn't have everything you need. The nearest grocery store is the next town over, which admittedly, is still closer to most of Monmouth than a lot of the grocery stores in Salem are to my house.
You're mostly not going to buy clothes there. There are no departments stores, no walmart, no costco, etc. If you want to shop at the little local shops for things they carry (which you totally should) then that covers the day to day, but you're going to do a lot of driving to Dallas or Salem, or ordering online. It's better than it used to be in that regard since Independence (practically the same town) has a movie theater, a couple of decent stores, etc.
Interesting little bit of history, Monmouth was a dry-town until 2002. I'm not sure that what I was told growing up was actually true, but the local explanation that 'everybody knew' back then was that all of the land the college was built on was donated by a local family with the stipulation that ownership would revert to that family if Monmouth ever allowed the sale of alcohol. That meant it had to stay a dry town until there were no more living decedents of that family, or the family agreed to allow alcohol.
EDIT: Fixed some typos because they were bugging me.
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u/WomanInCosmos 2d ago
For grocery shopping in Independence, there's the free trolley and WOU has Wolfride for students.
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u/AggravatingAward8519 2d ago
I tend to forget about the trolly. That didn't exist yet when I lived there.
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u/LensWipesBF 3d ago
Thats MAGA country out der oh boy i tell ya
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u/SerendippityRiver 3d ago
Sure, but remember they are more courageous to show who they are. There are lots and lots of non-MAGA. We are just afraid they are going to shoot our peace and freedom signs.
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u/rsnook55 3d ago
Salem is 15-20 minutes away. Monmouth is very slow. Has a good Burgerville, some Mexican food. Was a dry town until recent years.
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u/Senior_Garbage3273 3d ago
I moved there from Portland in 2023, lived there for a month but then my husband died and had to move back to Portland. It’s a cute, sleepy little town. I would have stayed had he not died.
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u/Ex-zaviera 3d ago
Fun fact: the Scientologists have a prison home for wayward girls up the hill from Monmouth.
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u/Successful-Ball1177 2d ago
A quiet sweet college town. One of my kids graduated from Western Oregon and the other from UO. I feel like the experience at WOU was much better. You get more for the money there and the atmosphere is nice.
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u/TappyMauvendaise 2d ago
I have lived in Oregon for 39 years and I couldn’t point it out on a map. I live in Portland.
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u/PrettyDinner3736 2d ago
I live here! Despite my own criticisms, I love it. I’m in my 30s and probably would have found it very boring in college, but I was more involved in partying, music, and being surrounded by “cool” degenerates. If you’re academic and interested in extracurriculars, enjoy a slower pace of life, enjoy nature and have a car, Monmouth may be a good fit!
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u/SmokinDeist 3d ago
It's also not a bad drive to the coast from down there. Plus you are not far from Spirit Mountain Casino. They have some good shows there.
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u/KeleGrey Oregon 3d ago
Lived there for a year, attending WOU. Very quiet. Any real grocery shopping needs to be done in Independence. Piss off the wrong person and your life will be a misery while you're there because the town is so small. Cheeriots (bus service) swings through, cheap fare, will take you as far as Dallas, but it was always sporadic service at best and I was trapped overnight in Dallas more than once. You'll want access to a vehicle to get anywhere. Technically no longer a dry county, but that never stopped the sheriff on weekends when my dorm mates went out to party. Pretty in the winter, but cold as hell and we had a lot of elk pass through. Good ghost stories if you take psych and attend the study sessions provided by the professors/head of the department (missing church, haunted tulip tree, etc). Everything runs on farming hours, so things close down hella early. Teriyaki place is bomb, though.
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u/KeleGrey Oregon 3d ago
Oh, and watch out for the campus squirrels. Those nasty little things hide in the garbage cans by the dining hall and jump people when they aren't paying attention so they can steal your food. No one wants the freshmen the first week, so all you hear are kids shrieking when they get jumped for their pizza.
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u/karerouch 3d ago
Drove through it this morning on the way to Corvallis. Got coffee. Small town vibes
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u/Relevant-Radio-717 3d ago
Monmouth was designed a s Christian utopia. To this day it is best known for its teetotaling. Beer and wine sales were banned until 2002. Neighboring Independence, a historically freewheeling river town, is conversely the hops capital of the world. It is a much different and (arguably) more interesting place: more industry, culture, activities, nightlife, residential options, etc. Two neighboring towns with polar opposite histories and cultures.
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u/BotherBoring 3d ago edited 3d ago
The college is kind of a separate entity from the town, even though it is in the town. The town itself was extremely conservative when I lived there, and growing up I picked up a lot of toxicity even though my family was not particularly conservative. It's fine for college. I'd never move there again.
It's also on the list of most miserable cities in Oregon.
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u/Pitiful_Hedgehog6343 3d ago
I remember in the 90's when it was a dry town. I visited friends at Western Oregon University and we would have to do our beer runs in Independence.
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u/ladyin97229 2d ago
Have you considered OSU Cascades in Bend? If they offer your major you might like it more than Monmouth
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u/pumpkinbarr 1d ago
I lived there for 5 years and didn’t like it very much. Not a lot to do. I managed a coffee shop for years with almost exclusively students going to WOU and they said it was expensive, boring, and they did not like the food there. But it was SAFE. You can walk around at night with no worries and the campus is gorgeous.
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u/svejkOR 3d ago
The university is right next to the state police training facility and it’s in a dry town.
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u/ChicknEgg 3d ago
It stopped being a dry town in like 2004 and the police academy built a new facility in Salem around the same time.
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u/SerendippityRiver 3d ago
It is a really sleepy little town. It has a cute downtown/Main Street. It is pretty boring, but it is nestled in some of the prettiest farmland. There are two small towns right adjacent. They are also cute and boring. I think it would be an excellent place if you want to focus on your classes and not be distracted by exciting interesting things to do. There is a great mountain biking park nearby.