Independence
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11/1/2009
For a town of ~9k people the amenities are good; this is also helped by state college Western Oregon University in the neighboring city of Monmouth(all within a 3-mile bubble).
There is an Residential Airpark, a waterfront park (which hosts many events in the summer months and a great fourth of July event), there are 10+ restaurants in Independence, a 8(?)-Room movie theater, a bowling alley, good school district, and good grocery shopping (Roths/Winco).
Nearby amenities are Sushi/Bi-mart/Fast Food/University(Plays/Football, etc) in Monmouth(~10 mins), Safeway/Wal-mart in Dallas (~12 miles away), Oregon State University (~30-40 mins), the Pentacle Theatre/Lots of Restaurants in West Salem (~15 Mins), Salem Center Mall in Salem (~20-30 mins), 1 1/2 hours from the Beach, 1 1/2 Hours from Portland International Airport.
I really like Independence, it has all the necessary creature comforts such as a movie theater, restaurants, and decent "living" stores (grocery/home stores), everything else is within a short drive... from living in a big city I know it took me about 25-30 minutes with in-city traffic and parking to make it to the mall anyways.
SG | Independence, OR