[Superman]

Yes, there are hippies in Eugene. That's part of the ambiance. I certainly do not want to inject politics into this thread, but the approach taken by liberals and conservatives toward education and critical thinking has been discussed ad nauseum, and the liberals have captured that territory. Colleges and their professors are frustratingly liberal, from the perspective of conservatives. There seems to be a connection. And so.....the observation that a host community might lean toward the liberal side should not be disconcerting.

Oregon is a terrific state, and Eugene is a darling town. It is beautiful there. The community is active. It is small enough to be quaint. Big enough to not be boring. One hour from the ocean.

I have friends in Eugene, and I have always liked the town. I can recall stopping there for coffee during a motorcycle trip as a young man several hundred years ago and being instantly impressed by the cleanliness, lush vegetation and happy faces.

I also appreciate the CC approach to the first two years of college. Why spend the additional moolah? I never attended a CC though, and my social experience as a Freshman at a full university was memorable to say the least. There is a reason universities are sometimes referred to as Alma Mater. It's a halfway house between mommy and the cruel world.