We all know that Oregon has got some pretty great stuff going on. Shakespeare festivals, beautiful nature to explore, fascinating people, and awesome food are pretty much everywhere to be found. Seriously, Oregon is really really awesome.
But there are some pretty boring places there, too.
And no, we’re not talking about
Boring, OR (that place is actually kinda cool). There are, in fact, 10 other actual boring places that the
Movoto Real Estate Blog decided to locate and look into. We tried to keep our eyes open as we researched each of the most dull places in this otherwise great state, and at last found ourselves a top 10—or maybe bottom 10—list.
The most yawn-inducing places in the state were:
1.
City of Woodburn
2. CDP of Four Corners
3. CDP of Hayesville (tie)
3. CDP of Bethany (tie)
5. CDP of Altamont
6.
City of Cornelius
7.
City of Albany
8. CDP of Oak Hills
9.
City of Gladstone
10. CDP of Oatfield
Now, before you fly off the handle about this ranking, there’s something you should keep in mind. Many of these places are beautiful, loving, tight-knit communities that offer safety and togetherness for all who live there.
We’re not saying any of these places are bad, and in all likelihood, the people that live there adore their homes like no other. What we are saying is that these places aren’t exactly the hub of wild and crazy-fun times. So, if you like peace and quiet, these places are probably for you.
If you’d like to see where your hometown ranked, you can check the table at the bottom of this article. And if you want to know how we calculated excitement versus boredom, you can check out our methodology in the section below. That is, of course, if you can stay awake that long.
How We Created This Ranking
We know math is often considered a boring subject, but that’s how we went about creating this Big Deal List
First, we made a list of the most populated places in Oregon over 10,000 people, which was 54, and then turned to sources like business listings and the U.S. Census (2010) in order to get data for criteria that we decided indicated excitement. Those criteria were:
- Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
- Live music venues per capita
- Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
- Arts and Entertainment per capita (movie theaters, festivals, galleries, theaters, etc.)
- Fast Food restaurants per capita (the fewer, the less boring)
- Percentage of restaurants that are not fast food (the higher, the less boring)
- Percentage of young residents ages 18 to 34 (the higher, the less boring)
- Population density (the higher, the less boring)
Once we had this data, we ranked each place in each category from one to 54, with numbers closer to one being less boring.
From there, we averaged each place’s rankings into one
Big Deal Score. The place with the score closest to one was the most exciting, and the place with the score closest to 54 was the least exciting.
Just in case you’re curious about any of these rather dull locales, let’s take a look more in depth at why each was a great place for naps and relaxing, but not for fun and excitement.
1. Woodburn
First things first, this place is crazy pretty. During the yearly Tulip Festival? Probably twice as pretty. Unfortunately for this little city, pretty does not necessarily mean exciting.
Strictly by the numbers, this place fared poorly across the board. Yes, it was home to only 24,080 people, but it still had very few young folks, next to no nightlife or music venues, and a seriously lacking restaurant scene.
Even the active life options here ranked a dismal 36th, so whether it’s rainy, sunny, hot, or cold, you’re not going to have much variety in things to do.
There was a small arts scene here, which is pretty cool, including some lovely dance academies and artists, but even that wasn’t enough to save this place from being the most boring spot in Oregon.
2. Four Corners
This place might sound like it has an interesting name, but the reality is kind of a disappointment. Four Corners was just named after the intersection of State Street and Lancaster Drive, so there’s nothing too special there, really.
Four Corners is closer to the much more exciting city of
Salem, but being close to fun and thrills doesn’t make you thrilling on your own. This place is much better for kicking back, taking it easy, and letting the world roll by without you. Relaxing, yes. Exciting, no.
To back that up, this place had a whole lot of nothing going on. No real nightlife, music, arts, active, or young scene existed here.
In fact, the only area Four Corners scored well in was population density, but when there’s nothing to do, having a bunch of people packed in tight really doesn’t do much.
3. Haysville
Haysville does have thrills and excitement right in its backyard, but the place itself is pretty much boresville.
The young population here is crazy high, with almost a quarter of people being between the ages of 18 and 34, so there’s at least some serious growth potential for excitement in the future.
The place is also pretty packed, ranking 18th for population density, but beyond that there’s really not much here. Some boring fast food, not much of an arts or music scene, and no real nightlife keep this a place to drive through rather than stop at.
3. Bethany
Tied for third most boring, Bethany is actually home to some pretty great schools and a lovely library. While both of those are educational and awesome, they don’t exactly factor into excitement.
There was no restaurant scene here, no arts scene, and no real nightlife or music venues for party people to rock out at. The population was very spread out, and was mostly older, ranking 34th for young population. So this place was definitely what you might call a sleepy locale.
While the 20,646 people who live here will probably speak highly of its community and environment, the most exciting thing about this place was probably its proximity to
Portland. Oh well, at least when you get bored, it’s easy to head someplace more exciting, right?
5. Altamont
The good: this place had some pretty decent BBQ around, and it was close to the very exciting
Klamath Falls. The bad: On its own, this place was pretty much dullsville central.
The population was mostly older, the population density ranked 34th, and any late night partygoers would be sorely disappointed. There was no real nightlife or music venues to pick from, and even the arts options were severely lacking.
The city was possibly named after a famous trotting horse, which is a little interesting (we guess), but for anything more fascinating and fun than that, you’re probably going to have to drive to someplace else.
6. Cornelius
As a suburb of Portland, this little place is close to pretty much everything, and even has a few perks of its own.
It’s lovely, caring, and has a pretty great library too. As far as great communities, you could do a whole lot worse, especially with merely 11,869 locals around.
However, if you’re the partying type, this it isn’t for you. The nightlife and music scene were pretty nonexistent, ranking 36th and 23rd respectively, and the active life was lacking, save for a few cute parks. Even the arts were pretty few and far between, so the more cultured types might feel a little starved.
Speaking of starved, foodies are definitely not going to fare well here. While there was a lack of fast food, there was a distinct lack of any really unique food at all. Okay, we’ll definitely tip our hats to Happy Garden Chinese, because they’re pretty awesome all on their own.
7. Albany
We’ll admit, this one was a bit of a surprise. Albany was the biggest place in our boring top 10, at 50,158 people, but it still really didn’t have much to offer to those always looking for their next thrill.
Yes, there were many lovely parks, and the active life amenities didn’t totally fail, but that’s about all that was going on here.
The population was mostly older, and the density was one of the poorest on our list, ranked 50th. The nightlife was lacking, as was the music scene, and there were many fast food places compared to the few, unique, delicious restaurants like Pepper Tree Sausage House and Vault 244.
We do hear that it’s in the process of revitalizing its downtown, so this place could easily become more excitement in the coming years. But until it gets to that point, it’s still better for being mellow rather than being super-energized.
8. Oak Hills
This place definitely has history on its side. A neighbor of Bethany, Oak Hills is a historic neighborhood and is full of pretty interesting landmarks and architecture.
Besides that, though, you’re definitely going to have to look hard to find something to do for fun.
The population here was decently young, ranking 16th, and the population density was pretty high, ranking 12th. But beyond those two scores, the fun stops. There was little to no nightlife or music, and trying to find active life amenities to choose from would definitely be a chore.
For safety and some small town love, this is a pretty good choice. But if you want food, music, and good times, we recommend you head over to Portland instead.
9. Gladstone
This city was tiny, at merely 11,497 people, and it definitely had plenty of small-city pride, community, and personality.
It even had some ok restaurants, like the KB Teriyaki Grill or Stanley’s Corner. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to keep Gladstone off the boring list.
There was no selection of nightlife here, no music scene, and a very lacking creative vibe, with the arts ranking 46th. There were some active life options here, and that makes sense considering how picturesque this little place was, but with a ranking of 21st, that’s still not too great.
Probably the most telling is that Gladstone had the 48th place ranking for young population and the 33rd ranking for population density, so the young, wild, and crazy vibe is just not to be found here.
10. Oatfield
At only 13,415 locals, it’s easy to see how this Portland neighbor can be a little more about the peace and quiet rather than the hustle and bustle, but locals will probably tell you they like it that way.
Well, except for the locals looking for a nightlife scene, considering there isn’t one. Or anyone there who is into music or arts, because there’s a serious lack of those, too.
The population here was kind of young, ranking 14th in that area, so you can bet there are plenty of lively youngsters here, bored out of their skulls.
For fun, you'll probably be headed over to Portland, especially if you’re a foodie. Oatfield was definitely a restaurant dead spot, so if you’re looking to tickle your tastebuds, you best look elsewhere.
Boring In The Beaver State
As we said before, these boring spots are ideal for peace and quiet. They offer relaxation, a place to clear your head, and often very safe and welcoming communities.
But if you want to keep your finger on the pulse of life, have fun until the early hours of the morning, and indulge in culture of all sorts, these are not the places for you.
Might we suggest you choose these as places to take a break from the world, for as long as you can stand the boredom.
Featured Image Source: Flickr user Eli Duke
