Forest Grove: Oregon's Best College Town

It’s official!

Forest Grove is the best college town in Oregon, according to Portland Business Journal readers.

The newspaper asked its readers last month to identify the best college town around — offering up choices of Forest Grove, Corvallis, Eugene, Portland and “other.”

Forest Grove dominated, with 59 percent of the final vote.

That’s no surprise to us.

Forest Grove, home to Pacific University, has everything you could want in an Oregon college town: great food, friendly neighbors, easy access to the outdoors (both the beach and Mt. Hood are about an hour away), bike-friendly roads, local wine and beer … and none of the pesky crowds or traffic of the big city.

Plus, Forest Grove is the original college town in these parts. Founded in 1849, Pacific was the first chartered university in Oregon, earning its creds a full decade before Oregon even became an official state.

At Pacific, we’re proud of all our hometowns — we also have campuses in Hillsboro, Eugene and Woodburn — and we’re not shy about it.

As the Portland Business Journal said: Never underestimate the willpower of a Boxer!