Eugene, Oregon is the second third largest city in the state of Oregon, behind Portland, and recently, Salem. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, Oregon's most populous region. Like almost every other city in the Western States, it was founded in the 1800s as a transportation hub for farming, forestry and mining, but now has an economy based on government and education. Eugene is home to The University of Oregon, the flagship school of the Oregon University system.
Because of the University, and because of the culture of much of the Pacific Coast States in general, Eugene is considered to be very liberal. The type of liberal that even Portlanders make fun of. Stereotypically, while Portland has a more urbane, sophisticated type of politics, Eugene's lifestyle is a more hippy, back to the land type of affair. Of course, this is only a stereotype and simplification. Eugene also has a somewhat smaller twin city, Springfield, that is more working class, and still based on natural resources economy. In fact, anyone touring Eugene and its environs will get a chance to see any number of stereotypes about the Western states.