Salem is Oregon’s compact, walkable state capital on the Willamette River with a friendly downtown, farmers’ markets, parks, museums and enough cafés, breweries and outdoor access to make multi‑week stays comfortable, interesting and easy to explore between shifts.
For bigger‑city weekend options, Portland is about 43–47 miles north and Eugene about 61–66 miles south—both within roughly 75 miles for day or weekend trips to airports, larger dining/nightlife scenes and major events.