I grew up outside of Eugene. Eugene gets a bad rap but honestly, it wasn't that bad as long as you avoid downtown.
After college I followed the wife to Salem for her work and we live in Keizer now. There is an awesome gun shop/smith/cerakote applicator at Coat of Arms in Keizer. Does great work.
As for Salem, I hate it. Way to many assholes, Lancaster Rd had a gang related shooting almost once a week last summer, haven't checked how often recently, but I still hear about it from time to time. Homeless sleep downtown where the bars, local shops, cafes, diners, etc are. At night time I had my wife approached by a homeless strung out dude. I turned around real quick, grabbed her and started walking away from him. I hear this is common downtown. Also nothing like leaving a bar at night and literally finding a homeless dude with his pants down taking a shit on the sidewalk in front of a local business.
Plus sides:
Fishing is plentiful with the Santiam river near by, and hunting is hit or miss. As for shooting, there is an indoor range called Tritac. I typically drive out towards Scotts Mills and find logging Rd's as I like to shoot outdoors. Hiking is close by. Summer concerts are pretty good at the river front. Countless microbreweries and year round beer events.