Portland vs Cleveland

[Buckeye614]

Cleveland easily for me.

[TheProf]

I'm surprised, and pleased, the poll is this close given the uber-popularity, and trendiness, of Portland versus the skeptical reputation some have of Cleveland. I would have guessed the vote would be Portland in a runaway...

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by MN_Ski

I find the people getting all defensive that Cleveland is tied very amusing...and chances are most of these people have never been to Cleveland.

Cleveland has a high QOL just based on things like traffic, COL, recreation, jobs, hospitality, etc. If we were talking 5 years ago, sure, I would easily have voted for Portland.

You also can't compare what one doesn't have, versus one that does. Like just because Portland has mountains doesn't mean it's recreation is better. It's more about what each city has, and how well it's implemented. Cleveland has lots of lakes, rivers, parks. In fact, it's city park system is pretty awesome. And the best part about it is that it's not over crowded, parking isn't an issue, and you aren't fighting hordes of traffic to get out. Portland has these things, but it's just so inconvenient to get out on the trails now because of the increase in population.

Personally, the vibe of the city is one of the most important things to consider. The vibe of Cleveland is awesome. People are friendly, welcoming, down to earth, and not pretentious. Portland's vibe is very pretentious, cut throat, NIMBY, elitist, liberal group think, and overall passive aggressive. The vibe of Portland was almost magical just 5 or so years ago...but it's totally gone now. I'm a fairly well traveled person, but going out to eat in Portland can be very awkward. The whole, "are you good enough to eat here" vibe with new restaurants is ridiculous...but I guess some people eat that up.

Overall, Cleveland will eventually get what Portland lost. And in a couple of years, I can see Cleveland going on everyone's radar and becoming the next great destination city. But right now, everyone is only seeing the stereotypes of being in the Midwest (Ex, "It's not the West Coast so it's boring and it sucks).

This is so right on target. It's the people. Today I experienced something in the Cleveland area I never did in all the decades I lived in Portland. And it was the second time this has happened since I relocated to Cleveland two and a half years ago.

I was waiting for a bus in a shelter that was in the sun. It was hot. A young man came to wait there too. After a while he said he was going to the nearby fast food place to get something cool to drink and asked if he could get me one too. As I mentioned, this happened once before here in Cleveland as well where a young person offered to get me something to drink on a hot day while we waited for the bus.

This would never happen in Portland. People waiting for a bus mostly would not even make eye contact.

I agree that Portland once had a much friendlier vibe but I saw that disappear about fifteen years ago while I was living there.

If Cleveland continues to make strides that put it on the popular city radar, I sincerely hope it never becomes too pretentious for its own good.

[theurbanfiles]

I agree, I am completely shocked at how close this poll is/was. Expected Portland in a runaway since Cleveland doesn't have a great reputation and Portland is uber popular. I even see Portland as an amazing place to reside, though I am originally from Cleveland and voted for it.

Weather: Portland (they would seem to have relatively similar/excellent weather periods from April to October, but with Portland definitely having a milder November to March, yet still having proximity to snow/ski resorts).
Theme Parks: Cleveland (Portland has a small, family oriented amusement park in town, but so does Cleveland, and Cleveland also is an hour away from the roller coaster capital of the world).
Museums/Culture: Cleveland (Anyone saying Portland for this one is truly not being objective).
Parks/Nature: Portland (within about a half hour, it may be even though, or even a Cleveland lean due to Lake Erie. However, I would say that Portland might have more beautiful natural features within 100 miles of it than any city in the US, perhaps the world. Now Cleveland is underrated here, as it is around 3 hours from the dramatic waterfalls and gorges of Western New York, and 2-3 hours from the Allegheny Mountains, and it is far from ugly itself with a Great Lake, numerous geologic features, and over 700 feet of topographic variance just in Cuyahoga County. This one still goes to Portland, though.)
Sports: I'll take Cleveland here with MLB, NBA and NFL over just NBA and MLS. Also the passion present in Cleveland is generally greater though there are diehard Timbers fans out there.
Livability: Another one where Cleveland wins out against Portland. It is significantly cheaper, has less traffic, etc.
Shopping: Portland has more of a retail presence in it's downtown, but it wouldn't surprise me if Cleveland has more big box options as an overall metro.
Healthcare: Cleveland
History: Cleveland
Public Transit: I'm guessing comparable.
Economy: Cleveland is known as part of the rust belt, but those stereotypes fade and Portland isn't exactly known as a jobs center (Where the young go to retire).
Location: If we already gave the natural stuff to Portland due to what is a short drive from it, I think I might give overall location to Cleveland. It has significantly more medium and larger sized cities within a few hour drive, and if were talking further out on nature, the Allegheny High Peaks region of WV, in it's own way, is almost as impressive as many of the West Coast Mountain Ranges, and only a few hours drive from Cleveland.

[SPonteKC]

I voted for Cleveland, much cooler, realer place, but I think census numbers are maybe more telling about how people in the real world "vote" than a c-d poll of 120 nerds.

[SilverJD]

Portland, I like a lot about the city. But I don't like the in your face liberal atheist health nut types.