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Not in Portland. Sure there's a cleverness and interesting things come up in conversations, but as far as actual art/projects getting done I'd say it's on par with similar sized cities. Maybe even a bit of an under performer when it comes to the traditional arts like museums and the like.
There's also a lot of group think in Portland.
But with that said what the West Coast in general has more of an openness to ideas, whereas back east it's more about coming up with a way to make money first. Portland tends to be more tolerant toward weird stuff than many places.
Then again if you're talking about innovation in the sense that a store will open and only sell something like hats with a bird on them, then yeah, you'll have that. Or if you're talking about people having to get creative on what sort of self-employment they do to make ends meet then you'll have that too.
Had a scientist wait on me at a fast food place once, but I doubt that's what you're talking about.
A lot of people in Portland smoke weed. It's very easy to just hang out and not accomplish much living there. If you're the ambitious sort or a "doer" then I'd probably look at Seattle or Vancouver B.C..
There also tends to be fewer real problems (outside of homelessness) and more 1st world problems that people will annoy you to death with.
After having lived in Portland for decades I can attest to your comments about it. Yes, at one time it did have a creative community in the arts when it was affordable for poor artists of all types. But those days are way long gone.
As a former resident of Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, I wholeheartedly disagree based on my experiences with millennials there. And that includes the time I lived in Atlanta, where you will find a lot of creative, open-minded, and conscious people. I needed good laugh this morning and you gave me one.
Your post shows you fail at reading comprehension and you got all emotional because you think that I'm dismissing the East Coast. That's not the case, so let me simplify it for you:
I never said that East Coast is 'uptight and greedy,' I was saying that in the East, money is made off of proven ideas. Maybe I should have said so since you took that the wrong way.
Considering many industries got their start on the East Coast and companies such as the Bell System were largely innovative and creative for their times, it's no surprise that most patents started there.
With Dunkin Donuts and local coffee shops all over the Northeast, I know that Starbucks isn't as popular there, but it is still quite popular because otherwise, it wouldn't have gained the foothold it has there in many areas. However, the East Coast/NE US isn't the center of the universe as you implied in your post.
Also, while I credit the Wright Brothers for inventing the airplane (and they built their plane in Ohio, which is not the East Coast, but I guess that was a lame attempt at patronizing me) , Boeing had a huge impact on how passengers travel and commercial aviation in general.
I know that shoes were not invented in Portland. I was talking more about Nike's impact. It's a younger company than Reebok has. Nike is arguably more well known and has a stronger brand identity than Reebok or other Athletic shoe companies.
What I am saying is you have incorrect perceptions. Oregon nor Washington are especially innovative.
People are just less obnoxious about being "different" and "special" in the east.
Its a center for bearded hipster coffee fixie dorks who think socialism and gloomy, rainy weather is actually "cool". I would say its a bass ackward place if anything.
I think the PNW is a unique place that harvests unique ideas. The most creative is subjective. I think that there is an opportunity to create here, freely, without anyone telling you that you can't regardless of your demographic. At the same time, many of these creations tend to be beneficial or meaningful to the communities that they are centered around not giving themselves much use outside of the PNW. Maybe with the exception of tech, coffee culture, and strange fashion trends. Did they really do the world good though? My personal observations.
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