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Portland is a city i'd like to visit at some point. Getting a little bit of a glimpse from the new Real World and it looks like a pleasant town and quite urban, albeit rather small, quiet and slightly provincial. As long as one is okay with those limitations though I am sure it offers a great quality of life.
Portland is still provincial in many ways--there more of a NIMBY/"keep things small" mindset than Seattle and Vancouver(and that goes back historically) as well. In some ways the sort of isolated, off-the-radar nature of Portland in the past was sort of what contributed to some of the charms of Portland. The fact that Portland was cheap and considered isolated meant that a lot of sort of quirky elements held out for year--it's kind of what allowed all the different artists and aspiring chefs and such to flourish. Chuck Palahniuk writes about how Portland used to be in one of his books--and there's also Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy which is set in the 1960s but shows what NW Portland looked like the late 80s. In some ways though Portland was closer to a blue collar Rust Belt town with a sort of artsy side to it--albeit with a volcano in the background--rather than what has become today.
Now with the huge number of transplants over the last twenty years both in the city and metro--it's a different mix. You have a group of transplants who are more likely to cycle between cities like New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco or other places and you have other fairly moderate or conservative folks whose families go back over 100 years in the Portland area. Meanwhile, despite Portland's ultra-white rep, the outer suburbs on the west side are increasingly becoming Hispanic and Asian in parts more like a California suburb. It's still provincial in some ways--but at the same time it's really become much established and in the loop and much more expensive. It's sort of become overburdened with it's reputation in the last five years--the key to the next decade will be diversifying and growing the local economy--otherwise Portland is going to fall back into being the middle child of the West Coast, even if it's got a bunch of charming neighborhoods.
Portland is still provincial in many ways--there more of a NIMBY/"keep things small" mindset than Seattle and Vancouver(and that goes back historically) as well. In some ways the sort of isolated, off-the-radar nature of Portland in the past was sort of what contributed to some of the charms of Portland. The fact that Portland was cheap and considered isolated meant that a lot of sort of quirky elements held out for year--it's kind of what allowed all the different artists and aspiring chefs and such to flourish. Chuck Palahniuk writes about how Portland used to be in one of his books--and there's also Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy which is set in the 1960s but shows what NW Portland looked like the late 80s. In some ways though Portland was closer to a blue collar Rust Belt town with a sort of artsy side to it--albeit with a volcano in the background--rather than what has become today.
Now with the huge number of transplants over the last twenty years both in the city and metro--it's a different mix. You have a group of transplants who are more likely to cycle between cities like New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco or other places and you have other fairly moderate or conservative folks whose families go back over 100 years in the Portland area. Meanwhile, despite Portland's ultra-white rep, the outer suburbs on the west side are increasingly becoming Hispanic and Asian in parts more like a California suburb. It's still provincial in some ways--but at the same time it's really become much established and in the loop and much more expensive. It's sort of become overburdened with it's reputation in the last five years--the key to the next decade will be diversifying and growing the local economy--otherwise Portland is going to fall back into being the middle child of the West Coast, even if it's got a bunch of charming neighborhoods.
Best most accurate definition of Portland ever.
To quote a Portland ex-resident....
"Portland's transformation (has been) from a gritty but highly livable middle-class town to a fad-obsessed theme park"
What the general public sees and judges Portland by is a few intresting neigbhorhoods touted by the media and those making a good deal of money off the publicity. It is a good city but it is no more the city of "Portlandia" as it is of "Grimm." Although of the two, I much prefer the hexenbeasts and Wesens.
Portland is still provincial in many ways--there more of a NIMBY/"keep things small" mindset than Seattle and Vancouver(and that goes back historically) as well. In some ways the sort of isolated, off-the-radar nature of Portland in the past was sort of what contributed to some of the charms of Portland. The fact that Portland was cheap and considered isolated meant that a lot of sort of quirky elements held out for year--it's kind of what allowed all the different artists and aspiring chefs and such to flourish. Chuck Palahniuk writes about how Portland used to be in one of his books--and there's also Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy which is set in the 1960s but shows what NW Portland looked like the late 80s. In some ways though Portland was closer to a blue collar Rust Belt town with a sort of artsy side to it--albeit with a volcano in the background--rather than what has become today.
Now with the huge number of transplants over the last twenty years both in the city and metro--it's a different mix. You have a group of transplants who are more likely to cycle between cities like New York or Los Angeles or San Francisco or other places and you have other fairly moderate or conservative folks whose families go back over 100 years in the Portland area. Meanwhile, despite Portland's ultra-white rep, the outer suburbs on the west side are increasingly becoming Hispanic and Asian in parts more like a California suburb. It's still provincial in some ways--but at the same time it's really become much established and in the loop and much more expensive. It's sort of become overburdened with it's reputation in the last five years--the key to the next decade will be diversifying and growing the local economy--otherwise Portland is going to fall back into being the middle child of the West Coast, even if it's got a bunch of charming neighborhoods.
Thank you for an honest and objective perspective (a rarity on CvC). Whatever criticisms can be leveled at Portland, it is obviously a city that's been doing a lot of things right (much like Seattle). While many other cities have been decimating their urban fabric to cater to the car, Portland seems to have preserved an attractive, walkable urban core, developed good PT and is one of very few American cities that offers a genuinely urban lifestyle without the negatives of big city living. Though I have never been there I can see why people like it and why so many visitors rave about it.
Well that's kind of the point. Someone has no real reason to pick Portland over Philadelphia because everything Portland offers, Philadelphia offers in the suburbs, and then some. On top of that, Philadelphia offers something Portland really doesn't, a large, walkable, vibrant core.
I can understand personal preference of wanting to live in Portland and just wanting to be on the East Coast, but someone deciding between a job in Philadelphia and Portland is likely going to chose Philadelphia the majority of the time. It's larger, better location and just simply has more going on. Philadelphia demolishes Portland in every single imaginable category that is ever used as a comparison to judge good cities on this thread, and that's not boosting Philly, that's the facts.
Summers - Your posts are usually fact-based and well-reasoned. That's why I typically like them. I have to depart from you here, however, when it comes to this post, particularly the bolded sentences.
Earlier in this thread, I stated we considered Portland but ended up in Philly and I outlined the reasons why. I can see why someone would prefer Portland, however. Yes, Center City is a considerably larger downtown. Portland features a smaller but still walkable downtown and the nearby Pearl certainly struck me as vibrant. Just because you and I like Philly, not everyone who posts on CD wants that dense, urban east coast character (if they did, Portland would have no votes). Overall, my partner and I prefer Philly's amenities, climate, location and character. But I can understand why a smaller, newer and open sense of neighborhood would be more attractive to some people.
Again, I love Philly and can sing its virtues if someone cares to listen. But if folks are gonna post on the merits of these two very different cities, let's be balanced and reasonable.
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lol Philadelphia wins this a million times over
