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Portland is quaint, if you ignore the tweakers and homeless tents. I was much better here before 2020. The people are not the friendliest out of the places I have lived (that would be Austin), and I'd say it's no where near in the same league as SF. But overall it has its positives that go with some pretty big negatives. Many of my favorite mom and pops went out of business due to the rona. Also, I no longer feel safe walking around in certain parts of downtown, especially at night in the last year or so. When I lived in the pearl I saw a homeless person die outside of my house, OD'd on something or other. He was screaming at folks when I left my house to walk to dinner, and when I came back , paramedics were trying to resuscitate him. This is just one instance of some seediness in the Rose City. I moved to Sellwood, and even then, there has been mass vandalism of businesses in the area...an area with a median home price of about $700k. I think it will take a good 5+ years for Portland to return to its former glory. And the rain does get old. The dream of the '90s isn't alive anymore in Portland ;-p
Count me among those who think Seattle* might have been a more appropriate partner for San Francisco than "the place where young people go to retire" in this poll. And IMO that zinger explains one of the reasons why I also think Seattle a more appropriate partner. But then again, San Francisco seems in its own way somewhat detached from reality as well, so maybe Portland's not that bad a partner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Don't insult Philly that way. Every city proper has issues.
We all have opinions, here the findings of US News' survey asking people across the country where theyd live if they could:
US News Desirability Score:
10/10 San Francisco
9.6/10 Portland
7.8/10 Boston
6 2/ Philadelphia
Unfortunately, the BBS software doesn't preserve nested quotes within quotes, but that poll measured desirability rather than livability per se — from what I recall, the quote stated that respondents were asked to rank the places they would prefer to live in. I will grant that "livability" is also somewhat subjective, but it seems that we are able to come up with some quantifiable yardsticks for the latter, whereas desirablity lies entirely within the mind of the desirer.
And here Philadelphia operates with a unique handicap: Many of its own residents say they would rather live somewhere else. I tell people all the time here that "Philadelphia is underrated, and nobody underrates it more than the locals."
A fellow on the faculty of York University in Ontario wrote a book on the pre-Stonewall history of LGBT activism in Philadelphia while he was a PhD student in history at Penn in the late 1980s (I worked there at the time, got to know him and connected him with a source he used in the book), and in the foreword to the book, he went through some of the roadblocks that stood in the way of his writing it. One of those: He really didn't like Philadelphia all that much. But then, he wrote, he read a Philadelphia Inquirer article that referenced a survey that found that 60 percent of Philadelphia residents said they would rather be living elsewhere. At that point, he said, he decided that he had actually become a Philadelphian, and that freed his mind to both write the book and even come to appreciate the city.
We have a word for these people: "Negadelphians." They're the people who a locally famous PR campaign in the 1970s targeted with this slogan: "Philadelphia isn't as bad as Philadelphians say it is." And as noted local columnist Stu Bykofsky (our answer to Chicago's Mike Royko) wrote in 2012, outsiders tend to view Philadelphia much more favorably than its own residents do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elchevere
Agree. Portland is one of my favorite restaurant cities, great wine (Pinot, Willamette Valley only 45 minutes south), great beer, nice walkable neighborhoods with good transportation and proximity to nature.
Philadelphia will go toe-to-toe with Portland and Seattle on the restaurant front and with Portland on the beer, walkability, transportation and even access-to-nature fronts. The New Jersey Pinelands may not be your idea of natural beauty, but the Pinelands National Preserve is the largest block of protected, largely undeveloped land in the Northeast, and we also have mountains and beaches within a one- to two-hour drive of the city (you pass through the Pinelands to get to the beaches). And some of our natural environments are also truly unique: Bring a hammer with you when you visit Ringing Rocks Park in Bucks County so you can play the field of stones like bells there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Well, this is a ranking of LIVABILITY--by their criteria Boulder is apparently the best place to live, it is a very nice area btw.
Portland seems to do VERY well outside of the East Coast-centric opinions on CD.
First in livability, and now as far as 'fun'.
Wallethub's Most Fun Cities in America, 2021
#6 San Francisco
#13 Portland
#23 Philadelphia
#43 Boston
I tend to look askance at WalletHub surveys ever since they pitched me on a survey of "best cities for transit" that used an apples-to-oranges comparison metric to determine transit usage (they divided total ridership on a metropolitan transit system by core city population to come up with per-capita figures), but the rankings of the four cities here strike me as pretty accurate.
See above for my comments on the distinction between livability and desirability.
*I was riding the Broad-Ridge Spur subway to work one day aboard a car that had been turned into a rolling tourism-promotion ad for Seattle. A youngish Black man and his son were on board the car with me. As we pulled into the end station, the son asked his Dad what all the advertising was for. He replied, "They want people from Philly to visit Seattle. I don't think that would be good for Seattle."
Philadelphia will go toe-to-toe with Portland and Seattle on the restaurant front and with Portland on the beer, walkability, transportation and even access-to-nature fronts. The New Jersey Pinelands may not be your idea of natural beauty, but the Pinelands National Preserve is the largest block of protected, largely undeveloped land in the Northeast, and we also have mountains and beaches within a one- to two-hour drive of the city (you pass through the Pinelands to get to the beaches). And some of our natural environments are also truly unique: Bring a hammer with you when you visit Ringing Rocks Park in Bucks County so you can play the field of stones like bells there.
I agree Philly does goes toe-to-toe in transit and walkability.
Disagree on the beer and especially the nature access front. In Portland, you can go skiing and surfing on the same day. There's access to volcanoes, glaciers, rainforests, and deserts all within 90 minutes from downtown. There's world class windsurfing in the Columbia River, hundreds of large waterfalls to hike to, and whale watching on the Oregon coast. Even in town, there's lots of great little hikes like Mt. Tabor (extinct cinder cone volcano), Powell Butte, and Forest Park (massive wilderness forest)
Amenities: BosPhl
Architecture: BosPhl
Cost of living: BosPhl
Crime: SFPor
Culture: BosPhl
Diversity: BosPhl
Downtowns: BosPhl
Food: BosPhl
Friendliness: Tie
Future of those cities: BosPhl
Good place to live/visit: Tie
Growth: SFPor
Nightlife: BosPhl
Outdoor activity: SFPor
Political views: BosPhl
Population density: BosPhl
Quality of life: SFPor
Skyline: BosPhl
Shopping: BosPhl
Sports culture: BosPhl
Things to do: BosPhl
Weather: SFPor
Overall: Easily BosPhl for me. Boston and Philadelphia compliment eachother greatly. What one does not have, the other one does.
I agree Philly does goes toe-to-toe in transit and walkability.
Disagree on the beer and especially the nature access front. In Portland, you can go skiing and surfing on the same day. There's access to volcanoes, glaciers, rainforests, and deserts all within 90 minutes from downtown. There's world class windsurfing in the Columbia River, hundreds of large waterfalls to hike to, and whale watching on the Oregon coast. Even in town, there's lots of great little hikes like Mt. Tabor (extinct cinder cone volcano), Powell Butte, and Forest Park (massive wilderness forest)
You win on the nature part. Our ecosystems close by are not as many and varied. Our mountains, for instance, aren't high enough that you can go skiing on them year-round, nor are our winters mild enough that non-polar bears would go surfing at the Jersey Shore in January. You all on that coast should thank God for the Japan Current.
I will note, however, that we do have an outstanding urban wilderness in the form of the Wissahickon Park in northwest Philadelphia, so I would say that puts us a notch above our East Coast peers save maybe DC with Rock Creek Park. (But there's a road through the middle of that park, while the roadway along the Wissahickon Creek is closed to all motorized vehicles — it's a gravel path. Edited to add: Since we're talking about Boston and Philly put together, I should also give a nod to the Blue Hills Reservation south of Boston.)
I think we might have to go drinking to settle the beer part. One of the things I say is that one of the joys of living in Eastern Pennsylvania is that the cheap beer everyone drinks tastes like beer. As the ads for Yuengling Lager used to say, "It took us 180 years to become an overnight sensation." (D.G. Yuengling & Son of Pottsville is the oldest brewery in the United States, established in 1829.) I haven't counted the number of craft brewers in this region (one of whom is among my friends; he used to run the best beer bar in the city — a place Steven Fried once called one of the best in the country in Esquire — but gave it up a couple of years ago; he now owns a brewery that sells online and at various pubs in the 'burbs), but Visit Philadelphia did and came up with more than 90 of them in the five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania region — which does not include the New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. How many craft brewers are there in Portlandia?
So Portland is one the 10 best places to live in America, is one of the most fun cities in America, and is in the top third of the happiest cities in America.
Happiest Cities in America, 2022
#3 San Francisco
#36 Boston
#41 Portland
#141 Philadelphia
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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Definitely has great strip clubs (….ah….from what I’ve been told) and most per capita—more than Vegas, Miami and New Orleans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
So Portland is one the 10 best places to live in America, is one of the most fun cities in America, and is in the top third of the happiest cities in America.
Happiest Cities in America, 2022
#3 San Francisco
#36 Boston
#41 Portland
#141 Philadelphia
You win on the nature part. Our ecosystems close by are not as many and varied. Our mountains, for instance, aren't high enough that you can go skiing on them year-round, nor are our winters mild enough that non-polar bears would go surfing at the Jersey Shore in January. You all on that coast should thank God for the Japan Current.
I will note, however, that we do have an outstanding urban wilderness in the form of the Wissahickon Park in northwest Philadelphia, so I would say that puts us a notch above our East Coast peers save maybe DC with Rock Creek Park. (But there's a road through the middle of that park, while the roadway along the Wissahickon Creek is closed to all motorized vehicles — it's a gravel path. Edited to add: Since we're talking about Boston and Philly put together, I should also give a nod to the Blue Hills Reservation south of Boston.)
I think we might have to go drinking to settle the beer part. One of the things I say is that one of the joys of living in Eastern Pennsylvania is that the cheap beer everyone drinks tastes like beer. As the ads for Yuengling Lager used to say, "It took us 180 years to become an overnight sensation." (D.G. Yuengling & Son of Pottsville is the oldest brewery in the United States, established in 1829.) I haven't counted the number of craft brewers in this region (one of whom is among my friends; he used to run the best beer bar in the city — a place Steven Fried once called one of the best in the country in Esquire — but gave it up a couple of years ago; he now owns a brewery that sells online and at various pubs in the 'burbs), but Visit Philadelphia did and came up with more than 90 of them in the five-county Southeastern Pennsylvania region — which does not include the New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. How many craft brewers are there in Portlandia?
Regarding craft breweries, I'm having a hard time getting an accurate number, but it looks like there are about 70 within Portland city limits (not including breweries with multiple locations). Unfortunately, a decent amount of great breweries closed over the last few years due to covid.
I dont know why people are down on Portland, it's a lovely city.
They are not down on Portland they are pointing out the obvious. It is a mismatch in terms of msa, gdp, amenities etc.
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