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Portland was way ahead of the rest of the country on thinks like breweries and other "millennial things." In fact I would argue that it has had way more cultural influence beyond what you would expect from a city of it's size.
Culturally Portland is currently more culturally significant than Charlotte, Orlando, or San Antonio and despite being smaller than all three outperforms them in GDP. Heck, Portland has it's own TV show, Portlandia. Portland is actually bigger than it's physical size.
I don't think I have ever met anyone from Boise that thought we were setting trends anywhere. A lot of Idahoans feel misunderstood because many people can't find the state on a map and think it is in the Midwest somewhere. Actually, outside of the immediate neighbors, I would say that about 50% of people I meet nationwide(Boston, DC, Florida, Atlanta, SF, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Houston etc.) don't know where Idaho is located and just think it is potato fields.
What a lot of folks from Boise will say is that to them it is the best place in the world to live, or that it is their favorite place, but I have never heard anyone claim that we are setting trends in other places.
SLC? It is a large metro with major sports teams, but I personally don't have any experience with locals thinking that they are Dallas or Boston or something.
Portland being ahead in breweries and "millennial things," whatever that means, doesn't make it a trend setter. Those changes had more to do with a demographic group than a regional/local group. I can't think of one way in which Portland influences anything outside of Oregon and the bordering parts of Washington.
And I'd like to add Atlanta to the list. Between Coca-Cola and Ted Turner, Atlanta tends to overreach itself (the sterling hosting job they did during the Olympic Games rather proves the point). And despite its stubborn insistence on wanting to be considered a major league city, attendance in the various pro sports indicates that Atlantans just don't care.
Probably some truth to this. Don't Atlantans fancy themselves as New York of the south?
Portland being ahead in breweries and "millennial things," whatever that means, doesn't make it a trend setter. Those changes had more to do with a demographic group than a regional/local group. I can't think of one way in which Portland influences anything outside of Oregon and the bordering parts of Washington.
I think the cultural significance of Portland is way beyond Oregon or Washington. Culturally it pioneered and has come to represent modern youth culture of hipsters and liberal crunchy types much in the same was that Brooklyn has. I go to a local liquor store in Dallas and I can easily find a dozen beers from the Portland area.
When a poster in a different thread tried to describe a streetcar suburb of Houston he described it as "Kinda like Portland"
When I moved to Texas, Portland (and the whole pacific NW) was about 10 years ahead of even Texas (yeah even Austin) in regards to microbreweries, craft distilleries etc. Micro Breweries, Distilleries, Farm to table and the Organic moment are all super relevant because they have changed the way Americans eat and drink. Portland played a significant roll in their development.
Oh, and on top of that, Portland is the 25th largest metro but the 20th largest GDP so it is punching above it's weight economically and is the athletic shoe capitol of the US.
Also I'd like to nominate Santa Barbara, CA. I seemed to always have a fairly glamorous image of it but when I finally visited the place not that long ago, I was surprised how rural it was and how few people actually lived there and in the immediate area.
Chicago still calls itself the Second City even though it hasn't been for a very long time now. A lot of people from that area also seem to think they are much better than the rest of the Midwest.
Philadelphia has a lot of pride for a city that is doing so poorly. Pittsburgh doesn't realize that its declined significantly from its heyday and can't compare at all to cities like Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, and Nashville.
wow - this is somehwat delusional...
Pittsburgh is a significantly bigger metro than Nashville, about the same as Charlotte in population. but Pittsburgh is far more dense and urban than both Charlotte and Nashville. Pittsburgh has a much larger urban area than both. They are different types of cities, if that's what you mean by can't compare. But they certainly are not more important than Pittsburgh by any stretch.
Seattle thinks it's bigger than it is for sure. It's success and cultural contributions have reached almost every corner of the planet. Yet still maintains a mysterious disposition and hasn't totally sold out, like many other big cities. It's a csa of close to 5 million, but stacks up with metros twice it's size. Very educated and healthy population too
yes Boston has nothing
it doesn't have the best heathcare system in the world
it doesn't have the Best Colleges in the world
It doesn't have the highest density of colleges in the world
it isn't the most important Tech Hub in the East
it isn't the Hub for 5 1/2 states
Boston ist the 3rd largest Finantal center in the country
Boston is just a rinky dink town quite obviously.
Not disagreeing with anything except... nowhere in the US has the best healthcare in the world. The highest ranked country for healthcare is France. Unless Boston is in France now... no.
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