Relocating to Oregon, in or around Portland: talk to me about weirdness!

[SyraBrian]

There's a person who strolls around Portland wearing a chicken suit and playing the fiddle. That's as weird as Portland gets.

[pdwpdx]

Don't forget Extremo the Clown and Darth Vader playing the bagpipes on his unicycle.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by pdwpdx

Don't forget Extremo the Clown and Darth Vader playing the bagpipes on his unicycle.

You get that kind of thing almost anywhere though - St. Cloud MN (not exactly a weirdo hotbed) is probably best known for the guy who spends his days dressed as Superman: St. Cloud Superman, St. Cloud, MN |

[rzzz]

One thing I found surprising is that a lot of Portland isn't hip or weird at all, it is very yuppie. For example the Pearl, the parts of Downtown adjacent to the Pearl, NW 23rd, etc. I feel like my mom would like NW 23rd more than I did. Even the hip areas like Alberta or Hawthorne didn't seem very weird to me, just strips of locally owned businesses surrounded by residential areas. There are a few things that could be considered weird because they are not seen anywhere else, such as the permanent food truck areas, or the massive amounts of homeless people gathered around the rescue mission. I've been to places with a lot more visible weirdness, like the Santa Cruz boardwalk, Key West, New Orleans and San Francisco.

[Nell Plotts]

We're working on it.

[Eastern Oregonian]

It has LOTS OF CULTURE. people are very passionate in Portland. Lots of entrepreneurs. Food carts, farmers markets, metro, and electric cars. I love it.

[OscarLevant]

Originally Posted by rzzz

There are a few things that could be considered weird because they are not seen anywhere else, such as the permanent food truck areas, or the massive amounts of homeless people gathered around the rescue mission.

We have the permanent food trucks here in Houston, just drive down Long Point in Spring Branch. Sadly I think we are catching up with PDX on the homeless front too.

[SyraBrian]

Originally Posted by rzzz

One thing I found surprising is that a lot of Portland isn't hip or weird at all, it is very yuppie. For example the Pearl, the parts of Downtown adjacent to the Pearl, NW 23rd, etc. I feel like my mom would like NW 23rd more than I did. Even the hip areas like Alberta or Hawthorne didn't seem very weird to me, just strips of locally owned businesses surrounded by residential areas. There are a few things that could be considered weird because they are not seen anywhere else, such as the permanent food truck areas, or the massive amounts of homeless people gathered around the rescue mission. I've been to places with a lot more visible weirdness, like the Santa Cruz boardwalk, Key West, New Orleans and San Francisco.

NW 23rd was a pretty big deal during my first trip to Portland in 94-95. It's hard to stay hip in middle age.

If you like weird, hang out in the 7-11 parking lot on the corner 0f 82nd and Powell.

[rzzz]

I feel like the eastern Portland suburbs have a lot more legitimately weird people than the city does. Juggalos, cos-play nerds, wal-martians, retired eco-terrorists, soldiers of fortune, mustached pedo dads and wiccan suicide girl stripper types are all from the burbs. The Voodoo donuts line up on the weekend seems like a good cross section.