Portland

CULTURE
Portland has a very casual, organic feel to it. There are few dress codes at clubs and music venues. Books, beer, and beards are all highly valued. Natural food is everywhere. And yes, tiny houses are a real thing. Not many people actually LIVE in tiny houses, but Portland is a national favorite place for this tiny new movement. Read on for some more hints into the culture here.

BOOKS
As a shameless bookworm, one of my very favorite things about Portland is, of course, Powell’s bookstore. It is the largest independent bookstore in the WORLD and a very, very dangerous place for a book lover. You will find every book you ever dreamed of, and a thousand more. It’s the kind of place that will never be replaced by Amazon, because it’s just so damn fun to go to your favorite category and explore their new choices, check out the staff favorites, and chat it up with other people that are interested in (insert niche subject here).

THRIFTING
My other favorite place in town is Crossroads Trading Co. This is a chain used clothing store, but for some reason the one in Portland is better than the others I’ve seen. It’s fun to find a trendy new outfit that doesn’t break the bank. Actually, Portland is a great place for thrifting overall. You can get some really good finds. Maybe this is why the hipsters are so stylish. Hmmmm.

FOOD
Portland has a great food and beer scene. There are dozens upon dozens of local specialty restaurants, many of which use organic/local/fair trade ingredients. I like JoLa Restaurant in John’s Landing neighborhood. Amazing soup, sandwiches, salads, and gourmet toast. Stormbreaker Brewery is another favorite for food, and of course beer. I also like Sizzle Pie, a pizza place with a fun atmosphere and a bar that’s open late.

BEER & NIGHTLIFE
The city has tons of brewpubs downtown, and also more than one beer festival throughout the year where you can shamelessly get drunk with your friends in the name of “learning about the brewing process.” Other than downtown, Mississippi Street is the new hip place to go out. It didn’t used to be so hip, but it’s been developed/gentrified a lot in the past 2 years. Portland also has a great music scene, with a wide variety ranking from folk to opera to metal. For the most part, the nightlife is very laid back and unpretentious here.

RUNNING
Running culture is big in Portland, unsurprisingly. Athletic companies such as Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour have headquarters here, drawing in sports enthusiasts as employees. There are also quite a few professional runners who call Portland home. Galin Rupp, one of the U.S.’ top distance runners, is a homegrown hero, and another one of the running world’s biggest heroes, Steve Prefontaine, is from Coos Bay, about an hour from Portland. Runners really like the soft trails in Forest Park, a huge urban park stretching along the Wilammete from downtown about 5 miles north, almost to the town of Burlington.

PUBLIC TRANSIT
The city really has public transportation figured out. There’s the MAX light rail, which goes all the way to the airport, plus all the way to Beaverton, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Clackamas, Gresham, and the Expo Center. Not bad, not bad at all. Besides the MAX, there’s also the streetcars. There are two routes, the north/south line, and a loop that goes from downtown to the east side of the Willamette, and back. Oh, and there’s free public transit on New Year’s Eve! Not sure why all cities don’t do this, because it’s brilliant.

DOWNSIDES
There are two main bruises on Portland’s reputation. One is its struggle to support the homeless population. It’s unfortunate that there are so many people without a home, and Portland doesn’t seem to be able to adequately house and help them, sadly. Downtown can get pretty crowded. The second downside, oddly, is the over-abundance of strip clubs. When you picture Portland, you probably don’t think “bachelor party destination,” but it is for some. I’m not sure why this strange phenomenon has happened, but there are far too many seedy strip clubs for this small city.

COST OF LIVING
Part of the reason some Portlanders are building tiny houses is for the affordability. Depending on what part of town you’re in, rent can definitely put a big dent in your paycheck. Studios start at about $900/month, one bedrooms starting at about $1200. Luckily, prices aren’t quite as high as Seattle or San Francisco…. Yet.

Want to play on a kickball team? Bike to work. Walk to coffee. Have easy access to organic foods direct from farms?

Keeping with the Pacific North Western United States region this city has a divers culture with mostly laid back people and a wide variety of activities to partake in. There are many outdoor music venues in the summer including at the Zoo and in parks through out down town as well as some free movies played in parks. There is the Saturday Market that is also open on Sundays that have numerious vendors of locally made goods as well as First Thursday art walk in the Pearl neighborhood.