I was just thinking about Portland yesterday and wishing I could get back there for another visit. Good to see some photos on here. Thanks for posting!
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"You need both a public and a private position." --Hillary Clinton, speaking behind closed doors to the National Multi-Family Housing Council, 2013
whenever someone says they're moving to portland, i have this mental idea that they're somehow quitting city life, moving somewhere simpler, artisanal cheese - whatever. that whole deal.
the place looks pretty urban though. in canada, we'd make a huge, insufferable deal about it.
Portland is a funny place. It is not a small town but when I was there it was unusually quiet and laid back, but not in a depressed way -- it's all working as intended. I associate streets like these with bigger crowds than what you see in these photos. Portland reminds me more of, say, a larger version of Victoria rather than a smaller Seattle or San Francisco. It's not a small town or a rural area but it's not a place you move to if you want big city life.
It is attractive and more affordable than most other West Coast cities. It's easy to see why a lot of people like it so much.
Would you say the essence of Portland would be the east, or west side of the Williamette river (these are mostly west side)?
East is more of the granola/hipster, suburban, artisanal, pastoral thing, whereas west side you have this model North American downtown, kind of a mini central Montreal.