I ❤ Portland

Thursday July 5, 2012

Upon hearing my accent at a tram stop a local lady asked "Do you work for Nike?"

Even after visiting so many wonderful places around the world, for years I had always maintained that the only place I’d like to live in outside of Australia is New York City. But now please allow me to add to that exclusive list – Portland, Oregon.

Mt Hood watches over Portland.

Well, I would live in Portland if they’d let me. I’m likely not hip enough. I love that they have so many vegan burger joints, but I really like downing a Big Mac or two now and again.

Just like how I’ve always felt New York City should be a separate country to the rest of the United States, left wing Portland also has that feel. The place has a European ambience unmatched by other American cities. As this video from the sitcom Portlandia declares, the dream of the 90s is still alive in Portland.

Is it organic? Is it locally produced? These culinary questions are completely redundant in Portland, as they’ve already been answered. It’s actually more difficult to get non-organic food! May I please get some pesticides sprayed on that salad?

Portland food carts, yay!

Now a trendy fad around the world, the modern food cart concept began in Portland. Upon my first visit to the downtown cluster of carts (Alder and 10th) I was stunned by the number and variety of cuisine on offer, not to mention that almost every meal was less than $10. I could spend a month in Portland trying every cart! Just going around the block casually I found:

More Portland food carts, yay!

• Egyptian
• Hawaiian
• Thai
• Japanese
• Korean
• Mexican-Korean
• Indonesian
• German
• Cuban
• French
• Indian
• Argentine
• Vietnamese
• Greek

The Euro Trash food cart. You can even buy Foie Gras here.

• "Whole Bowl"
• "Euro Trash"
• Italian
• Chinese
• Mexican
• Scottish
• Southern USA
• USA BBQ
• Ethiopian
• Polish
• Lebanese
• Caribbean

Did you know bookshops still exist? Yes, a place where one can exchange money for bound printed paper! Apparently while the rest of the world moves online there are still small independent bookshops doing business in Portland.

Do you remember these?

Those who led the city in the 1960s and 1970s were visionaries. In an era when other cities were competing to build up their skyline and freeways Portland exercised planning restraint. Even downtown Portland now contains very few skyscrapers, and a traffic jam is seldom seen.

Downtown, riverside park.

Public transport is thorough for a city of two million people, again the result of forward thinking policies from decades ago. While the rest of the world was tearing down their trams Portland had them installed. Buses, light rail and streetcars now zip around frequently. The free zone within downtown is an ingenious idea for tourists, locals, and the environment alike.

But why catch a bus when you can cycle? Bicycles are everywhere. The only other city I’ve seen more bicycles is Beijing. As an outsider it’s extraordinary to see an American city with more bikes on the road than cars. But this is Portland. On the streets there are young ladies riding in sundresses, middle-aged couples pedalling for leisure, and even a semi-legal nudie ride takes place annually.

  

The city’s only major league team, the Portland Trailblazers basketball team, is the ultimate underdog. To basketball fans the number of misfortunes and mistakes the NBA franchise has made is infamous. To the layperson only one fact needs to be presented: Portland is the team which overlooked Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft.

If you’re a fan of The Simpsons, creator Matt Groening grew up in Portland and named many of the cartoon’s characters after city landmarks. My treasure hunt of those locations is blogged here.

Portland is arty farty.

There is a vibrant creative scene in Portland. Not only is Portland Art Museum impressive for a city its size, small art galleries abound – especially concentrated in the Pearl District. The first Thursday evening of each month is a “free day” for Portland galleries, and includes an open-air art market where local artists sell their work.

Portlandia, an anthropomorphic representation of the city, can be seen in downtown as the second largest statue of its kind in the United States, after the Statue of Liberty.

Portlandia statue.

There are apparently no old people in Portland. The only folks of advanced age I saw were tourists, lesbians, or tourist lesbians. ­The city is disturbingly youthful, like as if a bouncer is monitoring the entrance.

Oregon has no sales tax. People from Washington state pop over to Portland to shop and dine.

The City of Roses has natural beauty too. Bike riders whiz by at Portland’s pretty riverside park and the mighty conical Mt Hood looms over the entire metropolis. And obviously the Rose Garden is a major attraction.

Harp player busking at the Rose Garden:
So Portland.

After we'd established that I didn't work for Nike nor Intel, the (Caucasian) Portlander lady told me about her adopted Native American daughter. She is grown up now, and after registering in her tribe she receives social benefits unheard of for the rest of the US population such as free healthcare. When her daughter expresses guilt for receiving the government assistance even though she has not had an indigenous upbringing and has no practical affinity with the Native American culture, the Portland lady responds "Don't you feel guilty - it's reparation for all the suffering endured by your parents, grandparents, and ancestors. No amount of welfare will ever make up for that. Your forebears would be proud that you're doing so well."

Perhaps it's the people I like the most in Portland.