2.03.2015

What I Think About Portland (and Comparisons to Austin)


Well, Portland...weird is a fitting term for you, indeed...and you like it like that! You are weird in that ultra-hippie, wear whatever feels good, moody and care-free at the same time kind of way.

You are a mix of nature and man coming together to live in complete harmony. The only city (I know of) that has its residents save food scraps to make a compost pile (in addition to garbage and recycling).


Sometimes you seem light as a feather, at peace with the chaos around you...


Other times your mood shifts to the dark side as the rain and the fog sets it.


You seem to embrace your mood swings, enjoying the yin and yang of smiling and sulking.


You are interested in different cultures, but maybe not so interested in people from other states moving to your newly popular territory.

Well, Portland, you'll have to deal with that reality; all the great cities are found out eventually and you are one of them. 

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And of course, I had to eventually talk about how Austin compares to Portland. These are the two cities in the States that proudly display the bumper stickers and signs that proclaim: "Keep [city name] Weird. So who is weirder?

Portland, hands down, is the weirdest city out of the two. Don't get me wrong, Austin is quirky...but it's only "weird" in comparison to the rest of Texas. Austin still has that velvety Southern charm, a necessary trait of the cool kid. Portland, however, is more of the strange loner in the corner of the classroom, only inviting similarly loner-ish kids to his clique. I met more "interesting" folk in Portland than I have...well...anywhere!

So keep up your weirdness, P! And know that even as your population grows, you're only going to attract those as equally strange as you! 

13 comments:

  1. well...chefs do sort of fit into that strange people category...

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  2. ElleSees.blogspot.com4:50 AM, February 04, 2015

    i have never been to austin--have been all over tx but never there!! still wanna go back to portland.

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  3. And Austin is so close to you! I think you'd absolutely love it :D

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  4. I like the weather and public transportation in Portland, but if I were to choose one OVERALL, it would be Austin. Probably for the sheer amount of live music playing everywhere, all the time. In fact, I'm surprised that you haven't visited Austin yet. Furthermore, I kinda dig that southern charm.

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  5. So here is a loaded question: which city do you personally prefer?

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  6. Ahh! I've been wanting to hit up Austin for what seems forever. Generally, anytime we hit up Texas, it's to visit family in Dallas. I think I was going to hit up SXSW while I was in college because that's the sort of thing you do when you are a music director of your campus radio station. Unfortunately, midterms were scheduled that week. But yes, we shall eventually plan a trip to the live music capitol of the world. Who did you while you were there?

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  7. I ate good BBQ, listened to live music pretty much every night, went to the good farmers markets they have, and generally enjoyed that laid back atmosphere. I do have two gripes with Austin: too much traffic and a lack of diversity. Not huge gripes, but those are it!

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  8. Portland is such a great city! I remember visiting years ago as a kid and loving it. I so want to go back! Love the bumper stickers in both cities haha. xxx

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  9. You know what my favorite city (to live in) is? London :) You lucky girl!

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  10. Haha, it is a fabulous city! I do feel lucky :) Would still like to visit some of my favourite US cities again sometime though! xxx

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  11. I visited Portland a couple years ago. It's a nice, comfy little city but I don't know if I could live there -- the nearly constant gray skies would get to me after a while!

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  12. i want to visit portland so badly!!!

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