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75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland

75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland

Every year, a slew of articles pop up, local and national, that include all the weird and wonderful reasons we Portlanders love Portland.

75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland
ALBERTA ARTS DISTRICT | NE | STREET ART

We corralled a handful of them for your reading enjoyment below.

And just for fun–and because Valentine’s Day is once again upon us, and is of course all about LOVE–we’re celebrating by listing the most commonly repeated superlatives and oddities here. 75+ reasons we love this amazing city, its natural beauty, it’s soulful residents, and its quirky, cool culture. In no particular order, although COFFEE is a particular favorite, and I love hanging out at Oregon College of Art & Craft, here goes:

Cool Factor

  • All the cool kids live here.
  • Linus Torvalds lives here.
  • We live here.
  • Everyone’s moving here.
  • Seattle envies us.
  • Portlandia! Duh…
75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
KENTON NEIGHBORHOOD | N | ONE OF DOZENS OF TINY HORSES TETHERED TO PORTLAND STREETS

Culture

  • Weird is the local mantra and mindset.
  • Tango dancing capital of the universe.
  • Tattoo capital of the world. Well, not quite. We rank #8 in America.
  • Burnside Skatepark, anarchist architecture and global icon of skater culture.
  • World-class athletes.
  • World-class bike culture.
  • Bikes rule!
  • Outdoor adventurer wonderland: walking, hiking, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, snowboarding.

Celebration

  • No holiday left uncelebrated. We even invent holidays.
  • Nudity has its own special day, Portland’s World Naked Bike Ride.
75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
PEARL DISTRICT | NW | A FEW COOL FELLAS DRESSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Livability

  • Portland’s city core is actually LIVABLE.
  • Portland’s city core and most of its neighborhoods are imminently WALKABLE.
  • One of America’s top cities with highest walkable urbanism.

Climate

  • Portland ranks high on Sperling’s Comfort Index. Mild winters, fabulous summers.
  • Rain is good for your skin.
  • Umbrellas are weird.
75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
WILLAMETTE RIVER | NW | RIVER WALK | LOOKING EAST TO VERA KATZ EAST ESPLANADE

Topography

  • A river runs through it. Actually three rivers.
  • America’s premier urban forest.
  • One of the largest urban forests in the United States, with 5000 acres and 80 miles of soft-surface trails.
  • Timberline Trail No. 600, the only hiking trail (40 miles) around Mount Hood is now open.
  • Life on the fiery edge, surrounded by four volcanoes, all within view of downtown.
75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
BROADWAY BRIDGE | NW | HEADING TO THE EASTSIDE ACROSS THE WILLAMETTE RIVER

Bridges

  • Tillicum Crossing: Only bridge in the country that carries trains, buses, bikes, and pedestrians but no personal cars. It’s beautiful too.
  • Portland’s 14 bridges, ranked.
  • Designing Portland’s 5 greatest bridges.
75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
WILLAMETTE RIVER | NW | BROADWAY BRIDGE | FREMONT BRIDGE | SPRING | CHERRY TREES IN BLOOM

Neighborhoods

  • Each of Portland’s 92 neighborhoods is unique.

Taxes

  • No sales tax!

Gas

  • No one pumps their own gas. It’s not even legal in the city.
75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
NORTHWEST DISTRICT | NW | METROPOLITAN LEARNING CENTER | KID’S CLAY MASK DISPLAY

Makers

  • Everyone is an artist, craftsmen, and/or maker of some sort. In fact, Portland leads the maker movement in America.
  • Fabulous fine craft schools: Oregon College of Art & Craft and Pacific College of Art & Craft

Shakers

  • Green buildings rule.

Twisters

  • Everyone does yoga. Or pretends they do.

Dress Code

  • Dress code? Forget about it! Five-star dining and a pair of skinny jeans are just fine together. Not a golf shirt though, because the hipsters will mock you.
  • No clothing style. Unless unique, unconventional and/or urban trek is a style.
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
OREGON COAST | PORT OF GIRABALDI

Proximity

  • Fabulous day and weekend road trips in all directions, including wine country, farm country, fruit loop, snow-capped mountains, hot springs, Columbia Gorge, Oregon Coast and Eastern Oregon. Never a dull moment.
  • Columbia River Gorge is an easy day trip.
  • Oregon Coast is only one hour away (if you drive like a bat-out-of-hell).
  • Wine Country is only 30 minutes from downtown and makes a perfect weekend getaway
  • Mount Hood is only an hour away.

    75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
    UNIVERSITY DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD | SW | PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY | PORTLAND FARMERS MARKET

 

Farmers Markets

  • 101 Best Farmers Markets in America for 2017. Portland is #2!
  • The Best Farmers’ Markets in the U.S.
  • America’s Best Farmers’ Markets.
  • 10 of America’s Best Farmers Markets.
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
HOSFORD ABERNETHY NEIGHBORHOOD | SE | UPPER LEFT ROASTERS

Coffee

  • Long history of coffee culture.
  • Coffee as a religious experience. (coffee + cocktails, coffee + laundry, coffee + nonprofit, coffee + lighting)
  • Weird and wired coffee shops.
  • Some of the best coffee roasters in the country.
  • Cat café. Where humans drink coffee and watch cats. For real!
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
DOWNTOWN | SW | DEPARTURE | DESSERTS EXTRAORDINAIRE

Food & Drink

  • Food lover’s paradise!
  • Farm-to-table is the norm, not the exception.
  • Food cart heaven.
  • Grocery stores as thought leaders and neighborhood builders.
  • World-class bartenders (drink artisans) with cult-like followings.
  • Nation’s first state distiller guild.
  • Nirvana? More like Beervana. And yes, there’s a tour.
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
RICHMOND NEIGHBORHOOD | SE | PINOLO GELATO

Ice Cream | Gelato

  • Ice cream as a religious experience!
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
BEAUMONT-WILSHIRE NEIGHBORHOOD | NE | PIP’S DONUTS

Donuts

  • New style, serious cred donuts.

Literary Arts

  • Everyone reads.
  • Reading and writing are holy ground.
  • Powell’s City of Books.
  • Our own Wordstock Book Festival.
  • Annual, wildly popular Literary Arts’ Portland Arts & Lectures Series.
  • Strong independent publishing resources.
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
CULTURAL DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD | SW | PORTLAND ART MUSEUM | RODIN EXHIBITION

Visual Arts

  • Portland Art Museum is Tapping into the Legacy of Arguably Oregon’s Greatest Artist.
  • Top 100 Arts and Culture Museum Ranking.

Live Music

  • One of the top 12 US cities for live music. (Roseland Theater, Wonder and Crystal ballrooms, Aladdin Theater, Hawthorne Theatre and Doug Fir Lounge)
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD | SW | PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY | SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET | STREET PERFORMERS

Entrepreneurial Arts

  • Everyone is an entrepreneur.
  • Culture of small, locally owned, indie shops. Where business is as creative and soulful as any other art form.
75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
PENINSULA ROSE GARDEN | N | PIEDMONT NEIGHBORHOOD

Gardens

  • International Rose Test Garden.
  • Lan Su Chinese Garden.
  • Peninsula Park Rose Garden.
  • Portland Japanese Garden.
  • Roses rule!
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
PEARL DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD | NW | THE FIELDS PARK | FREMONT BRIDGE IN BACKGROUND

Parks

  • Parks, parks, and more parks.
  • World’s Smallest Park, the only leprechaun colony west of Ireland, a tiny, 452-square-inch urban patch at SW Naito Parkway and Taylor Street.
  • Timberline Trail No. 600, the only hiking trail (40 miles) around Mount Hood is now open.

Zoo

  • Oregon Zoo.

Museums

  • Portland Children’s Museum.
  • Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI).
 75+ Quirky, Cool, Perfectly Weird Reasons We LOVE Portland | SkyBlue Portland
WILLAMETTE RIVER | NW | BROADWAY BRIDGE | STREETCARS

Transportation

  • Max Light Rail!
  • Portland Streetcar!

Airport

  • World-class international airport.

In Case You Need Even More Reasons to Love Portland

  • 2 Reasons Businesses Are Making the Move to Portland, Oregon (That No One’s Been Talking About) | Inc.
  • 5 Delicious Reasons to Visit Portland Oregon! | The Sophisticated Life
  • 10 Foodie Reasons to Visit Portland, Oregon | The Culture Trip
  • 10 Reasons I Love Portland So Far | The Simply Luxurious Life
  • 10 Reasons I Love Portland, Oregon | Hayley on Holiday
  • 10 Reasons to Love Portland | Hello Giggles
  • 10 Reasons Why We Love Portland | Live Be Yoga
  • 10 Reasons Why My Heart Will Always be In Portland | Only in Your State
  • 10 Reasons Why Portland Is Our Next Food City | Feastly
  • 10 Things We Love About Portland, Oregon| Huffington Post
  • 12 Reasons I’m Still in Love with Portland After 6 Months of Living Here | Blooming Rock
  • 13 Things Portlanders Do That Everyone Else Hates | Oregon Live
  • 13 Reasons You’ll Love a Layover in Portland | Matador Network
  • 14 Reasons We’re Packing for Portland Right Now | Travel Zoo
  • 14 Reasons Why We Love Portland | 1859 Oregon’s Magazine
  • 15 Things Never to Say to a Portlander | Orbitz
  • 21 Things Portlanders Have to Explain to Out-Of-Towners | Matador Network
  • 21 Ways You Can Tell You’re from Oregon | Oregon Live
  • 26 Reasons to Love Portland Right Now | Willamette Week
  • 27 Reasons to Love Portland Right Now | Willamette Week
  • 28 Reasons to Love Portland Right Now: Part 1 | Willamette Week
  • 30 Things Longtime Portlanders Know About the City That Newcomers Just Don’t Get | Oregon Live
  • 37 Things to Consider Before Moving to Portland | Estately Blog
  • 50 Things Every Portlander Must Do | Portland Monthly
  • 100 Must-Try Summer Adventures in Portland | Red Tricycle
  • 100 Reasons to Love Portland | Portland Monthly
  • Five Reasons Why I Love Portland Right Now | Portland Sampler
  • Makerspaces to Visit in Portland | Travel Portland
  • Moving to Portland? Here’s What Living Here Is Like. | RubyHome
  • Portland’s Five Best Spots for Bold New Coffee Cocktails | Portland Monthly
  • Reasons A Gal Might Want to Visit Portland, Oregon This Winter | Violet Fog
  • Reasons to Love Portland Right Now: Part II | Willamette Week
  • Reasons to Love Portland Right Now: Part III | Willamette Week
  • Reasons to Love Portland Right Now: Part IV | Willamette Week
  • Reasons to Love Portland Right Now: Part V | Willamette Week
  • Reasons to Love Portland Right Now: Part VI | Willamette Week
  • Schoolhouse Electric and Ristretto Roasters Coffee in a Different Light | Sprudge
  • The 15 Top Tattooed Cities in the US | Tattoo Removal That Works
  • Things People in Portland Say, and What They Actually Mean | Thrillist
  • Welcome to Our 2017 Reasons to Love Portland Issue | Willamette Week

Copyright 2018 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved,

Posted in: Portlandia, Portland, This Northwest Life Tagged: #this northwest life, Portland, why we love it

Comments

  1. pamela sykes says

    February 14, 2018 at 12:53 pm

    Wow. Thanks for this little giftie. I’m a writer. So many resources. Also makes me say, “Why the hell did we leave Portland and move back to Florida?” “Oh yeah, higher education is cheaper and pretty damn good.” But, now, I am missing PDX and all that AMAZINGLY GREAT coffee and beer. And then there’s Powell’s (used to work in Anne Hughes Coffee Room after four years at Coffee People) and the Rose Test Gardens……hope to be there soon. Pam S.

    • Susan S. Bradley says

      March 5, 2018 at 8:27 am

      Thank you, Pamela!I would live in Portland for the coffee alone, but when you add everything else, it’s a hard city to beat. But in the winter, I do occasionally long for a warm spot in the sun. Friends have a winter home on Marco Island and it’s tempting to hop a plane and pay a visit. 🙂

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Meet the SkyBlue Team

https://www.skyblueportland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SkyBlue-Meet-the-Team-1.mp4

James Bradley
Principal Broker
Contact James
971-804-4618


Rachel Bradley
Principal Broker
Contact Rachel
503-936-3373


Susan Bradley
Marketing Director | Broker
Contact Susan
206-499-0236


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