Every year, a slew of articles pop up, local and national, that include all the weird and wonderful reasons we Portlanders love Portland.
We corralled a handful of reasons to love Portland 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 LOCALLY ROASTED COFFEE is a particular favorite–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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
Neighborhoods
- Each of Portland’s 92 neighborhoods is unique.
Taxes
Gas
- No one pumps their own gas. It’s not even legal in the city.
Makers
- Everyone is an artist, craftsman, and/or maker of some sort. In fact, Portland leads the maker movement in America.
- Artist enclaves everywhere and Pacific College of Art.
Shakers
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.
- Extra cred for visible tattoos.
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.
- Hood River is only an hour away and it’s a gorgeous drive.
- 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.
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.
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!
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.
Ice Cream | Gelato
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.
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)
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.
Gardens
- International Rose Test Garden.
- Lan Su Chinese Garden.
- Peninsula Park Rose Garden.
- Portland Japanese Garden.
- Roses rule!
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
Museums
Transportation
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 2018-2020 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved,
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.
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. 🙂