In a city that prides itself on a doughnut shop that sells delicious pastries shaped like male genitalia, it would be extremely weird if Portland, Oregon was not weird.
I am from Vancouver, Washington but most people guess Canada when they hear Vancouver, or D.C. when they hear Washington. So lately, I have found myself saying that I live on the Columbia River five minutes from Portland, Oregon.
I have been fortunate enough to grow up spending a lot of time in the exquisite city of Portland, which embraces originality and good food. Being the home of Voodoo Donuts and Salt & Straw is just the beginning. From exceptional food trucks to the extravagant Portland City Grill which sits on top of the skyline on the 30th floor, Portland excels in all aspects of food. The originality is a reflection of the people of Portland. Portland inhabitants were hipsters before being a hipster was a thing. The OG hipsters, if you will. Every other car going down the freeway is plastered with either “Keep Portland Weird” or “Coexist” bumper stickers. My favorite part about seeing those stickers is looking at the driver of the car. It is not unlikely to for your jaw to drop. In Portland we don’t just accept weirdness, we encourage it!
Unlike other trendy metropolitan areas around the nation, we are not saturated with fashion and wealth. Instead, we trade in our fashion sense for comfort and shock value. If you enjoy people-watching like me, bring some sunglasses to a Portland Starbucks and sit back and enjoy yourself. With Portland being rainy and under 70 degrees 9 months out of the year, warmth and comfort becomes a trend. Beanies, boots, and bomber jackets are the go-to accessories and embellishing with some funky hair, rad tattoos and piercings you didn’t know existed.
The thing about Portland people is that they could be the most peculiar looking person you have ever seen, but I can promise that it will be your loss if you judge them on that alone. From my personal experience, it's the people you would never guess, and shamefully stereotype, that are the most passionate, intriguing and friendly.
Portland is an experience in itself, and one I would recommend. I enjoy my sporadic trips there, confident that I will leave with a new perspective. It may not be an earth-shattering ordeal every time, but personally, my mind was blown when I got a double scoop of strawberry balsamic and cracked pepper ice cream.
