I have no idea about your local politics and don’t want to judge anything in that matter. I hate when European treat the US as a whole by only going to New York or Florida. I traveled quite a lot in your country with 3 big road trips (1. Atlanta - Nashville - Houston - Vegas - Portland. 2. Denver - Yellowstone - Portland - San Francisco. 3 LA - the big touristic parks in Arizona and Utah). I came three times to Portland: 2010, 2018 and 2025. The last time was really shocking to see the downfall in the downtown area. As you see better than I do on a daily basis, I was able to have a different timeline on the city. After 2010 and 2018, I was really looking forward to the next trip. Now it’s not the same vibe. I haven’t felt terribly unsafe but it didn’t felt as nice and welcoming as i felt before. This time my long time girlfriend was with me. For 12 years I spoke to her about this city and the nice atmosphere i felt when being there. It changed a lot and I hope it will reverse in the future. To say the least she was a bit disappointed after our 5 days here. I still had a good time in overall but as tourists who are used to high pricing (as a Swiss I can say a few things about expensive prices) we were able to avoid most of the bad aspects of tents, drug addicts etc. But the willing to come back feeling is not there at the moment. By the way the best part was living in yourt 12 miles from downtown at the Powell Butte with the nature all around and the farm animals. If relatives want somewhere to stay when visiting you this is the place.
