I'm surprised no one has linked to this. A Public Policy poll asking people which cities they felt most positive/negative about ranked Seattle (57%) most popular, followed by Portland (52%). Portland is also rated the country's greenest city. But it can't host an All Star Game because no one wants to go there. Detroit came in last, flanked by LA (agree) and Oakland (I like Oakland myself).
That's actually true. But this is no surprise. The Pacific Northwest enjoys a wonderful reputation as being clean and fresh.
I had a friend in town this past weekend from St. Paul, MN on business and she was surprised at just how clean the city is. "I'm not putting down the T.C.'s but Portland is it!" -- Oh, and one of their fist visits was to VooDoo doughnuts. It's a tourist attraction.
The one thing that drives me nutso is when visitors say "it's so pretty and green but I don't like the rain". How hard is it to figure out the reason the Northwest is "pretty and green" is because of the rain? Northern California has had an exceptionally rainy spring. I notice it is very pretty and green. Sadly it will be brown and dead in 2 months.
Portland is a complete catch 22. It's awesome because it's green and vibrant when the sun shines, but it sucks because we have to pay for the green with months of grey. It's progressive and forward thinking, but we have to pay for that as well when it comes to sports. Portland is damn near perfect if you're a "portlandia" type - but for sports fans in this city, I feel we're moving further and further away from advancement. In fact, this is what will happen, one day, I'm certain - "Portland, OR is the biggest market in the U.S. without a major sports franchise" - and most Portlanders will be proud of that.
