Down and out in Portland Oregon

I'm currently in Portland on a business trip -- I was really looking to coming here as I've been to Seattle a few times - and to the extreme North of Norther Calif ... but never to the bit in the middle.

Portland is billed as the 'greenest city' in the USA.

I admit the town planning (which it's famous for) is very much evident ... the streets are well laid out and, unlike many other US cities I've visited, the public transport systems looks excellent. What's more, there are loads of trees and green spaces. But I'm finding it really depressing. I spent an hour walking round yesterday afternoon and again in the evening - I found it lacked a heart - apart from the vagrants, there were very few people around. I took my camera with me (natch), but found nothing of interest to snap!

At times I was actually quite intimidated. I'm used to walking round big cities after dark on my own - but there's an undercurrent here which made me feel a tad uncomfortable. Nearly every street corner boasted an aggressive drunken beggar. And quite a few of the parks etc had bunches of youffs hanging around. Maybe I'm getting old (birthday tomorrow). I just wiki'd (that's a verb now) 'Portland' and read that it's famous for being a 'hub of American youth culture'. Read for that grungies and itinerants being dragged along by 'whippets on strings' (as Joss would say).

Interestingly, almost everyone I saw was white - in stark contrast to many other cities I've visited in the States. Apparently, Portland was populated almost 100% by people of European descent until the late 40's.


Taken from Wiki:

"From the late 1980s through today, Portland has been a major center for movements such as zine-making. Portland is also home to radical feminist and lesbian activist movements, and the city is also considered a haven for punk, hardcore, crust punk and anarchist movements and subgenres, including the self-reliant DIY culture movement that has been part of the aforementioned subcultures".

I noticed that there are more Starbucks here than anywhere else on Earth. Almost every other store is an SB or indie coffee house. Not surprising really, given that SB are headquartered up the coast in Seattle. I saw three indie coffee houses under construction on one street block alone ... I wonder how they're all fare now that SB have announced that they're going to start closing stores. Coffee is an expensive discretionary spend and it has to be one of the first items to disappear in a recession.

Portland also has one of the largest concentrations of microbreweries in the States. This is the highlight of the City for me! I had a couple of glasses last night (very pleasant) and intend to celebrate my B'day tonight with a few more!

Cheers

M x