Beautiful but so weird.
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4/3/2007
There are few places in America more picturesque than Portland. It is breathtakingly green and flowery and when the sun is out after a rain shower and you see Mt. Hood looming over town it is hard to argue. But I'd rather take an uglier city with nice, down-to-earth people over a beautiful city inhabited by weirdos and hippies.
Unfortunately Portland is just strange. The downtown area is full of homeless kids lounging out on the sidewalk playing music asking for handouts. They call it "The People's Republic of Multnomah" for a reason--it's is waaaay liberal. I'm from Colorado originally and didn't think I'd notice the political and cultural differences. But there was an obvious shift from my hometown Focus on the Family crowd to the Greenpeace and gay rights emphasis in P-Town. The people are too laid-back and are a lot different from most places in the middle of America.
It's a nice place and people, though odd, are still very friendly. If you're very liberal and cosmopolitan you will like P-Town. Otherwise stick to other parts of the state or Idaho.
Bp | Lakewood, CO