VISITING PORTLAND CHECKLIST

Visiting Portland? Google it and to see how things look before making plans.

Travelportland.com comes in as the ‘official city guide.’ It shows food, books, and Portland activities. 

Looks like a nice place, but what will the updates say after the next demonstration?

Keep looking.

Is Portland, Oregon, safe to visit?

Yes — Portland is a safe city for visitors. Like many cities, Portland is confronting issues related to social justice, livability and the coronavirus pandemic. But for a major American city, Portland continues to have comparatively low rates of violent crime. Of course, it makes sense for visitors to Portland to exercise caution, stay aware of their surroundings and take steps to learn more about safety in Portland.

There you have it. Portland Safe, Portland Sound.

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“Like the city itself, Portland’s attractions are a little unexpected and always inspiring.“

Visiting Portland doesn’t carry the same baggage as Oregonians, as Portlanders. To them it’s just another city.

Book a room in a boutique hotel.

Eat at a food cart.

Walk around a little.

Look for Portland baby boomers. You’ll know them the moment they find out you’re visiting Portland.

This is how it starts:

“Portland has changed. You should have seen it before.”

Then you learn they’ve lived here for six months.

Check.

The Heart Of Portland

If you find someone who scratched the surface of the city and act like they’ve dug down sooooo deep, you probably know as much about Portland as they do.

You’ve struck gold if you meet someone who’s been here long enough to put down roots and call the city their own.

Every outdoor seating area is full of family treasures, of people making birthday plans together, wedding plans.

Stick around long enough and you meet people who grew up taking family vacations on Tri-met.

You’ll meet people who live five miles from Portland who have never been downtown because it’s too frightening.

I’m not saying they’re wrong. Frightened people in urban settings tend to draw the wrong sort of company.

Or you’ll meet someone who tells you Portland has one real city block and one real city street.

The real city block is the loading area behind the old Meier and Frank/Macy’s where the surrounding building cast the street in early shadows.

It looks grubby and used and ill-lit, like an average street in an east coast city with tall towers.

The city street worth mentioning runs through the South Park blocks with parking on both side of narrow lane in the middle.

I’m not counting the SE neighborhoods packed with parked cars because city planners were certain that residents in dense packed in-fill apartment buildings would all ride bikes or public transportation.

No parking: Check.

Visiting Portland Like It’s Europe

Be a good tourist, even if you live nearby.

Portland buildings are impressive.

The Willamette River is a great divide.

Take a good look around and you’ll start feeling why so many call this their hometown.

It’s not where people started, but once here, they’re not leaving.

If they do leave, they don’t go too far.

I’ve met people who lived in the same apartment building their entire lives. 

They lived with their family in Queens, NY.

They’d never leave the block if they didn’t have to. Is that loyalty, or short vision?

Either way, I envied them because they knew what to expect, knew where to go, and how to get back.

City life is like that. It’s home. Maybe not your idea of home, but that’s short sighted.

Absent the narrow streets with parking on both sides, huge shade trees on side streets, and regular traffic, Division Street offers a vision you can’t find in many places.

Dedicated homeowners preserve Old Portland by staying true to the era of their house.

If you look around some you may find mid-century modern masterpieces of preservation where nothing is broken or chipped, where up-grades are consistent with the original plans.

You might walk into a house and feel like you’re in a diorama built seventy years ago and as sparkling today as it was then.

When your city or town or village starts changing too fast for your comfort, just know that the past isn’t fading away everywhere.

Is it still cool to be a homer for a place you like?

Yes it is.