Travel Guide Portland

Strange. Fantastic. Unique. Portland could be the utopian city, and yet it is very real. Energetic, she brings together an American youth who thirsts for freedom and celebration, but also for success. Here, we can live without too much money compared to other major American cities, and succeed. Would the American way of life still be relevant in this old port? Flashing neon lights, strip clubs and art galleries, there is a strange atmosphere here, hence the city's slogan "Keep Portland Weird". The inhabitants are not surprised, they bail out this idea: "We live in a weird happy bubble" (we live in a strange and joyful bubble). Yes, Portland makes us dream because it has been able to renew itself.While its economy was mainly based on river trade and forestry, it expanded its activities to include high-tech, specialized industries and service companies. Many internationally renowned companies have their headquarters here. She is nicknamed PDX, P-Town, Stumptown, City of Roses, Bridge City or Beervana, proof of her young spirit and dynamism.Portland is our favorite on the West Coast. Both alternative and peaceful - Portland is said to be the city where young people retire - this little one has everything it takes to be a big one. Here, we are not talking about Portland, but about the People's republic of Portland, as the functioning of the city and its aspirations may seem different from the rest of American cities.In the 1990s, Portland attracted workers thanks to the local presence of Doc Martens, Nike, Adidas in particular and young people between the ages of 20 and 30, because it offered work in graphic design and the Internet. But above all, these rents are categorically lower than anywhere else. Nearly 10,000 artists settled in to take advantage of these very low rents, so Portland's creative and alternative fever was born. Today, it is a strategic heritage for the city, which attracts more and more tourists for its underground culture. Creative, it saw the birth of Nike and Intel but also Glass Candy, The Dandy Warhol and Gus Van Sant. Undoubtedly a left-wing city, it continues to show a great openness of mind. Politically, first of all. In January 2009, it elected Sam Adams to its mayor's office, becoming the largest American city to choose an openly homosexual mayor. In January 2017, Ted Wheeler, a democrat who is also politically committed to equal rights and ecology, became the 53rd mayor of Portland.Portland is a committed city, and it distinguished itself during the Occupy movement in 2011. Portland's interest in politics is also based on its recognition of its great power of action. In the 1970s, thanks to Governor Tom McCall, she launched a revolutionary project: eliminating the highway that crosses the city to transform it into a green promenade. At the time, people were screaming scandalously; today, the green genius of the small town is being recognized. And Portland does not stop there in terms of the environment, here we eat organic, sort our waste, we usually use our bicycles, solar panels equip public bins to compress waste, and green roofs to drain and recover rainwater. Thanks to all these assets, Portland has been elected, on several occasions, as the most pleasant city in the United States. No wonder that artists, musicians in particular, are all converging towards the North-West, creating since the 2000s, a new musical bubble, where indie music is king. And another point for Portland!