21 January 2012

[pdx_liff] Portland: Still Tops In Blighty, Gets On Yet Another List

2766.Note here that I said Blighty, not blight, which is a whole 'nother issue around here.

In the UK's The Guardian, writer Tom Dyckhoff has nominated his own Five Best Places To Live. Portland's number one, followed by the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, Germany; the north coast of Maui, Hawai'i; the Cihangir district of Istanbul (not Constantinople); and Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

For a bit, it looked like something of a have-on; I can think of fewer more non sequitur leagues to be in, also, the capping of the Portland section with not a typical shot of the MAX downtown or a beautiful panorama of the city's core but a snap of some of our less-than-inspiring west-side housing tracts (that pic could be Bull Mountain, say) But the commentary seems earnest in the main, and is based, at least partially, on surroundings and creature comforts with an eye toward home prices (which are quoted in Portland as being £128,000 for a 2-bedroom detached on NE Sacramento.

My favorite line? This:
So very liberal is Portland that it's a home from home to anyone from Europe, especially if they read the Guardian. 
Also: Cyclists are loved, not loathed. Well, not by everyone really, but we are a force to be reckoned with.

Read all about it: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jan/20/five-best-places-to-live-in-world

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