Portland is a wonderful place that is very tolerant of hippie-types. Plenty of great people, and home to some great places, such as the nationally famous Saturday Market, a great place to meet people and just chill on the waterfront.
Ive been all around this country and Portland OR is the most beautiful city Ive ever seen….the people r welcoming know matter what u look like…and Hippies r more welcome than most…Saturday market draws some of the most unique people Ive ever met…but it is a great place for families as well…u can get almost any groovy hippy gear u want, as well as art from all over the world…waterfront is were most hippies hang out…ther r drum circles, smoking circles, its the best place to get rave flyers…and the vibe is very laid back. There is majik here…anyone whos been here will agree with me…it is so close to every part of nature here..the ocean, forests, mounts…Oregonians love & live with mother nature & not on her. so come one come all hippies to OR…its the most fullfilling place to end up!
I lived in Portland about 3 years ago, and was raised in the S.F. Bayarea during the 60’s & 70’s. I found Portland to be the closest to what S.F. was like then. It’s a great city and I miss it alot.
How can somebody say the bad things about Portland that they did?
I’ve lived in Portland for my whole life, which hasn’t been very long Im just a kid, but oh well, I think its great. I’ve been to Florida, Cali, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and I think that I couldn’t stand to live anywhere else besides here in Portland. There is so many small hip buisnesses, and people are so welcoming, and kind. Hawthrorn is great, its full of local theaters, which play fabulous movies and I totally adore, there is coffee shops and cafes everywhere, and some nice used clothing stores, though some things can be costly. Other people have posted that it is a racist state, that isn’t true, not if you hang around nice people, the people affect the environment, if you’re hanging out in Portland somewhere you feel comfortable, they will fill confortable about you being there, dont think that everyone is out to get you. Someone also said it was full of yuppies, I will admit, if you are hanging out aroudn the Pearl District, going to art openings, then people are a bit more yuppieish, but simply don’t go there if you don’t want to be around them, Portland has many crowds, hang out in the one you are most comfortable in. But downtown is just fabulous! Its crowded if you drive everywhere, but if you bike or walk, its amazing, so many different unique types of people, hippies, rebels, yuppies, skaters, prudes, beat niks, they are all there, its great. Yes, I will admit, there is a hella lot of Starbucks shops, but, no place is perfect, and Portland is a hippie hang out. The people are laid back, hardly ever in a hurry, and accepting towards different people. I remember when my friends first started dragging me to all the small busness areas (Hawthorn) it was great, everyone is so unique, playing instruments, and everyone has such a strong opinion. PORTLAND IS SO FLIPPIN’ SNAZZY!
-Meow -^_^-
meow, you are very cute and naive. portland is an okay place cause its easy to get out of and there arent too many really cold days but a lot of people here dont understand reality, their reality is reality tv which makes it hard to find intersting people. as far as bohemian i dont really know but a lot of people are good at playing dress up. fuck
um, how do you guys know that this website isnt actually run by the government in an attempt to monitor drug activity and potential “terrorism”?
I love Portland. I wish I could connect with more people that are like-minded in the area, though.
Interesting thread. I’ve lived in P-town for seven years now. I agree with many of the positive and negative things that have been said, but like anything, I think its worth noting that its all relative to where and with whom you are spending your time here.
The people: It is a liberal haven, of which the hippy haven is a part, but not the whole. People are very politically conscious and active.
If you are interested in truly connecting to a circle of people looking to better their lives and the world around them, with peace and love in their hearts, you will find a plethora here. Funny enough, most of these people, that I know at least, are from other parts of the country and came here to create this. If this is your mindset too, you will find them. The SE neighborhoods are filled with kind and open people. Hippy hearts without the need to dress or act any particular way.
You will also find your fair share of plastic types and suits in the uber-urban areas (Pearl District) and outlying suburbs to the west, as well as conservatives, racists and hicks, which seem to make up a fair share of the population once outside of the city. It is hard to get to know some types of people, but that is the only way they will get to know us and our viewpoints. If we truly act with love, then we do so towards all people. The fact that I’ve used the term “hick” demonstrates I’m still working on this part myself.
The only racial diversity is in N/NE Portland, which is quickly becoming gentrified but still has a vibrant Black community. Other areas have high Asian and Latino (primarily Mexican) populations, but there is the ever-present class barrier which forces them to live in the same areas as the racist hicks. The “hippy” scene is, as it has nearly always been, primarily White.
There is a lot of diversity in gender/sexual preferance. It is a lesbian and gay haven, where you will find general acceptance but still run into the occasional jerk who is acting from fear and ignorance.
The economy: No question, its bad, very bad. Since the dot-com crash, it has been very shaky. Local governments are broke, there are very few social welfare programs, and jobs are very hard to come by unless you’ve been around for a while and have intigrated with generous people.
The environment: Breathtakingly beautiful! Old growth forest, waterfalls, snowy peaks, the Pacific ocean, all within an hour and half drive. But the winter, oh god the winter. Expect eight months of rain and gray skies. My theory is, however, this is what makes the people so nice and conscientious.
This city and area resonates with love, magic, and community. But it may well require some sacrifices. To me, its worth it.
Portland is a magical place where with much beauty where i finally got the spiritual part of my life in place,which really helped my mental growth’
NO TIME TO HATE
Portland is losing its hippy charm. I’ve lived here for 23 years. Housing prices are up, there’s tons of overeducated people applying for the same jobs (and even working minimum wage jobs at Starbucks…….which are on every corner)….. Some of the local hippy joints have been replaced with new, modern places………..
Californians are coming here in droves…………and not the 420 friendly type of Californians. Even Ashland (which is Hippy Central) is one of the new “hip spots” for Californians……….
Oh, and I forgot to mention………people here are not friendly anymore.
I am moving to Portland in February from the Northern California Coast. I was wondering what the good organic, conscience places and parks and areas are in Portland. Schools, galleries, resturants. Any advice? Love some heads up. I don’t want to find a place online and find myself in George Bush land. Love to chat. wildflowerbelle@hotmail.com
love and blessings, sylvia wildflower
Hey all. I’m moving to the west coast and would like to find a cool commune to just chill and grow herbs for awhile. Anyone know of any?
this town is a wonderful place if you can look past the corruption that the coorpations have caused-any hippy going downtown water front the hippies that you run into will welcome you and treat you right if you aren’t buying pot alot of those bags are short. if you want good bags go to hawthorne that is where you get the real love. there is a couple good reggae nights in town one of them is 3100 ne sandy blvd. the other one is on ne killingsworth. though the coorperate coffee shops offer wi-fi so do some of the local shops, there’s gladstone coffee on 39th and gladstone with free wi-fi, and so does coffee wire on 39th near hawthorne, so check out local shops and don’t give into starbucks and coffee people……
DONT GIVE INTO COFFEE COORPERATIONS
Hey, Y’all… Oregon is Awesome! The people, even the corporate types, are really laid back. Even nowadays. Yeah, there’s a major influx from Cali and everywhere, but it’s the cool people that are coming. They’re tired of the establishment that’s killing the rest of the country. Been to L.A. lately? Don’t bother. It’s worse than you remember.
People are like trying to come ‘home’. Remember, Cali was cool when Oregon was a conservative hinterland. So maybe we should try to welcome these brothers and sisters, and teach ’em how to be hippies again. Just like someone did for us, twenty years ago. By the way…don’t feel alone. Colorado is having the exact same thing.
Let’s be cool. Let’s keep on creating heaven!
So you think Portland would be cool to come to? well, just make sure you stay clear of WaterFront Park, Pioneer Square, and Park Blocks. The first and last are hot for cops the second is a place that nameless, jobless, stuck up, “I call myself a ‘hippie’ but only because I think you guys are cool” hang out at,and there mostly 13-14 year olds that ran away from home for being grounded. Cooller places are Larullherst park, hawthorne blvd, bellmont, most, Coffee shops in SE are chill too. really to get plugged in with cool people just find a place to kick it. a pub, chill bar, coffee shop, numeras parks(other than the ones listed above[matter of fact steer clear of parks in downtown in general) There’s chill glass blowers around, and some good music too. find your fortae and hang.
I wouldn’t let the word out so much about how great portland is… im from s. fla. and it used to be laid back here until the last 10 yrs – all of a sudden it was like half of the world was moving here and building up- everywhere! the developers came in and now it’s all concrete bldgs, tons of people and worst of all tons of cars. I hate it here but I must stay until my son finishes high school… I can’t figure out why everyone wanted to move here… (I was born here). Growing up I used to hate it that no one stayed here- all transient visitors who’d always leave and go back up north. Now no one leaves- they stay & tell all of their friends how great it is. It’s like they’ve ruined the place.
Help! I am moving to Portland and dont have much money for rent. $400 or less a month. can anyone tell me any apartments or areas? peavanmeurs@yahoo.com
I grew up in Ptld.
Good points are a great metro system, a (not great but ok) university that serves working individuals (PSU) and the nearby natural scenery.
Why the low score? You’ll find a lot of poseur, flakes and ‘fake’ types in Ptld, probably the influence of SoCal. It’s nothing for someone to say they’ll meet you on say Thursday night at such and such time, for that night to get here and they are nowhere to be found; lots of flakes.
People aren’t especially friendly either. Not until I moved to the South, North Carolina, did I really find people who I could call ‘friendly’. It was quite an eye opener. Ptld is also a bit insular, it thinks the world is keenly aware of its existence rather than it being the isolated place it is.
And the overcast weather. God help me, I’ll never, ever forget my happiness living in the South when the Sun actually came out every day and the skies were blue 90% of the time.
Ptld, nice place to visit or live for a year or two, it beats its chest about livability but a lot of it is hype. That’s about it.
I was born in Portland and have lived most of my life here.
10 to 15 years ago I would agree that Portland was a nice place to live. No one was in a hurry, and one of the biggest complaints from visitors that the city was too laid back: “I can’t believe people drive the &*()%$ speed limit here!!!” or some such as that.
It’s still an OK place to live, BUT
There are a LOT of new people moving here every day. Many of those are big city types – particularly Californians – that are always in a huge rush to get anywhere. SE Hawthorne used to be a hippie dream land, and while it is still possible to buy bongs at the store called “Smoking Glass” (for tobacco use only of course), a LOT of the laid back hippie charm the street once had has been replaced by by yuppie stylishness.
Because so many of these people who are moving here are coming from very expensive cities in California, the cost of housing has gone through the roof. For those from a big, expensive city (Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.) Portland will seem like it is very affordable. However, when comparing wages paid to cost of living, most of the indexes I have seen show only San Francisco as a more expensive city.
Beauty? Sure, it’s nice here. You could see Mt. Hood towering over the city from a number of places, but now they’ve built skyscrapers in the way of all execpt one or two places. Used to be you could see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, and even all the way north to Mt. Rainier, by Seattle. That only happens very occasionally – maybe several days a year – now because of the amount of air pollution from all the added cars on the road.
Unfortunately, this is only going to get worse. They expect the city to grow by another 1 million or so during the next 15 years.
I’m glad there are still those who move here and like it, as seen on this thread, but I only wish that you could have seen the city like I knew it back when it still had a small town feel and before much of the beauty was obstructed by the new buildings downtown.
– glen
My user name is glennl
and my internet provider is
easy street dot com
Hey, When on Hawthorne Blvd. Check out the Master Peace at 3623 SE Hawthorne Blvd. This shop specializes in HEMP, Organic Cotton, Bamboo and Soy clothing and goods for women, men, kids and the home.