Wandered around portland today. Feels like the city is abandoned. Was there a mass exit or has it always been like this?
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There are several walkable commercial districts. Downtown mostly has the main Powell’s and some tourist traps like Voodoo Donut. Did you get out to Mississippi Avenue? The Pearl? Hawthorne? Alberta?
There are swathes of residential, light industrial, strip mall etc. between ofc.
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I live in Montavilla, which has one of the second tier commercial districts but is happening even on a weekday morning, let alone the brunch rush.
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But yeah, downtown isn’t central most residents’ experiences of Portland, anymore than would be true of LA.
is absolutely right about it being misgoverned though.
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Indicative. I was visiting Hillsdale frequently and it was an okay boring suburb. Vancouver was okay too. All a little run down and old compared to Seattle which I think is the least bad west coast city.
LA blight feels less bad somehow. Not cancerous.


