Some Last Thoughts On Portland And Los Angeles

We live in Los Angeles. And, as a month-long trip, we had plenty of opportunities to compare LA to Portland. In fact, that was one of the things we were trying to do. A month gave us a chance, even if a limited one, to try Portland on and see how it felt.

With that in mind, here are my last thoughts on the two cities. Of course I recognize that any summary like this is limited necessarily by what we saw, by our interests, by good or bad luck, by a bunch of variables. I decided to humanize this comparison. I hope you enjoy it.

Portland is like the friend or little brother who left town 10 years ago. You catch up with him after a long gap and discover that he hasn't grown up the way you have, that he has interests of his own, and that in some areas he's actually excelled at or exceeded you and the rest of the people he'd left behind.

He's gotten all serious about natural stuff. Exercises all the time. Eats right. Environmentally conscious, perhaps preachy about it. Just a bit too cocky and confident he won't get run over on his bike.

He's younger and not so orderly or rule oriented. He parks the wrong way on streets all the time -- knows it's illegal but does it anyway. Doesn't maintain the city streets too well (maybe he's spending his money on other things)

His interests are colored by the Portland locale. Farms nearby -- farmers' markets elevated to a cult. Hops growing an hour south -- big on beer. Rainy winters -- favors local coffee roasters like Stumptown over Starbucks.

Doesn't feel like he needs to conform Placid. Not at all rushing when he's driving to work, or anywhere else. Very much supportive of people following their quirks in dress code, in business, in anything. Smokes cigarettes.

He's self conscious when people notice his city -- and write articles about it in national publications. Proud, but precociously self conscious.

He's affected by living in a smaller locale. Community abounds. Dogs are welcome like people. Business support each other. You stop to help someone when they ask for it, even if you don't know them. People are safe -- you smile at them.

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LA is the second kid in the family. The one who always got attention for his personality or looks. People want him around. No matter what he does, things go his way. And, he's just so oblivious to it all.

He knows he has it good. He's aware of his looks, of his personality, and in a relaxed way revels in what it brings him.

Despite it all, he's always insecure. He knows who's a celebrity and, if he can claim to be one, knows his place in that game. He never feels like he's treated as seriously as his older sibling. After 9/11 he worried that terrorists might hurt Disneyland. Self absorbed!

He measures himself by his possessions, by where he goes on vacation. Dogs are possessions here, not people.

Life is lived effortlessly. Weather never gets in the way. A bad day might be one with a few clouds. A horrible day is one where it rains.

His interests too are colored by locale. It's a driving city and the spread lets him feel anonymous. He can be rude to anyone, anywhere -- there's always another restaurant with different waiters, always another job, always another club, always one more place he can go to start over. What's the point of kindness to strangers. Even the closest friends might go months without seeing each other.

Lots of things are going on, constantly. He can't sit still because of it. Eyes dart around. Cars dart by. Phone calls. Emails. Motion.

But, he's not stupid or blank or mindless. He's healthy. He understands the environment. He lives in LA knowing what it can do for him.

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Thanks for reading this. Tom