Oh, Portland. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!
You’ve heard us mention how great Portland is, but we wanted to call out just a few reasons why the Rose City is so remarkable.
In no particular order, here we go:
10. Portland is just so damn pretty.
Portland has all these great green spaces and scenic areas to visit. On any given day of the week, you can experience the beauty of Washington Park, the Columbia River Gorge, the Japanese Gardens, or the 5,000 acres of forest in the country’s largest urban park, Forest Park. With so much gorgeous outdoor space, there’s a lot to love.
9. The Weather. Kinda.
Okay, okay. I know Portland isn’t known for having fantastic weather. It’s wet, and it’s partly cloudy year-round. But, you know who loves the weather here? Roses! Yes, Portland is home to the International Rose Test Gardens. Due to Portland’s unique climate, roses bloom a lot longer here. The International Rose Test Garden (IRTG) has over 10,0000 rose bushes from over 600 varieties. The garden started as a testing ground for rose varieties during World War I and continues to test new roses yearly.
8. Powell City of Books
No trip to Portland is complete without visiting Powell’s City of Books – the world’s largest used and new bookstore. Powell’s takes up a whole city block and houses over one million books. There are nine color-coded rooms and the Rare Book Room, a site by itself. Each room houses used books alongside new ones making it a book lover’s paradise. Powell’s is also home to the Guilder Coffee shop (***link back to the coffee post), which serves Junior’s Roasted coffee – a local roaster.
7. Skateboarding Capital
There’s some debate about this, but at least for a while, Portland was the Skateboarding Capital of the United States. It all started in the 80s when folks were looking for something to do in the rain (we already told you how wet it is here). The Wall Street Journal gets into more detail about it here, but more or less, it started with folks building skate ramps under highways to citywide skateparks. And we don’t care what LA claims; there’s no better place to skate in America than Portland. We even had a skateboarder in the Mayor’s office!
6. Portland is Walkable
If skateboarding isn’t your thing, how about walking? According to Walk Score, Portland is the 13th most walkable city in the country (and the #2 most bike-friendly!). WalkScore even went as far as to say, “Portland might be the most walking, biking, and public transit-friendly city on the West Coast!” In addition, most neighborhoods have grocery stores, cafes, breweries, and shops within walking distance, so there’s no need to ever get in a car unless you’re going on a much longer trip. Plus, our public transportation system is good at getting you wherever you need to go, so you can navigate the city without needing a car.
5. Taxes
So this isn’t as much a Portland thing as an Oregon one, but there is no sales tax. So those vintage pants you saw for $12 are just $12. There are so many unique boutiques and specialty shops in Portland that it’s nice to not have a sales tax allowing your dollars to stretch a little more to support local businesses.
4. Beer
Portland is home to over 70 craft breweries which is how it earned the nickname Beervana. Portland brewers use fresh and local ingredients like Willamette Valley hops and Bull Run water. There are so many breweries in Portland that we can’t begin to tell you our favorites, but we guarantee that whether you like hoppy IPAs or smooth ambers, there’s a beer in Portland for everyone!
3. Coffee
So we can’t pin down an exact number, but Portland has a LOT of coffee shops. Coffee is kind of a big deal here, and there are hundreds of coffee shops in the city (we’ve seen numbers between 700 and 2500). Portland has everything for the Coffee Snobs to the no-frill cups of joe. But I’d bet whatever kind you get, it will be outstanding because one thing we do right in Portland is coffee.
2. Portland is Foodie Heaven!
Can we talk about the food here in Portland? OMG. Whenever a new foodie list comes out, Portland is always on it. Portland’s been called one of the “best food cities in America” as well as the “foodie (and drinkie) capital of America.” From our outstanding food carts to our high-end dining options, there’s a delicious meal around every corner.
1. The People of Portland
We can’t say enough great things about the fine people of Portland. From the hipsters to the nonconformist, from the cool to the quirky, everyone is doing their part to keep Portland weird, and we love it! Not to mention, we wouldn’t be in business without all these amazing Portlanders who work for us and are our clients. We love having our home in Portland and couldn’t dream of a better place to work.
We rent high-quality portable restrooms across southwest Washington and northwest Oregon. So whether you’re in Vancouver, WA, Portland, OR, or other nearby cities and need to rent a portable restroom, wash station, ADA-compliant, or wheelchair-accessible restroom or holding tank, contact us today so that we can give you a porta-potty quote for your project or event.