Some Quirky And Weird Things About Portland That Will Make You Want To Move There
Sure we’ve heard about Silicon Valley, the southern part of the San Francisco area in Northern California. We’ve heard about the innovative tech companies that reside there and blah blah blah. Boring. Have you heard about Silicon Forest? Wait. What? Silicon Forest, what and where is that? You ask. Silicon Forest is the term given to Portland, Oregon that is now home to a cluster of high-tech companies in the area. Yes, Portland is now a tech hub and with that, picturesque living with a quirky vibe. Today, we’ll talk about some of Portland’s “off-the-beaten-path” kind of unconventional things that most out-of-towners may consider weird. But despite the “weirdness” that others perceive Portland to be, it is actually a great place to move to and live. So here we go.
Stumptown
Contrary to Portland being now considered “Silicon Forest,” Portland was first nicknamed “Stumptown”. The name is derived from its early history when Portland was experiencing rapid growth (mid-19th century). Because of this, the residence, at the time, had to quickly clear the land to support the growth. Although the trees were chopped down, the tree stumps were not immediately removed. Thus, “Stumptown” was coined. It is also said that the tree stumps were used by residents as a way to avoid muddy unpaved roads by jumping from stump to stump. Imagine carrying a basket full of eggs doing that! Today, Portland is Silicon Forest but the coined nickname stuck around with it being used as part of the names of local businesses.
A Short Block Walk
Depending on where you are from, a typical block is about 10 for every mile or 311 feet long. In the case of rural Texas, it could be up to 12 blocks a mile. With that said, you’ll find it relatively strange that Portland’s downtown city blocks are only 200 feet long. So what would’ve taken you to walk 10 blocks at a mile elsewhere, in downtown Portland, it’s only a half-mile walk. Strange but could be beneficial, cutting time so you can get to work quicker, sort-of.
Too Polite?
Since we’re talking about commuting and all, let’s talk about traffic. Yes, I know, traffic is no strange thing, no matter where you live. You get the honks, the occasional (or always) “bird”, you get curse words, and road rage. But have you ever been to a place where traffic stalls because people are too polite in traffic? Like something out of the Twilight Zone, Portland is sometimes too, way too, polite when it comes to traffic etiquette. For instance, a pedestrian is slowly but surely crossing the street, you wait patiently while huffing and puffing in your mind and looking at the time. They’ve all crossed and traffic on the other side continues, preventing you from making a turn. While you are left frustrated and boiling over, Portlanders on the other hand, are the epitome of patience and politeness. Not only do they wait politely for all pedestrians to clear the crosswalk before turning, but they also “hold the door” for other cars to get by. Which means traffic will stall because Portlanders are too polite.
Biking: The Way of Life in Portland
As mentioned, Portland is a picturesque city — to the west the ocean, to the east are mountains. With that, it’s no wonder Portland is known to rank as one of the top places for biking. Portlanders are so into biking that the city has incorporated dedicated bike lanes and off-road areas to bike as well. Well, that makes sense, nothing weird there. Right? But did you know that Portland holds an annual naked bike ride? Participants ride their bikes in their birthday suit, annually. So now you are probably searching for Portland’s public nudity law. Portland and the entire state of Oregon has a relaxed approach to public nudity in its laws. It says that public nudity is broadly legal, and here’s the but (no pun intended), you can be nude as long as it does not cause arousal in others. By now, I am laughing out loud while also saying, “WEIRD!”.
These are only to name a few of the many unconventional things that make Portland the next city you should move to and live in. Since now you are convinced to make that move, you are probably searching for long-distance movers to get you and your things moved clear across America and into Portland. You’re probably seeing a sea of search results, too. Well let me make it easy on you, services provided like those from, Suddath Portland long distance movers, offer you the ease in moving, especially if you’ve acquired tons of things throughout the years. They provide free in-home estimates and cater specifically to your needs and budget. They can also provide an estimate using your mobile device via a virtual walkthrough, putting you as part of Portland’s tech community and into Silicon Forest.