Welcome to Portland, Oregon! 

Oregon’s largest city and the Multnomah County seat, Portland is an economic powerhouse and cultural mecca for the greater region, known for its award-winning historic districts, superb shopping and dining, and flourishing arts scene. With a population of about 557,000 (and a count of about 2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area), Portland is the second only to Seattle in size amoung Pacific Northwestern communities. 

Careful town planning and an urban growth boundary has limited urban sprawl and led to efficient public transportation and less traffic than similarly sized cities; the surrounding agricultural and recreational lands enhance city-dwellers’ lives. Superb natural features like nearby Mt Hood, Columbia Gorge, and Columbia River provide ample recreational opportunities, and Portland is known for its beautiful gardens and attractive parks and recreational centers. Often called “the City of Roses”, Portland has many rose gardens, including the gorgeous International Rose Test Garden, and visitors flock to the city in spring and summer to see (and smell) the new blooms. The Willamette River passes through downtown Portland and boating is a popular local pasttime. 

One of Money Magazine’s “Top 10 Best Places to Live” in America, Portland has a great standard of living with housing costs remaining lower than those of most west coast cities. 

Location/Geography/Terrain 

Nestled between the Coast and Cascade ranges, Portland is in northwest Oregon, near the state border with Washington.

Covering about 145.4 square miles, about 7.6% of which is water, Portland sits in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. The Columbia River flows westward between northern Oregon and Washington to the Pacific at Warrenton (about 90 miles west of Portland), and the Columbia River Scenic Highway just out of the city takes drivers through some of Oregon’s most spectacular terrain, past river beaches, scenic outlooks, and waterfalls, including Multnomah Falls, the second largest in the country. The Willamette River runs north/south through Oregon’s picturesque Willamette Valley, rich in vineyards, fruit and nut orchards, and farms.  

Mt Hood is about 70 miles east of Portland, and is tall enough to offer superb year round skiing; the picturesque Hood River flows from the mountain to the Columbia River.  

While Portland is relatively flat, the city sits between the stunning Coast Range to the west and the majestic Cascade Range to the east; this geographical protection is responsible for the city’s mild climate. 

Jobs 

An economic powerhouse for the wider region, Portland is a highly prosperous city with a flourishing and diverse local arts scene and great public amenities. Computer software, high-tech, and IT companies comprise a large chunk of the city’s economic profile (major employers include EASE Software, Portland Software, Rosetta Technologies, and Triquint SemiConductor), alongside health, education and local government bodies (including Kaiser Permanente, Blue Cross, and Portland Community College.) Anderson Construction is another major employer. 

The Portland Business Alliance liaises with other regional business and governmental bodies to maintain and build on the region’s economic prosperity and foster a culture of cooperation and partnership. 

Housing 

Currently one of the most sought after cities to live in the nation, Portland has a dynamic housing climate, with real estate (particularly those homes priced under $500,000) tending to sell extremely rapidly. The median sale price is rising nicely with every passing year and is currently at about $269,500—still attractively affordable for many relocating families. Average sales price is $ 325,000 

With so many historic homes, Portland is a great place to buy and renovate a classic, particularly in East Portland where fantastic older villas and the like are still very affordable and neighborhoods feature friendly coffee houses, great local eateries, natural foods stores, and one-of-a-kind shops. For those looking for more modern accommodation there is plenty to choose from, from downtown apartment complexes to comfortable ranch homes in the outer suburbs. 

Parks and Recreation 

A gorgeous city with ample parks and gardens, Portland benefits from its closeness to some of Oregon’s most beautiful wilderness areas and offers its citizens much in the way of recreational pursuits. 

Some of the nicest spots in the city include the International Rose Test Garden in west Portland’s Washington Park, which has over 400 varieties, and the Japanese Garden, which is recognized to be the most authentic ceremonial garden outside of Japan. The Garden of Awakening Orchid is a stunning classic Chinese garden, and the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden at the Reed College campus covers seven acres and includes a beautiful lake. For a time of restoration, within the Chinatown area of Portland lies the Portland Chinese Garden, which is a refreshing retreat for the soul. Rain or shine, it is lovely. 

Nearby parks and wilderness areas include the stunning 240-acre Oregon Garden, which is about forty miles south of Portland and features a range of lovely gardens and the only house in Oregon designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. 

The ocean is about 80 miles west of Portland, and the Willamette and Columbia rivers meet at the city, so boating and a wide range of water sports are easily enjoyed here. The Hood River, about an hour east of the city, is a popular place to windsurf and kiteboard, and Mt Hood is just 90 minutes away by car, making year-round snow sports part of the Portland lifestyle. 

Oregon is known country-wide for its beauty and many of its 230 state parks are within a day of Portland, bringing camping, hiking, fishing and hunting to your doorstep. 

Voted America’s “Most Bicycle Friendly City” by the League of American Bicyclists, Portland has miles of jogging and bike trails, greatly benefiting the outdoor orientated local population. Golf is another beloved pastime here, and there are 41 18-hole courses in the metropolitan area alone. Renowned tournaments like the Jeld-Wen Tradition and the Safeway Classic draw professional competitors from around the globe. 

Special Attractions 

Named one of the nation’s “Top 25 Arts Destinations”, by American Style Magazine, Portland has a profusion of galleries, theaters, dance companies and music venues. No matter where you are in Portland, you’re never far from an art house cinema, performance space or gallery. The Portland Art Museum is one of the best and largest in the country and the Performing Arts Center is a massive venue, home to eight companies and host to many exciting touring acts. Over ten local community theaters help keep it real with both avant-garde and mainstream productions, and artist’s studios abound. Areas like Alberta Street showcase new local art works in their cafes, galleries and bars, while downtown Portland’s art galleries host works in a more formal setting.  

Portland’s scenic beauty and proximity to beautiful rivers, a mountain, and the Pacific Ocean also make this city special, as does its gorgeous gardens and public landscaping, miles of scenic biking trails and top recreational centers. 

Interesting Facts 

Sailors and explorers were the first Europeans to use what was to become Portland. Calling the region “the Clearing” (it was surrounded by forest), they would stop and rest here on their trips north to Fort Vancouver and Oregon City.  

In 1843 a William Overton visited and saw the commercial potential of logging here, and he filed a land claim with his partner Asa Lovejoy from Massachusetts. The tough work of clearing trees and building roads soon became too much for Overton, and he sold his half of the claim to Francis Pettygrove, a settler from Maine. 

Pettygrove and Lovejoy founded Portland in 1851. Both men wanted to name the new city after their respective hometowns of Boston and Portland and tossed a coin (now known as the “Portland Penny”) to settle the matter. Needless to say, Pettygrove won! 

Portland soon became a major deepwater port for the Pacific Northwest and a primary hub for the logging industry. Shanghaiing was also a primary source of income for some unscrupulous residents, who kidnapped men and sold them to sea captains to work the sailing ships; from about 1850 to 1941 Portland was widely known as the “Unheavenly City” because of it. In Portland’s earliest days tunnels were built beneath the city streets, linking goods cellars with the river, and kidnappers built trapdoors into these. After dropping unsuspecting victims into the tunnels, they would hold them prisoner before loading them onto the ships. Today, the tunnels are open for tours.  

As the lumber industry bought more wealth to Portland the economy stabilized, and by the turn of the century the city was increasingly more respectable. Local lumber baron Simon Benson built 20 elegant freshwater drinking fountains downtown after discovering that the men in his mill drank beer for want of drinking water. Beer consumption in the city reportedly decreased by 25 percent after the fountains were installed and these charming “Benson Bubblers” are still in use today.  

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