I'm from Oregon, about 40 minutes south of Portland. I don't really go into downtown Portland much, but since it is the main city around here and is always on the news and what not, I feel like I know it pretty well. I am by no means a city slicker. Not into clubs, or fancy dining, or coffe house type stuff, and I wouldn't feel comfortable living there, but I do attend various functions down there from time to time. When the news station was talking about Portlandia coming out and how it spoofs all the weirdness of Portland, I looked at my husband and said "I never thought of Portland as being really all that weird". My husband, who travels in his business and knows Portland like the back of his hand says" Um, yeah... Portland is one of the weirdest cities in the country. Haven't you seen all the bumber stickers that say "'Keep Portland Weird"? I guess I'm just so used to everything that comes out of it, that I didn't see it as abnormal. There definately is a very broad spectrum of lifestyles , which I think is great. I will say that there are some places that I prefer not to go because there are alot of snooty people, like certain shopping districts and such. I don't travel much out of Oregon, so I don't really have any other major cities to compare it to. It really is a beautiful city, though, epecially at night. Wouldn't want to live their though. A little too much of everything for me.