Portland, Oregon

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Portland is a wonderful place that is very tolerant of hippie-types. Plenty of great people, and home to some great places, such as the nationally famous Saturday Market, a great place to meet people and just chill on the waterfront.

Ive been all around this country and Portland OR is the most beautiful city Ive ever seen….the people r welcoming know matter what u look like…and Hippies r more welcome than most…Saturday market draws some of the most unique people Ive ever met…but it is a great place for families as well…u can get almost any groovy hippy gear u want, as well as art from all over the world…waterfront is were most hippies hang out…ther r drum circles, smoking circles, its the best place to get rave flyers…and the vibe is very laid back. There is majik here…anyone whos been here will agree with me…it is so close to every part of nature here..the ocean, forests, mounts…Oregonians love & live with mother nature & not on her. so come one come all hippies to OR…its the most fullfilling place to end up!

0 thoughts on “Portland, Oregon”

  1. I love Portand. I’ve lived here most of my life, and the six years that i didn’t i lived in Vancouver WA so i was still came here often. I love the Saturday Market and the Waterfront, i wish i could get down there more. So I recomend Portland to all Hippies. It’s the greatest place that I know.

  2. We just moved here and we go to the Saturday market quite a bit. The review on the market place is very accurate and is as it says a wonderful place for one and all.

    The waterfront is true also, there are all types that go and is a high tolerance for a types of peoples.

    I thank you again for the review and appreciate the truthfulness of your words, especially since I have made this place my home.

    Yours truly,

    chuckjere

  3. I live here in the Portland area and everthing you said about the Saturday Market is true. It’s a wonderous place to be and you can’t help but want to stay forever.

    I appreciate the honest review about Portlands Waterfront and hope I never have to leave this area ever.

  4. Portland is the most beautiful city anywhere. The rent is cheap, jobs are easy to come by, and this city has a community. Its active and vibrant and alive. People here havn’t forgotten whats important in life, and most the people I meet are in love with the city.

    Hippies aren’t just welcome in Portland, they are Portland. Even people that don’t look like hippies are hippies. They think and act like hippies. U don’t have to smell like a hippie to be one in Portland. Come to Portland, take a bath, and be a part of the best place in the US (way the hell away from those capitalist pigs in Washington).

    BTW, most businesses are small businesses here… which means the city gov’t isn’t in the pocket of some corporation. They actually CARE about their city.

    If you move here, you can join your neighborhood association, and have a voice again. Democracy that works. There’s nothing like it.

  6. im wondering if there are any “hippy towns” to the west or southwest of Portland? Im moving to McMinnville area in the summer- starting a new job. Im moving from a really amazing set of communities in the foothills outside of Boulder, Colorado (nederland, sugarloaf, gold hill, ward, etc) and am wondering if anythng similar exists between portland and the coast?

    please respond via e-mail…

    thanks,
    rob g
    robert.gardner @ colorado.edu

  7. I have been thinking about moving to Portland. From what I am told Portland is one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. However, I have also been informed that the job market is really bad right now so finding a job is very difficult. I have friends up there and they are thinking of leaving because they can’t find work! According to national statistics unemployment in Portland is the highest in the nation! (national average being 4.6, Portland is at 9.5 with 10 being the highest…that’s bad). What a shame, because I would really like to move there. If anyone knows any different please post and let me know. Peace to all.

  8. Dear Greenwolf,
    With regards to your question about the Portland job market, I highly recommend that you reconsider your decision to move here. I came to Portland three years ago (just before the nightmare of 9/11) and these three years have been the worst three years of my career. Jobs are indeed VERY scarce, and more importantly, there’s a lot of well-educated people here competing for the few jobs that are available. This is not one of those cities where you can come in with a chip on your shoulder and expect doors to open up because you have a bachelor’s degree or even an MBA or Ph.D. On top of that, the city had some major budget cutbacks that have really made things difficult for low-income folks and anyone who needs to be on unemployment. Yes, it’s a beautiful city with friendly, open-minded people and cheap rental apartments, but until the economy gets better, this is not where you want to live unless you have a huge nest egg to live on while you look for a job. I am thinking of leaving, and many of my friends have already gone. By all means visit Portland, but don’t plan to stay for the long haul until things turn around.

  9. Thank you for your post. I have already recosidered and will not be moving to Portland at this time. However, I would love to visit and will be doing so before the end of the year.

  10. Portland is absolutely one of the best American cities for hippies.

    I absolutely agree with the Portland Saturday Market comments. It is an excellent place for hippies to hang out. They’ve got this head shop called Artopia, where they have a lot of great vintage posters, Fillmore ads, bead curtains, window stickers, etc. And they have multiple booths filled with everything from hemp necklaces to tie-dye to sarongs to incense to fine abstract art! 🙂

    Besides the market on Saturday and Sunday, there are many other hippy-friendly areas in Portland west of 82nd Avenue, where east of there begins to get more downscale and filled with auto shops and mobile homes. Hawthorne Avenue is my absolute favorite part of Portland. There, it is very neo-hippy with many great cafes, head shops like Jambo World Crafts and the Third Eye Shoppe, and many great lounges and theaters where you can catch an act or read local poetry, etc.

    Everything between Belmont and Division is gorgeous. 23rd Avenue east of the Willamette is also a pretty area, Pioneer Courthouse Square is a great hang-out area, Laurelhurst Park, heck, Portland is THE tie-dye town, with the Pearl District being the only real exception with its upscale plastic atmosphere.

    It is true it rains most of the year here, but all the same the water enrichs the Earth and the flowers and trees are breathtaking here.

    A few words of advice to those who are interested to move here. The water here does contain some mercury pollution, but don’t fear drinking the water. Just don’t swim in the Willamette is all! 😉

    You’ll love it here! I’m lovin’ it each day! (does happy dance)

  11. Hello people of Portland! Could anyone tell me if dread locked folks can find jobs around or near town? About how much would one expect to pay for rent? What’s your overall opinion of the town? Thanx and Much Love!!!

  12. I grew up in Portland. Portland used to be hippy-friendly. Now its a weird place to be where you really dont feel welcome at all unless you got an s.u.v. Yall must be from Kansas or Miami or some shit if you think Portland is a cool spot for hippies. My plan is to get as many savages as I possibly can and pull Portland back out of the jaws of the rich before they swallow the motherfucker whole. The natives called the willamette valley the “valley of the sickness” because they would go there to find healing herbs. Now the valley of the sickness is just sick.

  13. many people dont know this, even the portland locals, but there is actually a clothing – optional bar in the Downtown party district of Portland. Its called Berbati’s Pan, and its located right next door to the Shanghai Tunnel on S.W. 2nd and Ankeny. The bar is Greek owned they have set up a deal with the other bars and police in the downtown area to give the bar that “nude beach” appeal. So if you go there and you start to feel a little too warm, dont worry, they love naked hippies!!!

  14. I just went to Portland to check it out and found that the people were very nice but it is surely not a hippie area. Mostly alternative kids and skateboarders, who were also very nice. I was hoping for a bit more of a laid back, hippie loving vibe. All around though, a gorgeous place (mountains, trees)

  15. I’ve been living in Portland for the last 8 months and there’s more hippies and freaks and bohemian types in this city than you know what to do with. It’s not as dense as the bay area so everything is a bit more spread out but whatever your trip is you can find it here. If your wanting to live in the ‘hip’ area stay in the SE north of Powell and west of ’82nd between powell and burnside. If you live a bohemian lifestyle of any kind you’ll find portland to be a city that’s very easy to get used to.

  16. Portland is a very welcoming place, as long as you are not a different color. I lived there for a year, and it’s where all the old south dixie people went after the civil war. They think it’s their promised land. I saw some crazy stuff: people on the bus whistling old insulting mammy type songs, to some guy in a suit trying to get home. This also happened to me more times than I can count. Being mocked in the supermarket, by some rich girl who saw that I was buying sour cream and said something about Mexicans to her mother. I mean, real egregious bulls–t up in Portland. Beware, kids.

  17. Portland is possibly the coolest town in the US. The Saturday Market is a groovy place to pick up hippy art and crafts, and theres lots of parks for laughing and lazing. The Third Eye store is also a big hippy magnet. And best of all, Portland is close to almost any geographical feature you can think of: rivers, oceans, forests, mountains, deserts, and more.

  18. Whats up there. I was thinking about moving to Portland in about a year. I currently live in Las Vegas, and it is one of the shittiest places I’ve ever lived. I’m out here working as a intern for a appraisal company, and I have about 10 months left, and then I’m fuc#ing gone. I consider myself to be open hearted, very gererous (spelling?), honest, you know, all of the hippy characteristics. How are the women out there, are there a lot, because I love the ladies, they’re not all fake bitches like here in Vegas are they? Is it easy to meet people in bars? Just tell me more about how bad ass Portland is, and I’ll start packing right now, I’m sure you can use another loving, accepting person in your town, even though I heard it is getting pretty crowded. I heard the rain situation is kind of a myth, whats up with that? How is the nug life?
    Where is the best local bars to catch some good Jammin?

  19. Hey, I’m in Portland right now. The good things you have heard about it tend to be true, but make sure you have a job lined up before you come here. The job market is really tight and if you wait to come up here to secure a job you might get screwed.

    Nug life? I don’t smoke but it’s good quality here and cheap.

  23. I’ve visited portland a few times and love the city. I was most impressed by the people but the city in general seems to be moving at a different beat than any place I’ve been.People are there because they want to be and seem to be very happy. To start an interesting exchange try saying ” hello”. Works for me! I’m planning a move there this summer so I’d thought I’d ask here if they’re like everywhere else and have to pee to get a job. Actually I’m casual so peeing isn’t an issue but the hair thing is a grave inconvenance. I’m a tradesman who works manufacturing. Namaste’

  24. I lived of Portland for a couple of years when I was real young, and from what I remember it was a bad ass little city. I also remember Oregon as a whole, cool ass state, very greeeen. How is Portland now? Do the richest people in the city still dress in jeans and tee shirts? I live in Miami, and it seems like people wont give you the time of day unless you dress nice, and drive some overprices peice of sh#t. Give me the scoop all you Portlanders.

  25. Very white, bland, and lifeless. No jobs, no good food, no entertainment, an definetly no diversity The hippie vibe is not here, it is the yuppie scene definitely, amd everybody here is wrapped up in themselves. Lots of strip bars and meth, and a severe lack of freedom. Saturday market is alright, but quickly becoming a shell of what it was. This is no utopia, and as hard as it is to beleive even Cali is better.

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