3 Things I Love and Hate About Portland

Portland is a great city, but I have to admit I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. Here are 3 things I love and hate about Portland. 

I Love...The Food

There's no better place than Portland to get just about any type of food imaginable. From a good old fashioned burger to Thai, it's all here. If you can't find a good place to eat, you aren't looking hard enough.

I Hate...Parking

Parking is stupid expensive in Portland. Hourly rates in parking areas are as high as $5 an hour. Even monthly parking costs $100 or more. The parking meters at $1 an hour are a good deal, if you're lucky enough to find a space.

I Love...Arcadia National Bar

A bar that has old school video games like Ms. Pac-Man and NBA Jam, pinball machines, video game consoles from NES to PS4, and table top games. Beer and grilled cheese too? If you haven't been, you're missing out on being a kid who can drink.

I Hate...Graffiti

Portland has a major graffiti problem. A beautiful, historic city covered in tags. You'd think people would care enough not to destroy public property. Sadly there's not much of a solution to fix this problem other than trying to keep up with it by painting over it or power washing. It's a losing battle.

I Love...That Portland Remembers Its History

When a building owner actually hires someone to freshly paint an old sign on their building for a business that vacated there decades ago, that says something about what makes Portland unique.

I Hate...Jaywalkers

Pedestrians in Portland ignore walk signals at crosswalks. And I mean totally ignore them like they don't apply to them. I think they believe that if they're in the crosswalk, they have the right of way which isn't the case when there's a walk signal. I've missed entire cycles of green lights in downtown Portland because of people walking against the light. A bonus hate is the people who don't yield to pedestrians in uncontrolled crosswalks.

What do you love and hate about Portland? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter @Q979