the causes for Portland's decline were well document in "Portlandia"

What is this Columbus, SC you speak of? If you mean Columbia, you've clearly never been to that armpit of a city.

Chapel Hill was fantastic in the 90s, but today it is much less desirable. The growth of the Triangle has been disastrous. It was such a great area.

But I agree with your general message. The South has some really cool cities where libs and cons tend to intermingle and life remains pretty cordial. I won't list them. Most of them have very hot and humid summers.

L L wrote:

YaNo wrote:

Try as you might, Portland is a disgusting place with litter, needles, and piles of chit on the sidewalks.

The South has prettier cities, less trash, less crime, and notably, a lot more Black- Americans.

A small handful of Southern cities easily superior to Portland in every way:

Savannah GA

Columbus SC

Nashville, TN

Chapel Hill, NC

Austin TX

Any town in VA

They all have Democrat mayors and Austin is one of the most liberal cities in the country.

Don't let facts interfere with the narrative.

L L wrote:

YaNo wrote:

Try as you might, Portland is a disgusting place with litter, needles, and piles of chit on the sidewalks.

The South has prettier cities, less trash, less crime, and notably, a lot more Black- Americans.

A small handful of Southern cities easily superior to Portland in every way:

Savannah GA

Columbus SC

Nashville, TN

Chapel Hill, NC

Austin TX

Any town in VA

They all have Democrat mayors and Austin is one of the most liberal cities in the country.

But but let it Rupp said 😭

Caleb's Hat wrote:

Are you trying to convince yourself that the spike in crime, drug use, theft, riots, and homelessness has nothing to do with politics?

So what were the politics that drove up the crime in rural areas? Most of these places are run by Republicans.

don't get it wrote:

ultramarine wrote:

oh right. Portland is doing just swell

😂😂

The nightly riots have 15% less arson than at this time last year!

15% less arson people. That’s just a fact.

Not to go all tin foil hat but don't they have one of the Soros funded DA's too?

Just spent the day in Portland and it was...spectacular. 60 degrees, only partly cloudy, vegetation so green it hurts your brain - everything grows here.

The food was great, beer even better, people aloof. Even the homeless encampments have upped their game; almost all had a parked cars, RVs and humongous trash piles, all portend upward mobility and consumption.

Downtown Portland still rivals any downtown in America. And the same goes for their suburbs.

Your analysis is all wrong.

Portland never was, nor wanted to be an important city.

The dream of Portland was to be a "safe space" for white people to be eccentric, without judgement (this was well documented in the theme song to Portlandia, btw). It had no ambitions to be a wealthy, "important" city as you describe it above.

Cities like Portland and Seattle are still hubs and have a lot of people moving to them. I would not want to live in either city but I would live in the outer suburbs of say 10-20 miles away from the city center. All ya need is about 200 or 300K to put down on a 3/bd 2/bath 2500sqft 800K house and you'll be fine.