When you live in Portland for a while, you become accustomed to the things that other people find surprising. If you say thank you to the Trimet bus driver or you automatically know to recycle instead of throwing something away, you know you’re from here. Here’s a list of some things that you should expect when coming to Portland:
- You don’t have to pay sales tax.
Flickr/J J You’ll always know how much you’re spending and you’ll never have to use change again.
- You might as well buy a bike.
Flickr/Sam Grover Don’t feel pressured or anything, but seriously it’s the easiest way to get around Portland.
- It’s illegal to pump you’re own gas.
Flickr Yep, you don’t even have to get out of the car. Believe me, you’ll appreciate this when it’s raining.
- Get used to the rain.
Flickr/Andriy Baranskyy Oh, and you have to be okay with not using an umbrella. Most of us just deal with it.
- There’s a constant civil war.
Flickr/Oregon State University You grew up either being a Duck fan or a Beaver fan, even if you weren’t even a fan of sports.
- You can buy marijuana legally.
Flickr/Global Panorama You can go to an actual store, with actual menus.
- We’re always going on adventures.
Flickr/Michael Matti Whether it’s hiking, kayaking, or even just randomly driving the beach, Portlanders have a hard time choosing which adventure they want to take each day.
- You’ll just be driving, and all of a sudden a gigantic mountain appears in the distance, probably Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Hood.
Flickr/R0Ng
- We prefer to drive cautiously.
Flickr/Marnie Mitchell And don’t you even think about using your horn.
- We take recycling very seriously.
Flickr/J It’s incredibly important to make sure you’re recyling waste. The entire city is on board with it. Composting, too.
- We’ll be super nice to you if you move here.
Flickr/Vladimir Pustovit Or even if you’re just visiting.
- But really, we’re just trying to keep it a secret.
Flickr/stokes rx We just want to savor Portland forever.
And the list goes on and on. What do you think you should expect when visiting Portland?
Flickr/J J
You’ll always know how much you’re spending and you’ll never have to use change again.
Flickr/Sam Grover
Don’t feel pressured or anything, but seriously it’s the easiest way to get around Portland.
Flickr
Yep, you don’t even have to get out of the car. Believe me, you’ll appreciate this when it’s raining.
Flickr/Andriy Baranskyy
Oh, and you have to be okay with not using an umbrella. Most of us just deal with it.
Flickr/Oregon State University
You grew up either being a Duck fan or a Beaver fan, even if you weren’t even a fan of sports.
Flickr/Global Panorama
You can go to an actual store, with actual menus.
Flickr/Michael Matti
Whether it’s hiking, kayaking, or even just randomly driving the beach, Portlanders have a hard time choosing which adventure they want to take each day.
Flickr/R0Ng
Flickr/Marnie Mitchell
And don’t you even think about using your horn.
Flickr/J
It’s incredibly important to make sure you’re recyling waste. The entire city is on board with it. Composting, too.
Flickr/Vladimir Pustovit
Or even if you’re just visiting.
Flickr/stokes rx
We just want to savor Portland forever.
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