“Can anyone familiar with the city talk about a reason to go there?”
I haven’t been to Portland for many, many years, I have no reason to visit Portland and I don’t plan on visiting again, but, to answer your question:
I used to think that Portland was quite beautiful, that is, as far as a city goes. It is green and lush and was vibrant. There is some lovely and interesting architecture and gorgeous parks. The Columbia River is amazing, and there are many waterfalls and hiking trails that are close by. Portland has Powells! The Children’s Museum was fantastic. The zoo was great and the massive rose gardens were nice to stroll through. People loved OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). Downtown was pretty nice and quaint. People who lived in smaller towns in Oregon and Washington would visit Portland and take their kids to all these attractions.
This whole situation is sad because Portland is located in a beautiful area and it has great potential.
It would appear that the whole state is like that. The coastline looks amazing.
Too bad the Left ruined everything. But that seems to be their thing.