Last night Alex declared to me that he is a hipster. He is out of the proverbial closet. Pipe smoking, road-bike riding, hipster. Apparently, this video confirmed it for him, even though I was pretty sure that his love for Portland, Berkeley, and messenger bags gave him away years ago.
Actually, we’re a new breed of hipsters. True hipsters might call us posers, but I think we’re just a hybrid of the hipster and the yuppie. I’m not ashamed. I like organic food, shit yogis say, and, of course, Portland, (as well as yuppie things like homeownership and a regular paycheck!).
So, when a coworker/friend asked me if I wanted to spend 26 hours stuffed in a Prius on a road trip to Olympia for her roller derby bout that would include a night in our beloved Portland, how could I say no? (And, seriously, how could this scenario get anymore hipster?)
Yes, I know, true hipsters do not admit their hipster identity under any circumstance. That’s why I’m the hybrid version.
Here’s my top 10 hybrid hipster reasons that I love Portland:
1. Dirty bars, (even if I want to exit the dirty bars at midnight 😉
2. Revamped industrial districts
3. Foodie food
4. Voodoo donuts, (standing in line for anything makes it that much cooler, okay, not really, but I still like weird donuts!)
5. Microbreweries galore
6. Green everything, (trees, hillsides, environmental consciousness, bicycles…)
7. Proximity to the Oregon coast, Columbia Gorge
8. Dogs welcome EVERYWHERE
9. Alabama Street & NW 23rd, (two neighborhoods that make me miss Berkeley… hello gourmet food trucks with picnic seating areas!)
10. Isn’t Portland where young people go to retire?
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Voodoo Donuts in the middle of the night here I come! |