With Portland it is hard to avoid superlatives. This city of 538,180, with 1.95 million in its greater metropolitan area, has been proclaimed by Money Magazine as North America's “Best Big City”, and by England’s respected Guardian newspaper as “one of 5 cities of the future”. Blessed with innovative and enlightened city planners, a gentle climate, and varied and beautiful environs, Portland is the quintessential outdoor city and boasts some of the best outdoor recreational choices in the nation. With its unique artistic and cultural attractions, colorful multicultural neighborhoods offering splendid dining, and a vibrant and growing economy, Portland is a great city with the big heart of a small town.

Location
Located in Multnomah County in the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, Portland is 30 miles north of the 45th parallel and 78 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Portland is just seven miles as the crow flies across the river from Vancouver, WA; Portland is 47 miles from Salem, OR; Portland is a little over 100 miles from Eugene, OR. Seattle is 145 miles distant.

Geography/Terrain
Portland’s skyline is dominated by the magnificent sight of Mt. Hood, over eleven thousand feet and just an hour away in the northern Cascade Mountains. The city is located in the fertile Willamette Valley and surrounded by wooded hills, farming country, and vineyards.

Jobs & Employment
The Portland metropolitan area is one of the fastest-growing in the nation. A very low unemployment rate and a vast range of vibrant industries and businesses in the metropolitan area mean that Portland is a city of huge opportunities. High-tech industries are very strong, as are the health care and education sectors, and tourism.

Housing
Portland takes great pride in its urban planning and quality of life. The city’s inner city neighborhoods have seen dynamic growth in the past few years, and a wide variety of housing is available in eclectic, multicultural, community neighborhoods. From elegant historical properties and established neighborhoods to newer developments, including many wonderful housing communities, Portland offers many diverse options that will appeal to a wide range of home buyers. Search for Portland Homes.

Recreation
With 37,000 acres of parks, including the nation’s largest urban wilderness, Portland is richly endowed with outdoor recreational spaces. The beautiful 2000 acre Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, only minutes from downtown Portland, is the nation’s largest protected urban wetland and is home to beaver, river otter, black-tailed deer, osprey, bald eagles and Western painted turtles. A paved trail with two wildlife viewing platforms provides easy access to the area, or it can be explored by boat or canoe. Other parks offer opportunities for fishing, camping, boating, biking, hiking, and every kind of ball sport.

Progressive urban policies and a great system of bike-friendly paths have made Portland the No. 1 cycling city in America. One of the city’s best cycling paths, the 1.5-mile walking/cycling trail along the downtown waterfront and through the Waterfront Park offers expansive views of the city skyline and features a 1,200-foot floating walkway, as well as easy access from four of the Willamette’s bridges.

For a different kind of recreation, many choose a sampling tour of some of the more than 25 micro-breweries that have earned Portland the nickname "Münich on the Willamette", or visit the city’s numerous gourmet coffee shops. The Brew 'N View Movie Theaters where patrons recline on comfortable couches with pizza and beer, or the many beautiful gardens and galleries are also popular.

With four municipally-owned public courses and a host of private golf clubs, Portland has a challenge for every golfer, whether beginner or pro. The courses operated by the City includes Eastland Golf Course, Oregon’s second-oldest, established in 1917, and the superb Heron Lakes, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and his son Robert Trent Jr. and listed by Golf Digest as one of the top 75 public courses in the U.S.

Special Attractions/Events
A Northwest tradition for 98 years, the Portland Rose Festival is Oregon’s premier civic celebration. Each June more than two million spectators come to celebrate the City of Roses with a dazzling array of events and entertainment for all ages, including parades, flower shows, dozens of concerts and shows, a huge midway, car races, and a fireworks spectacular, to mention just some of the attractions.

In February, fans of America’s original art form flock to Portland for the internationally acclaimed Portland Jazz Festival, which in 2009 included the likes of from legends such as pianist McCoy Tyner, to boundary-blurring young stars Jason Moran and Lionel Loueke, to crossover queen Cassandra Wilson and more than 90 more artists performing at multiple downtown venues.

For art lovers “First Thursday”, held on the first Thursday of each month, is an opportunity to preview new art exhibitions at downtown Portland art galleries. Participants walk from gallery to gallery, enjoying wine and music, viewing all the latest art exhibits and meeting the artists.

Now almost synonymous with Portland, Powell's City of Books is the world’s largest independent bookstore. Housing more than a million volumes, Powell’s occupies a full city block and boasts one of the world’s only three-door elevators.

Interesting Facts
Portland’s links with the famous Lewis and Clark expedition are marked in the glorious Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area, where visitors can travel on the river in old-fashioned sternwheelers and enjoy the sights very much as they were when the intrepid explorers journeyed through 200 years ago. The Scenic Area also contains Multnomah Falls; at 620 feet, it is the second highest waterfall in the nation.

Portland’s first European settlers, William Overton and Asa Lovejoy staked their claims in 1843. The village that grew where they built their homes was at one time named Stumptown, but was later named after the town of Portland in Maine on the basis of the toss of a coin. The City was chartered in 1851 and made the county seat in 1854. It was located at the furthest point inland on the Willamette River that could be reliably reached by ship.

The city houses several historic districts, where many venerable buildings dating from the later 19th and early 20th Centuries are carefully preserved. Interesting examples are the oldest surviving federal building in the Pacific Northwest, the Pioneer Courthouse, completed in 1875, and the Pittock Mansion, built in the first decade of the 20th Century, and home to Portland pioneer business man and newspaper magnate Henry Pittock. This huge mansion, with its eclectic architectural design and richly decorated interior, including family artifacts, is open to the public.

Portland was built on a European model, with half-size city blocks and many statues and fountains in its streets, making it a walker’s paradise. Its public transportation system is also justly acclaimed as innovative, accessible and user-friendly. Light rail trains, the Portland Streetcar and an excellent bus system all offer free service within the 330 blocks of the downtown area.

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