Why does Portland have so many (or the most) hipsters?

1. Hipsters like bikes. Portland is a hardcore cycling town.

2. Hipsters are young. Portland may have a reputation for being “great to raise a family in”, but it’s actually one of the more popular migration points for young, childless people with college educations.

3. Hipsters like indie music. Portland’s local music is all indie.

4. Portland is a foodie town. Anyone who scoffs at that hasn’t been to Portland in the last couple years.

5. Portland tolerates lower standards of fashion and personal hygiene more than comparable urban areas. (No one wears Prada in the rain except dbags from California and New York.)

6. Hipsters like to be part of a secondary, outsider circle of culture that defines taste from the margins, emphasizing originality and authenticity. LA, the Bay Area, and NYC are traditional epicenters of cultural production, and hipsters like to be far enough away to say, “they were so much cooler before they signed with that label.”

7. Hipsters like cheap. Portland is still pretty cheap to live in for what it offers.

8. Oregon welcomes alternative modes of thinking and doing. Hipsters might be young urbanites, but they mesh with native Oregonians who know life isn’t all about making a buck. Not to mention the motto we stole proudly from Austin: “KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD”.