A False View of Portland

I've argued this point in the past, but a severely misleading New York Times article on Portland is making me bring it up again.

David Laskin says:

"But below the fleece-clad and Teva-wearing exterior lurks a cool and refreshingly unneurotic city that marches to its own cosmopolitan beat. Truth is, Portland doesn't want to be Seattle, its highly caffeinated neighbor to the north. With less traffic, better public transportation and Mount Hood in its backyard, this self-styled City of Roses doesn't stand in anybody's shadow."

Uh, no. It seems that Laskin is in fact showing that Portland is in the shadow of Seattle. Why? Because Laskin acts like a Portlander, who are ALWAYS talking about how much better their city is than Seattle. Oh, we have less traffic. Oh, we have more to do. Oh, our city is more beautiful.

That all could be true. But you know, Portland residents sure are more annoying than Seattleites.

Again, if your city is really better than Seattle, you wouldn't talk about it so damn much.