Some mid-40s friends are looking at weekend vacation rentals (airbnb, homeaway, etc) in Portland OR and I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on which neighborhoods would be best to stay in.
By “best” they’d mean: not dangerous, has some bars and restaurants for mellow nightlife, good public transportation (can get to major tourist areas without changing buses or trains 12 times). They will NOT have a car.
Westmoreland and Sellwood in Southeast are very pleasant and safe. Some good restaurants and pubs (two bus lines to downtown). Brooklyn might have more B&B type places, and has a couple of great breakfast places. It’s also very close to several bus routes to downtown. The Hawthorne and Pearl districts have a lot of activity and public transit, and probably a lot of accommodations.
I’m sure that’s what he was referring to. The Pearl is a gentrified part of the city where old warehouses have been turned into condos and lofts. It’s downtown, with access to the street car, buses and train lines. If your friends are flying in, the Max train line runs from the airport to the downtown area, so a taxi would likely not be needed to reach their destination. A little online homework on the Portland Metro system would be a good idea. The problem with being out in Sellwood or Brooklyn or other outlying areas is that downtown is always a bus ride, and accommodations are likely to be slimmer. They don’t want to spend all their time waiting for a bus.
For tourism, the Japanese Garden is excellent. It’s close to the Rose Garden and the Portland Zoo, although at this time of year the Rose Garden is probably a bust. All are accessible by bus, with a free shuttle going up to the Japanese Garden. The Chinese Garden is also interesting, and is closer in.
I’ll throw in Irvington as another neighborhood to look at. There are some AirBnB places there, there are restaurants on Broadway to the south or Fremont to the north, and it’s close to downtown with easy transit on the light rail.
For a more urban experience, I agree with the Pearl recommendation.
They’re going to be tourists though. Wouldn’t they want to see hipsters? It’d be like going to Williamsburg and staying away from the areas where they dress like f-ing colonialists!
Regarding Hawthorne and hipsters, it depends on what your friends mean by “not dangerous” and “mellow nightlife”. A person who never gets out of small-town America might see all the tattoos, odd hairstyles, and occasional homeless person and think it’s a dangerous area. It’s not all, but could be intimidating to someone with limited experiences. Other people will enjoy the energy and people-watching.
If your friends want hipster heaven, go with Hawthorne (or Mississippi). If they want a little more quiet and residential, Irvington is nice. Sellwood and Westmoreland are a great middle ground (although a little more removed as Chefguy says). The Pearl is more upscale and urban.
Hawthorne will be fine. It’s filled with families with young kids during the weekends. If your friends are hipsterish, Motorgirl, they might enjoy Hawthorne a little more. The area is full of cute independent shops. There aren’t any light rail that goes directly to the area, but the buses are fairly consistent and Portland bus drivers are the friendliest public servants I’ve ever met. Lardo, Blue Star Donuts, and Chiang Mai are some of my favorite food places on that street. The food cart pod on Hawthorne and 12th street (across from Lardo) also has great food if they want to grab something to eat late at night. There are 2 Powell’s bookstores on this street and the coffee from Fresh Pot inside Powell’s is pretty good. Cascade Brewing nearby has decent saison beers.
The Pearl tends to have a more commercial vibe. Lots of boutique shops too, but can be spendier. Good shopping district for the higher end consumer. Lots of breweries in the area and great restaurants as well. Both are good choices, it just depends on the experience they want to have.
Mmmm! Fat chance of me not coming back though (unless I no longer fit in my airplane seat, which sounds entirely possible based on what I’ve heard about the Portland food scene). I’m too much of a Masshole to move away.