Portland Oregon August 8 2016 - Welcome to the West Coast

It has been a while since I was in Portland, four years ago to be exact. Things were very different back then when the city's struggling housing market was barely able to sell excess inventory of foreclosed homes from the Great Recession. However, four years later, the city today is struggling to keep the housing market from heating up too quickly. Over the past few months reports show the city is now seeing double digit percent year over year increases in housing prices. 

So why is Portland so red hot? Are people really moving into the city? As I steped off the plane a few days ago and into the Portland International Airport (IATA Code: PDX), the reasons seem apparent. The airport is the face tourists see when they first arrive at a city. One of the top travel magazines recently awarded Portland International Airport the top airport in the US due to its use-friendliness, efficiency, and widen open spaces. 

Looking out the huge window in the atrium, the Columbia River proudly meanders towards the Pacific. Yes folks this is the Pacific Northwest. A land of rugged landscape and Douglas firs. A place where people are more laid back. Walking over to the parking lot the Douglas firs are everywhere even here, but on license plates. This damn tree is so prominent it also grows in many back yards, even in the suburbs. The next few days will be spent absorbing this laid back culture called "Portlandia".