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I'm a Seattle-ite, but my father is now in Vancouver WA, and I've got friends in PDX, so I visit occasionally. My big recommendation for visitors to PDX, is to take in a movie at one of the movie theatres that has alcohol and food service in the theatre itself! This is a real treat for a Seattle-ite, and I suspect someone from California as well. IIRC, there are a good half dozen theatres that have alcohol available, and most if not all those also have food service.

I just learned of these recently, so on my last trip down I took in the McMenamins one which was okay. Only pizza or sandwiches available, and their organization was a little lacking and we had an entire pizza delivered to us on a hot metal plate with no napkins, plates or anything else other than a pie tool and nowhere to set anything down at (no tables/trays/etc) other than the floor and a seat next to us. Luckily I always carry a couple of handkerchiefs, but still, there's definitely room for improvement there. Still worth it, but I have to wonder if some of the other movie theatres with food and adult beverage do it better. It was quite a trip to be drinking beer on a bench in the hallway of a converted high school though! (That was while we were waiting for the previous showing to exit, that theatre is housed in an old high school or junior high school.)

I've been saying it for some time, and I'll say it again; if I were to move away from the Pacific Northwest and move back, Portland would be my first choice in cities. Every time I visit I'm very impressed and I think it is better than Seattle in any metric. It seems like a great place to live.