A British lifestyle magazine has ranked Portland among the world's best cities to live in, and has deemed it the only U.S. city worthy of making the list.
Monocle magazine placed the Oregon city at 23rd in its 2014 Quality of Life Survey, which positions it between the European capital cities of Lisbon in Portugal and Oslo, Norway. Danish capital Copenhagen topped the list, with Vancouver being the only other North American inclusion.
A contributor to the mag, Zach Dundas, described Portland as "ever-cosy", and gave a nod to the city's diversity, citing that it is one of the few places to offer both surfing and skiing opportunities. Liberal attitudes within Portland were another reason given for its inclusion.
The magazine also commends the city for its recycling rates, given as 90%, and the wealth of opportunities provided by recreational parks in the area. It notes that most of them are open as early as 5:00 am.
The only quibble brought up in the write-up is the lack of a top-class daily newspaper, which has perhaps prevented Portland from sealing a top 20 place. Nevertheless, achieving a ranking on Monocle's list, and being the only American city to do so, is something that city officials will no doubt want to highlight. Therefore, it is likely to be including in any documentation sent to brochure printers as part of Portland's tourism campaign.
