Portland, Austin, Boulder, San Francisco...

Portland and San Francisco aren't the only cities where the trendy bike people and the Cute Movement are prominent. It's apparently a national trend. Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live and Portlandia told Newsweek that he sees Portlandia everywhere:

What is it that’s so appealing about ­granola-crunching flannel wearers? 

I feel that that world is extending beyond Portland, so even though it’s about the city of Portland, it’s kind of a city that exists everywhere. The more I travel, especially for the show, the more I’m seeing that there are parts of North Carolina and Illinois that are similar. I don’t think it’s anybody taking a cue from or copying anyone else. It’s just the way cities are going.

So how would Portland deal with the fiscal cliff?

I think that Portland, for some reason—and this is my ignorance—I think that they’re just impenetrable. They’re just impervious to anything bad happening. I go to Portland—and maybe this is only the version I see—but it’s just pristine.

Rob's comment:
Yes, that's his ignorance. Portland is not "pristine." And it's plagued by a crappy city government a lot like San Francisco's: rail system boondoggles, anti-carism, green-washing questionable projects, Smart[sic] Growth ideology as cover for the development of crappy apartment buildings, etc.

Jack Bog's Blog is a good antidote to Armisen's ignorance about Portland.