A lot of people think Portlandia gives you a sense of what’s weird about the city but it actually just scratches the surface.

I thought I might be in Portland when I walked out of my AirBnb the first morning and a woman cyclist yelled, “Good morning!” as if I was the lead character on The Truman Show.

I thought I might be there when the man at the deli counter was wearing a beard net (yes, a hair net for his beard) asking me if I had nut allergies because what I was ordering had nuts in it.

I thought I might be there when I saw this truck in my rearview mirror:

How you know you're in portland

I thought I might be in Portland when the menu offered a half-vegetarian half-meat burger:

Portland Half-Way Burger

I thought I might be in Portland when a woman brought her baby goat named Kombucha to the co-op with her:

Portland Baby Goat Kombucha

It was only when she told me that they were going to harvest her in the fall that I knew I was in Portland.

There are other ways as well but I hope this helps you know when you’re in Portland.

Posted by Jeff Reifman

Jeff is a technology consultant based in the Pacific Northwest.