Portland: Smug factor

Portlanders say it’s the media that brings an air of hipsterdom and preciousness to its micro-everything culture and urban-farming craze. Well, up to a point. This city doesn’t stand on ceremony—no one bats an eye if you wear jeans to a 7-course meal—but it can feel like you’re not a real local unless you own a chicken coop or make beer in your bathtub. And you can’t ignore Portland’s one-upmanship when it comes to the “greenness” of the food or its ultra-hard-core vegan community.

Score: –7