Portland is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and unique cities, not only in Oregon but in all of America. 

It has certainly received an outpouring of attention due to its appeal to young people, culture, lifestyle, and, of course, the abundance of craft beer and a top-notch food scene.

In fact, there are both inspiring and humorous quotes about the city that capture the essence of living in the City of Roses. We’ve compiled the top 25 for you!

1. I’m loyal to Portland. I want to play my whole career here, but at any moment, they can decide we want somebody else. – Damian Lillard

2. Obviously my feelings for Portland are quite special because that’s where I obtained one of my greatest career satisfactions; like the first love, you never forget the first win! – Alex Zanardi

3. Portland in particular is a cheap enough place to live that you can still develop your passion – painting, writing, music. People seem less status-conscious. Even wealthy people buy second-hand clothes and look a little bit homeless. – Chuck Palahniuk

4. There’s something that I can’t describe about the city [Portland] that I really love – just physically – how it feels to walk around there, and have coffee there. Also, the way that it’s a little overcast sometimes. Something about Portland just really resonated with me. – Fred Armisen

5. I was surprised by how much I loved Portland. It is so wonderfully creative without being artsy. Great food scene. – Sloane Crosley

6. When you move from a different country, it takes a while to make friends. I found myself being lonely a lot at first. In New Delhi, I had all my family. But Portland is one of those cities you can immerse yourself in and feel comfortable. People are so friendly. – Kunal Nayyar

7. Portland is the perfect weekend getaway. I studied acting in Portland and lived there for five years. It’s a small city with so much to do. There’s beautiful scenery, a great bar scene, and so many fabulous restaurants. – Kenneth Choi 

8. I don’t think I would live outside of the Northwest. I think the quality of life in Portland is really good. People move from intense, high-powered jobs, and move to Portland, work half as much and live twice as good. – Carrie Brownstein 

9. Portland is a really great city, especially because I’m a shopper and there’s no sales tax! That really adds up so fast, because in California, a $1000 pair of shoes ends up costing another $100. – Bitsie Tulloch 

10. I moved to Portland because Modest Mouse is there. I didn’t necessarily mean to live there permanently, but I’ve got a really good feeling for it. The sensibility there really suits me. I happened to have grown up in Manchester, a city that was a pretty cool place to be a musician. It’s close to Portland in a lot of ways. – Johnny Marr 

11. Portland is a place where everyone closes their eyes and crosses their fingers and hopes for a better community. They keep it small and local, and usually they think if they just make great coffee, it’s the best thing for the neighborhood. – Jonathan Krisel 

12. Portland is a pretty magnificent place to live. – Leni Zumas 

13. Portland has all the accouterments of a big city, but the heart and soul of it is a small town, so that creates an intimacy in a large environment. – Dean Devlin 

14. I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. After that I liked jazz music. Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened. – Donald Miller 

15. Whether it’s in livability, transportation, or the environment, Portland is always leading the country. We have more to do before we achieve our goals, but we should all be encouraged by our progress and this recognition. – Earl Blumenauer

16. I love Portland. I think it’s one of the best cities – I obviously haven’t been to very many places, but I had one of the best times I’ve had on a set there. – Mia Wasikowska

17. When I first started going to Portland, people told me about Stumptown. They were like, ‘Oh, it’s the best coffee,’ and I thought, ‘How good could it really be? I’m like, ‘Sure, great, uh… I’d love to see it. ‘But then when I went, it truly, I am not kidding, is the best coffee I have ever had. – Fred Armisen

18. At 13, when I was a runaway, I was taken in by the most amazing drag queens in Portland, Ore. We didn’t always know where our next meal was coming from, but there was so much camaraderie and love. Not to mention, those girls could paint a face, and I learned how because of them. – Rose McGowan

19. Portland is utopia. My favorite thing would be its earnestness. I am earnest, too. – Jonathan Krisel

20. The fact that people go to Portland to visit a tiny feminist bookstore-no matter what the impetus is for them getting there-the fact that they go in there and look around and shop for books or stationery or whatever, is a major source of pride for me. – Carrie Brownstein

21. I think perfect dates involve walking a lot, and not a bunch of driving around in cars. Ideally, you can walk together and go to a restaurant, and then walk from there to another nice place – this is, I guess, because of really great dates that I’ve had with my wife here in Portland. – James Mercer

22. When I’m in Portland, I meet people who are hairdressers, they have a wonderful life, they go on hikes and do loads of things. Their career is just the thing they do to pay the bills. They enjoy it, but it’s not this huge, continuous journey of trying to make it. And I’m attracted to that lifestyle, of just having a nice life. – Lolly Adefope 

23. You can ride your bike to anywhere in Portland if you want to. I think there was a charming underdog mentality when I first moved here in the late ‘80s that is definitely gone. People acted more like underdogs, dressed more like underdogs. – Janet Weiss

24. I wanted to go to Portland because it’s a really good book town. – Patti Smith

25. Portland is where all the fringe groups went to escape. Where the outliers brought that DIY, punk rock attitude and made the city their own. – John Gourley