You might gather from our many proud references to our location in Oregon that most of us are quite fond of this wet and wacky state tucked into the Northwest corner of our country. That's not to say that we don't appreciate the other parts of the world. We just like our own little corner of it, and believe some of what makes Oregon unique is part of what makes PowerMax fun to work with. Here are our top ten reasons why:
There is no sales tax in Oregon.
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, and New Hampshire are the only other four who can claim the same, although some of those have sales-type taxes on specific transactions. That's not to say some of our politicians keep trying to sneak it in. But Oregonians soundly trounce the attempts, preferring the lower taxes… and always knowing exactly what we are paying for something.
Everyone thinks it rains a lot in Oregon, when in fact, by state, we rank 25th in inches per year (of course, the eastern half of Oregon is largely desert).
However, the verdant Willamette Valley, which is where Portland is located, is a pretty wet place, which keeps everything nice and green. Even then, the Portland metro area ranks 139th (even below our namesake in Maine) in annual precipitation. We think the reputation comes from the number of our cloudy days, which does rank about fourth in the country for larger metropolitan areas (Anchorage, Olympia, Wa. and Seattle have us beat there). But regardless of why they're here… we do love our trees.
The people are pretty nice here.
Portland usually ranks among the top cities surveyed when it comes to friendliness. (Sometimes we miss the cut just because we're not one of the big metro areas surveyed… which is also why we're still pretty friendly!)
We don't have that many celebrities that come out of Oregon, but the ones that do are kind of a hoot.
We even got a kick out of the research for this topic: one website listed only one man under the heading "Famous People & Celebrities From Oregon," and that was Doc Severinsen, the band leader for the Johnny Carson show (woo hoo!). It may be appropriate to also know that Oregon is the only state that has an official state nut. The Hazelnut is the state nut. We kind of thought it was Tonya Harding. Otherwise, we have filmmaker Gus Van Sant, and let's see here, Patrick Duffy of "Dallas" fame, and let's throw in Matt Groening, the creator of "The Simpsons" and Katee Sackhoff, who stars in one of our favorite shows: "Battlestar Galactica"). Not exactly Tier One of the most famous Americans. Maybe the Oregonian mindset is not to call too much attention to oneself… unless your name is Tonya.
The outdoors is an integral part of most Oregonian's lives.
The coast (we always refer to the ocean beaches out west as just "The Coast") is only an hour and a half away. Mount Hood, with the only year-round skiing in the continental U.S. (thanks to a glacier), is only an hour away. The Willamette River (you can always tell if someone isn't from Oregon if they mispronounce "Willamette," "Oregon," or even "Tigard," one of Portland's suburbs) runs right through Portland and into the mighty Columbia, which divides Oregon and Washington and is the fourth-largest river in the U.S. Fishing, hiking, camping and skiing are just a few of the outdoor activities many Oregonians participate in regularly.
For you beer lovers, Oregon is a pretty good place for microbrews.
We also have some pretty nice wines too. We don't think Oregon ranks anywhere near the top in alcoholism or anything… but if we're stuck inside, we might as well toss back a few, you know?
Most Oregonians don't get too caught up in meaningless rules; we're pretty much a "live and let live" society.
For instance, you'll always know if an Oregonian worked up a top ten list if it stops at, say, seven!
