Angsty Portlander Flees Hometown, Returns to Love Its 'Secret Roller Disco'
KEY POINTS
- ā¢Elizabeth Aldrich left Portland in her 20s to travel the world but returned during the pandemic to be near family.
- ā¢She discovered Portland's nature, award-winning diverse food scene, and inclusive LGBTQ+ nightlife as reasons to stay.
- ā¢Her quirky hobbies include '80s mall-walking and secret roller disco events, reflecting Portland's strong but unusual community bonds.
Elizabeth Aldrich, a native Portlander, admits she hated her unexpectedly chilly and prematurely closed-town hometown until adulthood whisked her away for nearly a decade of world travel. Returning mid-pandemic to be near family, five years later she's smitten with Portland's āPacific Northwest freezeāāa climate not just of weather but friendship, where everyoneās 'too nice' yet keeps their social distance like a cold open of an '80s cult horror movie hosted in a historic video rental store. Highlights include James Beard-winning Haitian-PNW-fusion at Kann, a Korean bakery globally praised by pros, incognito roller-disco pop-ups in near-abandoned Lloyd Center mall, trans wrestling matches, and haunting queues for brunch, proving that immense community awkwardness and inordinately early restaurant closings enrich quirky Portland living.
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Turns out abando-mall-walking and taste-tested plantain brioche are the real keys to hometown happinessāand pandemic theater buffs to trans wrestlers keep Portland weirdly lovable.
Only in Portland: you can be friend-zoned by the weather and still find love in secret warehouse roller discos.
Who needs diversity when you have endless food trucks serving Guyanese fried chicken at gay pie-eating contests? Portland's niche is the new norm.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 12/9/2025 | Author: Elizabeth Aldrich
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