PORTLAND, Ore. — One of Portland's neighborhoods has been named among the coolest in the world. The Kerns neighborhood ranks the fifth coolest on the planet, according to a recent article published by Time Out.
"Kerns might belong to one of the West Coast’s major cities, but it feels like a perfectly-formed small town," the article said. "It’s surrounded by residential streets filled with some of the city’s most charming craftsman homes, Spanish-style apartments, flower-filled gardens and fruiting trees."
Time Out — which reports on travel, culture and entertainment — curated a list of the 38 coolest neighborhoods. The online global magazine said a neighborhood's cool factor goes beyond being a "hipster hub" and reflects the best of its city's culture, community spirit, and food and drink "all condensed in one vibey, walkable district."
The magazine asked their team of writers and editors around the world to share what they thought the coolest neighborhood in their city is and why. Then they narrowed down the selection and ranked the neighborhoods based on criteria including food and drink, the arts, culture, street life and community.
The Rose City is home to more than 90 formally recognized neighborhoods. According to Time Out's list, the Kerns neighborhood only trails neighborhoods in France, Morocco, Indonesia and South Korea.
"At the centre of it all is Northeast 28th Avenue. Aside from a few modern apartments, this walkable thoroughfare is still mostly populated by one- or two-story brick buildings, which house some of the neighborhood’s coolest venues: record stores like Music Millennium, cozy German restaurant Stammtisch (perfect for a late-afternoon beer) and one of Portland’s favorite old cinemas, Laurelhurst Theater," the article said.
Time Out's ranking featured neighborhoods in only seven other cities in the U.S.: Little River in Miami (12th), Flatbush in New York City (17th), East Hollywood in Los Angeles (26th), Mount Pleasant in Washington D.C. (29th), Brewerytown in Philadelphia (32nd), Logan Square in Chicago (34th) and Union Square in Sommerville, Massachusetts (38th).