Purplandia: The Dramatic Sequel

Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets around Portland is that, in a great and momentous effort to be different from the rest of the country (nay, universe), we have accidentally squeezed ourselves into a new sort of mold. A weirdness mold, if you will. You hear the name Portland and you immediately associate it with weirdness. You have been conditioned to believe that Portlanders are all special feathers (I was actually called this once, at Last Thursday) and sparkly, unique snowflakes. Well, that part is true. We have a reputation to uphold, and so we sometimes get a little carried away in trying to "out-weird each other" (a term my husband came up with). The silly thing is, as humans we all tend to behave like sheep sometimes. Even Portlanders. Strange, tattooed, tall bike riding, kombucha drinking, home brewing, hipster sheep. So, in celebration of our sameness, here are thirty-two *additional purple houses that prove this point: Though we are all different, yet we are the same.

*My previous purple house post can be viewed here.

No matter how much overgrown foliage you have out front, I am still going to find your purple house.

Missed a spot, you guys.

Upon arriving in Portland, new residents are given a chicken, a Subaru or Prius, a "Coexist" bumper sticker, a weeping Japanese maple, and a bucket of purple paint.

I'm still waiting for mine...I guess they're on back order?

Confession: I really do want a Subaru and a chicken.

...and a weeping Japanese maple. Sorry, Lara (I hope we can still be friends!).

Technically not a purple house, but I'm willing to make an exception.

I can spot 'em anywhere now. My husband says I have really good "purple eye".

Can you find the whale in this photo?

Brand new construction of a purple house. Delightful! What whimsy!

Ah yes, the Tibetan prayer flag. A Portland staple on many porch overhangs.

The door was purple too. Then they scraped it off, I guess?

What I don't get is the red trim on a few of these houses. At least these folks had the decency to paint their bench a complimentary color.

Six of these houses have red trim (seven, if you count #7), and I think I spotted six weeping Japanese maples.

In conclusion, the next time you see someone you think is weird, you can take great comfort in knowing there are probably at least 32 other people exactly like him/her.