Portland, Maine
Portland managed to pull it off. Like so many small American cities in spectacular coastal locations, it reinvented itself in the last decades of the 20th century, turning a drab, decaying downtown into a destination center of boutiques, bistros, and brewpubs. But unlike so many communities, Portland could never be mistaken for a theme park. Its liveliness is a sign of life, not mere window dressing.

When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born here in 1807—and for many years before and since—Portland made its name as a seafaring city. It’s still the largest port in New England in terms of tonnage, but by the 1970s its waterfront and adjacent downtown blocks were looking like they had been out in the weather too long. Worse, the commercial heart of the city along Congress Street had begun to feel the sting of suburban malls. There was a port, but was there still much of a Portland?

The revival gathered speed in the early 1980s, working inland from the docks. Before long, old ship chandleries jostled against block after block of restored brick structures housing shops, offices, and—though the statistic is hard to prove—what’s said to be the highest number of restaurants per capita of any city in the United States. Dozens of galleries enliven the downtown arts district, crowned by the Portland Museum of Art (with a building designed by I.M. Pei & Partners). At the downtown piers, a high-speed ferry transports residents with weekend travel in mind to Bar Harbor or Nova Scotia.

Best of all, though, Portlanders don’t turn off the lights at five and go home to the suburbs. The city has recently been rated as the best place in the nation to build a small business, and its neighborhoods are thriving. Residents take special pride in picturesque quarters such as Munjoy Hill, ringed by Eastern Promenade, with its bay and lighthouse views; and in parks such as Deering Oaks, with its Saturday farmers’ market, skating pond, and rose garden. Out on Casco Bay, Peaks, Great Diamond, and several smaller islands are part of the city, linked to the mainland by ferries, yet they maintain strong community identities of their own.

Portland is also home to the Fish Exchange (where fishermen unload their daily catch and offer it to chefs, processors, and market owners), and the astounding Browne Trading Company, which supplies fish and caviar to cooks and connoisseurs across the country. You can visit their retail location in the Old Port.

Whatever you do, make sure to crack open a lobster while you’re here. The succulent crustaceans play a big role in the state’s economic health, and take center stage on most restaurant menus. Just one claw and you’ll know why.

what the locals know
According to writer and longtime Portland resident Wayne Curtis, the more interesting bistros and small restaurants are no longer clustered entirely around the city’s restored waterfront. “Head out into the neighborhoods,” Wayne says. “Check out the West End, Woodford’s Corner, and Munjoy Hill, where the Blue Spoon is a local favorite.”

Population: 63,000
Median Home Price: $274,900
For More Info: ci.portland.me.us

Seattle, Washington
It’s the northernmost major American city, but notable for its mild climate. It’s on the opposite side of the country from where the sun rises, but famous for a commodity that gets everyone up in the morning. It’s the birthplace of grunge music, but home to the most-hyper-urbane characters in TV sitcom history. In little more than three decades, it’s progressed from a recession-plagued city (where someone once quipped that the last one to leave “should turn the lights out”) to a symbol of the 21st century’s dynamic Pacific Rim economy. And its two most enduring symbols are a sky-piercing tower and an elevated train, souvenirs of yesterday’s vision of the future.

The city, of course, is Seattle, where the coffee comes from, where you can ride the Monorail to the Space Needle—both left over from the 1962 World’s Fair—and where, despite what you may have heard, it doesn’t really rain all the time (the urban area gets only about 38 inches of rain a year, less than many eastern U.S. cities).

Perched in a spectacular location on island-strewn Puget Sound, Seattle has a combined total of 200 miles of shoreline—that’s 147 miles of freshwater and 53 miles of salt water. With surroundings like these it’s no wonder the city consistently ranks among the nation’s top 10.

Once a lumber port and gateway to the Alaska of Gold Rush days, it later prospered as an aerospace capital. Dark days for the industry (and for local titan Boeing in particular) led to that early 1970s remark about turning off the lights, but the bounce back has been tremendous—for Boeing, which moved its front office to Chicago but maintains seven production facilities in and around the city, and for Seattle’s economy in general. Among the metro area’s stars are Microsoft, Starbucks, Nintendo of America, and Amazon.com, along with retailers such as Costco and Nordstrom and established behemoths such as UPS and Weyerhaeuser.

In the midst all of this highly caffeinated economic activity, Seattle’s arts scene thrives. The Seattle Symphony has been a local fixture for more than a century, and the renowned Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet are now at home in spacious McCaw Hall. Minutes away, visitors can explore historic districts, Pike Place Market (which deserves every bit of its legendary status), and the Mariner’s Safeco Field, next to the bustling port.

Plan your calendar in advance and—in addition to ball games—you can catch a weeklong boat show in January, the Seattle Maritime Festival in May (including “the country’s largest tugboat race on Elliot Bay” and a chowder cook-off), a seafood festival in July, and the Christmas Ship Festival throughout December.

For the truly adventurous, the San Juan Islands, located only 80 miles north, are known as a “kayaker’s dream.” Home to an orca whale population, bald eagles, sea lions, and, like any good coast, gorgeous sunsets, the islands are close enough for day trips. For more cautious paddlers, guided tours are available.

what the locals know
Sue Sanem, owner of Portage Bay Goods in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, says that the official motto of her neighborhood is “Delibertus Quirkus” (freedom to be peculiar). As you enter Fremont, which describes itself as the “center of the universe,” via a drawbridge, the first sight you’ll see is a 53-foot rocket that appears poised for takeoff. Nearby, a two-ton ferroconcrete troll lurks under the Aurora Bridge. The area includes microbreweries, a chocolate factory, art galleries, an underground antiques mall, and several vintage clothing shops. On Sundays, there’s a flea, craft, and farmers’ market.

Population: 573,000
Median Home Price: $429,000
For More Info: seattle.net

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