For planners, Portland is this magical place where we are taken seriously, our theories are respected (where they are not embraced completely) and rational minds prevail. At least, this is what we tell ourselves, those of us not from Portland. It's a little like the Minnesota myth we tell ourselves, that we're all nice and a little above average. It works because there is a grain of truth to it, despite the fact that things are never that simple.

I enjoyed my numerous trips to the Northwest this year -- I think I made four in total -- and am really proud that we have a strong contingency of readers and members there. As Colin Woodard suggests, there are a lot of shared values between the Northeast and the West Coast, although as any Strong Towns advocate will point out, the challenges are dramatically different. Most of what we find in the Pacific Northwest was built during the Suburban Experiment, including Portland. Despite the good intentions of all involved, the challenges of making this land use pattern financially solvent is overwhelming. I feel that oppressively every time I'm there.

I think it's easy for someone in Seattle or Portland or Vancouver to understand why Phoenix or Dallas or Atlanta is a financial mess. It's a lot harder for them to connect the dots about their own (above average) approach. I can never see Nassim Taleb agreeing to live in the Pacific Northwest, no matter how well planned it is. Actually, the more planned, the less likely he would be to feel comfortable there. For similar reasons, that goes for me as well. I really like visiting and I like the people there a lot, but magic is a lot about illusion. I get scared when people start believing in their own illusions.