Golders Green

Coordinates: 51°34′24″N 0°11′54″W / 51.5734°N 0.1982°W / 51.5734; -0.1982

Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. Although the settlement history goes back to the 18th century, Golders Green is essentially a late 19th-century suburban development. It is situated approximately 5.5 miles (8.5 km) north west of Charing Cross and centred on the intersection of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.

It was historically part of Middlesex, and formed part of the Municipal Borough of Hendon until 1965. In the early 20th century it grew rapidly in response to the opening of a tube station of the London Underground, adjacent to the Golders Green Hippodrome which was home to the BBC Concert Orchestra for many years. The area has a wide variety of housing and a busy main shopping street, Golders Green Road. It is known for its large Jewish population as well as for being home to the largest Jewish kosher hub in the United Kingdom, which attracts many Jewish tourists.

Portland, Oregon

Portland (/ˈpɔːrtlənd/) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Multnomah County. It is located in the Willamette Valley region of the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. The city covers 145 square miles (376 km²) and had an estimated population of 619,360 in 2014, making it the 28th most populous city in the United States. Approximately 2,348,247 people live in the Portland metropolitan statistical area (MSA), the 24th most populous MSA in the United States. Its Combined Statistical Area (CSA) ranks 17th with a population of 3,022,178. Roughly 60 percent of Oregon's population resides within the Portland metropolitan area.

Named after the city in Maine, Portland was settled in the 1830s near the end of the Oregon Trail. Its water access provided convenient transportation of goods, and the timber industry was a major force in the city's early economy. At the turn of the 20th century, the city had developed a reputation as one of the most dangerous port cities in the world, a hub for organized crime and racketeering. After the city's economy experienced an industrial boom during World War II, its hard-edged reputation began to dissipate. Beginning in the 1960s, Portland became noted for its growing liberal political values, and the city has earned a reputation as a bastion of counterculture, a view which has proceeded into the 21st century. According to a 2009 Pew Research Center study, Portland ranks as the 8th most popular American city, based on where people want to live.