The Battle of the States

Two of my best friends are from the northwest. One is from Oregon, and one is from Washington. As long as I have known them (and as long as they have known each other for that matter) they have fought over which state is better. My Oregonian friend even made a list of top 50 reasons Oregon is better than Washington.  I always thought it was just friendly banter, and then I moved to Portland.

This area has interesting cultural undertones. Portland is the biggest metropolis for miles in every direction. If you talk to a Portlander, they will say Vancouver, WA (just across the state line, divided by the Columbia River) is just an overflow of Portland, and if you talk to a Vancouver resident, they will say Portland is an overflow of Vancouver. Clearly there is a dissidence.

The plate on my rental car

And so it was hard for me not to wonder what people thought of me as I drove around town in a rental car with Washington plates all day. Even though it is very common to see WA plates mixed in with OR ones, I am sure there is still judgement and criticism. This is probably what went through the minds of the Oregon drivers around me,  "Crazy Washingtonians, using their proximity to reap the tax-free benefits..." So, not only was I nervous to be driving a rental car (and praying the whole time no one T-boned me), but for the first time I was pulled smack in the middle of the epic battle of the northwest states.

In the past I have kept myself separate from these intense rivalries. So every time my friends would get into a "my state is better than your state" skirmish, I would excitedly shout, "Colorado!!" And they would both look at me with tired expressions that questioned my right to be involved in the fray, and I would shrug and walk away, letting them battle it out. But I knew (and still do) the truth: asking "Is Oregon or Washington is better" is not the true question, because obviously, Colorado is the best.


So, my question to you is, what state do you fight for? Where does your allegiance lie? Washington? Oregon? C: none of the above? Here's your chance to weigh-in and vote for your state!