Sincerely,

A confused person who recently moved to Maine but isn't from either state

Edit: The context I mean is when it's used independently of either state being mentioned. Like if I see a Reddit post regarding simply "Portland" or a comedian says they're going to be playing a show in Portland and doesn't specify which.

I'm also shocked that nobody has corrected me on my misspelling of Oregon. Yes I feel shame and wish I could correct the title…


39 comments

  1. Oregon 95% of the time unless you are in Maine or a neighboring state of Maine.

  3. If you’re not near either, it’s customery to specify. If you’re in Maine people probably mean Maine.

  5. If you’re near Portland, Maine or talking about Maine, it probably means Portland, Maine.

    Pretty much all other times, it means Oregon.

  6. I would guess if youre in Maine then when people say Portland they mean Portland, Maine.

  7. Depends where you’re closest to. It’s always meant Maine to me but I’m from New England and would vacation in Maine for most of my childhood. If you’ve moved to Maine then I’d assume Portland is just the Maine one unless someone says otherwise.

    Edit: Maybe it’s less which you’re closest to and more if you’re a state or two away from Maine that one is more likely. Portland Oregon does have about 10x the number of people so understandable that would be most people’s default!

  9. Most people forget that Maine exists. So they will immediately associate it with Oregon.

    I think you would have to be in one of the three NE states for anyone to think of Maine first.

  10. Depends on context.

    – I’m going to Portland this summer –> Oregon

    – I’m summering in Portland with the Fairchilds –> Maine

  11. In the absence of any context, it means Oregon. In the context of “being in/near Portland, Maine”, it’s likely to mean Maine and should be specified if it’s not. Kind of like how “Washington” can mean the Capital city, the State, or any number of smaller towns/cities in states across the US, and it requires context for the listener/reader to know which is being referred to.

  12. Unless you’re in the Northeast this is how the conversation would go most of the time.

    “Where are you from?”

    “Portland”

    “Oh, Oregon?”

    “naw, Maine”

    “Oh cool.”

    And that’s with Tennessee having its own Portland.

  15. Outside of New England, Oregon. In Maine, Maine. In New England outside of Maine you might be asked to specify

  16. You have to specify. I was invited on a trip to Portland and just assumed it was Oregon, it was Maine!😜

  17. We got so mad when they moved the setting of the Stand By Me film to Oregon.

  18. I always think of Oregon.

    I’m west coast and have been there a million times so that might have something to do with it.

  20. Without context, Oregon is the safest assumption. Portland, Oregon is big and widely known as an epicenter of quirky hipsterism. There was a popular comedy show about it.

    Portland, Maine is nice, but not widely discussed nationally.

  21. Depends. In New England it means Maine. In the mid-Atlantic people usually ask you to specify depending on context.

  22. I’m in Connecticut, and if someone said to me, “My son is going to Portland in a week,” I’d ask “Which one?”

  24. It’s like Washington. “Which one”?
    I’m in California. I’m going to assume the Portland or Washington “above” north of Calif.

  26. As someone who has lived in Portland Maine for twelve years I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to explain to people from other areas that no I actually do not live in Oregon. “Other Portland” as we call it is 10x the size of our beautiful little city.

  29. Portland, Oregon is named after Portland, Maine. So in that sense the one in Maine is the “original,” so to speak. But most of the time when you hear “Portland” referenced without any other descriptor, they mean the one in Oregon. It is a much bigger city than Portland, Maine (635,000 vs 69,000).

  30. Either. If they don’t specify the state, you have to guess by context (is the surrounding conversation about New England or the Northwest?). If there’s no context, it’s impossible to know. I’d guess Maine because it’s closer, so people are more likely to be talking about that one, but I could totally be wrong.

  31. Probably depends on where you’re from. I live in the PNW so to me Portland is in Oregon, and I constantly forget that there’s one in Maine as well lol.

  32. I would think Oregon. Portland Maine is a far less known city. That’s like if I say Las Vegas you probably aren’t thinking of the one in New Mexico.

  36. In New England Portland means Portland Maine. Outside Portland means Portland Oregon. Up until recently a lot of people on the west coast didn’t know Portland Maine existed though now that it’s such a big destination most people know of it or have been there

  37. Due to strange warping of space time due to a localized wormhole, all Portlands are actually the same Portland.

  38. I watched a video yesterday where they were asking random people which city they thought had the most strip clubs per capita. All the people guessed the usual suspects (Vegas, Tampa, Atlanta, etc.) and it turned out that the answer was Portland. I still don’t know which one they were talking about

  39. Side note: my high school in Maine had to specify very carefully to the international students to fly to Portland MAINE and not the more popular one.  And yes some still flew to the one in Oregon every year…

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