Hi, Samurai (can I call you Sam?) I am not from Portland but my daughter and her partner and my only grand-daughter live there. I have only visited Portland once and it is a great place. I looked at your profile and it appears you are coming over here as a student. That will, I'm sure, be a great way to be introduced to the country. I visited Britain for 8 days as part of a summer tour of Europe when I was 16 (that was in 1969 - before decimal currency!) and fell in love with Britain, as grotty and poor and messed up as it was then. London now is probably the most cosmopolitan city in the world and has so much to offer a young person. I see you also list Ashland as a hometown. I have never visited Ashland but one of my best friends in all the world moved there for her retirement after she was widowed. Sadly, she died in 1999, after I had moved over here, so I never got to visit her there. She adored Ashland and thought it was an earthly paradise.
Great to make your acquaintance and welcome to the Americans in Britain tribe.