My hipster debut in Portland! Talking “hipster travel” on the radio

Recently I was interviewed by Terry Travis from the KPAM radio station in Portland, Oregon. I’ve never been to Portland despite all its hipster hype (big thanks to Portlandia for that), and it’s something I’m often embarrassed about. As someone with a fair share of hipster tendencies you’d think Portland would be at the top of my “to visit” list. It’s up there, and I’m sure I’ll visit eventually, but for now I’m quite content never having visited.

My interview, however, went pretty well. You can listen to it below, or I’ll summarize some of the key points of hipster travel that I spoke about.

What is a hipster?

“Someone who is interested in cultural experiences, the current trends…” I give a long-winded definition in the clip, but essentially I’m a fan of defining the subculture as those people who are open-minded, have a sense of individualism, but an appreciation and recognition of bigger trends. You can read my entire post about “what a hipster is” here.

What sorts of travel experiences do hipsters look for?

In my experience, cultural and city destinations are often at the top of my list. The Malasaña neighborhood of Madrid, Shoreditch and Camden in London, or Kreuzberg in Berlin are probably the biggest destinations for hipsters. Though that doesn’t mean those are places where hipsters would travel exclusively. In my equal-opportunity definition, places of cultural significance are also of interest. That could be historically significant cities like Jerusalem, or college towns that get a lot of live music like Columbus, Ohio.

What are some websites that are useful for hipster travelers?

Generally, blogs, forums and social media are going to be the go-to places for hipsters looking to travel. It’s where we spend our time anyways. When I travel, I’m always on the lookout for local blogs (sites like Gothamist for NYC, DIY Tel Aviv for TLV or the Londonist for London). But there are bigger online networks which are also really great at curating indie content. I’m a fan of sites like unlike.net, AFAR.com, Hg2 and all the TimeOut magazine sites.

Let me know what you think about hipsters who travel in the comments below. I realize not everyone wears skinny jeans nor packs skinny ties on their holidays, but I’m sure I’m not alone…

View all my other posts tagged with “hipster travel” — Stories for the indie travelers; think fashion, food & alternative travel tips

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