Observations On HappyValley/Portland

I have a rental car again now here in Portland/Happy Valley. Since I have stopped unpacking things (though I was mostly done when the dilemma of whether to go back or stay arose) I have been out in the community of Happy Valley. My observations on the people and places is that they are typical of most American suburbs. It is far more orderly, cleaner and with much less ambiance than my New Orleans suburban experiences. New Orleanians are always the best and worst of people. They are rarely as predictable as the people here seem to be.
Happy Valley is a beautiful community, with spectacular scenery. It is filled with harder working and less playful people. When I have asked strangers if they like living here they seem to give perfunctory rather than animated answers. It's clear that Portlanders are not as passionate about their city, either from a positive or negative view.
There is less crime and it is far safer here, but also less play. Work is taken seriously here and food is seen as merely necessary sustenance. There are fewer complaints in Portland because there is less to complain about (and probably because these un animated Portlanders don't know the fun one can have or the art in complaining).
In general, this is a stable and controlled environment. In Portland itself one finds many of the odd balls and "characters" that define the city's singularity, but the suburbs here, Happy Valley included, are a sea of normality. This is not typical of New Orleans, a place where the crazies inhabit the suburbs as often as in the city. One similarity between the New Orleans area and the Portland is the snob hill section. Here it is in West Linn and Lake Oswego...two high brow areas that have their noses in the air and the highest opinion of themselves. In New Orleans, the garden District of the city and the "Northshore" (across lake Pontchartrain) is similar. But doesn't ever area have some snobs?
There is poverty in both places but in portland it sticks out because there is far less of it to see. Not seeing the homeless in Portland is impossible. They stick out, roam the streets and are tolerated because Portland is a very liberal place (at least it wants one to believe so). In New Orleans, poverty is the norm, so one hardly notices the poorest of people there.
I haven't been here long enough to form any conclusions beyond those surface observations. Perhaps I haven't seen this area enough to comment at all. But I always analyze my environment the moment I see it.