As soon as you drive across the bridge marking the state line between Washington and Oregon, you are in Portland. Blink and you’ll miss that sign above. When I got back home, I realized that I took virtually no pictures of Portland except for the few that you see here.

It’s not that the city doesn’t have a gorgeous skyline or lush downtown,

just as clean and gentrified as Seattle…

It’s just that when you get to the shopping area around Pioneer Place,

all you can hear ringing in your ear is tax-free in Portland! Tax-free in Portland! Everything else goes out the window. Cameras be gone, sightseeing be damned; just shop as if you’ve been stranded on an island for five years and now just been given an Amex Black card with someone else’s name on it! And that person is ok with it!!

It’s a recipe for disaster for shopaholics. What? A 12k Chanel lego clutch? OK! Who cares about the sticker price when you are saving almost $1100 in tax alone! I know, I know, it’s faulty reasoning, but if you keep calm and stick to your list, it does feel quite fab to walk out of JCrew in Portland with a couple of items minus the nasty 9% tax I would have had to pay in LA. Too bad the new iPad is not out yet or I would have done a bit more damage at the Apple store, too.

But dear readers, would I work you all up into a shopping frenzy if I didn’t have some Chanel up my sleeve? Mais oui!

Tax-free in Portland! 😀