Portland, OR

Portland’s music scene is bursting at the seams. Venues abound and indie bands proliferate, but that’s not the only reason nomads like to pass through here. It’s the second hippest city in America, packed with microbreweries, record stores, coffee shops, thrift stores, bike shops, and tattoo parlors. Like San Francisco, the public transit in Portland is efficient, and there are plenty of hostels where you can crash on the cheap, such as the HI Portland Hawthorne Hostel, with the Hawthorne District being a prime destination for local and traveling hipsters alike.