Best (marketing of a) Hippie City

It’s been all over Facebook, newspapers and TV stations have picked it up. Eugene is the number one hippie city  (and Madison, Wisc., Missoula, Mont., and others on the list all made the news in their respective states.)

Thanks real estate blog Estately. You made a cool list, and everyone got excited. Seattle-based Estately, a real estate brokerage company, sure knows how to market and get headlines.

How was this grand number one position chosen? Estately says, “To determine this we used a formula based on marijuana availability and legality, number of stores selling hemp, local counter-culture icons, tie-dye availability, hippie festivals, progressive government, intensity of Occupy protests, and a Facebook poll. In the end, we determined these places are the 17 Best U.S. Cities for Hippies…

Pot, sure, especially if you count medical marijuana. Hemp well, Saturday Market and Sweet Potato Pie to name two. Occupy, Ken Kesey, Oregon Country Fair … progressive city government? Looking at the city, what do people think? How are the mayor and City Council on issues such as homelessness, police misconduct, parks and small, local business support? And since it doesn’t say “progressive city government” but just government, let’s factor the Lane County Commission in, too. Thoughts?