HGTV Gives Portland, Maine, a New Nickname, and It’s Stupid

By now, it's pretty clear that someone behind the scenes at HGTV really likes Portland, Maine. The powerhouse television network has featured Portland in many different ways through on-air and web content. The city was even chosen in 2020 for HGTV's massive "Urban Oasis" contest.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Portland was featured on another list from HGTV. It's a list the city has often been featured on from various publications. HGTV has named Portland, Maine, one of the '50 Best Places to Live in America' for 2024.

Adding Portland to the list isn't the problem. The problem is the small blurb that HGTV wrote, explaining why Portland was featured on the list this year. The excerpt reads:

...some locals jokingly refer to their culture-filled city as Portlyn, suggesting their city is the Maine equivalent of Brooklyn, which many consider the hippest of the five New York boroughs

In life, there will be many firsts. And this is probably your first time hearing that "locals" refer to Portland as "Portlyn", because it isn't true. Nobody refers to Portland as "Portlyn", and they never will.

The foolish nickname HGTV invented shouldn't anger Mainers as much as it probably will. HGTV meant it as a compliment. Maine's largest city rivals New York City's coolest and hippest borough for culture, food, and fun. But here in Maine, we will still get annoyed and angry, because that's what we do. Nobody calls Portland "Portlyn" unless we say so.

And we're saying no.