There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your state. Everyone does that pretty much. Texans just have a reputation to live up to I guess. Everyone who lives in a halfway pretty state says it's "God's country." Don't blame them. Lots of wonderful places in this country.

Oregonians and North-westerners in general have the same kind of pioneering background and spirit and we have managed (so far) to not destroy the natural beauty of the region too much. We have the same attitude of, "If you don't like it here that's great. Come for a visit and then go home."

In the past Oregon has had a VERY closed attitude towards non-native Oregonians. 37 years ago when I moved up here from California it was damn near impossible to get a job in Oregon if you were not born here. The only thing that saved my ass was when I told them my mom was born in Drain and graduated from Springfield Union HS. Then it was like, "Ok, that's good enough then." It is certainly not like that here anymore.