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Don't get me wrong, I love the Bend area, but the prices are above what I'm looking for. My wife and I are looking at a nice retirement scenario with lowered costs of living. I have a nice manufactured home in mind at a coop manufactured home location in Redmond. Yeah I know all about the so called "Meth Problems" of just about every town you can name in Oregon. But I was just wondering if anyone on this forum might know a bit about Redmond in general. Seems like they have all the basics right there in town. Needless to say it's a hop skip and jump over to Bend anyway for it's amenities if desired. Any suggestions or comments?
The meth problem has been cleaning up somewhat as the entire town is being gentrified. There were houses around me that looked pretty clearly to be houses where meth was the primary economic activity going on. They are now occupied by working/middle class people that seem to have jobs. The poverty is being pushed north to Madras from what I can tell.
The main annoying thing about the trip to Bend are the backups that occur at the Cooley Rd. and Robal Rd. stoplights. If you're retired though and don't need to make that trip during rush hour, it's fine.
Last edited by redguard57; 09-05-2017 at 04:44 PM..
We live outside of Redmond and I thought we'd be doing most shopping and eating out in Bend, but we actually prefer Redmond. It's a nice little town. But we are quiet retired folks and aren't seeking any nightlife or music scene, etc. Just basic shopping and lunches and dinners out. Our recreation is outdoors, or was before the entire state caught on fire.
The shopping and restaurant situation in Redmond is quite good. There are a few festivals, but mostly you will want to drive into Bend for all the tourist activities that are put on. It isn't too far to Sisters, either, and Sisters puts on some really good activities.
It might be possible to get a house with good mountain views in Redmond for a lot less than one costs in Bend. If you really want a place with good mountain views and you don't have to commute to Bend for work, Crooked River Ranch might work for you.
As for drugs, just don't move into one of the run down neighborhoods. Drug users can't afford high rent, so they don't move into nice well maintained neighborhoods. Drug related crime is pretty much limited to car prowls and it is easy to protect yourself from those.
We also moved to Redmond 4 years ago, partly because the median home price was $100K lower than Bend. Turned out to be good timing since our place is now worth over $100K more than we paid. We like that everything you need is close by, often walking distance if you're fit. The city seems to have more revenue to spend on things like park and road maintenance. Dry Canyon, with its 4 mile paved hiking/biking path, dog park, baseball parks, disc golf, soccer field, etc. is a plus. There's a lot of new construction going on, with something like 1,200 units being built in NW Redmond, which will add traffic to 19th/Rimrock. "Downtown" could stand some gentrification with many empty buildings, car repair shops and tattoo parlors along 6th, but there's a couple nice restaurants too. The downside, which applies to all of central Oregon, is high temps and poor air quality from wildfires nearly every summer.
OK so I figure I have nothing to lose, I'll lay out what my reason for coming to this forum is all about. I'm about to turn 64 as my wife is that already. We're poised to do the retirement thing. We currently live in the Salt Lake City area. I won't lay out the litany of reason why we're heading out of here. One reason alone is by selling our nice home and paying off all our debt, it's been a goal of mine be essentially debt free (short of a car payment I can live with).
I've looked all over Washington and Oregon and seemed to have zeroed in on Redmond. You see I was once a national sales manager for a company where I traveled Oregon extensively and am quite familiar with all the good and bad stuff and where that is. I won't be buying a used nor stick built home so please no lectures. That said it's all about a "manufactured home" for me thanks (no NOT a "mobile home). I've found that does indeed limit the field on possibilities to say the least. So many areas that have a nice lot here or there won't allow them (stuffy pukes who think MFH aren't as good as their precious stick built ones). Having a custom stick built home now I won't agree with that that is for sure.
I've noted a good number of "parks" that have both mobile and manufactured homes, but I'm not interested in their layouts. I'm not into being stuffed right next to others, I prefer a little space. Having explored the whole selection of land, then preparing the land and placing the home on it thing, that gets prohibitively expensive. As an example I'm looking at a maximum of say $100k for the home. So maybe I find a $35k lot lets say. What kills it is then they want $60k-$80K for excavation, permits, possible septic, then driveway and more. I just won't wish to get a loan that puts our cost of living right back where it is now. My entire goal is to end up with a payment that will save us at least $400-$500 a month on just the home payment. Otherwise that kills the advantage of moving.
I noted in Redmond there was a nice manufactured home park that is "Co Op" which is wonderful. It's also 55+ which is also wonderful, I don't want punks running around making noise let alone losers with junk cars around and crappy lifestyles. Sadly I haven't been able to reach them let alone the fact it appears for the most part they are full up. The ultimate setup I've seen was unfortunately too expensive for "rent" and who knows, they can raise the rent and you're screwed. It's that Big Wood Park which has unique separate camping like lots separated by woods, lots of privacy and quiet SW of Sandy Oregon in the woods of Clackamas County. But as I say it was high, like $790.00 a month and no guarantee's of a rate hike. I can't deal with unknowns.
I noted a fairly open area in Redmond referred to as Aspen Creek. Some of it looks decent, other parts not so much. I haven't been able to get any info on that area. I'd really love to move to the Redmond area next summer when we sell our house, but just can't seem to find the ideal scenario. My perfect world would I guess be a lot to place the home on separated by at least some trees from any neighbor with a bit of privacy and mostly older (childless) people for peace and quiet. But perhaps I'm dreaming. I may have to walk away from the idea for now and wait to see if anything develops and comes up that more so meets my desires. So far nothing. If you folks run across anything or ideas I'm wide open to them. Just keep in mind my parameters are NO stick built homes, nothing previously lived in as I'll be ordering brand new, far from any trains or tracks and the bulk of the action and noise. Certainly within a 10 minute or so drive of Redmond. A possibility would be a lot that has ALL facilities at the street (like Water, Sewer and Electric) so no challenges there, and not stuffed right next to a neighbor. The costs of prep and foundation of such a lot would be quite low so might be tolerable. Thanks all for listening. I'm just another guy that has worked for the last 48 years and is ready to chill out and enjoy life as much as possible keeping my expenses low.
I don't know if you can do what you want for your price range. I suggest that you look at Romaine Village in Bend. You can own your own land and they don't allow stick built homes. All the manufactured homes in there are old and can't be financed, but if you can find a really old one in bad shape, you could move it off and have your new house placed on the lot with a land/home mortgage from the manufactured dealer. All of the development is done, utilities, grading, driveways, landscaping, and the systems development fees are already a paid.
Again, suggesting you look a at Crooked River Ranch. There are nice bare lots there for a reasonable price, but if you search you can find an old mobile and take it off the land, and then all of your utilities and lot development are already done. That can be a very substantial savings.
Thanks OregonWoodSmoke. I checked those out. Indeed the Crooked River Ranch is a bit expensive up that way. The Romain Park is $550 and I'm told the rent is about to go up. Also it's not all that nice regarding the quality of your neighbors homes. The one I found that is quite nice is the Cascade Estates park. Lots of nice rules and regulations I'd like (no bikes, motorcycles, noise of barking dogs and long term grandkids allowed) my kind of place. All newer homes by Palm Harbor (the best). Rentals of $560 so not outrageous for such a location. I'll be keeping my eyes on that. Plus they are in Bend which frankly I would prefer. Thanks again for the advice.
Thanks OregonWoodSmoke. I checked those out. Indeed the Crooked River Ranch is a bit expensive up that way. The Romain Park is $550 and I'm told the rent is about to go up. Also it's not all that nice regarding the quality of your neighbors homes. The one I found that is quite nice is the Cascade Estates park. Lots of nice rules and regulations I'd like (no bikes, motorcycles, noise of barking dogs and long term grandkids allowed) my kind of place. All newer homes by Palm Harbor (the best). Rentals of $560 so not outrageous for such a location. I'll be keeping my eyes on that. Plus they are in Bend which frankly I would prefer. Thanks again for the advice.
This in from a forum on Redmond, OR. I'm curious whether you ever found a spot for a manufactured home.
Redmond, Oregon, lived here since 2013. It's one of the best places I've lived in the west. Excellent healthcare, in my opinion. I've seen no evidence of crime of any kind but then I don't hang around on street corners at 2am.
One of the things I like about it is, lack of bugs. Where I live on 10 acres there are no ticks. I've had two dogs running all over the property since 2013 and not one tick. No mosquitoes. No fleas that we've seen. Almost no flies. No cockroaches the size of your fist hanging from trees like in El Paso. There are very few spiders here, and unlike warmer areas with black widows and other bad spiders, they don't seem to be here.
The weather is pretty good. One thing people don't tell you is, it's one of the least windy places around. Bend also isn't windy. But some areas east and north like Powell Butte and Culver are surprisingly windy. Sunny a lot, hardly any rain. Chilly winters but this isn't cold here, Duluth or Fargo, that's cold, this isn't cold here. Compared to north of there all the way to Yakima, WA it's very unwindy. Only better places for wind are like Medford and Grants Pass in Oregon.
There isn't one area of town I don't feel safe. Very few towns in this world you can say that. The "bad" side of town here is equivalent to the good sides of many major cities. Check the crime stats, it's not high. One thing is Redmond actually reports their crimes unlike some other cities that give you a false low reading.
Another thing not often talked about, many ways into and out of Redmond. I lived along the coast of Oregon for years, one way north, one way south, that was it. If there was an accident, you're not going anywhere, or a storm with downed trees. Or an earthquake. Here you can go many different routes in all four directions, multiple ways to go. One person mentioned traffic going into Bend, well that's easily avoided by an alternate route. Even in Oxnard CA where I used to live, you had PCH and HWY 101, and one way east and that was all she wrote, no other routes to get the heck out of dodge if you need to.
Good airport here, very convenient, no lines no waiting no BS, just go there and fly. It's like the old days, and I can fly from here direct to many major locations. Same with the train, great for commerce, the train comes through here unlike some isolated bergs.
The best part of the Redmond area is the zoning. Many many 1 acre, 2 or more acre lots, I'm on a 10 acre lot, some people on huge properties. Say good bye to being so close to your neighbor you can hear their toilet flush. Median home prices now as of 6/2018 is about 299,000 for single family detached homes so that's the biggest problem. There are many less expensive places all over the country. Housing is higher here due to supply and demand, Oregon has laws that stop over-development, that's why Oregon doesn't look like California.
There isn't one store in Bend I need to go to, it's all here in Redmond for me. Also there are good places to eat in Redmond. Best Mexican restaurant in entire western USA is Madeline's in Redmond, my opinion. Best steak house in entire western USA is Tumalo Feed Store not far away.
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