Pros and Cons of living in Bend (Portland, Ashland: fit in, transplants)

[Caliraiderette]

Would love to hear from the locals and even recent transplants... the pros and cons of life in bend.

I can already know out that there is some cool shopping and the nice Amphitheatre, I dont know if the round a bouts are actually a pro or con as I find them sometimes confusing, obviously you have nature as a pro and outdoor activities. But Im sure there is a lot more to be said than that.

Can you tell me about the friendly or not friendly natured people, the job markets (I know the basic numbers like unemployment rate and minimum wage but would love to hear more detail on the topic), why you chose to live there (or stay there if you were born there), why you think Bend is worse or better than other cities where you have lived, what you think of living on the snowy side as opposed to the rainy side of OR, cost of living (I know you have tax free shopping), availability of decent homes or apartments to rent or buy, or just anything I have not mentioned that you think is worth mentioning... homeless population, good resturants, are insects or humidy an issue.

I dont mind hearing the cons along with the pros but please dont comment if you just have something hateful to say towards this post. Way to many negative nancies on this forum overall. Lets keep it helpful and enlightening please and thank you

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I've decided against it.

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[Coniferian]

You may have seen similar posts that peter out after the OP discovers the somewhat high cost of housing in Bend. Apartment vacancy rate always seems to be very low, and while the unemployment rate has also dropped, the overall pay scale has not improved much. It depends where you're coming from and what you're looking to find. Median home price in Bend dropped a little last month but is still around $417K. My wife and I are retired and bought a place in Redmond, where home prices have been consistently $100K lower.

Bend is close - only 15 miles from Redmond - and we go there for restaurants and larger movie screens. People are quite friendly throughout central Oregon, in our estimation.

We moved from Colorado and like the fact that there's less snow. Ironically, it seems the further south you live, the more snow. Last summer was hot and miserable, with many poor health days from wildfire smoke. It even blows down from BC. Restaurants with outdoor patios suffered from loss of business. We stayed indoors with the AC running for nearly two months. Outdoor activities could be hazardous even for those in good health.

There is no interstate through the area or an international airport, which some feel makes the area more isolated. There are those who look at that as a plus.

I'll let actual Bend citizens give you a more accurate and complete view of living in that city.

[sorupaa]

From reading all your post it sounds like you would fit in here more then me. But I just moved here and I didn’t have have much of a choice. I would have moved to Redmond, prinevill or somewhere. Anyways a lot of areas are kinda like lake Oswego in Portland. Except it has a city feel. I like it here but I lived in lake Oswego for like 12 years growing up and sorta am tired of the nice areas. It’s safe, nice people and nature is the best part.

[NW4me]

Originally Posted by Coniferian

YMedian home price in Bend dropped a little last month but is still around $417K. My wife and I are retired and bought a place in Redmond, where home prices have been consistently $100K lower.

Wow... Bend's house prices are approaching Ashland's?

[Thom52]

Outdoor sports are a huge plus here. In fact, I don't understand why anyone would live here that isn't "outdoorsy", because that is the main attraction of this area.

Have a job lined up before you get here. Don't just assume you can get a job when you get here, no matter how employable you are elsewhere, unless you are in construction/plumbing/electrician or enjoy working as wait staff in a restaurant. Doctors, especially Specialists, are in high demand also.

Rentals have 1% vacancy or so, so renting can be tough. Housing prices in Bend are shockingly high when you consider the pay scales. IF I could have found a job as a mechanical engineer, I would have gotten 60%(at best) of the pay I would have gotten for the same job in the Seattle area. But you can find some good deals in houses if you look around and are willing to compromise a bit.

I spent 31 years in the gloom of the Wet Side Seattle area. I am enjoying much more sunshine in Bend, but you do have the tradeoff of lots of dust. Smoke in the summer is a given. A little less snow than last year would be nice. It is a very high humidity in Bend for a Desert, compared to some place like Denver or Arizona.

My wife and I had to wait until retirement to move here, renting out our house before that, due to not being able to score jobs here.

Too many Teslas, Audis, Range Rovers in town for my taste, and I must admit I sort of prefer the more working class edge of Redmond, compared to the heavy Southern CA influence in Bend. Some good people move up from CA, but you also get a lot of S CA people that want the place to be S CA North.

Due to the population of the world increasing and large families still seem to be in vogue any decent place to live is getting a lot more crowded. Bend is no exception. Still one helluva lot less crowded than the Seattle area where we moved from.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by Thom52

Outdoor sports are a huge plus here. In fact, I don't understand why anyone would live here that isn't "outdoorsy", because that is the main attraction of this area.

Outdoorsy that loves snowy winter weather!!!

[Thom52]

Originally Posted by BendLocal

Outdoorsy that loves snowy winter weather!!!

Hey, we have TWO seasons.....Snow Season and Dust Season

[Sherwoody]

Originally Posted by Thom52

Hey, we have TWO seasons.....Snow Season and Dust Season

You all don't get construction season over there?

[Thom52]

Originally Posted by Sherwoody

You all don't get construction season over there?

They solve that issue by just not maintaining the roads. Winter includes the exciting game of trying to avoid destroying your wheels and tires in potholes.