Anyone Familiar With Redmond?

[NorthernFog]

Originally Posted by awasner

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.

I don't understand how there can be so few days of rain and snow in Redmond but only 162 days of sunshine (according to Sperling). Is it overcast there a lot even when it's not raining or snowing?
Also, someone said there is smoke from fires every summer. I have COPD. Isn't the air mostly clean in Redmond?

[darnselfly]

Originally Posted by NorthernFog

I don't understand how there can be so few days of rain and snow in Redmond but only 162 days of sunshine (according to Sperling). Is it overcast there a lot even when it's not raining or snowing?
Also, someone said there is smoke from fires every summer. I have COPD. Isn't the air mostly clean in Redmond?

Yes, there are a fair number of cloudy days without precipitation.

The smoke was close to unbearable last year from the Milli fire near Sisters. Something like 6 weeks of smoke, sometimes so thick we couldn’t see to the end of the street. This year hasn’t been as bad, but still many unpleasant days. And policies are being considered to do more controlled burns before and after fire season for fuel reduction. Smoke is now a fact of life here. I now have several browser favorites for air quality maps.

Something else that may give you a problem is dust. It’s a dusty, windy place. Just general “topsoil” blowing around (really just finely ground rock!). In winter and spring, cinders that have been spread on the road for traction are pulverized by traffic and their dust is thrown into the air.

I wouldn’t classify anywhere in Central Oregon as having really clean air anymore.

[Coniferian]

We moved here five years ago and like Redmond for its milder winters than we had in Colorado. But my wife has asthma and is tired of being stuck indoors for a month and a half each year because of the smoke. We run the AC and a big air cleaner day and night during fire season.


Housing is cheaper than Bend, there's less traffic and the city seems to do a better job of maintaining the streets. Parks are nice and there is the usual compliment of big box stores - Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot. etc. Median house price is $100K less than Bend. We bought on the upswing and our house is now worth $100K more than when we bought it. Lots of new construction going on.



Besides Oregon fires, we get smoke from BC when the wind is from the north, smoke from California when the wind blows from the south. This is the new normal for just about anyplace in the west.

[Obadiah]

I moved to Redmond a year ago so far I really like it . The people are friendly its quiet most of the time . Other than 97 the traffic is light . I lived in Sisters for quite a long time I like Redmond much better the people here are friendlier . Bend has become a real problem because their infrastructure cant handle the traffic they have and they have limited space.BENd does have some really beautiful scenery it is only a few minutes away and I like to visit there . It feels to me Redmond is the place to be now.
The city of Redmond just completed the process of the annexation of 1000 acres of land for industrial use this will make it the center of Oregon’s industrial market.Creating jobs and driving values up . They also have The COCC Redmond Campus and it offers credit classes as part of the Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer (AAOT) degree, and training for specialized degrees, such as:
Automotive Technology,Manufacturing Technology,Veterinary Technician. Plenty of room outside of redmond for finding secluded land .

[MonumentGuy]

I agree, Redmond Oregon is a great place to live, I'd take it over Bend myself. Bend is getting a little too hip for me.

Healthcare is decent in my opinion with the exception of dentistry, I really like my dentist Redmond Dental Group.

As mentioned the zoning rules are great, especially as compared to some of the bigger cities.

The question is, when are you headed our way?

[NorthernFog]

Originally Posted by darnselfly

Yes, there are a fair number of cloudy days without precipitation.

The smoke was close to unbearable last year from the Milli fire near Sisters. Something like 6 weeks of smoke, sometimes so thick we couldn’t see to the end of the street. This year hasn’t been as bad, but still many unpleasant days. And policies are being considered to do more controlled burns before and after fire season for fuel reduction. Smoke is now a fact of life here. I now have several browser favorites for air quality maps.

Something else that may give you a problem is dust. It’s a dusty, windy place. Just general “topsoil” blowing around (really just finely ground rock!). In winter and spring, cinders that have been spread on the road for traction are pulverized by traffic and their dust is thrown into the air.

I wouldn’t classify anywhere in Central Oregon as having really clean air anymore.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

[NorthernFog]

Originally Posted by dcisive

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?

Did you ever move to Redmond? How is it?

[dcisive]

I just happened to notice a response from a post I made several years ago. The happy report however is that we never moved to Oregon (or Washington which was also a consideration). It just happened to be that I ran across a isolated street (dead end) dedicated to 55+ that a builder owned the property, the lots, being used for him to build to suit for retirees that wanted to move there. Each lot had a lineup behind their lot of a row of Russian Olive trees. This is 35 miles West of Twin Falls Idaho. We only have 10 neighbors in the entire street and I have one empty lot on one side.

I had a nice sit down with the builder and he made it clear he would be building a stick built custom home to our specs for at or less than a manufactured home cost we ran into elsewhere. He was going to include all permitting and costs involved, the electric, sewer and water all of which was covered by the small town of 900 at that time. My wife and I fell in love with the area and we met a few of the neighbors all of which are like family now. It's quiet as a church mouse here, no kids, barking dogs, motorcycles etc. Just as I'd prayed for. The air quality is superb no wood burning nearby and stuff. Our water is some of the purest on the planet and we're known for it here being pure spring water supplied by the town.

We're a half hour from Twin Falls which has ALL of the shopping you could ask for. All the Big Box stores tons of restaurants (Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse and more). One of the top 4 rated hospitals in the country with specialties in cardiology and cancer, ideal for us seniors. I just leased a all electric EV vehicle, a VW ID.4 which I'm loving. NO more gas.....yay! 250mi range so no range anxiety. I have a Level 2 charger in my garage installed so no problems there. We had this custom 3br 2 bath home with all upgraded Pella windows and top GE appliances, a 3 ton Lennox heat pump full AC unit. Our electricity here is dirt cheap, we're all electric in the home. Our average bill per month is $118 which runs EVERYTHING.

We got into this home on it's 1/4 acre of land for $220 total. It just appraised for $370k. Not bad for just 3 years of ownership. We just refinanced at 2.7% and it lowered our payment further. So we know this was the very best thing that could have happened. Prices and costs simply were not in this league in Oregon nor Washington. And we're a bit more conservative down here which fits me just fine. The Boise area not so much but they are a different deal and fortunately not close by. So hope I answered your question. This result was an amazing blessing. It appears that Bend has blown up with population and all that comes with that. Redmond seems a bit more under control but more spread out. I wish them all the best