Young Family Wants Bend Lifestyle

[kapetrich]

I disagreed with your satement regarding Bend not being any more outdoorsy than any other town in Oregon.

The other portions which you've 'disputed' with me? I said had some validity.

I really don't need a lecture on Oregons/Bends lack of culture. I'm well aware. I grew up in a major east coast city.


Please read my posts.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by kapetrich

I disagreed with your satement regarding Bend not being any more outdoorsy than any other town in Oregon.

The other portions which you've 'disputed' with me? I said had some validity.

I think you're still missing the point that I was trying to make. Why does having to drive an extra hour to go skiing, or hiking, or white water rafting, or any of your other examples make a town any more or less outdoorsy? I would consider an hour or two hour drive pretty easy access and a reasonable trade off.

The extra "outdoorsy" you gain from living in Bend does not offset the other factors enough for most people. Realistically most people are not doing one of those activities every single day, or even every single weekend, to make the hour savings per a trip worth giving up the many other benefits of living in a larger city.

So in my opinion, Portland is just as outdoorsy as Bend, with the added benefit of being an all around better city (for most people.)

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by hamellr

I think you're still missing the point that I was trying to make. Why does having to drive an extra hour to go skiing, or hiking, or white water rafting, or any of your other examples make a town any more or less outdoorsy? I would consider an hour or two hour drive pretty easy access and a reasonable trade off.

The extra "outdoorsy" you gain from living in Bend does not offset the other factors enough for most people. Realistically most people are not doing one of those activities every single day, or even every single weekend, to make the hour savings per a trip worth giving up the many other benefits of living in a larger city.

So in my opinion, Portland is just as outdoorsy as Bend, with the added benefit of being an all around better city (for most people.)

Define what outdoorsy means to you. I defined it in my initial post as the access/proximity to the outdoors. By this definition Bend is extremely outdoorsy.

Again, I refuted your outdoorsy sentiment and gave your other opinions weight.

What you're discussion, while interesting and valued, isn't within the scope of what I've disagreed: Bend not being any more outdoorsy than any other town in Oregon.

[Dry Side]

As I ski, hike or mountain bike virtually each day I find living on the West Side of Bend very practical. Spending an hour or two in the car to get to sno parks and trail heads would not be my cup of tea.

[davemess10]

I"m backing Kapetrich here. Bend is WAY MORE outdoorsy than Portland. I think a good indicator is if you look at % of the general population that does outdoor sports. I think Bend is going to win that hands down over Portland. Not even mentioning the proximity, as that's a slam dunk for Bend. What trails can I mountain bike to in Portland?
Yes Portland is a bigger city than Bend, does that even need to be debated?

But talk to almost anyone that has a serious interest in outdoor sports about moving to Oregon and they're going to say that Bend is the place to go.
Bend is pretty much the second biggest Mountain bike destination in the US behind Moab now. It also has a huge scene of road cyclists, runners, and triathletes.

If there were jobs in Bend I would move there in a heartbeat.

[j.penningham]

Bend leadership is trying to get a four year university in Bend. It will no longer be the Bend that everybody loves and wants if this happens. It was overwhelmed with developers and real estate agents coming here to capitalize. Moderator cut: crude Really check in to this. Do you know what a college town neighborhood looks like? Not condusive to peaceful famiy living.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by j.penningham

Bend leadership is trying to get a four year university in Bend. It will no longer be the Bend that everybody loves and wants if this happens. It was overwhelmed with developers and real estate agents coming here to capitalize. Now they are stuck and are seeking the next best way to rape Bend for the buck. Really check in to this. Do you know what a college town neighborhood looks like? Not condusive to peaceful famiy living.

You have to be kidding. A college town is terrific. Stable economy, smart,innovative citizens. Sure there will be some frat rats, and young fools, but let's face it, Bend is the central city for a tremendously large area. It is an ideal location for a four year university.

As for outdoors, I have heard Bend is epic, but I do know a guy who moved there from here (Ashland), and he wants desperately to move back, for the trail running, biking,etc. Go figure.

For the OP, I am mixed, we all need to chase our dreams at times, and they sound like a pretty solid family. And generally, I think midwesterners often make good neighbors. However, I will say, everything associated with trees, botany, vegetarianism, and yoga is absolutely saturated in the "mecca" towns of Oregon. When I moved to N. Californian nearly 20 years ago after finishing my master's in plant ecology, I took a job with the Forest Service. I thought I was a hot item. I was the, seriously, the seventh string botanist on that national forest! More to the point, the Forest Service does not hire arborists, and besides, they are in contraction, since timber harvest has declined over 90% in the last couple decades. It might be that some of the landscape architecture firms could use someone, but my fear would be that the market is too small.

On the other hand, a larger, more woodsy place, like Portland or Seattle, or even Boise, ID might be a larger market. Now that I mention it, I would say check out Boise instead of Bend. It is often compared to Bend for outdoors, and it has a much better job market. It is set in the high desert, but they have a long standing tradition of supporting their "urban forest." They have a river running through town with a broad riparian forest, which everyone loves. Idaho is nirvana for an outdoor nut. Another outdoorsy town that might or might not be doing better than Bend is Chico, California. Like Boise, Chico is crazy about its street trees and many leafy neighborhoods. And outdoors abound there too.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

You have to be kidding. A college town is terrific. Stable economy, smart,innovative citizens. Sure there will be some frat rats, and young fools, but let's face it, Bend is the central city for a tremendously large area. It is an ideal location for a four year university

I agree Fiddlehead. That said, I did choose Bend over other similar towns becauuuuse it wasn't a college town. College towns can be tough places to make inroads if you didn't go to the school. But I really do think the positives outweigh the negatives 10,000 fold.

Plus, the 4 year that's going in will be anywhere between 3-5k at the end of this decade if not later. That won't make Bend a college town by ANY measure. Nothing like towns that are over half students by population like Boulder, Burlington, Madison, Blacksburg, etc.....

Great suggestions to the OP, btw.