Bend's economy and foliage questions. (Portland: house, buying, construction)

[cvanripe10]

Ok firstly, Bend isn't in the vicinity of a major city. It's a couple hundred miles from Portland, but that isn't even a major metropolitan like NYC, Chicago, LA, San Fran, DC, ect...

So Bend has this reputation of being rich and pompous. How is Bend so rich if it's so far from a metropolitan. What do people do to make all their money? Are there corporate HQ's in Bend? What are the major job industries?

Also about the foliage. I understand Bend has a high desert climate. However i see pictures of lush green parks, maple trees, ect. These must be developements. But i also see pictures of dead yellow grass and desert like yards in some pictures. What is the norm in foliage? I'm from the northeast so moving to a 'desert' might not feel so right.

One last question is about the residential developments. Every house in the pictures I see of Bend looks like it has been built within the past 20 years. Did Bend's population boom big time since 1990? Are all the homes practically new?

Thanks.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by cvanripe10

Ok firstly, Bend isn't in the vicinity of a major city. It's a couple hundred miles from Portland, but that isn't even a major metropolitan like NYC, Chicago, LA, San Fran, DC, ect...

So Bend has this reputation of being rich and pompous. How is Bend so rich if it's so far from a metropolitan. What do people do to make all their money? Are there corporate HQ's in Bend? What are the major job industries?

Also about the foliage. I understand Bend has a high desert climate. However i see pictures of lush green parks, maple trees, ect. These must be developements. But i also see pictures of dead yellow grass and desert like yards in some pictures. What is the norm in foliage? I'm from the northeast so moving to a 'desert' might not feel so right.

One last question is about the residential developments. Every house in the pictures I see of Bend looks like it has been built within the past 20 years. Did Bend's population boom big time since 1990? Are all the homes practically new?

Thanks.

The whole area is a destination resort, many seasonal homes. It is an outdoor playground, Dozens of incredible golf courses, Snow skiing at Bachelor, Water sports, fishing, biking, hiking, etc.....People bring their money or earn it building and servicing those that play and live there. Normal folage is scrub brush with a mix of pine, fir, and high desert grasses and wildlife. It is very diverse depending on the area. The cities are well established, park like, and very people friendly.
There has been a tremendous discovery of the the area, so yes it has Ka-boomed in the last 15 yrs. The stats are some of the best in the state, they are definitely pro growth.

freedom

[JakeDog]

I've never found bend to be pompous at all.

[seashelly]

About the foilage, the Ponderosa Pines don't change but the mountain Aspens do. Very pretty to see. As for the housing developments with the "dead yellow grass and desert like yards", they just don't water their yards. They may be keeping their yards as desert gound areas as a fire break near their homes since this area high fire zone. If I lived there I'd definately have a metal peaked roof and a sprinkler system....just something else to think about.

[Bendite]

Bend has been an attraction to people retiring or buying second homes and some of those people have a lot of money. When you have a three bedroom ranch house in California that you can sell for a bazillion dollars and can come to Bend and buy something much better for a lot less, then you have a lot of people moving here from California, and that's what happened during the boom of the past few years. There are also a number of people who have homes here who work in Portland or Seattle who telecommute. Bend has some small high tech firms, lots of medical and some aviation companies that are strong employers that serve to balance out at least some of the low paying jobs in the service industry. Those people are employed for the resort and tourist inflow which is very strong. During the building boom, there was also a considerable amount of need for construction workers and specialty tradesmen and they made a good salary. Of course there are a lot of developers and speculators who made a lot of money as well.