medford or bend ?

[BendLocal]

We can thank COTA and the one way trails for making Phil's bearable during peak periods.

[whirnot]

One other perspective on traffic. I have worked in many major cities and by those standards traffic across town in Bend is a breeze. As stated above, parking a couple of blocks away from The fermentation Celebration, and the Bite, and just a 5 minute walk was a breeze. I do find some areas pretty difficult though such as Cascades Village Shopping center coming back towards Bend on any afternoon, or certain areas during "Rush Hour" can be problematic. There are some enhancements to the traffic control system that would help.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

So, not long enough to have lived here when not only did no one lock their doors, they didn't even have keys for the doors. You didn't live here when car keys were always left in the vehicle, even in the parking lot when grocery shopping at Wagners Market.

You missed Central Oregon when graffiti never happened and the local drug problem was a group of seniors from the high school rebelling by smoking a joint and sneaking a can of beer. Long gone are the days when the daily crime report might consist of an underage farm kid driving without a license and nothing else all week.

You missed it when COCC was the very furthest thing to the west and where the new traffic circle is on the south end of Third street was miles out of town and there was very little north of Wagners Market.

You missed it when it was safe to drink out of streams in the mountains and when you could go up to a lake and be the only one there.

22 years, I think you even missed free use of the forests with no paid parking passes or paid snow park permits.

You missed it when there was hardly any traffic except on Third Street, (because that was the highway from California)

You might have missed the working cowboys, complete with spurs and dusty chaps, coming into the Tumalo Sore.

Bend doesn't even feel like Oregon any more. You could plop it down anywhere in California, and except for the mountains, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the crowded together houses in Bend and the crowded together houses in any town in California. The houses all look the same.

The population numbers would tend to back up what you are saying. 20,000 to 80,000+ in less then 25 years is crazy.

1910 536 —
1920 5,415 (910.3%)
1930 8,848 (63.4%)
1940 10,021( 13.3%)
1950 11,409 (13.9%)
1960 11,936 (4.6%)
1970 13,710 (14.9%)
1980 17,263 (25.9%)
1990 20,469 (18.6%)
2000 52,029 (154.2%)
2010 76,639 (47.3%)
Est. 2013 81,236 (6.0%)

[Katblues]

Originally Posted by ajams22

*sigh* here we go with the Californians again...

Can Bendites not come up with an original thought, rather than just jumping to the California blame game? It's like seeing comments on Facebook on an article from The Source. Whatever problem is going on in Central Oregon, it's always the evil Californians. You know how native Oregonians are tired of Californians coming up and "ruining" the state? I bet native Californians feel the same about the rest of the country, now that the state is in a drought emergency due to water scarcity because some say California is well past its population threshold.

If you want to blame anyone for Bend's popularity and desirability, blame the city itself. If it weren't for the massive advertising campaign "Visit Bend" that was run during the recession, you wouldn't have Bend plastered on lists of places to visit in columns in the New York Times.

These aren't burdens that only fall on the backs of Californians, it falls on the backs of "native" Bendites as well. Rather than confronting the fact that the city is growing, and shows no sign of stopping (estimated 30k+ residents by 2030) and encouraging smart planning, instead, you have Bendites stomping their feet like children saying, "NO. I want Bend to stay small!" You can't complain about issues like traffic and loss of wilderness when the citizens won't allow the City to plan accordingly. Did you know that in the 5 year (if my memory serves me right) period before the current City Manager, Eric King, was hired, Bend went through several City Managers? Because being too "pro-growth" is a detriment to your ability to govern. This city is so anti-growth even in the face of explosive growth, it won't surprise me if these ailments are never addressed.

And requiring permits to park at sno-parks and trailheads is a good thing when you take in population growth; would you rather pay a bit of money to use the recreation Bend has to offer, or have it free to everyone and slowly watch it fall into disrepair from overuse? You can't have it both ways.

And honestly, leaving your keys in your car just sounds stupid, small town or big city.

I'm a Canadian immigrating to the USA and live in Bakersfield.My husband and I plan to get out of California asap. We hate the drought and economy and don't see much of a future. Medford sounds ideal. We're musicians and the hope is to get into a rental that has some gardening space and we want jobs doing security work and hair styling. Bend is also another option and closer to Portland for music purposes. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[cvarcher]

Well after researching all the places in Oregon I had originally settled on Southern Oregon between Ashland, Medford or Grants Pass, maybe even Roseburg. Why--simply the weather. No doubt all the scenery and outdoorsy stuff was there since its Oregon. But the dry sunny weather and short mild winters with average amount of rain and low snow made it ideal. That is until I found out about the summer smoke from forest fires. No joke I couldn't even see the mountains flanking I-5 near Grants Pass. At night in a bed and breakfast inn it smells as if the house was burning down. And this was a fire in Northern California. If it was just a once in a blue moon thing fine but its an every summer occurrence and for how long is anyone's guess. When we headed out to Bend on that trip the skies were blue and no smell at that time. If it weren't for the damn fires Southern Oregon just cant be beat-weather wise. Maybe that's why the trees grow the fastest there!!

[Sherwoody]

I think most of Oregon had more than their share of smoke last summer. So. Oregon, Bend, the greater Portland area and even the coast had weeks and weeks of block out the sun smoke.

[PNW-type-gal]

Yes, it was a bad fire season here, but it was also bad in much of Oregon and California, including the coast areas. It was never "just a fire in California" - there were fires in the Cascades, the Siskiyous, near Crater Lake, the Klamaths and the mtns behind Brookings. Medford is also just 27 miles from California, so a fire over the line is still a local issue.

I was in Eugene over several days over Labor Day and it was even worse there than here (although shifting winds moved the "worst" smoke place around).

It was bad in Bend as well - if you happened to drive to Bend and saw less smoke, then you timed your trip fortuitously.
Smoke effects span Bend, Sisters; Air quality may temporarily improve

The fire season problem is a real thing, but if you are moving to Bend because you think it doesn't have bad air from fires in the summer, you are going to be unpleasantly surprised.

[Eriol]

Hi, I'm a Californian looking to retire in Oregon. oops before anyone say anything,let me say that the problems mentioned is not just due to "Californians" but to the fact that population growth in the world is escalating, the world is getting smaller, the economy is too dependent on technology/profit and loss/GDP and neglecting the human side of work, so everyone becomes squeezed and stressed to meet the bottom line and the capitalists wanting to maximize profits will continue to sell "vacation homes" and "a more relaxed lifestyle" and "affordable housing" to those same people they squeezed in the first place. I'm sure my arguments are not completely soundproof but I hope you get the gist. I didn't choose to be a Californian, I just happened to live there because there were jobs available. Now when I will soon have the chance to really make a lifestyle choice, I'm choosing to live small, simple and rural. And I don't come with a Californian home equity; the house market was too pricey for me, so I won't be looking at popular places with easy access, weather, entertainment and all those retiree perks. But I still want something comfortable and safe for my budget, and don't worry, I won't be driving up your property prices with my meager contribution to your economy.

If anyone is still reading after this and not aiming daggers at me, can you give me some suggestions for places that are small. I don't mind isolated as I'm not a great shopper nor need entertainment other than a good book, movie or music, and walks in nature. Of course, that brings up the subject of Internet connection because I listen to classical music either on the radio or Internet and watch British TV programs on the Internet. I like a community feel where there is a small town and a few local eateries and groceries and don't like suburban sprawl. I certainly don't need easy access to Costco or Walmart. A good library will be nice but if unavailable, can always have books shipped to me. A town with an old world feel would be fantastic, as I'm definitely an old-world-kinda gal. And a small house (2 bedroom at most) with an acre (at least) lot so I can listen to my music without fear of disturbing others or vice versa (here in SoCal that's a huge problem). Finally, lots of trees and walks would complete the bill. Hey, one can only ask, whether one gets it is another thing, right? Oh, before I forget, no snow please, rain is okay.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Eriol

Oh, before I forget, no snow please, rain is okay.

Then Bend is absolutely out for you - no snow EVER also pretty much lets all of Oregon out except for some of the coast areas. Medford gets a lot less snow than Bend, but we still can get a dusting or inch or two (last year we had a very surprising 8" in one storm, but it was gone in a couple days).

Oregon also has fairly strict land use laws, so finding an acre in or near the heart of a town is difficult or extremely expensive - that is how Oregon keeps suburban sprawl on to farm land down. Outside of town, lots tend to be much bigger than an acre because rural land outside the urban growth boundary can't be subdivided for housing. That said, look at the towns of Silverton (near Salem) or McMinnville or Dundee (sw of Portland)