OT Bend, OR: 2nd Fastest Growing City In America

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ABM

ABM

Happily Married In Music City, USA!
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https://wallethub.com/edu/fastest-growing-cities/7010#overall

I still kinda miss that place. I lived there between 2014 and 2016. Relatively speaking, I had the best deal in town. A little bachelor pad right behind the library downtown. $600/mo covered everything - including all utilities, cable, etc. One check. Rode my bike every day amongst the back drop of those oh-so-beautiful mountains of Central Oregon. While Bend still holds a special place in my heart, I wouldn't trade my life here in Tennessee for anything in the world. My wife was/is more than worth that crazy cross-country move.
 
ABM said:
https://wallethub.com/edu/fastest-growing-cities/7010#overall

I still kinda miss that place. I lived there between 2014 and 2016. Relatively speaking, I had the best deal in town. A little bachelor pad right behind the library downtown. $600/mo covered everything - including all utilities, cable, etc. One check. Rode my bike every day amongst the back drop of those oh-so-beautiful mountains of Central Oregon. While Bend still holds a special place in my heart, I wouldn't trade my life here in Tennessee for anything in the world. My wife was/is more than worth that crazy cross-country move.
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My favorite little city in the whole wide world!
 
People from California moving there like crazy. Hope they don't bring the CA mess to the beautiful city of Bend. It is causing home values to go through the roof though. Some potential clients I met with last week are moving from the Bay area to Bend and are willing to spend $2M+ for their new home.
 
We have family in Bend and visit regularly...my daughter in law grew up there and her family home is there. We go fishing up there fairly often......I prefer the coastal range but it's a nice place reminds me of when I lived in Central City Colorado in my younger days....my son snowboarded all his youth up there and spends at least one weekend a month visiting...probably half our family holidays are spent up there...wait....no...it's a horrible place....crime, trash, street gangs, pollution! Do yourselves a favor and stay away from Bend! Better yet, stay away from Oregon in general....we are a dangerous state!
 
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when I was a kid, my parents (and friends) use to go over the Eastern Oregon deer hunting and I remember passing thru Bend when the population was under 12,000. My wife and I owned 20 acres close to Bend in the 80's when the population was well under 20,000. We planned on building a home there but both had well-paying occupations in Salem.

but after trips to Bend in the 90's, when the place became a total mess of LA style traffic, we sold our acreage. I love the idea of how Bend use to be. I don't like the reality. The geography and climate are great; the crowds destroy all that for me.

generally, I avoid Central Oregon any more and just pass thru on my way further east
 
As a realtor in Central Oregon, I can tell you they are not all just moving from California. People are moving from all over the country. Here is another little tidbit. Bend/Redmond are the #1 community in the United States for people who work remotely. This was before COVID hit. I know people who live here and have jobs in DC, Florida, Texas. People live here and work other places. The biggest issue with Bend is the city didn't do a good job of planning for the growth and are now trying to figure out how to catch up and prepare for the future.
 
Googled it and viewed some pictures...Looks like a beautiful place...I can't believe the clarity of the water.
 
yankeesince59 said:
Googled it and viewed some pictures...Looks like a beautiful place...I can't believe the clarity of the water.
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The water alone is why there are so many micro breweries have cropped up (and are still cropping up) in the Bend area. The breweries move there specifically for that. Very nice place to visit.
 
Bend is beautiful. One of the nicest places I’ve ever been to.
 
twobullz said:
As a realtor in Central Oregon, I can tell you they are not all just moving from California. People are moving from all over the country. Here is another little tidbit. Bend/Redmond are the #1 community in the United States for people who work remotely. This was before COVID hit. I know people who live here and have jobs in DC, Florida, Texas. People live here and work other places. The biggest issue with Bend is the city didn't do a good job of planning for the growth and are now trying to figure out how to catch up and prepare for the future.
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Those roundabouts they have in Bend drive me insane....I keep getting turned around by them..
 
HAAK72 said:
...I love it over here, my wife and I moved here 3 years ago for her job. I work remotely and love golfing so it's a win-win :) so much so that I made a website dedicated to showcasing all of the great courses in the region https://centraloregon.golf/
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Prineville reminds me of Bend of old. Properties there still seem reasonable.
 
Have never been a fan the half dozen or so times I have visited. It's definitely beautiful, love all of the breweries, etc. It just feels weirdly..."fake" to me? I can't really describe it. But has always felt like the set of a movie or a tvshow taking place in the suburbs of a mountain city. Like a Denver suburb ore something, I dunno.
 
riverman said:
Those roundabouts they have in Bend drive me insane....I keep getting turned around by them..
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I hear ya.

Oh, and I used to walk around downtown a lot. M-TH was usually OK, but, man, when the weekends hit, I really had to up my level of traffic awareness. Lots and lots of visitors....looking around for restaurants, hotels, and the like. Staring at their GPS's, texting...this list goes on. I had no problem riding my bike downtown during the week, but no way on the weekends.

I had a little thing I loved to do that I called a "six-pack and a fire." What that amounted to was walking the downtown loop (up Bond to Greeenwood, back down Wall to Franklin and all over again) 6 times, followed by a beer around one of the firepits at McMenamins. I had fun chatting with folks over a glowing fire. So many visitors from literally all over the world. Good times.
 
wizenheimer said:
when I was a kid, my parents (and friends) use to go over the Eastern Oregon deer hunting and I remember passing thru Bend when the population was under 12,000. My wife and I owned 20 acres close to Bend in the 80's when the population was well under 20,000. We planned on building a home there but both had well-paying occupations in Salem.

but after trips to Bend in the 90's, when the place became a total mess of LA style traffic, we sold our acreage. I love the idea of how Bend use to be. I don't like the reality. The geography and climate are great; the crowds destroy all that for me.

generally, I avoid Central Oregon any more and just pass thru on my way further east
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What? Bend now has more than 12,000?
Yeah, I haven't been there in a while.
 
twobullz said:
That is funny. What drives most of us crazy over here are the people who don't know how to use a roundabout. No if there is no car coming you don't have to stop before entering.
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We've got three roundabouts, or as I call them, a turnaround, in my neck of the woods and everyone seems to know perfectly well how to use them. I seldom find a driver who gets confused by them. Of course it's Lake Oswego with lots of college educated people. People seem to do a lot of things with more sanity here including drive.
 
twobullz said:
That is funny. What drives most of us crazy over here are the people who don't know how to use a roundabout. No if there is no car coming you don't have to stop before entering.
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I know how they work, I just find they throw off my natural sense of direction but that's because I'm not that familiar with the residential streets there.....the one by the Eugene airport is great...I understand why they are adapting them
 
Lanny said:
We've got three roundabouts, or as I call them, a turnaround, in my neck of the woods and everyone seems to know perfectly well how to use them. I seldom find a driver who gets confused by them. Of course it's Lake Oswego with lots of college educated people. People seem to do a lot of things with more sanity here including drive.
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Being a good driver or educated has nothing to do with one's sense of direction...people who live there obviously know the lay of the land
 
riverman said:
Being a good driver or educated has nothing to do with one's sense of direction...people who live there obviously know the lay of the land
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That's a separate issue. You're now talking about my wife, who gets confused when I tell her turn right and then point to the right and says she wouldn't get confused if I'd just keep quiet, and my mother, now deceased.
 
wizenheimer said:
when I was a kid, my parents (and friends) use to go over the Eastern Oregon deer hunting and I remember passing thru Bend when the population was under 12,000. My wife and I owned 20 acres close to Bend in the 80's when the population was well under 20,000. We planned on building a home there but both had well-paying occupations in Salem.

but after trips to Bend in the 90's, when the place became a total mess of LA style traffic, we sold our acreage. I love the idea of how Bend use to be. I don't like the reality. The geography and climate are great; the crowds destroy all that for me.

generally, I avoid Central Oregon any more and just pass thru on my way further east
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sounds like Portland, too.

For the first time in my life, I would feel okay with not living here anymore.
 
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