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.
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!
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.
...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/
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.
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.
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.
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.