Author Topic: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]  (Read 33128 times)

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #100 on: May 12, 2018, 08:41:29 PM »
Have you considered Eugene? We moved from the central coast of CA about 6 years ago. We have long time friends in Bend (with similar complaints as everyone else has mentioned) and family in Santa Cruz (we visit both Bend and SC often). Eugene has a similar vibe as Santa Cruz but more culture than Bend and Eugene definitely has a soul and very strong community no matter your side of the political spectrum- in fact the sides seem to get along great (which was weird to us at first, very respectful of differences). The drawback here is you are dealing with the same welcoming of panhandlers, lots of free social services etc. which is great for homeless in need who genuinely need it but attracts transients who take advantage (like SC).

Perks of Eugene:  Close proximity to coast and mountains (we've skied Saturday and surfed Sunday many a weekend). World class Mt biking in nearby Oakridge, world class fly fishing on the Mckenzie; Wine country is gorgeous, delicious and cheaper than CA; Mild climate, if you can get out to say Arizona for 1 or 2 months in the winter, its paradise especially if you're a gardener. If not, have a wood stove or fireplace and live the Oregon life ;). Lots of industry tech growth here. Thats my two cents on Eugene, it kind of sounds like it check s some boxes on what you're seeking. Check it out on your PNW road-trip. We enjoy spending time in Bend as tourists just as much as everyone else though- it is  a fun place!

*Also someone previously mentioned bilingual k-5, many good options here (our neighborhood has japanese immersion and spanish immersion k-5).

Cheers and best of luck!

Eugene was on the list, then off for the reasons you list, though the recent data that shows it to be not as bad as I thought has me reconsidering it. It does seem to check all the boxes, though the concerns you list do give me pause. I don't mind services, even if they become an attraction, as long as there's a general sense of law-and-order and with some expectations/strings attached.

Thanks for chiming in!

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #101 on: May 12, 2018, 08:50:39 PM »
Bellingham is a great little city, though there IS some enmity regarding Californication.  I didn't notice your comment on churches, though If you DO like that sort of thing there are plenty, and the town of Lynden just to the North is quite churchy

Can confirm. My mom grew up there. Churchy.

To be clear, not looking for a "churchy" place. Looking for an authentic community of believers focused on living life alongside each other as they try their best to follow Jesus. Not looking for places that just want to build buildings, or make a big deal about what Starbucks puts (or doesn't put) on their holiday cups, or insist that evolution isn't real and the earth is 6000 years old, or any of that stuff. It's really about quality, not quantity, and frankly some of the places with the most churches don't have what we're looking for. Fully expect that we will need to put boots on the ground and do our own research in this area since it's really something best done in-person.

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #102 on: May 12, 2018, 09:25:39 PM »
You can really only answer this question by spending a *lot* of time there yourself.  What ever any random internet person hates or loves about a place may or may not apply to you.  Every place has compromises for everyone; there is no perfect place.  Be careful relocating to any place you have not already been vacationing or visiting part time for years.  It is a kind of silly American fantasy to want to choose a place on a map and move there with no firsthand knowledge. Many people leap into this and then end up regretting their choice and finding out that not only is the grass not greener, they don't know anyone in their new location and would prefer their original city, warts and all.  The Devil You Know, etc.  You seem to be running away from Santa Cruz (one of the better cities in the country overall) more than toward anywhere else.  Maybe you would enjoy life there if you just looked at it differently.

Agree. Would never relocate to a place without first spending a good amount of time there. The point of this thread is twofold: 1) Narrow it down to a short list* and 2) increase our awareness of the things we should consider. For example, the whole "fakeness" issue. I would not have thought of that. I'm just now getting around to replying so some of the comments on this thread because I was out hiking/biking in Arizona. The "fakeness" thing was on my mind while hanging out in Sedona: beautiful place, great mountain biking and hiking, but yeah, I get the fakeness vibe there, which I think is just related to being ultra touristy. Touristy areas are touristy for a reason, they offer something special and so you have to take the good with the bad, so IMO it's a tradeoff that comes down to how touristy/fake relative to what makes it special. Sedona seems a bit too out of balance on the touristy side. Will need to spend a bit of time in Bend to get a sense for it.

Santa Cruz has many great upsides and relocation is not taken lightly. This is our home of many many years and there are many things we love about the area**, but there are also a number of very big downsides. The extreme HCOL and general crowdedness are the two biggest issues for us, and these continue to worsen with time. And the crime issue is rather bothersome. Don't know how to explain it if you haven't lived it day to day... just found that one of my properties had a couple aluminum window frames on the garage totally damaged by someone trying to pry the window open, and they cracked the window in the process. Thankfully they didn't get in because this was not the first attempt and the window was already property reinforced, but no fun having the structure damaged in the process. And there is existing damage from people trying to pry/force the doors open. Sucks to just plyboard up an otherwise nice window because it's not worth repairing it only to be damaged again. So are we running from Santa Cruz? In a way, I suppose, but obviously we would never consider moving if everything was already perfect. Perhaps to put a positive spin on it, when I consider the things that we really like to do (camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, road biking, backpacking)...it just makes a lot more sense for us to be in an area where there are more opportunities for these activities much closer and with fewer crowds, and at 1/2 the cost of living and where we're not always having to worry about stuff being stolen (recommended practice here has become to lock your bikes up *in* your garage because break ins are so common).

*Admittedly, this thread has added to my shortlist, so I guess it failed on this criteria. I'll count it as a positive failure.

**Also note that this thread is specifically asking for a bitch session since it's generally pretty easy to get info on what's great about an area

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #103 on: May 12, 2018, 09:36:53 PM »
We were pretty enamored with Bend but decided against it a few years ago for a variety of reasons. From our time there, I get the impression that there are a lot of people who retired or semi-retired with enough money, many from California, who enjoy the combination of outdoor activities, decent food and beer culture, and a dry climate. Totally understandable given the issues that you describe in Santa Cruz, which are probably common in many other places. But, you might also want to consider the likelihood that if you are moving to a place with a lot of retirees, a high quality of life, and expensive housing, then there is going to be a shortage of workers to get things done. Unless you are super self-reliant, you are going to be competing with all those other retirees for people to fix your plumbing, to maintain your roads, to feed you, to take care of you after a knee surgery, etc., etc. Mountain towns all over the west are facing these issues, and it seems like a growing retired population is just going to exacerbate them over time.

Good points. The bolded basically describes us. Other than medical care we are very self reliant. If there's a shortage of people to do stuff then could be a good part time side hustle :)

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #104 on: May 13, 2018, 08:01:51 AM »

ice_beard

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #105 on: May 13, 2018, 09:29:50 PM »
I actually travel down to Santa Cruz somewhat regularly for fishing and metal detecting (yes, seriously).  The vibe there of everyone trying to be so damn' skater/surfer is slightly maddening.  Even the visiting tourists all try to get in on the action by wearing Santa Cruz sweatshirts and ugly trucker hats.  I don't bother ever trying to drive home from the beach before 7p, 8p is better.  Most of the homeless folks I interact with on the beaches there are pretty nice.  I can sympathize with your complaints about SC.

A few random thoughts....

Regarding the homeless.... there is a significant homeless population in Anchorage, AK and even in Fairbanks which is probably the coldest "city" in the United States.  While areas that have near perfect climates for living outdoors year round, like the California coast likely attract more chronically "economically depressed" types, and especially so those communities that offer services for the homeless, a "real" winter season does not get rid of homelessness.   

Bend changed after the AARP named it the best place to retire in like the late 90s.  This caused a gold rush of sorts for retirees and it seems like the town has had rapid growth since then, but the economy has stagnated somewhat.  It used to be difficult to make a living there, not sure what it's like now.  I had a brief visit maybe 6 years ago and while the climbing at Smith Rock was really quite fun, the town left a bad taste in my mouth.  I couldn't really put my finger on it, but I remember being kind of let down by Bend after all I had heard and read about it.   I want to emphasize this was a brief visit, so everything I experienced was very superficial.  Hood River is DOPE.  Would be a great place to live. 

I personally am interested in Wenatchee and some of the other smaller cities in Oregon.  We almost pulled the trigger and moved to Spokane some years ago, but that didn't happen.  My cousin lives there and he seems to like it reasonably well.  It's unfortunate, but it seems like the PNW is much like California in that there is very little economic output outside of the biggest cities.  But if your FI, that doesn't matter so much.
 
Ashland has a small ski area but 2/4 really bad recent drought winters (2011-2015ish), the ski hill never opened.   



patchyfacialhair

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #106 on: May 14, 2018, 11:11:23 AM »
I'd reconsider writing off Colorado as a destination, OP. Fort Collins, for example, is its own distinct city, has fantastic weather, schools, etc. Also, Driving down to Denver International Airport (1 hr drive) to hop on a 2 hour plane ride back to CA to visit family is super easy, and flights can be had for very little money (Frontier's hub is Denver).

It's not nearly as crunchy as Boulder, and it's not Trumptown like Colorado Springs.

The cost of living can be high depending where you look, but it can also be much closer to "average" if you look hard.

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #107 on: May 14, 2018, 11:45:26 AM »
The skater/surfer vibe here cracks me up. More often than not folks are just trying to project a certain style... guess they think it's cool? Mostly harmless and humorous, though there's a small clique of locals who think they own the place who are very unwelcoming and generally unpleasant. This is probably true of most places, and easy enough to ignore/avoid. It helps that we don't surf or skate, nor do we go to the beach often. I expect Bend (and other mountain towns) have similarities with the REI set and dirtbags.

The homelessness issue is nuanced and multi-layered. I don't think climate can prevent homelessness, but it can discourage a certain and very problematic element. A retired ER physician recently wrote an excellent op-ed about his experience which resonated with those who've lived here a long time and have experienced the issue first-hand. My main issue are those who come here for the nice climate, drugs, free services, and lax law enforcement and yet have no plan for how to actually make it here - they can't afford it and just exploit free services while stealing to fund addiction - and there's no political will to prevent it. I suppose it's a case of "no good deed goes unpunished" as we are quite literally being overrun.

I'm looking forward to traveling through the PNW and checking out a few towns/cities. Will spend some time in Bend to get a sense for the vibe, not sold on it yet, pretty open minded at this point in the process.

wbranch

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #108 on: May 14, 2018, 12:28:46 PM »
The thing I have always heard about mountain towns is you either have 3 houses or 3 jobs. Applies more to areas with big ski hills like Steamboat, Sun Valley, Glenwood Springs/Carbondale/Aspen, Jackson Hole, Crested Butte, Big Sky. But definitely applies to other population centers in the Western US a lot more than what I was used to in the Midwest.

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #109 on: May 14, 2018, 01:36:45 PM »
I'd reconsider writing off Colorado as a destination, OP. Fort Collins, for example, is its own distinct city, has fantastic weather, schools, etc. Also, Driving down to Denver International Airport (1 hr drive) to hop on a 2 hour plane ride back to CA to visit family is super easy, and flights can be had for very little money (Frontier's hub is Denver).

It's not nearly as crunchy as Boulder, and it's not Trumptown like Colorado Springs.

The cost of living can be high depending where you look, but it can also be much closer to "average" if you look hard.

There's a lot we like about Ft Collins, was one of the first places we considered, would consider it again. But family relocating to PNW changed the calculus for us since being within 6-10 hrs drive is desirable. Air travel is such a pain in the ass: Drive time to/from airport, parking, TSA, checked luggage, flight time (incl. taxi), car rental. Can easily double or triple travel time for < 3 hr flight, and the cost for flights with a family of 4 + rental car gets expensive fast. If we don't love any of the places we visit in the PNW then we'll likely make a trip to check out the Front Range.

patchyfacialhair

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #110 on: May 14, 2018, 03:44:26 PM »
Fair enough. I missed the part about family in PNW, I thought I read that they were in CA.

I'm biased because I've grown to love CO since moving here 10 years ago and hope to never move. I also have family in CA, so I understand the hassle of being a little farther than a quick day-drive.

That said (and I'm not about to read through your post history...too lazy), if you're going from super-high property tax CA to super-low property tax CO, that in and of itself could cover the difference in travel spending. Property tax is just above 2k per year on our $400k+ house. Insurance is $2k per year.

Anyways, I'm sure you'll make the right decision in the end!

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #111 on: May 14, 2018, 04:35:32 PM »
Fair enough. I missed the part about family in PNW, I thought I read that they were in CA.

I'm biased because I've grown to love CO since moving here 10 years ago and hope to never move. I also have family in CA, so I understand the hassle of being a little farther than a quick day-drive.

That said (and I'm not about to read through your post history...too lazy), if you're going from super-high property tax CA to super-low property tax CO, that in and of itself could cover the difference in travel spending. Property tax is just above 2k per year on our $400k+ house. Insurance is $2k per year.

Anyways, I'm sure you'll make the right decision in the end!

Family in CA and PNW, so for us a question of being near some family vs. none. Depending on our visits we may yet decide to bite the bullet and venture further out, especially if we determine that quality of life is much better in Ft Collins, Boise or similar. After all, day-to-day life is more important than occasional travel.

Property tax on our primary residence in CA is $8000/year, so yeah, the difference would more than make up for increased travel expenses.

I'm confident we'll thrive wherever we end up. The crazy thing about the process so far is realizing how many great areas there are in the US. At this point I feel like I'm mostly optimizing the "nice to have" things. I don't understand the folks who struggle for years to scratch out an existence in Santa Cruz/SF Bay Area because they are in a career/industry that doesn't pay much of a premium to be here. I mean, the climate is great and it's beautiful and all, but what's the point if you can't enjoy it because you have to work 2-3 jobs just to share a room?

jscott2135

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #112 on: August 25, 2018, 08:12:58 PM »
I live in Bend, been here for a few years and we have so many Californians here now THAT FREAKING LOVE IT.  Like are weird obsessed with Bend.  I grew up vacationing here and always enjoyed it, now that I'm here I want to move back to Portland, but that's because I'm a weird Valley girl and miss the rain.   My beefs with Bend for the most part wont be yours, outside of lack of diversity, FFS would it kill someone to open a damn Ethiopian restaurant here.  Our rush hour from one side of town to another may take you 20 minutes tops, if it takes me more than 15 minutes to get from the east side to the west I get mad lol.  If you're into the outdoors, this place is amazing, hiking, waterfalls, kayaking, fishing, skiing, whatever you want they got it year round...I hate cold so I pretty much hibernate during winter, but hey at least its sunny most of the time even in winter so you dont get the blues.  People really are nice here, even my stick in the mud in laws love going to the food cart courts and talking to stangers while they enjoy food and brews.  Schools are great, biking is encouraged, and everything feels ridiculously close and easy to get to. I would bitch about the cost of living but you will laugh at me so I'll keep my mouth shut. It is becoming much more like a mini California, it used to be strongly red, now its turning blue much to my satisfaction lol, thanks Cali and PDX! From where you're coming, unless you have beef with snow or large lack of diversity then Bend is pretty amazing.  My reasons for moving back will be, snow sucks, I miss the rain and the green of the valley and salmon fishing...and I am a foodie, I miss cheap quality ethnic food so bad it hurts. But Bend is growing and with it will come more restaurants.  If you're into Microbrewies you cant swing a dead cat without hitting one here, and even though I'm not a beer drinker I like going to places like Crux just for the view and the vibe - huge grass area with food carts to the side, families/couples come here in the summer, eat drink, look at the amazing view of the cascades and play pop up games of soccer or bean toss with strangers and its all just chill and laid back. If you have an aversion to trucker hats, and beards and casual dress codes then definitely move along ;) Not sure about other cities on your short list but fair warning.  Bend housing market and rental market are TIGHT, you have to be on it to find a home you want and put an offer in. If you do decide you want to know more there are two great FB groups (one for bay area folks moving here and one for newbies or people feeling it out that will give you some fantastic insight, (and you can always ping me for recommendations or info on realtors or neighborhoods etc!)

« Last Edit: August 25, 2018, 08:24:41 PM by jscott2135 »

Arbitrage

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #113 on: August 25, 2018, 09:51:41 PM »
I've been narrowing down our RE destinations (moving from SoCal).  Lately, I've grown enamored of Bend, Bellingham, and Ashland. 

Visited Bend in June.  Loved it.

Visited Bellingham in mid August.  Loved it as well - it took more time than Bend to grow on me (less of a tourist mecca, and the city layout made it a bit more difficult to get a real sense of the place, but fell for it as time went on. 

Had planned to visit Ashland (did Bellingham instead), but in checking the daily weather for all three places, the summers there would be pretty miserable for my heat-intolerant son. 

Overall, I was 'wowed' more by Bend, but think that Bellingham might make more sense for us (climate, proximity to bigger cities and family).  Still have more time to decide - unfortunately!

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #114 on: August 31, 2018, 01:08:26 PM »
Thanks jscott and Arbitrage for the info, very helpful. Bend still sounds great despite the downsides detailed on this thread, though will have to visit myself to check it out. We also have time to decide as we wrap up financial and personal things in CA. Housing certainly isn't cheap, though some of the smaller homes away from the downtown are fairly reasonable by our current standards.

CanuckExpat

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #115 on: October 05, 2018, 11:10:01 PM »
Thanks, good rundown.

You guys are seriously making me want to go to ID. The Sawtooths, Bitterroots, and even Eagle Cap Wilderness all within reach. Pretty sure it's a breach of etiquette, however, for a Californian to move straight to ID without first living in the PNW ;-) Seriously, I would consider living a bit further from extended family for it. Just not sure I can convince DW just yet, though have some time so worth a try.

Wanted to point out, we've been spending about three weeks in Boise, and I keep running into Californian transplants, it's almost uncanny (in addition to being Canadian expats, we're also expats from San Jose).

I like Boise. It is dry, but like really fucking dry and brown. You don't notice in the city since it's irrigated, but it's brown all around. I'm trying to figure out if I could get used to that. The people are nice, the city has good services, it's got great access to a lot of things, including hot springs. Far from the ocean. And whiteness... I noticed but it didn't bother me, but my wife very much noticed the many clones of blondes in yoga pants in the more affluent areas. People are very nice. I have trouble getting used to it (why is everyone stopping to say hi to me??)

BuildingFrugalHabits

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #116 on: October 06, 2018, 06:37:17 PM »
That fakeness in Bend seems like a good problem to have.  I'd rather have that vs trails being overrun with hoards of people clogging roads, cutting trail, and leaving their trash everywhere.  Unfortunately, that's essentially what's happened to a lot of the public land near where I live in Colorado. 

BuildingFrugalHabits

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #117 on: October 06, 2018, 06:44:30 PM »
I like this thread because we've considered relocating for greener pastures.  Santa Cruz was considered briefly but ruled out for much of the same reasons the OP stated.  The drug needles was an automatic deal breaker for me. We looked at Bend as well but I think the climate is too dry and harsh with poor gardening options.  I also like Park City for the proximity to mountain biking and skiing. 

Telecaster

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #118 on: October 06, 2018, 09:00:21 PM »
Thanks, good rundown.

You guys are seriously making me want to go to ID. The Sawtooths, Bitterroots, and even Eagle Cap Wilderness all within reach. Pretty sure it's a breach of etiquette, however, for a Californian to move straight to ID without first living in the PNW ;-) Seriously, I would consider living a bit further from extended family for it. Just not sure I can convince DW just yet, though have some time so worth a try.

Wanted to point out, we've been spending about three weeks in Boise, and I keep running into Californian transplants, it's almost uncanny (in addition to being Canadian expats, we're also expats from San Jose).

I like Boise. It is dry, but like really fucking dry and brown. You don't notice in the city since it's irrigated, but it's brown all around. I'm trying to figure out if I could get used to that. The people are nice, the city has good services, it's got great access to a lot of things, including hot springs. Far from the ocean. And whiteness... I noticed but it didn't bother me, but my wife very much noticed the many clones of blondes in yoga pants in the more affluent areas. People are very nice. I have trouble getting used to it (why is everyone stopping to say hi to me??)

Boise is cool.  It is definitely on our short list for places to retire to.  Yes, it is definitely dry and brown.  Yes, compared to Seattle it actually seems odd there are so many white people.  I don't mean that  in a bad way at all (like Boise isn't diverse enough or something), it is just not what my brain expects to see. 

 But it is still on the cheap side, and it is really hard to beat if you want easy access to nature.  And downtown has its own cool, organic cultural thing happening.   One could do a lot worse. 

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #119 on: May 14, 2020, 04:24:31 PM »
Sorry for the extreme necropost, but wanted to update this thread.

We did a big road trip last summer to scout potential locations. Lovely loop through OR, WA, ID, MT, WY. It's amazing how many great and varied places there are to live in the US. We experienced extreme gratitude during and after the trip because choosing a relocation spot was difficult with so many wonderful options.

Let me start by addressing the title of the thread and assure you that Bend, OR does not suck :) It's a great town, beautiful scenery, lots of potential. The downtown is a little on the small/undeveloped side, but would be adequate for us. I love the high desert and the Cascade Range. Would totally work for us. RE comments about it being "fake" -- yeah, we picked up on that. I would describe it as a resort tourist destination vibe, which then draws transplants wanting to "live the dream" full time. That's all fine, but we realized we don't want to live in a tourist town anymore. Been there, done that. Additionally, it seems to me (from my very limited experience there) that a no-growth mentality has taken root. I totally get that those moving there for the dream want to preserve things as they are, but I've lived this story before and know how it ends, it ain't pretty.

More importantly, we completely fell in love with Boise. Thanks to @LateStarter1, @Mele, and @cheddarpie for the recommendation. The downtown, parks, river/greenbelt, hills, locally owned restaurants and shops, farmer's market, and so much more. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. There's a real sense of energy and vibrancy to the city. It feels like a real city, but one that fits comfortably within its footprint, though clear that it's sprawling to the west. We also really like that it has an international airport, and the local ski resort with reasonable prices that's close enough to town. We were even surprised by the extent of the arts scene, not to the level of SF, but more than we expected.

Later on we flew to Boise for a quick winter trip to check things out again and start the house hunting. Easy flight, BOI is a great airport. While there winter conditions were milder than we expected (reference point was living in Germany). I would even say the conditions were nearly ideal for what I like, cool and partially cloudy, with some sun breaking through at times. A couple of months later we ended up buying a house in the North End, planning the move this summer, though this may be interesting with COVID :)

The big surprise for us was Eugene, OR. We put this on our list as a wildcard, but it ended up as a solid second place.

It's been an interesting and busy ~24 months as we explored options and wrapped up commitments here. Thanks everyone for your input, the outside perspective was very helpful for us.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2020, 08:12:00 PM by FINate »

des999

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #120 on: May 15, 2020, 10:26:12 AM »
cool update, thanks for posting.  I remember reading this thread b/c I've thought about all the places on your list.  I have a friend who is in Boise and has been trying to get me there for years.

Good luck, and keep us posted.  I was planning to visit Boise this summer, but who knows now :)

clarkfan1979

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #121 on: May 15, 2020, 03:20:55 PM »
Dark Horse = Pueblo West, CO

Think of Denver, but housing is 50% lower, average temp is 5 degrees warmer, less snow, 10 more days of sunshine a year (310), no traffic, and very low taxes. Great local fishing, mountain biking, golf, camping, etc., etc., etc...

It's a 2 hour and 10 minute drive to Breckenridge and there is no traffic because you, "go the back-way" and avoid the Denver crowd. Denver is technically closer to Breckenridge, but it averages out to a 3 hour drive with traffic. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more.

Cons: Far from major airports. One hour to Colorado Springs airport and 2 hours and 10 minutes to Denver airport. No high paying tech jobs.

Other Factors: The town is mostly blue collar with honest hard working people. No fancy yuppies here.

rivendale

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #122 on: May 15, 2020, 07:49:22 PM »
I also would like to add my thanks for updating, especially since we are actively looking for similar areas as well.

314159

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #123 on: May 17, 2020, 11:14:15 AM »
Thanks for the update! I just found this thread today and it was fun to see where you ended up.

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #124 on: July 25, 2020, 09:40:30 AM »
I also found this thread today, and while I haven't read through all of it, certainly found it interesting.

I'm still ~7 years out from FI, but I'd like to do a similar down-select process on the US East coast. We have a lot of family out that way and also like the idea of being within driving distance. But also don't want to live in the touristy spots if we can avoid it (I'm looking at you, Asheville NC or Ithaca, NY).

Regardless, I may follow your process in ~3 years when we start seriously looking. Congrats on finding what you wanted, and best of luck with the move!

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #125 on: July 25, 2020, 11:10:37 AM »
I also found this thread today, and while I haven't read through all of it, certainly found it interesting.

I'm still ~7 years out from FI, but I'd like to do a similar down-select process on the US East coast. We have a lot of family out that way and also like the idea of being within driving distance. But also don't want to live in the touristy spots if we can avoid it (I'm looking at you, Asheville NC or Ithaca, NY).

Regardless, I may follow your process in ~3 years when we start seriously looking. Congrats on finding what you wanted, and best of luck with the move!

Thanks, glad you found it useful.

We made the move about a month ago absolutely love it here. We realize we're still in the honeymoon phase and know winter is coming (literally and figuratively), yet cautiously optimistic as all the surprises have been happy ones and this place feels like a near perfect fit for our family.

Buying and selling real estate and doing a long distance move during a pandemic was weird, but still doable. Hopefully(!) by the time you start seriously looking all this will have blown over.

The great thing about doing this at/near FI is that you can take your time. You can narrow down a lot on-line to make your short-list of candidates, but there's something about going in the flesh that really gives a sense of a place. And in hindsight, half of the process for us involved soul searching. It's surprisingly difficult to discover what you really want, what is actually beneficial vs unrealistic expectations or overreaction to the status quo. It is all hard work, but IMO enjoyable if approached the right way.

Good luck and best wishes with your process. Have fun with it!
« Last Edit: July 25, 2020, 11:14:19 AM by FINate »

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #126 on: July 25, 2020, 11:12:20 AM »
Bend is creepy.

How so? Though I suppose my creep-o-meter may be calibrated rather high coming from Santa Cruz, LOL!

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #127 on: July 25, 2020, 01:59:29 PM »
Huh. I find the desperate need to project an image/virtual signal as a means to belong both weird and kinda sad, not creepy.

DW took our young daughter to a park when we lived in Santa Cruz. While our daughter played on the playground DW was approached by a dude that, on the scale of creepiness from 1 (least) to 10 (most) was an 11. He commented that he thought my daughter was beautiful, then proceeded to try and sell a grimy kids makeup kit to DW. When DW politely refused he became visibly agitated and aggressive. They hightailed it out of there. The next day we learned that he's a convicted sex offender and was arrested later that day for conceal carry of a rather large fixed blade knife and, you know, being a sex offender hanging around a playground. He was back on the street the same day. Now that's creepy! Both the dude but also a legal system that thought it fine for him to be out and about like that.

So I don't mind white people doing silly/annoying white people things, can even find the humor in it. But it just plain sucks to feel like you can't safely play in your neighborhood park or let you kids walk around the block. While Bend obviously wasn't our top choice to live, we thought it was a great place to visit and will probably be back to vacation.

I suppose everyone has their own creepiness criteria :)

Fru-Gal

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #128 on: July 25, 2020, 03:27:27 PM »
I think you & I mean the same thing by creepy.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #129 on: July 25, 2020, 03:56:55 PM »
I'm glad you found a great spot! I know of a mini exodus from Portland/Vancouver due to cost, and I've heard good things from visitors. I doubt I'll ever make the switch myself (state politics, even less diverse than here), but I can see the appeal.

Christof

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #130 on: July 25, 2020, 05:33:23 PM »
While there winter conditions were milder than we expected (reference point was living in Germany).

Germany in winter is pretty diverse... Northern Germany, where I live, doesn‘t have a lot of snow and tends to be humid and rainy most of the time. That is pretty much the opposite of high desert weather. I‘ve been visiting the Bend area for one or two weeks a year for almost twenty years now because we have friends in the area. Mostly I‘ve been there in spring and fall. Fall is nicer in Bend, the colors are brighter and the air is fresher. I especially love leaving the aircraft in Redmond and be greeted by this intense smell of juniper trees and a light breeze in Fall.

Our friends are farmers so we here a lot of stories about those strange people living in the city. ;-) There is definitely some discrepancies between those living in the city and those living in rural areas, and those coming there for retirement (big community) and those still working.

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #131 on: July 25, 2020, 09:49:21 PM »
I'm glad you found a great spot! I know of a mini exodus from Portland/Vancouver due to cost, and I've heard good things from visitors. I doubt I'll ever make the switch myself (state politics, even less diverse than here), but I can see the appeal.

Interesting. I do see a ton of OR and WA plates here, wondered what was going on.

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #132 on: July 25, 2020, 09:56:41 PM »
While there winter conditions were milder than we expected (reference point was living in Germany).

Germany in winter is pretty diverse... Northern Germany, where I live, doesn‘t have a lot of snow and tends to be humid and rainy most of the time. That is pretty much the opposite of high desert weather. I‘ve been visiting the Bend area for one or two weeks a year for almost twenty years now because we have friends in the area. Mostly I‘ve been there in spring and fall. Fall is nicer in Bend, the colors are brighter and the air is fresher. I especially love leaving the aircraft in Redmond and be greeted by this intense smell of juniper trees and a light breeze in Fall.

Our friends are farmers so we here a lot of stories about those strange people living in the city. ;-) There is definitely some discrepancies between those living in the city and those living in rural areas, and those coming there for retirement (big community) and those still working.

We were in Munich, so a fair amount of snow. I was impressed with how quickly the city workers could clear all the streets and sidewalks after a snow event. They had a bunch of nifty narrow 1-person snow removal vehicles. Quintessential German efficiency. Winter was pretty icy, except for when the Föhn blew in.

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #133 on: August 04, 2020, 08:40:33 AM »
Thanks for reviving this thread with the update! I am feeling super self conscious about looking to maybe move to Bend now... maybe not interested in million dollar houses but I think everyone wants to "live the dream" someplace :) I thought Bend was the poster child for friendly, nature-lovin' city people. I wonder which city in this thread will be the next to fill up with posers like me haha.

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #134 on: August 04, 2020, 09:57:31 PM »
Thanks for reviving this thread with the update! I am feeling super self conscious about looking to maybe move to Bend now... maybe not interested in million dollar houses but I think everyone wants to "live the dream" someplace :) I thought Bend was the poster child for friendly, nature-lovin' city people. I wonder which city in this thread will be the next to fill up with posers like me haha.

Nothing to feel self-conscious about, you should visit and see what it's like :) It's not what we were looking for, yet a very beautiful area and a pleasant city with a lot to offer. Outside the trendy areas there are still houses to be had in the $350k-$500k range.

The Fake Cheap

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #135 on: August 05, 2020, 06:48:47 PM »
Sorry for the extreme necropost, but wanted to update this thread.

I read through the 1st page and only noticed towards the end it was from 2018!  Once I saw that I was really hoping for an update!  So thanks for updating!  It is the best when that happens!

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #136 on: August 11, 2020, 04:57:35 PM »
Not sure if the OP has moved to Boise yet, but just wanted to say that getting  Idaho license plates should be at the top of the to do list.  And be sure and pronounce Boise correctly. Californians usually flock to Eagle so glad to see you went for the liberal North End. :-)

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #137 on: August 11, 2020, 08:46:59 PM »
Not sure if the OP has moved to Boise yet, but just wanted to say that getting  Idaho license plates should be at the top of the to do list.  And be sure and pronounce Boise correctly. Californians usually flock to Eagle so glad to see you went for the liberal North End. :-)

We got our new plates last week. Wasn't the top of the to do list (frankly, don't care what, if anything, people thought about our plates), but glad to check it off the list. Had the pronunciation down on our first visit :) There are quite a few ex-Californians here in the North End. Weirdly, over the past couple of weeks I've noticed a lot more plates from New York and New Jersey around town. Tourists, or people moving here?

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #138 on: August 14, 2020, 04:36:09 PM »
Boise is cool.  It is off the beaten path a bit (not near another major city) so the locals have created their own arts scene.  Great outdoors opportunities.   Thriving beer scene.  Good bars, good restaurants.  The wife and I have talked about it being on our short list.  About two years to FIRE, I reckon. 

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks
« Reply #139 on: December 05, 2020, 12:47:15 PM »
We're coming up on 6 months here (Boise, ID, for those who haven't read the entire thread), thought I'd give another update. We still LOVE it here. If anything, this city and area has grown on us even more. My parents followed us up here, so it's wonderful to have family nearby.

Things we absolutely love:
  • Hot, dry summer: We really enjoyed the 100+ degree days! Great for going to the many local swimming holes. Quinn's Pond is only 1.5 miles from our house, so we bike there to cool off in the heat of the afternoon. Also very much enjoyed swimming/beach at Lucky Peak State Park Sandy Point.
  • Camping/backpacking: We can be at a great campground/dispersed site, in beautiful scenery along a river or lake, within one hour. I did a couple of solo backpacking trips, easy hike in, very few people, with great fishing. Took my kids on their inaugural backpacking trip: 1 hour hike to an alpine lake where they caught fish, which we dissected (for homeschool), then ate. They loved it.
  • Downtown: It's clean, full of wonderful restaurants and boutiques. I just love that I can bike to the heart of a thriving metropolis in 10 minutes or drive into proper wilderness in about 1 hour.
  • Our neighborhood: Historic North End is charming and walkable to a quaint retail district (Hyde Park), coffee shops, parks, and hiking trails. As I write this I'm looking out my office window at snow covered mountains :)
  • Everyone we've met is "Boise nice." Our neighbors have all been super sweet, bringing us housewarming gifts and welcoming us to the neighborhood (in a socially distanced way). No one has cared one bit that we are from California, which may be somewhat unique to the North End.
  • This "City of Trees" is amazingly gorgeous during peak fall color.
  • Mountain biking: Expansive network of biking trails practically in my backyard. I've been riding hard since summer to get back into shape and have barely scratched the surface of what's available. I've even figured out how to layer up for riding in sub freezing temps, which is great because the trails are frozen solid, and I love the crisp air and beauty of icy/frosty/snowy trails. Yesterday I went for a 10 mile ride at 20F. It's kinda fun that just a few months back I was riding in ~100 degree heat.
  • Winter: Ok, not officially winter yet, but we are down to winter temps and getting occasional snow. Not a lot of snow, but just enough to be fun, and it melts within 1-2 days. Cold with a bit of sun peaking through is great. It's really beautiful to walk our neighborhood with a light dusting, and if we want more we just drive up the mountain. We drove into the National Forest along snow covered roads to cut our own Christmas tree. We brought a wood burning stove for warmth and for heating water for hot chocolate, and the kids played in the snow. Ton of fun.
  • Skiing: It's a little over 30 minutes from our house to the ski resort. Went this last week and everyone had a great time, plan on being up there a couple of times a week for physical activity and to get outside.
  • We feel safe having our kids ride bikes/scooters in the neighborhood by themselves, and they can also walk the 4 blocks to our neighborhood park on their own.
  • Diversity: So, there's some ethnic diversity here, maybe a little more than we expected, which is welcome. But there's also a lot of political diversity, a mix of conservative and liberal and a generally a spirit of getting along and tolerating differences -- so refreshing! And there's diversity of housing and retail as well, with historic districts and new suburbs, and locally owned boutiques/shops and big box stores. I prefer the small local shops for most things, but also thankful for the big box stores when we need them.
The only thing so far that we don't love is the pandemic, makes it difficult to connect with more people. But the city proper is doing a good job of managing a reasonable balance, and most people in our area wear masks and socially distance. We know this will eventually pass. This coming summer I'm looking forward to exploring more of the Sawtooth Wilderness, more dispersed camping, and getting in some hunting again (skipped this year, too much going on).

For those planning a relocation in the near future, one more thing to add after having more time to reflect: The city where you move is important, but so is the neighborhood. It was worth the extra time we took to visit multiple neighborhoods in person and in different seasons. And it took us about 6 months of watching the real estate market to find the house in the location we wanted, but it was worth the wait and the planning.

Best wishes all, and Happy Holidays!
« Last Edit: December 05, 2020, 01:01:21 PM by FINate »

314159

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #140 on: December 05, 2020, 02:48:21 PM »
Thanks very much for the update! I'm happy to hear you are getting along so well in your new home. Happy Holidays!

jrhampt

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #141 on: December 07, 2020, 06:28:43 PM »
My negative thoughts on Bend and Eugene (as an east coaster):

SO MUCH POT.  That said, the names of all the pot shops are hilarious (chronic care, etc)
I am not a pot smoker, so I was kind of put off by how much of it there was.

Terrible cell phone service as soon as you get outside the city limits of either town.  How is there zero cel coverage in like 90% of the state??

Eugene specifically just thought it was too cool for anything.  Loads of people trying to be hippies.  I found it pretentious and hated the slacker vibe.  Really good food though and some decent taco stands.
Sorry, trying to keep it negative but it’s hard to find good tacos in Connecticut so I was impressed.

Bend - this really is not its fault, but I found the landscape just felt wrong to me.  It was dry and desert like, but there were very strange forests.  It just didn’t feel like a landscape that could feel like home to me.

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #142 on: December 07, 2020, 07:57:44 PM »
My negative thoughts on Bend and Eugene (as an east coaster):

SO MUCH POT.  That said, the names of all the pot shops are hilarious (chronic care, etc)
I am not a pot smoker, so I was kind of put off by how much of it there was.

I hear ya. I have mixed feelings about the whole pot thing, also not a user. The modern stuff is highly GMO to increase the potency of the psychoactive component, doesn't seem like a good idea for long term use. And I find it very peculiar that places continue to crack down on smoking tobacco (also not a user) while blessing the smoking of pot. I just don't get it, smoking is unhealthy, period. In any case, I don't need yet another thing. That said, I also don't really want it criminalized, especially small quantities.

But, yeah, when a place gets TOO into pot it's annoying. When we lived in Santa Cruz we lost a great little local coffee shop down the street when the location became a pot shop :( I feel the same way about wine (which I do enjoy) when an entire area becomes vineyards and tasting rooms and all the real farms/agriculture is overtaken by a monocrop.

Bend - this really is not its fault, but I found the landscape just felt wrong to me.  It was dry and desert like, but there were very strange forests.  It just didn’t feel like a landscape that could feel like home to me.

Guessing you're talking about Pinyon–juniper woodland? It is definitely has a distinctive look and feel. I like it, but then I grew up exploring arid conifer forests and really like the Great Basin and desert southwest landscape. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2020, 09:40:42 AM by FINate »

MaybeBabyMustache

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #143 on: December 07, 2020, 08:07:35 PM »
@FINate - thanks for the update. Glad you like Boise. I grew up in Washington, so have been to Boise a handful of times, way back in the 80s. I did want to ask about your diversity comment. (Sidenote: my spouse is not white.) When you mention that there is some diversity, can you give more detail? You also mentioned that it's a pretty accepting place (different politics, etc). All of this sounds very positive & the landscape is a great fit for what we want in retirement. But, spouse has been reluctant to consider anywhere in Idaho due to the perhaps perceived diversity issue. We're currently in the bay area.

pdxvandal

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #144 on: December 07, 2020, 09:09:08 PM »
Boise's my hometown. It's not very diverse, and never has been, but perhaps slightly more so than when I grew up there. For example, it's less than 1% Black. Latinos are the largest ethnic group but still less than 10%.

The "Boise nice" thing is real. Strangers say hello. I found it weird when I moved to Oregon strangers wouldn't make eye contact with me or rarely say hello. I'm used to it now, but it's certainly not as friendly here as in Idaho.

Hyde Park is a really cool spot with some cool old houses and bungalows. I spent a lot of time there as a teenager and young adult. In the 1980s, that 'hood was a bit rough around the edges. It was underground hipster for a while in the 1990s and 2000s, but now seems full blown yuppie (no offense) -- Bend is far worse yuppie-wise. But if you can afford it, kudos! It's still one of the best spots to live in town.

The town gets a bit provincial, largely due to its proximity to no major city (SLC is 5 hours away, PDX 6, Seattle 8 by car). Some folks are well-traveled, but many are not and could never IMAGINE leaving Boise for any reason.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2020, 09:14:49 PM by pdxvandal »

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #145 on: December 07, 2020, 09:12:42 PM »
@FINate - thanks for the update. Glad you like Boise. I grew up in Washington, so have been to Boise a handful of times, way back in the 80s. I did want to ask about your diversity comment. (Sidenote: my spouse is not white.) When you mention that there is some diversity, can you give more detail? You also mentioned that it's a pretty accepting place (different politics, etc). All of this sounds very positive & the landscape is a great fit for what we want in retirement. But, spouse has been reluctant to consider anywhere in Idaho due to the perhaps perceived diversity issue. We're currently in the bay area.

Well, it's not a lot of diversity, especially compared to the Bay Area. Maybe just a bit more than we initially expected. Going off City Data stats (2017) Boise is ~20% non white compared to ~40% for Santa Cruz. No idea what the numbers are now. It's still very white, though we see some diversity around town, and in our neighborhood we noticed teens of different races mixing quite a lot near the usual hangouts. But our neighborhood is where many of the Bay Area folks have moved to: liberal, educated, affluent, lots of BLM/Biden/In this house we believe... signs, leafy streets, older stately homes, and quite a few Teslas and Audis -- Los Gatos or Saratoga is probably an apt comparison.

The East and West End have a similar feel. Boise as a whole is fairly Democratic, but it's a spot of blue in a sea of red, with further out suburbs that are very conservative. Though I don't know to what extent overt racism exists anywhere out here (though have heard that there's long been a white supremacy element in the northern panhandle/eastern WA). And I have to confess my own white privilege and admit that I cannot confidently say what it would like to be a person of color either in my own neighborhood, or anywhere else in ID. There are quick ~1hr flights from SJC/SFO/OAK to BOI, may be worth a trip to check it out in person.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2020, 09:31:53 PM by FINate »

FINate

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #146 on: December 07, 2020, 09:26:55 PM »
Boise's my hometown. It's not very diverse, and never has been, but perhaps slightly more so than when I grew up there. For example, it's less than 1% Black. Latinos are the largest ethnic group but still less than 10%.

The "Boise nice" thing is real. Strangers say hello. I found it weird when I moved to Oregon strangers wouldn't make eye contact with me or rarely say hello. I'm used to it now, but it's certainly not as friendly here as in Idaho.

Hyde Park is a really cool spot with some cool old houses and bungalows. I spent a lot of time there as a teenager and young adult. In the 1980s, that 'hood was a bit rough around the edges. It was underground hipster for a while in the 1990s and 2000s, but now seems full blown yuppie (no offense) -- Bend is far worse yuppie-wise. But if you can afford it, kudos! It's still one of the best spots to live in town.

I love the whole "Boise nice" thing! I've had to unlearn the "California stare" (e.g. ignoring people), still working on saying hello more around town and smiling.

The North End is totally yuppie/hipster, but I don't mind. Like having the foodie places and boutiques around. No offense taken :)

Arbitrage

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #147 on: December 08, 2020, 08:08:39 AM »
Glad to hear that it's working out.  Boise never made it high on our list due to the hot summers, which are part of our motivation for moving (health conditions/heat intolerance in our family), but I can definitely see the appeal.  Bend, Boise, and our chosen location of Bellingham will all suffer somewhat from lack of diversity, though Bellingham is much closer geographically to diversity (Vancouver, and Seattle to a lesser extent). 

I do envy the 'Boise nice' comments a bit, since it sounds preferable to the PNW freeze we'll be facing. 

BuffaloStache

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #148 on: December 10, 2020, 09:32:33 AM »
Echoing others, glad to hear it's working out!

It's really good to have a positive example of someone moving to a Lower COL space after/around FI. It's something that's talked about a lot on these forums, but there aren't many examples with follow-ups of people who have actually done it (or most of the stories I've read have been negative). A common theme I see is that to be successful, you have to go in with an open mind and make an effort to continue doing activities you enjoy/meet new people. It seems like you and your family have done that, which is even more impressive given the pandemic! Congrats! 

Christof

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Re: Convince me that Bend, OR sucks [Update: It doesn't but moved elsewhere]
« Reply #149 on: December 22, 2020, 09:30:08 AM »
Bend - this really is not its fault, but I found the landscape just felt wrong to me.  It was dry and desert like, but there were very strange forests.  It just didn’t feel like a landscape that could feel like home to me.

It’s called high desert and is indeed somewhat unique. I do like arriving into RDM and smelling all these Juniper trees first thing when you leave the aircraft and I miss not being able to travel there this year to visit close friends.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!