Anyone one on here live in Bend or have visited there?

shelton1

My husband and I might be moving there within the next year or so and wanted some honest opinions on life there. If it's a good place to live, to find work (elementary teacher and business/marketing), is it a fun place to live etc.

 

My husband and I are newly married, early 20's and planning a family in the near future. We currently live in Austin, TX and before that  Orlando, FL and Reno, NV. LOVE the outdoors, anything with water is a plus! Husband is big into snowboarding and disc golf. I love scrapbooking, exploring, and shopping. We also LOVE finding cool restaurants and attractions to visit.

Does Bend sound a fit for us? and  would you recommend it as a place to live and raise a family?

Thanks! 

MrsJRD23

As far as outdoor activities, yes it sounds like a great fit for you! Lots of hiking, mouuntain biking, rock climbing, skiing on Mt. Bachelor, white water rafting not too far away, lots of sunshine in the summer, snow in the winter. 

The shopping is okay.  Bend is not that big. There's a mall, target, shopping/theater district.  I don' know much about the restaurants but I do know they have a lot of chain restaurants which I don't care for.  

I think it is a great place to raise a family.

The only bad thing? The job situation SUCKS.  It is even harder to get a job in Bend than Portland where our unemployment is one of the highest in the nation.  Bend's unemployment rate in June was 12.5%, and I read a report recently saying Bend won't stage a jobs comback until 2021!!!

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/oregon_cities_from_portland_to.html

So in theory, yes it's a great place. But in reality, times are HARD.  Whatever you do, do not move there without a job.

hurricanekeri

MrsJRD23:

As far as outdoor activities, yes it sounds like a great fit for you! Lots of hiking, mouuntain biking, rock climbing, skiing on Mt. Bachelor, white water rafting not too far away, lots of sunshine in the summer, snow in the winter. 

The shopping is okay.  Bend is not that big. There's a mall, target, shopping/theater district.  I don' know much about the restaurants but I do know they have a lot of chain restaurants which I don't care for.  

I think it is a great place to raise a family.

The only bad thing? The job situation SUCKS.  It is even harder to get a job in Bend than Portland where our unemployment is one of the highest in the nation.  Bend's unemployment rate in June was 12.5%, and I read a report recently saying Bend won't stage a jobs comback until 2021!!!

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/oregon_cities_from_portland_to.html

So in theory, yes it's a great place. But in reality, times are HARD.  Whatever you do, do not move there without a job.

Unless you are crazy rich, want to live in a little house and live off your money until 2021.

 

(Jk)

dutchgrl678

How's your job search coming along, hurricanekeri?

 I agree with the post above. Make sure you have jobs lined up before you move. Bend is a wonderful place but not if you're unemployed.  

The_Jen626

Bend is a great city.  However, all those damn Californians moved there in the late 90's, and the city went through a huge burst of growth.  Tons of new houses, malls, schools, etc.  Then the economy tanked and Bend was hit VERY HARD.  My DH used to work for a company where he had to travel to Bend/Redmond every other week, and my old company had a location there as well, we have both spent a lot of time in Bend in the last few years.

There is no way I'd move there without a job already lined up.

As far as shopping, they have everything you could possibly want, except a Nordstrom.  But they have the big department stores like Macy's, Home Depot, etc, and then all the smaller places like Pier One, Trader Joe's, etc.

There's lots of great restaurants.

Bend has 300+ days of sunshine a year, it's the land of "always blue skies" even in the winter when it's snowing, it's still gorgeous.

Don't move there without a job.

hurricanekeri

dutchgrl678:

How's your job search coming along, hurricanekeri?

 I agree with the post above. Make sure you have jobs lined up before you move. Bend is a wonderful place but not if you're unemployed.  

  I'm still looking, but not frantically like I was before.  We cut back on own bills and H got a raise, so now we are able to live comfortably.  H is starting management training, so in a couple months he is getting a big promotion.  We decided to TTC this month.  I would like to get a job that I work part time or can cut back to part time later in pregnancy. We would be ok if I didn't get a job (right now), but it would be nice to add to savings and get some type of work experience .

dutchgrl678

Good for you. Glad you're making it work. Though I sincerely hope that big promotion comes through before you get pregnant. It makes things a lot easier when you don't have to stress about finances while pregnant or raising a little one . I hope you have health insurance through your DH's work?

bula

hurricanekeri:

dutchgrl678:

How's your job search coming along, hurricanekeri?

 I agree with the post above. Make sure you have jobs lined up before you move. Bend is a wonderful place but not if you're unemployed.  

  I'm still looking, but not frantically like I was before.  We cut back on own bills and H got a raise, so now we are able to live comfortably.  H is starting management training, so in a couple months he is getting a big promotion.  We decided to TTC this month.  I would like to get a job that I work part time or can cut back to part time later in pregnancy. We would be ok if I didn't get a job (right now), but it would be nice to add to savings and get some type of work experience .

You don't have any work experience?

hurricanekeri

bula:

hurricanekeri:

dutchgrl678:

How's your job search coming along, hurricanekeri?

 I agree with the post above. Make sure you have jobs lined up before you move. Bend is a wonderful place but not if you're unemployed.  

  I'm still looking, but not frantically like I was before.  We cut back on own bills and H got a raise, so now we are able to live comfortably.  H is starting management training, so in a couple months he is getting a big promotion.  We decided to TTC this month.  I would like to get a job that I work part time or can cut back to part time later in pregnancy. We would be ok if I didn't get a job (right now), but it would be nice to add to savings and get some type of work experience .

You don't have any work experience?

I do have work experince, but most of my jobs were short term and not in my field.