[Fc_misc]

… and new friends in general!

I love to ride both all mountain and DH stuff, grew up in Tahoe went to school in socal.

What should I know about bend? My understanding is cold in the winter hot in the summer, great trails, lots of out door activities and friendly people. A new bike park in development at Mt. bachelor. Good beer. Real estate looks very nicely priced compared to ca.

I'm open to all thoughts!

 

[leonmajor]

It's not that good I would stay in SoCal.

 

[Jaybo]

Everyone is thinking of moving to Bend. It is the 7th fastest growing county in the country. VERY expensive place to live due to real estate cost's.

 

[dumper]

I wouldn't worry about friends. I would worry about finding a place to live, whether renting or buying. There is almost nothing available that you would want to live in, and the prices are rediculous. They don't call Bend "poverty with a view" for nothing.

 

[RTurner]

You described Bend fairly well although very briefly, I would suggest coming up for a visit, stay a week or so to get the feel for the place, do a job interview in your field, maybe come back in a different season and check it a second or third time.

Bend is a great place to live, it is expensive compared to the average income of those who live and work here who did not come here from somewhere else with some money in their pockets. It seems that Bend has been on just about everybody's radar as a great place to move to for about 10-12 years now so housing prices and availability to rent or own reflect that, it's some of the most expensive real estate in Oregon.

Do a simple search on this page, there have been at least a dozen people asking that same question in just the last couple of months.

 

[RTurner]

Oh, there is very little downhill, or All Mtn riding around Bend, so even a 6 in travel bike is way more than you will need around here, it's mostly miles and miles of XC riding. The Bike Park at Mt B holds promise if you are into riding lifts, just never done that myself, doesn't really appeal to me.

 

[economatic]

I'm in the process of moving to Bend from Portland and, in fact, I'm going down there to look at houses today. It's not that housing costs are terribly expensive (for reference I lived in DC for 7 years), it's that there is a serious lack of jobs that support the prices. If you want to scrape out a decent living you'll want to have something lined up in advance and that will take a while...three years for my wife and me.

 

[Fc_misc]

I'm in the process of moving to Bend from Portland and, in fact, I'm going down there to look at houses today. It's not that housing costs are terribly expensive (for reference I lived in DC for 7 years), it's that there is a serious lack of jobs that support the prices. If you want to scrape out a decent living you'll want to have something lined up in advance and that will take a while...three years for my wife and me.

Thanks for the responses. The jobs thing definitely seems tough. I'm pretty entrepreneurial so ill probably figure something out and my wife is a nurse so work should be ok for her.

You guys keep saying property is so expensive but coming from so cal and having just checked out Colorado it seems downright cheap! 3 bed 2 bath big garage on 1-2 acres for $350? What am I missing?

Thanks!

 

[economatic]

Don't underestimate how tough the market is there for good jobs. A lot of the employers there don't pay well and leverage the quality of life aspect. I recently received an invitation to a interview for a job at a company I bet most people here have heard of and they even admitted they were significantly below the industry average. I didn't interview because the pay was so pathetic. Most everything I've found there pays about half of what I'd make in Portland so I'm keeping my current job but working remotely.

Property taxes and location will determine the prices. Property taxes in Oregon are high because we don't have sales tax. If you're finding something with 1-2 acres for that price you'd be quite a ways from the city. But yeah, I know what you mean--if you don't care about being close to downtown or on the west side near trails there are good deals out there.

 

[kosmo]

--if you don't care about being close to downtown or on the west side near trails there are good deals out there.

Key statement!

 

[dumper]

Good deals? 1-2 acres? Hahahaha! You are going to be half way to Boise! Have you guys actually been here recently?

 

[free-agent]

Good deals? 1-2 acres? Hahahaha! You are going to be half way to Boise! Have you guys actually been here recently?

Great deals compared to Portland when I considered a move. I didn't think Bend was that spendy considering the demand.

 

[Dropped68]

Housing prices are all relative. If you are coming from California, it will seem like they are giving houses away up here. Most of my California friends could move up here and buy a mansion with the equity they have in their relatively modest California houses. Whole different world down there.

 

[richiebankrupt]

I'm moving to bend in July. We thought we might rent for 6 months to a year before we buy but rental properties are super expensive (for us). So we decided just to buy first. NE and SE were the only areas that we found stuff in our price range but very few options.
I'm stoked on all the riding options that are just hours away. Sandy, post canyon, blackrock, Oakridge and all the local stuff too.

 

[drunberg]

Wages are on average ~40% higher in the bay area than here in the Bend metro area.

Home affordability is all relative to local wages. We are seeing many examples of local workers being priced out of the local market. Folks who move to Bend think the prices are "affordable" relative to their previous residence. These remote workers or retirees increase the demand for housing, which contributes to home appreciation. The problem is those folks aren't local wage earners. Housing prices in Bend are high relative to wages (although not excessively high).

 

[k2rider1964]

Check out the Bend forum at City Data dot com. There is a ton of Bend info on there....

Bend Forum - Deschutes County - City-Data Forum

 

[Tighe]

Key statement!

i agree renting in bend is ridiculous. i love it here but its a lot to rent.

 

[Fc_misc]

Thanks again for all the info. We are coming up this fri-mon.

Anyone care to share which friendly lbs will let me demo a descent rig and or has a group ride to show an out of towner some trails?

 

[dumper]

better check the weather report before you come up- 11 days in a row, of essentially 100 degree heat, starting Friday. The summers can be miserable here, and this summer looks like another bad one. Hopefully, no fires...ya, sure.

 

[Fc_misc]

Yeah, I saw that, 100* this weekend, yikes! I guess the only difference from social is its still 80* right now (10pm) and up there it looks like it cools off nicely.

I'm going to try to find some trails to check the terrain. Too bad Mt. Bachelor won't be open yet, seems like such a late opening date!