moving to bend

December 30, 2005 11:07 AM

Any residers (either present or present) of bend, oregon? I'm coming from minneapolis, and would like to move there in march.

I'm looking at transplanting myself in seattle coming from minneapolis, but would like to spend a few months in bend, oregon in between. aside from skiing and biking, what is the culture like there?

posted by abee to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

deepfriedtwinkies is there for work ALL the time, his email is in his profile and he's an affable sort of guy, I'm sure he'd give you the scoop.
posted by yodelingisfun at 11:25 AM on December 30, 2005

That's what I was gonna say.
posted by matildaben at 12:03 PM on December 30, 2005

I grew up in Bend. My folks and sister still live there and I get back once or twice a year. It can be kind of quiet, during the inbetween months of the tourist season, though that's not necessarily a bad thing.

There's a surprisingly wide divide culturally among the populace considering it still has a very small-town feel. There's the locals who are still in many ways what you would expect in an isolated rural Oregon community (kind of conservative, salt of the earth, very common sense oriented).

Then there's there's huge influx of under 35 people that just up moved there because it's such a nice place to live. They are usually an interesting bunch and very cool, but there is very little in the way of good jobs that aren't tourism/service oriented. So they scrape by and end up being a tight knit bunch. However, as a local my complaint here is that the town is getting a tad like Eugene -- in that there's a lot of freeloaders and hippies now.

Then there's the professional class, usually older 40+. Bend is such a desirable place to live that it attracts the best of the best because high paying jobs are so competitive. Just as an example, the hospital has terrific doctors and nearly everyone teacher at the community college has a Ph.D. which is normally unheard of. These people tend to be wealthy and transplants, particularly the dreaded California invasion.

While there's tension between the groups, everyone is very unpretentious and very class distinctions are rarely an issue, as obvious as they are. You'd sooner see a unicorn then someone wearing a suit downtown in the middle of the day. Still there isn't much in the way of diversity; it's overwhelmingly WASP-y. And when I say that I mean it. I graduated from Bend High 11 years ago, and at the time my high school had 1600 kids. That included 1 jew and 1 mulatto girl. I kid you not, that was it. It's gotten better, but not much.

But that's the sociological lowdown. Everyone is very accepting and friendly, the microbrew is great, and if you like the outdoors, it's HEAVEN. It's also nice to drive everywhere without hassles (better have a car - it's the largest city in the country w/o any form of public transport). And it is getting more sophisticated. I saw the Pixies play in Bend last year, which is the kind of event I never in my wildest dreams would happen in my isolated hometown. And despite all the corporate shoebox stores on the edges of town, there's still a lot of very local and very unique businesses and hangouts.

If you have more specific questions, drop me a note in this thread and I'll try and find a way to get you my e-dress.
posted by Heminator at 12:06 PM on December 30, 2005

Also has a new campus for Oregon State University - nice and adds to the culture of the town
posted by A189Nut at 12:11 PM on December 30, 2005

Born and raised in Bend, though it hardly looks like the town I grew up in these days.
Heminator's not kidding about the diversity; I went to (what was at the time) the other high school in town, and I know the name of the (and I do mean the) jewish kid he refers to (though in fairness, said kid also had an older brother who would have been about class of '91, so there were briefly two jewish kids at Bend High). Actually, there's a decent chance my dad was Heminator's biology teacher. But I digress.
The "new campus" of OSU is the same old campus that used to be the community college. I can't imagine there's much of a difference in the culture of the town, but in fairness I haven't lived there in a long time.
Do you have a place to stay? Things are getting pricier in Bend. Generally speaking, the east side is less expensive and less pretentious (relatively speaking; i.e. in an already unpretentious town) than the west side.
In short, pretty much what Heminator said. Don't miss the beers at the various breweries. Do spend a lot of time outside. Do expect to meet a lot of people who moved there from somewhere else; the population has tripled since I was first able to read the Population sign at the edge of town, and I'm under 30. Do go to the Pine Tavern for a taste of Old Bend. Hit Goody's if you have a sweet tooth, and say hi to the 400 or so local high school kids who work there. Have some Mexican food; the restaurants change, but they're usually good (dear god, how I miss the Gordo at Mexicali Rose). There are some great parks: Drake and Shevlin come to mind, and Pioneer is a personal favorite. Loiter in a coffeeshop (it'll be good practice for moving to Seattle). If you're there in the warm weather, try rock climbing at Smith Rock. And stop in Terrebonne on your way back to town for some Mexican food at La Siesta.
Hmm. I guess I haven't said much about the culture. It's hard to define. I'd use terms like easy-going for the most part. It's a good place to chill, if that makes any sense.
posted by willpie at 1:14 PM on December 30, 2005

Both Portland and Seattle give good meetup. Look us up when you get here.
posted by matildaben at 4:35 PM on December 30, 2005