do you ever REALLY miss the big city amenities living in bend?

[Dry Side]

Bend has many recreational opportunities, but would say if some form of snow sports is not of interest then it is not a good choice. Bend has a long cold snowy season. Also do not bother moving here unless you have jobs lined up and a years worth of savings. The West side offers the most recreational opportunities and nicest neighborhoods.

[bowllava]

Not this year. Does this count as a snow sport?

Originally Posted by Dry Side

Bend has many recreational opportunities, but would say if some form of snow sports is not of interest then it is not a good choice. Bend has a long cold snowy season. Also do not bother moving here unless you have jobs lined up and a years worth of savings. The West side offers the most recreational opportunities and nicest neighborhoods.

[weaseltraps]

I miss some ethnic foods. Not that Bend doesn't have good food. With the food carts and all you can get most cuisines (even have a Vietnamese pho place). But, I miss the more "exotic" stuff like Ethiopian food or being able to find a place that can distinguish between Persian and Turkish. Sometimes, when I am really grumpy, I get annoyed that some of the ethnic food in town is tempered (unspicy curries at the one Indian place we have or super sweet Chinese food at nearly all Asian places).

I also do miss big city Theater and Music at times but then I remind myself that there are plenty of opportunities for me to go see things in Bend that I pass up. There are plenty of performing arts in town from local companies to touring productions but you aren't going to get the national tour of Wicked coming to town. Music scene is great! We got some great acts in 2011 (Ziggy Marley, Brett Dennen, Deathcab, Alison Kraus, Ben Harper, Ice Cube, G Love, etc). We also get great NW acts at the local pubs.

i will admit to having "island fever" every so often having come from living in cities like San Francisco, London and LA. You just don't have that vibe that there is always something going on every night of the week.

Oh, and I miss having a Frys Electronics and the fun I have annoying my wife by making her go to one with me.

[BendOregon]

It depends on your lifestyle. Bend has everything that I need, and Portland is only 3 hours away. Everytime I visit a city, I can't wait to return home to Bend.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by weaseltraps

Sometimes, when I am really grumpy, I get annoyed that some of the ethnic food in town is tempered (unspicy curries at the one Indian place we have or super sweet Chinese food at nearly all Asian places).

It's soooo true. I think it'd help if that Indian restaurant had some competition....not sure what's going on with all the Chinese around here, though....could be just a different style from a different region we're not used to. Who knows......

[OregonYeti]

If I could live anywhere in the world, it would be Bend. Honestly, I never missed the big city at all in the few years that I lived there.

If I lived in Sweet Home (Oregon) I would feel isolated, but not in Bend. Bend is big enough for me, plus there's so much open space around it.

[yellow4yield]

Shopping is the biggest problem for me living in any small town. You might need a part for your car or one thing for a home remodeling job not available locally. But the internet and UPS to the rescue! You can order anything you need online. Just need to wait a few days or a week.

Other than that, I do not miss big city living. I especially do not miss the traffic and stress related to that.

And speaking of Sweet Home, Oregon, I was riding in a car in that town with a local person who grew up there. She was stopped at a stop sign waiting to turn onto Main Street. There was a "wave" of about 10 cars on Main Street, which we had to wait for before proceeding. And about a 7 second wait...

She said "Would you look at all this traffic!"

I nearly doubled over laughing! (Having lived in Los Angeles at one time!)

[OregonYeti]

Haaa!

Thinking back, there is one thing I wish Bend had more of ... really good Indian and other Asian restaurants and grocers. There is an Indian restaurant in Bend, just one, and it's good food but not great and not very authentic. I love Indian food and I wanted more choice. Also, just one "Asian" grocer would be great. That is the one thing I can say I missed, hardly any foreign food, but that is the only thing. A New Jersey style Italian restaurant would also be great.

In the Seattle area there was a lot more choice, but having to drive in that mess there made it not so fun.

[Dry Side]

We get our Chinese food at Chan's then add chili pepper oil we get from Thai Thai. A great combo. While very americanized, I found a couple of spicy dishes I liked at the new Panda Express on the NE side of town. They do provide large portions. For SW/Mex I love the Trader Joe's Habanero Hot sauce.

[mrsroadrunner]

Just for a little perspective, Bend is the city around here. Much bigger then the towns some of us live in :0)