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You want to move from Portland to Bend? I have one word of advice, DON'T!! You will be sorry.. And you will really feel bad when Spring comes around and you don't get to enjoy that season, as Bend has two seasons, winter and summer. Bend has awesome mountains, but you don't see them for half of the year, because of a constant inversion and fog/cloud layer. Portland has so much outdoor activity to offer and so much nicer scenery. Also, Portland has the same amount of cloud cover as Bend! Don't believe Bend's BS weather statistics . A sunny day there is a day where the sun breaks through a cloud, that is BS! Bend gets same cloud cover as the McKenzie River Valley, it is just that the clouds dry out once they cross the mountains.
I made the move from Bend to Portland, then back from Bend to Portland, and I am glad I did!! I sure missed flowers and greenery!! Trust me, if you want to enjoy all the beautiful mountains, you can live in Eugene or Salem and just drive an extra 20-30 minutes and enjoy the same mountains with way nicer scenery then Bend has to offer! You still have to drive a good 30-40 minutes to get to Bachelor from Bend. Also, the roads in the winter are horrible in Bend. You better have a car with good traction. Driving around Bend is like driving on an ice skating rink. They do not deice the roads and only dump gravel, no salt on the main streets. I saw a few horrible accidents in just my first winter there. Yeah it rains more in Eugene and Portland; but, I say if it's going to be cloudy all the time, like in Bend, then let it rain and make everything green! As you know Oregon rain, is more of a drizzle and you can still enjoy outdoor activities in it.
I am not a fan of Bend, it is way overratted. To me, you can enjoy all Bend has to offer living in Eugene or Salem and making just a little further of a trip. Springfield and McKenzie River Valley are not far from the mountains and you have equal amount of mountain biking opportunities, as well as skiing, etc. If you want truly majestic scenery and Mt Jefferson nearby, check out the Detroit area. Although , it is quite isolated, but it is the most untouched and beautiful forests I have seen in Oregon. It's the only part of western Oregon where clearcuts are hard to find.
You can always trust partisan opinions. Interestingly enough, that's why I trust Fox News so much!
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Are there cornels of truth to MysticalDream's characterization of Bend's weather? Definitely. Is it a bit hyperbolic? Of course. OP, please take this into consideration.
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Delta's weather complaints are non partisan and level minded.
Last edited by kapetrich; 03-16-2012 at 11:16 AM..
Bend is sunny more often than not. The Cascades do a great job of blocking the moisture. I don't have to drive anywhere to enjoy world class mountain biking, hiking, and other outdoor activities in beautiful scenery. The Bend weather is constantly changing. Today typical of any winter day, wake up and it's snowing. Now it has cleared to a cold crisp blue sky morning. Rarely does any significant snow accumulate at Bend elevations. Most melts in a day or two. Love it here, but don't move here unless your finances are in order (8+ months savings in the bank) as making a good living from the local economy is very challenging. Best is to be self employed on your own schedule or retired.
I lived in Bend for a year and it was almost never sunny, except Summer.. Actually, to my dismay, it was overcast in Bend and I drove into Portland and it was blue sunny skies in February! Bend is not as sunny as people say it is.. Boise , where I live now, is sunny, much more than Portland. You have to get quite far from those Cascades to avoid the constant cloud cover. Those clouds roll over the mountains. Trust me, anytime it was cloudy in the Willamette Valley, it was cloudy in Bend.
Also, Bend has the worst soil imaginable! Bend could get 50 in of rain and everything will still be brown, because of the lack of organic matter and excessive rockiness of the soil. It was sad that it would be raining non-stop for an entire month and everything was still brown. In the Valley, it would be lush and green for having to endure all that rain.
It was sad that it would be raining non-stop for an entire month and everything was still brown.
And you lost even more credibility with this statement. Bend gets 11/12 inches of precipitation annually- both rain and snow combined. There just aren't facts to support some of your weather statements.
I agree, though. For multiple reasons (soil, frost, etc.) it is difficult to garden here.
I think you both have lost credibility in the fact that neither of you read what I wrote. I guess living in Eugene for 4+ years, Portland for 10+ years and Bend for a year means I am not a credible source, Yeah, what does somebody who lived there know about the weather, eh? I also climbed to the top of South Sister in September.. I do know the area fairly well.. LOL
Yeah, when I was in Bend it would rain.. It was a bit rainier of a year.. It would rain and rain for a week on end, but it would still be brown. I lived in Southern Oregon where if we had even 10 in of rain in the year, there would be greenery. The problem is the soil.. Even Boise, gets much greener than Bend, even though the rainfall is about the same. However, as I wrote earlier, Bend is not as rainy as the Willamette Valley, but it is every bit as cloudy! And Bend gets inversion layers that the Valley does not get, so it can be foggy and misty whereas the valley will just have higher clouds.. Basically, Bend has all the clouds of the Valley, but not all the rain, so you get grey skies and brown scenery, the worst of both worlds.
Please read above before making such hasty condemnations of my credibility. LOL
The OP is asking about Portland weather compared to Bend. Not compared to Arizona or even Colorado. Compared to Portland. I have lived about 30 years of my life in Portland and now live in Bend. There is no discussion or argument on the issue. In fact, I have never before met anyone who would try to argue that Bend is as cloudy as Portland.
Bend is statistically and actually drier (approx. 11 inches to approx. 36 inches), sunnier (Portland may be as sunny in July-August, but outside that time period Bend is way better for seeing the actual sun).
Unless you have lived in Portland for years, you will not understand the difference and perspective coming from Portland to Bend. It is drastically different. Even when it is cloudy in Bend, the ceiling (height of the clouds) is higher than Portland making it feel less oppressive and dreary.
MysticalDream - I think you just have an issue with Bend. Bad/negative association is clouding your judgement. Your are wrong/incorrect.
To the OP: I have yet to meet a person in Bend who WANTS to move to Portland, but I met LOTS of people in Portland who would love to move to Bend.
Maybe I was there during a bad year.. I have talked to other people who seem to tell me the cloudiness of Bend is not uncommon at all. They said 15 years ago, Bend use to be sunnier and colder, now it is wetter and warmer. Could be change of weather system. I have lived in Oregon over 20 years , everywhere from the Coast, Southern Oregon, Portland, Eugene. Being in Bend, just seem typical Oregon weather. Like Southern Oregon, it's cloudy all the time , but doesn't rain so much, like Portland/Eugene. The clouds in Bend are actually lower I thought, because the elevation is higher and I notice quite a bit of fog in the winter months I didn't experience as often in Valley.
Anyway, this is just my experience in Bend for a year.. Others may have a totally different opinion. In the end, the brownness, lack of plant life and desolation made me move back to the Valley. I figure I could have all Bend offers and be in Eugene/Springfield and even have benefits of Portland nearby; the Coast and the McKenzie River Valley are not too far away either.
I think you both have lost credibility in the fact that neither of you read what I wrote. I guess living in Eugene for 4+ years, Portland for 10+ years and Bend for a year means I am not a credible source, Yeah, what does somebody who lived there know about the weather, eh? I also climbed to the top of South Sister in September.. I do know the area fairly well.. LOL
Yeah, when I was in Bend it would rain.. It was a bit rainier of a year.. It would rain and rain for a week on end, but it would still be brown. I lived in Southern Oregon where if we had even 10 in of rain in the year, there would be greenery. The problem is the soil.. Even Boise, gets much greener than Bend, even though the rainfall is about the same. However, as I wrote earlier, Bend is not as rainy as the Willamette Valley, but it is every bit as cloudy! And Bend gets inversion layers that the Valley does not get, so it can be foggy and misty whereas the valley will just have higher clouds.. Basically, Bend has all the clouds of the Valley, but not all the rain, so you get grey skies and brown scenery, the worst of both worlds.
Please read above before making such hasty condemnations of my credibility. LOL
Your credibility wasn't lost based on your vast Oregon living experience, but a lack of hard evidence to support some of your weather claims while the support of hard evidence to dispute them. No one called out your Oregon experience, please re read. There's a difference between anecdotal evidence and scientific/hard fact evidence. Yours being the former.
Again, some of what you say is totally legit, but the extremes of your argument do not hold weight when facts are introduced.
Sounds like you may have been here during a harsh winter. Last year would be one of them.
We're glad you enjoy the lushness of Boise compared to Bend . Boise is a fun town.
To add, I have heard from locals that it was colder and sunnier 20 years back than it is now, too, MysticDream. I always blame that on changing climates and/or nostalgia. Probably a mix of the two, to be fair.
Last edited by kapetrich; 03-16-2012 at 04:32 PM..
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. Boise is a fun town. 
