Draws of living in SE Bend (real estate, houses, to buy)

[FourPlusDog]

Hi all,

In looking at the different quadrants of Bend, I see advantages to living in all areas, with the exception of possibly SE Bend. On the westside you have good schools, restaurants, and great access to trails. In NE Bend, you also have good schools, a couple of really nice parks (Rock Ridge & Pine Nursery), and more affordable real estate. I know that SE Bend is also more affordable then the westside, but curious to get opinions on what the other draws are of living in SE Bend? It seems to me a lot of the houses are close to the railroad tracks, there don't seem to be many big open space parks, and the school district (at least the highschool) doesn't appear to be as good as Summit and Mountain View.

These are just my perceptions based on research, talking to people, and visits to Bend, so I'm fully aware that they might not be accurate. I don't necessarily want to rule out living in SE Bend if I'm missing something. They seem to have some nice communities (ex. The Bridges), but I also want what's best for my family that includes young children.

[karhuguide]

Well, one thing to consider is you might not want to buy a house on septic. The ongoing sewer project is impacting the southeast side quite a bit, including roads. Many Bend homes are on septic systems. This project aims to remedy that with a new gravity fed sewer system. As this recent article from the local paper states, financing options are being considered, but I imagine homeowners will pay a substantial portion of the cost to hookup. At a couple of the meetings I've been to, I've heard numbers from $10k to $70k, depending on where you're located and the "300 foot" rule.

Bend council seeks answers to costly sewer hookups; Estimated 2,800 homeowners would be affected

Other than that, the southeast side has pluses and minuses like anything else. Bend is not a big town so trails aren't that much further away. Traffic can be an issue on some of the main feeder roads, depending on the time of the day, and the time of year, i.e, tourist season. With the new sewer going in, a lot of new development is planned for the east side in general, so congestion will only get worse.

[Clark9272]

I love SE Bend. It is the only affordable option for blue-collar workers like me. I am on a septic tank and my costs are far less than a city sewer system would charge.