Why the lack of young adult social life?

[carpenterant]

I grew up in Bend, was a teenager there in the '80s and left when I was 18 in '92, then lived on and off in Bend during the 90s. It's hard to say whether things were really much better for young people then, we all wanted to get out and move on, but it was certainly cheaper. There were also a handful of small businesses that catered to younger crowds, even under-age crowds - Cafe Paradiso, Cafe News, Evil Sister, Pashas. These were cafes and venues that had local bands or small touring bands, some rare punk shows every once in a while, and open mike nights. I remember all of my friends and I complaining that there was never anything to do, but when I look back on it, we went to shows several nights a week and had our own little scene. When I go to Bend to visit these days, it doesn't seem like there's anything similar going on anymore.