Bend or Porltand (Portland, Eugene, Salem: apartment, renting, crime) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

ianp82 · 11-26-2009, 01:11 PM

I am a 27 year old male deciding whether to stay in Portland or move to Bend. I am a writer and work from home, thus jobs are not an issue.

I live in SE Portland now and what I love about the area is that almost everybody seems exceedingly kind, happy, progressive, and intelligent. I hesitate to leave Portland because of the great atmosphere. However, I crave open space, and around here the only options seem to be renting an apartment or renting a house in a not so desirable area. This is why I'm considering Bend.

How do people find the atmosphere in Bend? Can I have my parents visit (from NYC) and say "see how happy and kind everyone is in the northwest?" Also, how is the downtown area for a 20-something year old? I'm not a big nightlife person, but I like a good coffee shop, bookstore, and pub. Also, are there any neighborhoods you would recommend? I am an outdoor enthusiast (mountain biking, hiking, and cross country skiing) but would also like to live in an area that has some sense of community. I like to be surrounded by nice families walking around outside and shops, etc.

Thanks for any advice you can provide! I've also been considering Sisters, but I am thinking that Sisters might be too spread out and lack the sense of community I enjoy. But, of course, I could be wrong.

skypros · 11-26-2009, 10:59 PM

Portland

Yoni777 · 11-27-2009, 03:21 AM

I don't know about you, but I am really missign Portland now I moved to this lonesome place called Bend. I am like you, 31 year old male who works from home. I am into computer software, but still I work alone and at home. It is a very hard place for a single guy to meet a woman or even friends at all. Like some other small mountain towns, BYOG (Bring your own girlfriend). Single guys outnumber ladies here, trust me. THe place is very, as some other people said, "clicklish". PEople here are a bit on the elitist side or the old-timers or locals are very unwelcoming to newcomers. Either way it is very hard for me to make friends here. I had lot better and easier time making friends in Portland, despite it being a big city.

Yeah the weather in POrtland sucks and it drove me away , but I find it to be friendlier place than the little elitist town of Bend. Really, the town is also so empty. THere is hardly anyone around, sometimes I feel like the only guy wh9o lives here. Its weird going into the coffeeshops and seeing like only 3 people there on a weeknight or weekend.

I am going to be leaving Bend, I am finished with the place. I am planning on going to Colorado Springs , CO. Have you considered there? THere is more people and greater diversity. Also, it is near Denver, the mountains and has great weather compared to Portland's 300+ days of gloom.

DId you say you want a sense of community?? Forget Bend. This is the most community-less place I have ever been. It's a great tourist spot or if you have wife and kids and want to be left alone to raise a family. However, it's not a great place to be involved in a community. Many people here spend their days and nights in the mountains doing winter sports and the nights drinking away at the bars. I am not into that so I have already missed out on a great part of what Bend has to offer.

Yeah , I Lived in SE Portland and its fun, but getting to sketchy, crime increasing , etc.. IF you want open space with city convenience may I suggest Sandy, Boring, East Gresham, Troutdale? Personally, I think Portland can be bit depressing at times, but it does havea lot to offer for being a small city. I hope they can put the city under a giant dome one day to keep out the perpetual drizzle.

THink about it.

Silverfall · 11-27-2009, 01:39 PM

Sisters is a small town. It's a great small town, but it's like 2,000 people. I don't know the scene for singles there though. The problem I see is that you are trying to compare a large metro area to a small town. Small towns have a much different feel and don't have the activity that large cities do.

If you are okay with a super slow pace and lifestyle then Bend might be fine, but don't expect an active nightlife there. Sisters and Bend are beautiful, but they are significantly smaller than Portland.

Only you can prioritize being around other singles your age, or moving to a smaller town where you will have fewer peers to choose from, but you get the outdoor life you are craving.

Fiddlehead · 11-27-2009, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianp82

I am a 27 year old male deciding whether to stay in Portland or move to Bend. I am a writer and work from home, thus jobs are not an issue.

I live in SE Portland now and what I love about the area is that almost everybody seems exceedingly kind, happy, progressive, and intelligent. I hesitate to leave Portland because of the great atmosphere. However, I crave open space, and around here the only options seem to be renting an apartment or renting a house in a not so desirable area. This is why I'm considering Bend.

How do people find the atmosphere in Bend? Can I have my parents visit (from NYC) and say "see how happy and kind everyone is in the northwest?" Also, how is the downtown area for a 20-something year old? I'm not a big nightlife person, but I like a good coffee shop, bookstore, and pub. Also, are there any neighborhoods you would recommend? I am an outdoor enthusiast (mountain biking, hiking, and cross country skiing) but would also like to live in an area that has some sense of community. I like to be surrounded by nice families walking around outside and shops, etc.

Thanks for any advice you can provide! I've also been considering Sisters, but I am thinking that Sisters might be too spread out and lack the sense of community I enjoy. But, of course, I could be wrong.

In a word, the culture of Bend is Ex-Californian. A lot of people with equity-money living the life and, like you, bringing up their Californian friends and telling them how great they have it. Not bad folks, but with little connection to the area or region. Sounds like you might like it though. I would guess Portland has a higher ratio of native northwesterners. Not that Californians and Oregonians are really that different. Pretty mellow and nice overall.

Just that Bend is a mecca for rich, hip, outdoor types, and that is a slightly different culture in and of itself. I cannot give Bend a glowing review, too little history, and a too homogenous culture for me, but you might love it. And coming from NYC and being a writer, you might find good material. I would suspect you can find the community, book stores, coffee shops, and pubs in either place. Best of luck, both are worth exploring.

Dry Side · 11-28-2009, 09:46 AM

Bend is really more about skiing, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, golf and many other outdoor activities. It has the standard box stores on North, South and East edges. If outdoor activities are your thing and you don't have to worry about local employment it's a great place. I do find I need to leave for a couple months a year for a change of pace because Bend is really an island.

Fiddlehead · 11-28-2009, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dry Side

Bend is really more about skiing, mountain biking, hiking, fishing, golf and many other outdoor activities. It has the standard box stores on North, South and East edges. If outdoor activities are your thing and you don't have to worry about local employment it's a great place. I do find I need to leave for a couple months a year for a change of pace because Bend is really an island.

Why do you see Bend as an island? It is the unofficial capital of central and eastern Oregon, a magnificent region with nice towns here and there. Or does E. Oregon not count as culture to you? Just saying because my current hypothesis is that Bend is full of exurban liberal hipsters who came for the skiing, but have little interest in the region and people of E. Oregon as a whole. Your post hinted at that.

I would gladly be proven wrong on this one, just my hunch about the place...

ianp82 · 11-28-2009, 07:39 PM

Thanks for all the insight so far. It's beginning to look like Bend might not be exactly what I'm looking for. Of course, you never really know until you check a place out for yourself. To broaden the discussion a bit, do you think there is a place in Oregon that is somewhere between Bend and Portland (i.e. open space for outdoor activities but a nice community vibe)? Should I simply be looking in different neighborhoods in Portland? I've only lived here for a few months, so there is a lot I don't know. I just wish there was a place where I could cross country ski out my back door but still not be in the middle of nowhere!

keahilani_rose · 11-29-2009, 05:05 PM

Bend is cold. Cold. Did I say it's COLD? I lived there before it was "Californicated" (sorry.. we thought it funny at the time) and it was a quiet little town more akin to a logging town than the somewhat snobbish atmosphere you find there now. We left when it got so people from SoCal started looking down on us locals as if we were supposed to act like hired help. Not everyone does this, mind you, but it does happen more than it did in Portland or the Salem/Eugene area. It just got too expensive for people who like to hang out without dressing in ski clothes, I guess.

However, it's been quite awhile since I lived in Portland and, since you know it's a lot to do with the neighborhood you're in up there, I can't compare too accurately. You might like the Eugene/Salem area and Corvallis is a "big small town" with a real sense of community.

sunangel719 · 12-06-2009, 08:40 AM

OK, I have to chime in here. I am a mid 30's woman, married, no kids. I have lived in LA, Seattle, Phoenix and CO. My husband is from Boston, Miami, PA and we met in Seattle. So I think I can comment on a few posts here. As far as us verses Portland, I'd say, take a weekend and come visit. Personally, I had a choice of moving to Portland when I moved to Bend this past Summer, but after one day, I remembered how much I hated the city. For me, I saw dirty, stuck-up people that were angry and pissed off at the world. Peolle that were too busy to stop and say hi. The traffic sucks, the hip places were expensive and I just felt an overall feeling of disconnect from the friendly people I had come to enjoy in CO. However, since in Bend, we have been welcomed with open arms. Everyone asks where we are from and love to talk about it. Everyone is from someplace here, even NYC. They all came here looking for a peaceful way of life outside of the dirty, fast city. We even had some bicyclists stop and ask if we were from CO, (they saw the license plate) and then said "welcome to Bend!!!" It has been a fantastic experience here and I am so grateful for leaving CO. I can go on about all the reason we left there, the wind and weather for one, but I don't miss it. Only two great things happened in the three years we were there, we got married and we experienced something new. Although it is very similar, Bend is SSSOOOO much better. We actually picked Sisters to come to live, 1700 population about 20 min out. I would not suggest this place, at all, for a young 20's person unless you are looking for solitude. A weekend trip, yes. I think downtown Bend and Mill district would be a great place to check out the coffee shops and talk with kind people. However, you can't bring your city attitude with you. I found that yes, people in Bend tend to ignore the snooty, angry city attitude, but if you start a conversation with the person next to you, I think you will find a number of people friendly, open and warm. And as far as the CA BS, they brought there money to make this place nice, let them dump it into the economy. They are good people that have done nothing wrong, most that I have met left the CA tude in CA. Only you know what works for you, but I strongly suggest you come for a weekend. We think we died and went to heaven. I think a young writer looking for open space and nice coffee shops, a place to hang for young people, would love it here. Check it out.