Schools/housing in Bend vs. Redmond school district (houses, to buy)

[delta07]

I have begun my house search and stumbled upon a really great deal for some acreage just north of Bend. The house is nice, but I really don't know anything about the area. I have heard that the Bend-LaPine school district is pretty good, but I don't know about the Redmond district. The school district boundaries fall within the Redmond district, although the address is technically Bend. The home is in the Tumalo area. Does anyone have any opinions about the two school districts, housing in the area, etc. they would like to share.

I don't have children right now, so the schools are not an absolute priority to me. However, I am a teacher with hopes of getting a job next year. I also plan on having children and would like to find a house I can stay in for the long term. With the economy the way it is, I don't think it would be wise to buy if we plan on moving in the next couple of years.

[Steve Miller]

We've lived in the area for many years. The Tumalo area (most of it) is very desirable. The river can flood into your home if its in the flats close to the river. As you say, no children yet, so schools can be a future consideration and schools do change...

[Bendite]

If you found a good deal in Tumalo, it's overall a good place if you're ready for a very small community (but I thought you wanted to be in biking distance to the Med Center and downtown Bend). Since you have no kids yet, I'd recommend not basing your decision on today's school environment. With a new administration in place next year, No Child Left Behind may just get itself left behind

[delta07]

Originally Posted by Bendite

If you found a good deal in Tumalo, it's overall a good place if you're ready for a very small community (but I thought you wanted to be in biking distance to the Med Center and downtown Bend). Since you have no kids yet, I'd recommend not basing your decision on today's school environment. With a new administration in place next year, No Child Left Behind may just get itself left behind

Oh, you remember me!!! It's funny you mentioned that because my husband and I are having those same discussions. Yes, when we originally moved here we really wanted to live close to town, preferably within biking distance to the hospital and downtown.

Then we started looking at houses and my husband was noticing some really great deals with small acreages. He started thinking that maybe we should do this. We have lived on acreage before in really remote parts of Colorado and loved it. However, the town we were close to was still very small (pop.450) compared with Bend. There was nothing to do, so land was nice. In our home search we have been looking at numerous homes in our price range trying to get a feel for the area.

However, in our recent discussion (last night) we re-evaluated what we wanted and pretty much came to the conclusion that we still love the center of town and would love to find a modest home close to everything. We have the rest of our lives to "retire" out to acreage. I know myself and I would verge on hermit status if I lived away from town.

You are definately right about the changing administration. I just wanted to get perspective on the Redmond district from those who are familiar. Even though schools change over time, the district doesn't usually change that much from one administration to the next.