Acceptance in Bend (HOA, lawyer, house)

[delta07]

I agree with everything posted so far. Bend is a city of transplants, for the most part. My husband and I moved to Bend from Colorado 5.5 years ago and have found it very easy to make friends. Our neighbors on both sides of us are originally from Bend and have never complained (at least out loud) about us moving in from out of state.

We live on the NE side of Bend, technically referred to as mid-town. We chose this area because we like the older homes with character, but the larger lot sizes this side of town has. We garden and have 2 labs, so having something larger than a postage stamp sized lot was important to us. We also have found this side of town to be much more affordable, but are still within 2 miles of downtown Bend. When the weather is nice, we ride bikes to town. My husband works at the hospital and commutes by bike year round.

The west-side of town is considered more desirable because of all the shops, restaurants, and close proximity to the trails. But, after looking at homes in our price range over there, we decided living 2 miles to the east of downtown was an easy tradeoff.

Definitely rent before you buy and you'll figure out quickly what area of town most suits your needs and budget.

[darnselfly]

Any former Californians on this forum who can weigh in on how they've been treated? We will be moving from CA to Redmond in a few years. So far on our visits folks have been very friendly.

The whole reason we're moving isn't that we want to "Californicate" Central Oregon, but to relocate where we want to be and leave where we don't. I'm Colorado-born and grew up in Illinois. Went to university and have had my career in SoCal, but I don't really like it here -- hence the desire to move somewhere I want to be more. Central Oregon seems the right blend of smaller-town community, outdoors opportunities, and available commerce to be "just right" in our opinion.

[johnmcook]

Thanks Coniferian… that eases my mind. Other than saying "ya'll" I am hoping to fit right in. I appreciate your response.

[johnmcook]

Thanks Delta07… I was hoping for some info on the "sides" of town. I want to build new, but need a larger lot. Your right… renting will give me time to sort it out. Thanks for the response.

[BendLocal]

There has been a lot of discussion on neighborhoods.

Here are four of them.

//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...elocation.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...end-hoods.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...nice-part.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/572108-bend.html

[mrwibble]

I am so staying out of this one.............

[johnmcook]

Thanks BendLocal… I appreciate the hood info.

[whirnot]

Depending on the amount of space you require you may want to look outside of town some.

I too am moving from Colorado, Currently have property there that we will build on. I have found people very friendly. It is way different than your country, I have spent a fair amount of time working in East Texas. Your accent will be a dead giveaway but I am guessing most will be amused. It shows a little diversity that many appreciate.

From what I have seen the only reasons some don't like Californians is some come to town after selling in CA with a pocket full of cash and an attitude. Interestingly enough we saw the same thing from Texans coming to Colorado back in the early 70's.

In order to find a large property (15 acres) we picked the Sunriver area. But we also like the idea of almost twice as much snow as Bend.

[johnmcook]

Thanks whir not… I will check out Sunriver as well. I don't need 15 acres but would like a couple. Thanks for the response.

[whirnot]

Johnmcook,
Be especialy careful of special regulations such as scenic setbacks, river setback, flood plains. There are some beautiful properties out there that have so many restrictions that the buildable area can get quite small. We found a very nice 2.5 acre property in Sisters, but after all the setbacks the buildable area was less that 5000 sq feet. Pretty limiting if you need more than just a house.