Are people in Central Oregon Happier? (Bend: buy, live, population)

[kapetrich]

I feel that many people here are happier than average because out of the 80k residents 50k of them made extremely conscious decisions to move here based on their preference, value systems, quality of life etc. There is a difference between living somewhere because you HAVE to or because you have no other option and that of making a purposefully and conscious choice to be somewhere.

That said, people here are often overly happy about living here. Either to overcompensate and justify their choice, or because they really are new and just love themselves for making the move. Both are fine with me, but get tiring.

Basically what I'm saying is most people are new here and those new people WANT to be here. They wouldn't have moved to such a remote location if they didn't.

Also, like oregonwoodsmoke pointed out, it's Oregon where there is a very strong sense of community and friendliness in the culture. If you made the conscious choice to move here you likely researched the prevailing culture and feel a strong kinship to it. Feeling like you finally 'belong' somewhere or having a 'place' and/or 'role' within a community makes you feel loved/accepted and needed (Gang/fraternal research is a good example) especially when the place you moved from had a prevailing quality of life that you did not feel aligned with your value system.

[whirnot]

Originally Posted by kapetrich

I feel that many people here are happier than average because out of the 80k residents 50k of them made extremely conscious decisions to move here based on their preference, value systems, quality of life etc. There is a difference between living somewhere because you HAVE to or because you have no other option and that of making a purposefully and conscious choice to be somewhere.

That said, people here are often overly happy about living here. Either to overcompensate and justify their choice, or because they really are new and just love themselves for making the move. Both are fine with me, but get tiring.

Basically what I'm saying is most people are new here and those new people WANT to be here. They wouldn't have moved to such a remote location if they didn't.

Also, like oregonwoodsmoke pointed out, it's Oregon where there is a very strong sense of community and friendliness in the culture. If you made the conscious choice to move here you likely researched the prevailing culture and feel a strong kinship to it. Feeling like you finally 'belong' somewhere or having a 'place' and/or 'role' within a community makes you feel loved/accepted and needed (Gang/fraternal research is a good example) especially when the place you moved from had a prevailing quality of life that you did not feel aligned with your value system.

I thinkl you may have really nailed it.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I think you have to get outside of town to find the locals, but the newcomers seem to be pretty giddy about the place. It is a new Bend, and happiness seems to abound.

I think this is probably true to an extent, but I do have at least 4 friends off the top of my head that grew up here in Bend and they are all very happy to be here. I think they realize the gem that is Bend (and they still remember small town Bend) and that they don't have to leave family to live in such a beautiful place.

Originally Posted by kapetrich

I feel that many people here are happier than average because out of the 80k residents 50k of them made extremely conscious decisions to move here based on their preference, value systems, quality of life etc. There is a difference between living somewhere because you HAVE to or because you have no other option and that of making a purposefully and conscious choice to be somewhere.

That said, people here are often overly happy about living here. Either to overcompensate and justify their choice, or because they really are new and just love themselves for making the move. Both are fine with me, but get tiring.

Basically what I'm saying is most people are new here and those new people WANT to be here. They wouldn't have moved to such a remote location if they didn't.

Also, like oregonwoodsmoke pointed out, it's Oregon where there is a very strong sense of community and friendliness in the culture. If you made the conscious choice to move here you likely researched the prevailing culture and feel a strong kinship to it. Feeling like you finally 'belong' somewhere or having a 'place' and/or 'role' within a community makes you feel loved/accepted and needed (Gang/fraternal research is a good example) especially when the place you moved from had a prevailing quality of life that you did not feel aligned with your value system.

Very well stated! Whenever I talk with friends and family that aren't happy about where the live, they feel like it's out of their hands because they have to live by family. When you feel obligated to do something you really don't want to do, it shows.

[Steve Pickering]

The other side of the coin is that newcomers can also be the most unhappy when it turns out to be something other than the travel posters promised.

[VirtualErik]

People generally seem pretty happy and friendly here, since I moved here Dec 2012 i've seen smiles and been greeted by many. I also am very happy here. Live here is pleasant even the long cold winters.
Its so beautiful and scenic here with so much to do to get out in nature and unplug from the chaos.

in contrast i was in seattle a few weeks ago and experienced that infamous seattle freeze.

[chop suzy]

Thank you Kapetrich for your wise words. I have been living for nine years in a place where I am very uncomfortable and I haven't been able to put my feelings into words. I find most people don't understand what I'm trying to say and can't relate. You have put it beautifully with your words "prevailing quality of life that you did not feel aligned with your value system".

I hope to some day be a citizen of Bend or close by, depending on how expensive your beautiful city becomes.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by redguard57

Like you said, it's all subjective. Central Oregon has some of the highest unemployment in the country for its size of population, at 9.9% for the Bend MSA according to the last BLS report, which puts it at 342 out of 372, or bottom 10%.

So maybe you just didn't see the unhappy people. I've rarely seen the kind of extreme wealth inequality like I see in Bend. Everywhere I know of that has such a bad economy does not have such high living costs. We have big city housing costs but no big city lifestyle, amenities, and certainly no big-city paying jobs. I mean, I make $50K here, but I might as well be making zero. What I make is not nearly enough to buy a decent house unless I can come up with a $75K or higher down payment.

Redmond has a meth problem, some of the highest meth use as a proportion of the population in the country. I'll just throw that out there.

It also has almost no cultural activities to speak of. Anything along those lines Central Oregon has is in Bend, which is limited. For cultural life in a town under 50,000, Ashland blows everyone out of the water.

So, if it were me, I'd consider the two Washington options, mainly because the economy is better there.

Now that is a detailed and information packed post!

[Greener_Pastures]

Originally Posted by VirtualErik

in contrast i was in seattle a few weeks ago and experienced that infamous seattle freeze.

Ahh, the good old Seattle Freeze,just another little reminder why we can't wait for our move to Bend. Great info in this thread!

[Pfhtex]

Originally Posted by redguard57

Full disclosure: I'm one of the pessimists around here.

Like you said, it's all subjective. Central Oregon has some of the highest unemployment in the country for its size of population, at 9.9% for the Bend MSA according to the last BLS report, which puts it at 342 out of 372, or bottom 10%.

So maybe you just didn't see the unhappy people. I've rarely seen the kind of extreme wealth inequality like I see in Bend. Everywhere I know of that has such a bad economy does not have such high living costs. We have big city housing costs but no big city lifestyle, amenities, and certainly no big-city paying jobs. I mean, I make $50K here, but I might as well be making zero. What I make is not nearly enough to buy a decent house unless I can come up with a $75K or higher down payment.

Redmond has a meth problem, some of the highest meth use as a proportion of the population in the country. I'll just throw that out there.

It also has almost no cultural activities to speak of. Anything along those lines Central Oregon has is in Bend, which is limited. For cultural life in a town under 50,000, Ashland blows everyone out of the water.

So, if it were me, I'd consider the two Washington options, mainly because the economy is better there.

Depending on your credit and debtload, you could get a home worth about $175,000 - even perhaps zero-down.

[Steve Pickering]

Any part of the country will have people who are very happy with their choice. It will have another group who don't care. And there will be those who hate it.

Bend is not unique in that respect.