medford or bend ? (Portland, Eugene, Salem: 2013, rental, crime)

[ajams22]

Originally Posted by BendLocal

Quality of life is changing. Longer lift lines at Bachelor, packed parking lots at Smith Rock and nearly all of the other popular trailheads. Difficult to find a parking spot in downtown Bend on a weekend or if an event is happening. And so on. This was not the case just 5 years ago.

I don't really consider not being able to find a parking spot detrimental to your quality of life.

[creativekristy]

juan92510, where are you from? I think that where you are from would determine how you will view Bend. While some people think the traffic here has gotten really bad in the last few years, if you're from any major metropolitan area, you'll think it's a breeze. Same goes for things like the "festivals" here and the Farmer's Market - people rave about them, but if you're from, say, Los Angeles, the festivals here are quaint and the Farmer's Markets are tiny - no more than a couple blocks long.

If you are from a smaller town, like Helena, MT or Centralia, IL, you'll think Bend is enormous and has lots of variety of things to do. Thanks to the tourist economy, Bend offers a lot more than a regular isolated small town of comparable size would offer, in terms of food, things to do, and shopping.

The main things that I think hold true for Bend versus Medford, is that Bend is definitely for outdoor (kayak, biking, hiking, camping, snow sports) lovers, dog lovers, and beer lovers. If you like a few of those things, you will really like Bend. That being said, I am a cat person and don't drink alcohol much, and I still like this town. It's got gorgeous scenery, friendly people for the most part, and everything is within a 15 minute drive, including hiking, waterfalls, Target and grocery stores. It's a convenient town.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by ajams22

I don't really consider not being able to find a parking spot detrimental to your quality of life.

Oh but it is. One of the biggest reasons people come to a relatively remote location like Bend is to get away.

[Snownut]

Originally Posted by ajams22

I don't really consider not being able to find a parking spot detrimental to your quality of life.

I have lived here almost one year and have always found a parking spot. Yes there are crowds at popular spots and events... Why wouldn't there be? A few times I had to park several blocks away and then deal with the "arduous" ordeal of walking an extra 5 minutes.

Compared to where I lived in VA traffic and "crowds" are totally irrelevant to anything I have wanted to do here. I understand it is relative to how long you have lived here and what it used to be like? For me Bend still has a very small town feel.

[timberledge]

I live in Atlanta but will relocate to Bend in a year or two, following two fairly extended visits to Bend the past two years. The ease of parking and lesser traffic, and all that connotes, were important factors in our decision. As with everything, perspective based on personal experience is one's reality. Having lived in Atlanta, Washington DC and other east coast cities, as well as San Francisco for a time, there is NO comparison with the congestion in Bend. We saw that downtown Bend gets crowded at times but that is every day reality in the east. You don't realize how much it weighs on you until you visit a place like Bend. Maybe it's a factor in why people are so friendly in Bend. (I haven't been to the Medford area so can't comment on it.)

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by timberledge

Having lived in Atlanta, Washington DC and other east coast cities, as well as San Francisco for a time, there is NO comparison with the congestion in Bend. We saw that downtown Bend gets crowded at times but that is every day reality in the east.

I moved up here after years of living in the SF area and I think the Bend area is often crowded. Unfortunately congestion is becoming common in Bend especially during the tourist season when the population of Bend increases by close to 20,000.

Most of the people that say parking isn't a problem are lucky enough to go to the trailheads during the week. The sad reality is that nearly all the popular trailheads will be at full capacity on any weekend during the tourist season.

[Greener_Pastures]

Definitely a perspective issue, I'll say that I don't have "experience" living in Bend as we just moved three months ago from Seattle, but so far our quality of life has been increasing exponentially since the move. Traffic is an absolute breeze (those of you that have lived here a long time are spoiled, try living in a metropolitan area and dealing with that traffic). We feel like we've added hours onto our days because of the limited traffic. It's so close to get out to anything you want. We can easily go for an evening hike in the summer after work where something like this would never be a consideration
back in Seattle.

We just got back from the Bite of Bend and went to the Fernentation Celebration on Thursday and my wife and I were just saying his enjoyable the events were and how nice it was to park so close. I think we walked a couple blocks each time whereas last year at the Bite of Seattle I think we had at least a twenty minute walk from the closest parking we could find (and had to pay for that parking) and that was probably after sitting in an hour of traffic just to get there.

If you can't tell, we are absolutely loving it so far

[Dry Side]

The sad reality is that nearly all the popular trailheads will be at full capacity on any weekend during the tourist season.

That is the great thing about living here, one does not have to go to the few popular hotspots on the weekend in the middle of the day.

Tomorrow like most Sundays I will start riding at Phil's trail head at 8 AM and ride up to Broken Top trail head. I will be surprised if I see more than a dozen riders on the trails.

Central Oregon is a huge area. Easy enough to go to many spots that are not popular. Many are very scenic.

One wonders why you remain living in Bend.

[Greener_Pastures]

Originally Posted by Dry Side

One wonders why you remain living in Bend.

I've often pondered over similar things.

[darnselfly]

Just got back from our fourth trip to CO. Moving to Eagle Crest in 18-24 months. The improvement in quality of life seems like it will be huge. Traffic? We can drive clear across Bend on 97 in a few minutes. On our drive back down to Orange County, we drive through unbroken city and urban sprawl for HOURS. In 4-6 lanes of ridiculous traffic. Down here we never go to the local mountains for R&R because that drive is a virtual barrier we're not willing to deal with.

Things there in Bend not like they used to be, eh? Show me someplace where they are. Last I checked, folks still like having families, and population is increasing everywhere. It's unreasonable to think any town or city is going to remain unchanged. Growth is everywhere it seems.