Moving to Bend in Aug 2010 (Portland, Wilsonville: foreclosures, rental, mortgages)

[icet123abc]

I am 25 years old and my husband and I are looking to move out to Bend (From Chicago, IL) in August. (I've never lived anywhere else before)

I visited bend in November 2009 and enjoyed the area!

I have read alot about Bend being polluted, having forest fires, people in bend not being friendly, and housing not being affordable.

Are there jobs? I work in Social Services- Substance Abuse Prevention, and my husband works as a website developer.

We are not really interested the night life or bars. But are looking to start to start a family in the next few years.

If anyone has suggestions, insight, or anything else that may be of use to us that would be great!

We are also looking for a reliable cross country moving company, if anyone has any suggestions.

Thank-you in advance!

[davefr]

Originally Posted by icet123abc

If anyone has suggestions, insight, or anything else that may be of use to us that would be great!

Bend employment prospects are terrible. Secure jobs before you move unless you're financially independent.

[Bendite]

Originally Posted by icet123abc

I have read alot about Bend being polluted, having forest fires, people in bend not being friendly, and housing not being affordable.

Are there jobs? I work in Social Services- Substance Abuse Prevention, and my husband works as a website developer.

Bend is not polluted. Our air is clean and so is our water. We have occasional inversions that cause pollution (mostly in winter) and some people suffer from pollen, mostly because of the juniper. All of Oregon is subject to wildfires and Bend is no exception, plus the forest service does controlled burns and sometimes the wind blows the smoke into town.

People here are very friendly but it may be difficult to make close friends unless you put effort into it. Housing is quite affordable after the market crash, but that isn't relevant if you don't have a job. Bend still has very high unemployment. It is probaby not going to be easy to get a job from a distance, but if you move here without one, be sure you have enough money saved up - it could be a long wait. You could go on the State and Deschutes County job websites to look for openings in social services but for every opening there will be many applicants and there are also job freezes in some State departments.

[Silverfall]

I would plan to have at least a year's worth of savings to live off, if you don't have jobs when you move here.

Bend is quite nice. Oregonians in generally tend to be a more reserved bunch of folks that respect the privacy of others. I think some people interpret this as unfriendly, when in fact folks think they are being respectful.

[grlbud]

I live between Bend and Redmond. If you like a shopping & People move to Bend. If you like rural life move to Redmond approx 11 miles between. Employment is hard to find, be careful and wise. We moved from Portland horrible water, gangs etc. Bend water tastes great, people are friendly.

[delta07]

I would suggest doing a search on this forum for Bend, as this topic has been discussed at length on here. Bend is not the place to move if you don't have a job!

[Smiled]

I should add that our state's budget, while currently balanced, will likely require cuts in the next biennium if the economy doesn't improve dramatically. As to web development, the local market would be tiny (and, I'm guessing, somewhat saturated). From an economic standpoint, if it were me, and I could stand the gray skies, I'd move to Portland or Seattle. But I'm pretty risk-averse. You'll find both to be more expensive, but generally with good public schools.

[Smiled]

"We moved from Portland horrible water" - eh? Portland's city water comes from Bull Run - pure as driven snow (literally!). Did you live in Wilsonville (on well water/Willamette River water)?

Now I personally live on well water, and it has iron in it, but City of Portland water is among the world's purest.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by davefr

Bend employment prospects are terrible. Secure jobs before you move unless you're financially independent.

On the other hand, nobody is hiring, so in these times, I'm not sure if it even matters where someone lives. It seems that the most important thing is to find places such as Bend with very low rents, where one can start their own business, whether it be IT or an animal care business.

One would pay 2X-3X the cost than Bend for rent, food, etc. in the top 25 large urban areas, even in their suburbs.

In general, unemployment is high, college tuition has escalated at rates higher than the cost of inflation, graduate schools do not admit you unless you have high grad record exam scores, and taxes are still going up.

So Bend is attractive for the entrepreneur along with hundreds of other low-cost cities w/ foreclosures under 100,000 in the US. I've never been to Bend but it seems that with 11% or mortgages delinquent, that there could be rental bargains.

Thoughts? Agree? Disagree?

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by CCCVDUR

On the other hand, nobody is hiring, so in these times, I'm not sure if it even matters where someone lives. It seems that the most important thing is to find places such as Bend with very low rents, where one can start their own business, whether it be IT or an animal care business.

One would pay 2X-3X the cost than Bend for rent, food, etc. in the top 25 large urban areas, even in their suburbs.

In general, unemployment is high, college tuition has escalated at rates higher than the cost of inflation, graduate schools do not admit you unless you have high grad record exam scores, and taxes are still going up.

So Bend is attractive for the entrepreneur along with hundreds of other low-cost cities w/ foreclosures under 100,000 in the US. I've never been to Bend but it seems that with 11% or mortgages delinquent, that there could be rental bargains.

Thoughts? Agree? Disagree?

smart person right here.

Agree full heartedly. Not only are there great cheap places to rent, but to buy if you can swing it. No better time, ever.