Trying to move to bend oregon. Any advice would be nice

As the title states I am trying to move to Bend Oregon(maybe Portland) by the end of October.

If anyone has any sort of advice on these areas and I mean anything, feel free to comment.

Thanks a bunch!

Cheers!

Wear sunscreen.

I don't have any advice on living in Bend. When I lived in Portland it seemed like I was always driving north into Washington to climb. Or driving to Bend. YMMV.

Not to sound crabby, but if it's possible to bring your own job and housing you will have an easy time moving to Bend. Rental vacancies are less than 1% right now, and the buying market is nuts...

To echo Paul's comments, same for Portland. I wouldn't move here unless I had a strong tie.

Same for Seattle.

Paul Trendler wrote:Not to sound crabby, but if it's possible to bring your own job and housing you will have an easy time moving to Bend. Rental vacancies are less than 1% right now, and the buying market is nuts...

I moved here three years ago and love it. My advice:
1. Have job and money figured out beforehand - Bend is a pricey place
2. Get your Mt Bachelor ski pass before the price goes up - before you move
3. There is a great climbing gym in town
4. Beer is unbelievable!!! prepare to gain a few pounds
5. IMHO, Smith is the only real crag in the area. There are others, but they just aren't much to speak of.
6. Climbing at Smith is great but
a. it can get pretty busy peak season - prepare to hike a little more
b. it can be pretty hot in summer- but it is actually great, just go find the shade.
c. it can be pretty chilly in winter, probably more so than lots of days in Colorado, and you are likely to not get out in the winter as much
d. might just be my style but I have found it to be way sandbaggy compared to the front range (or is it those pounds I gained from the beer?)
e. more slabs than steeps
f. high first bolts, think stick clip

Are you moving solo or with a partner? I think it would be hard to afford to live here alone so I would recommend finding roommates if you aren't moving with anyone. There are a lot of twenty somethings moving here so it wouldn't be too difficult to find people. It's pretty easy to get a job if you don't mind working in the service industry or doing manual labor.

Bend is a fun place to be for all things outdoor! The only real downside to living here is all the tourists, but they can be avoided. I just moved here a few months ago so if you have any specific questions I may have advice.

I would say that while Bend looks attractive for a lot of reasons it's definitely over-hyped. There are many, many towns in the Western US where you could live for a fraction of the cost and not have to deal with what is quickly becoming a total rat-race. I moved to Bend 3 years ago and I've been really disappointed with the quality and volume of outdoors opportunities, and the direction the city is going is pretty ridiculous. If you like sitting in traffic, waiting in long lines, and paying too much money for mediocre climbing/skiing/mtn-biking/etc. then move here. Otherwise you might want to do a little more exploring past the "top-ten places to live" lists that the tourism board pays boat loads to make sure Bend is on every year. Bottom line: it's only attractive because the property investors can't afford to have it not be attractive. If you can work and live in Bend you can do it anywhere, don't settle for a crap-hole.

from what I can tell in Portland, finding housing can be difficult, but there are jobs. You just have to be willing to look.

I have been to bend multiple times. I enjoyed it out there. The front range is an over crowded nightmare how much worse could bend be?

I live in FOCO and all you have to do is drive north to avoid the crowds. I spent 2 days in the Vedavoo and only saw 3 other climbing parties the entire time. Buy a kayak and you can cross the Poudre to climb and be guaranteed to have the place all to your self.

With that said I lived in Portland and tried to move to Bend. It's nice out there in a different way.

Thanks for the discussion all. I was wondering about bend...

I moved to Bend a year and a half ago. Great town. Smith is amazing, Trout Creek is amazing, Bend Rock gym is killer. Mountain biking and skiing are moderate but fun and the beer, well it's addictive...watch your figure.

The rental market as stated above is really really really tough. I work with the homeless and housing is ridiculously hard so line it up in advance. However, it might be hard to line up if you're not in town to pounce. Jobs are easy especially if you're in the service industry; It's peak season now.

Good luck.

Claty: If you can afford 3K/month in rent you will be okay finding a place here. The main problem with the housing in Bend is there are a lot of people fighting for the cheaper places (closer to 1K/month) and most everything costs a lot more than that.

Folks, one can't use the rent figures from their old place and compare them to Bend. Sure, it seems less expensive here than "3k" in D.C. but you also have to figure that one wont make the same wage here. If you can afford to live here and have the time off to enjoy the outdoors then more power to yah. I work as a chef and work 5-6 days a week and make enough to cover bills, not save. I don't get to spend much time doing the things people move here for or do on vacation.

I have been in Bend off and on for 30 years. Bend is now very crowded for the size of the area. You will wait in line at anyplace good, I tried to get in to Parilla the other day at 3:40pm and the line didnt move for 15 minutes...didnt stay.

Craigslist seems to have many open rentals, till you call on one..or all of them. Bends rental crisis trumps everywhere right now..less that .3% vacancies. The Bend Bulletin put out some figures.." 2,570 rental dwellings in Bend, at any given time there are 12 available" Not much option there. I knew someone that got on a wait list with 350 people..yikes

I know there are worse places to live, but Bend isnt the idyllic place it once was. Myself and my girlfriend are looking to move from here, just can't handle the changes anymore. If you start a needed business or are in the medical field you'll be great, but Bend is now primarily for the retirees or partially retired, telecommuters and just plain wealthy.

Best of luck

Why not Redmond instead?

Is the rental market better there?

Redmond and all surrounding areas, even Prineville have housing shortages. @claty, I understand the safety part, there are not many homicides here. Logistically I think you could move anywhere and be better off tHan DC. If you're in the right job field you can do well here, but given the popularity of the area, the job market is VERY tight. if you move here, make sure you have a job and a house, you'd be surprised how many people dont!

Specialized medical...you'll be just fine. As far as bringing your own housing, just make sure you have a place lined up, there are months long waiting lists here. If someone can make about 50 grand in Bend they'll do just fine. The problem with that is most don't make that much.

BEND SUCKS!!!

Portland is cool, I lived there for 5 years.

Beacon and hood are great climbing. Some of my favorite climbs I have ever done are jill's thrill at beacon and the north face right gully on hood. Oh and free for all/dods jam/dastardly...and blownout. Beacon rules!

Smith is fun but so many sport climbers.