Living in Prineville, Oregon a good idea? Any local advice much appreciated.

TLDR;
I got offered a job with higher pay in Prineville, Oregon and I am trying to decide if I should take it and move there or stay in Tucson AZ, where I have a temporary job with lower pay. Don't know much about Prineville, so any local info would be much appreciated. Climbing is my highest priority.

Hey everyone,

So I just got offered a permanent job in the Forest Service at Prineville, Oregon. I wasn't really expecting to get the job, so I haven't done a whole lot of research on the town and I got to tell them soon if I accept so I am kind of in a scramble to figure things out. I know Prineville is near Smith Rock obviously, but is there a climbing community in the town of Prineville at all or in the neighboring towns? I am super psyched to live so close to Smith Rock, but if I don't have any fellow climbers to hang out with on a daily basis after work and such, I will probably go a little crazy. Are there at least any young outdoorsy people there to hang with? Or is it just a bumfuck middle of nowhere town?

If it turns Prineville is just a meth town I'll be miserable in, I can keep working for the Forest Service in Tucson, AZ, where I am right now. The job in Tucson is just a temporary Forest Service job with lower pay though. So I would appreciate any local advice on the area to see if Prineville would be a good place for me to live in. I am interested in skiing/snowboarding and other outdoor sports, but so far all I really do is climbing.

Population: 9,253 as of 2010 census.
Portland would be funner.

My guess is with bumfuck, too far inland. Even the coast of Oregon has a shit ton of hillbilly tweekers.

Maybe go check it out first?

Would your job require you to live in Prineville? Most jobs don't require you to live in a specific town, but maybe your FS job does?

I spent a wild night in Prineville, would not want to live there. Bend and Redmond aren't TOO far....

Prineville would be a great place to be a climber and trail runner. It is really close to Smith Rock and Trout Creek plus several "secret" local areas. I would certainly consider it.

Prineville; has a lot going for it, but ya, you'll find a higher percentage of...non-climbers there.
Redmond is 20 miles away.
Terrebonne is 20 miles away. 30 minutes.
Get a car what gets 30+mpg, live in Redmond.
Smith Rock. Been there? Trout Creek? I drive 6+ hours to get there, for a reason.
Go.

I've only driven through Prineville, but it's a nice enough place. I really like the high-desert of Oregon though it can get hot during the summer (not unlike AZ all the time?).

Plus, you're 30 minutes from Smith Rock with it's world-class climbing. And maybe 45 minutes from Trout Creek with crack-climbing on-par with Indian Creek.

I'd recommend living in Bend if you don't mind the drive. It's on-par with Boulder, CO for culture, breweries and other things to do.

Here are some random answers:

I live and work in RDM. I love it!

RDM or Madras might make you happier. Prineville however has some nice scenery (and some climbing...shhhh), but it undoubtedly is more redneck than the other (2) cities I have mentioned.

Well, with all the talk about Bend and Redmond growing like crazy, a lot of people think that Prineville will be the next "big deal" around here...i.e. more value there when buying a home or land. No doubt, if I was looking to invest additionally in central O, it would be done in Prineville.

Climbers are everywhere, but heavily concentrated in Bend.

If you think Smith is going to be a huge, kickass climbing spot for you on the weekends...forget it. The place sucks on the weekends. So many f'n people and cars, they are trying to figure out a way to build a giant parking lot and shuttle us in. It's a problem for climbers, other park visitors and the residents. Smith is waaaay too small and concentrated for the 1M visitors it receives each year.

{shrug} I'd live in Redmond, Madras or Prineville before I would even consider Bend...

OCHOCOS!!!

I live in Redmond, my wife commutes to very near Prineville (Powell Butte) every day. Prineville is changing pretty quickly with Facebook and Google opening huge locations there, but remains your typical conservative ex logging town. (‘Prinetucky’ Trump carried Crook County at 70%). I love Redmond, it’s got a lot of great things going on, so does Bend. Housing is real cheap in Prineville but the commute from Redmond or Bend to Prineville is pretty nice. At least one more gym opening in Bend, and a lifetime of climbing here.
TLDR: take the job, move to Bend/Redmond and commute.

Jon Rhoderick wrote: I live in Redmond, my wife commutes to very near Prineville (Powell Butte) every day. Prineville is changing pretty quickly with Facebook and Google opening huge locations there, but remains your typical conservative ex logging town. (‘Prinetucky’ Trump carried Crook County at 70%). I love Redmond, it’s got a lot of great things going on, so does Bend. Housing is real cheap in Prineville but the commute from Redmond or Bend to Prineville is pretty nice. At least one more gym opening in Bend, and a lifetime of climbing here.
TLDR: take the job, move to Bend/Redmond and commute.

Facebook and google are opening locations Prineville? Holy shit. 

Man, if you can afford to buy a house and sit on it for a while you’ll be ok. 

If you would like working for the Forest Service to be your career, I highly recommend taking a permanent job which are incredibly difficult to get nowadays.  Once you are a permanent employee you can apply for jobs internally (many jobs are only being flown internally) in a town that is higher on your list.  I do not know anything about Prineville but if you think you can be relatively happy there for a couple years and if a Forest Service job is your career goal I say go for it and look to move to a new FS office when you've gotten more experience and are even more competitive.

mediocre wrote:

Facebook and google are opening locations Prineville? Holy shit. 

Man, if you can afford to buy a house and sit on it for a while you’ll be ok. 

Maybe. Facebook and apple built data centers there which employ about 350 people or so, maybe I am wrong but I don't think that will cause the housing market to skyrocket. It helps, but that doesn't even replace the jobs lost from other industries moving out of the town. 

Now, if you owned the land that the companies want for their data centers $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

mediocre wrote:

Facebook and google are opening locations Prineville? Holy shit. 

Man, if you can afford to buy a house and sit on it for a while you’ll be ok. 

I’d highly recommend reading this to understand the local dynamic

Haven't read through most of these posts but if climbing is your highest priority then Smith Rock is right there, 30 minute drive or less. Smith is great and plenty of partners around nearby towns. Like others have mentioned, Redmond and Bend are close by. I suspect if climbing is your highest priority then you don't care too much about the town; I would definitely take the job. Great climbing is very nearby so don't worry about that, just look into anything else that is a concern for you.

I'm pretty happy to see you used the term "bumfuck middle of nowhere"
hey PC police, is this okay?  who cares, its one of my favorite expressions.  

If I had to choose between Tucson and Prineville, I’d pick Prineville without a second thought.

Jon Rhoderick wrote:

I’d highly recommend reading this to understand the local dynamic

Really? A logging/industrial town trying to find itself in a tech world? Nothing new here. 

I will admit that I browsed Redfin and property there is already a hell of a lot more than I thought it would be. It’s central Oregon. Being loved to death. 

Hey everyone, really appreciate the replies. I am leaning towards prineville and will probably tell them I accept before the end of today.

Does anyone know if there are any folks in the Redmond or Terrebonne area who have a gym coop? Commuting to bend to climb at the gym would be too much to do everyday, while its too cold to climb at Smith.

Public climbing gym? No, we don't have one in RDM. You are correct, winters are cold. Build a gym in your garage.

"Everyday"? - wow I remember being young enough to climb everyday....

See you soon.

Also check out Steins and Steins Overlook, bunch of new routes going up very close to prineville that are very unique

better than bend