I know Bend natives are not happy with the influx of transplants like myself who have moved into town over the past decade, but I don't really care. I love living here. And sorry to be the bearer of bad news to the natives, but more and more people will keep moving here in the decades to come.
Bend is a gem as long as you can bring your high paying telecommuting job with you or as long as you can bring your home equity from Seattle or a coastal California city plus your retirement nest egg to live on. At present, it's attracting retirees and others like myself who can live anywhere as long as they have an internet connection and cell phone reception.
I've heard a lot of people talk about the lack of high paying jobs as an obstacle to moving here. Many Portlander who are tired of the rain can't or don't want to make the move unless they already have a job lined up. It's pretty tough to live on tips or on retail wages in Bend.
In due time though, new industries will emerge as more and more bright, intelligent, and entrepreneurial people move here for the quality of life that Bend offers. Plus, Oregon State Cascades will attract more people and offer many higher paying jobs that will create a demand for additional businesses that serve the growing number of people in the area.
And that quality of life thing is going to be a major factor for the future transplants. I shot that photo above Monday afternoon while taking the dogs for a hike along The Deschutes River Trail just off Century Drive. My cell phone is filled with photos like this as I try to take the pups on a different hike every day, all within five minutes of my house.
It's hard to beat living here, at least for me. Seattle was great right out of college. San Diego was perfect for my mid-twenties to early thirties. Orange County's materialistic culture was exhausting. In Portland, I felt like a visitor in a city trying to live up to the parody of Portlandia. Now, having settled in Bend, I feel like I found my home.
And one of these days in the decades to come, I'll probably tell recent Bend transplants that I too was a native. I promise that I'll lay out the welcome mat for my new neighbors in our great little town.
