Crime, traffic jams and mismanagement
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6/23/2016
I have lived in Bend 26 years. In those years Bend has changed quite a bit. At first change was good. Now, I find that the people who most enjoy Bend are coming from cities of 500,000 or more and believe that 45 minute traffic jams in a town that used to have none is acceptable. Those who exclaim that Bend is beautiful have not travelled much. Bend is dry and brown. The mountains are 30 miles West. We now have so many potholes in Bend that the citizens are planting flowers in them - part of the humor that makes up our nightly news and a result of city mismanagement. Bend Park and Recreation takes a big bite out of property taxes and the white water park they inadvisedly built was shut down immediately upon opening after a woman took her very young children over the expert area in inner tubes and then reported that she was very scared.
The homicide rate is likely low in Bend compared to a city of 500,000. In the past several months we had a Super 8 held up, hostages taken, swat called; a new transplant went to the high Desert museum, took a woman hostage with a knife to her throat and was shot dead; 2 men were seriously injured on the upscale west side when another opened fire with an AK 47; Wells Fargo was robbed; Another bank was robbed four times before it simply closed down; several men were shot and killed by their neighbors in upscale neighborhoods. Most of these events have occurred over a period of several months and are only the events that show up in the paper.
During the subprime housing crisis Bend shut down. In the words of the bankruptcy trustee, Bend was a grease fire. Foreclosures were rampant and are still working their way through the system. More than 100 developers and business owners committed suicide although we will never be able to obtain the true statistics. Fraud was rampant and many well-known business owners and realtors were prosecuted and went to prison. There still isn't much industry in Bend; housing prices have increased significantly, again, so the town will likely follow its boom bust cycle.
Compared to Orange County Ca or Los Angeles or San Fransisco, the above is hardly news. However, for those looking for a small town, where violent crime and traffic jams are the exception, Bend is no longer the place to relocate. Some have commented on this site that rentals are difficult to find. The rental vacancy rate has been 1% for the past year. People will continue to come and overcrowding and sprawl will worsen. It is human nature. Trends spread like viruses. Bend is trendy. You might keep the foregoing in mind, however, and if you are coming from ruined, over-crowded California you might just like it. Hang on when Bend goes through the next bust cycle.
lauren | Bend, OR