Review of Bend, Oregon

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Think Twice before you move Here!

- 3/1/2010
I moved here 5 years ago because I was laid off work in CA when my company moved out of state. I was told it was a freat lifestyle and cheaper and this is where I needed to be....What a wake up call I got. First off there AREN'T many jobs to be had. Those that are, generally pay very low and you can't support any lifestyle on that. Top that off with all the people that retired from CA and take up what little jobs there are available so they can have something to do and it turly is "poverty with a view" so the insiders call it. I am single and only have one income. The ONLY jobs I could find were in the mortgage business (lots of turnover) and because of the failing market I have had 4 layoffs in 5 years. There is NO work here to be found and we have about 5,000 + homeless and the the people just passed 66 * 67 tax bill which is now forcing buisness to lay off more people and new businesses don't want to come as the taxes are too High. It is VERY cold from about October to April and below zero in January so look for frozen pipes and staying indoors with high heating costs for several months. The joke up here among those of us who are not wealthy is we have two seasons, Winter and August. That is about right as it can and has snowed at the Sisters Rodeo in July. Sure there is a LOT of outdoor recreation, but if you cant find work that will pay you enough salary to pay your mortgage and bills and leave something left over to do something with, you will not find the outdoors that enjoyable because there is no money to do anything with. If you are single and over 40 ...good luck with that as there is no single life and no population really to date...I for one am looking to leave but this economy is now bad everywhere. It is usually very bad here in good times as they did not build the infrastructure to bring in high teck businesses that can withstand and slow economy. It is mostly retail and hospitality and that is what they rely on the taxes from the resorts so they want to keep building more...instead of bringing in good solid healthcare tech businesses and the like to help keep jobs in the area...no they build more resorts and have admitted that that is where they get the bulk of their money...the heck with the little person.....they all need to be fired! Then maybe they will experience the "poverty with a view" for themselves and do something about it...
Dorianne | Redmond, OR