Woodhill Homes Blog

My wife and I had both been ski bums in Sun Valley, Idaho and we had a goal to get back to an area with a similar life style. We had moved to Portland from Eugene after finishing studies at the University of Oregon. We promised ourselves that we would move to Bend within five years of our move to Portland. Life got going, secure job, my wife had a successful speech therapy business, purchased a home, went to graduate school, had our first boy - roots were being set. In year 6 of Portland we realized that unless we started seriously looking into a move to Bend it would never happen.There are a number of reasons that convinced my wife and I to move our family to Central Oregon a little over five years ago. We lived in Southeast Portland and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, the attraction of Central Oregon was too hard to resist. There were five major reasons we took the risk to pick up the stakes and head “east”:

1) Great place to raise a family.
2) Recreational opportunities.
3) Beauty and charm of area.
4) Weather.
5) Job opportunity.

One of the major reasons we chose Bend was because it is such a great place to raise a family. We were going to need to move from our neighborhood as our first child grew older – it wasn’t the best neighborhood for young children. The financial reality was that we would need to move out of the City of Portland to find a community that we wanted – we couldn’t afford to move into the sections of the City where we felt comfortable raising a family. The majority of the Portland suburbs did not appeal to us. When our first boy was three months old we seriously began looking into a move to central Oregon. We figured that moving across the state was no more of a hassle than moving across the Metro area.

I had been working as a planner with Clackamas County and found a job in the planning department for Deschutes County. I took a pretty significant pay cut to make the move but we thought the sacrifice was worth it – it was. We have found Bend to be a great place to raise a family. First, we could let our kids play in the front or back yard without having to keep them within arm’s length (we now have two boys). Second, it seems as though the town is populated with an overwhelming amount of young families. This makes it very easy to meet people with similar interests, obligations and lifestyles when visiting the neighborhood park, grocery store or one of the numerous Bend street festivals.

There are a number of activities and organizations that make it a fun place to raise a family. The library downtown has story hours and activities; Bend Metro Parks & Recreation District has kids arts/crafts programs as well as sports programs that cater to younger children. Our kids were involved in Kindermusic and also are involved with the Bend Arts station where they engage their artistic abilities. The High Desert Museum has been a family favorite since we moved here. The Childrens Museum is also another sure bet for fun. Our oldest boy just completed his first Mighty Mites Ski program at Mount Bachelor for kids 5 and up. Soccer, T-ball and other activities are offered through the parks and recreation district.

The area offers so much in the way of accessible outdoor recreation we make it a point to schedule fun family activities throughout the year – in the summer we camp up at the Cascade Lakes or near the Metolius River. We fish, ride bikes on the mountain bike trails, hike, go on nature walks in Shevlin Park. In the winter we go sledding, skiing and skating. It is all so close it makes it easy to take advantage of the amenities.

The area is growing at a rapid pace but many of the people attracted to the area come for the same reason – quality of life. This means that the majority of the people we meet have a similar outlook on their community – they chose to come here and have a vested interest in the community. Bend has a small town charm that continues despite its growth. Our neighbors know each other, our children play together and we know each other’s names. The owners of our favorite restaurants know our family and welcome us when we visit. It’s a fun place to raise a family – the school districts are great, the air is clean and there is more for a kid to do in central Oregon than you could shake a stick at. Although at the time the choice to move to central Oregon required a lot of analysis and risk, looking back on it I can’t believe we didn’t do it sooner.

Next time I’ll discuss some of the great recreational opportunities. Have any recreational activities you like to do in Central Oregon that I didn’t mention? Would like to hear!

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