Hello dear ones – Lots has happened since I last wrote. Nia completed her first three weeks of school and even went away for a two-night 7th grade bonding experience at a camp an hour outside Bend. There have been the typical highs and lows one expects with middle school, but all in all we’re off to a solid start. And in case you’re wondering, drama club and a musical theatre-focused dance class are Nia’s activities of choice this fall, which makes me one happy Momma. Here’s a first day pic for you!
We’ve also received word about when and where our stuff will be arriving. It is scheduled to arrive in Oakland, CA on the 27th of October, which means that by the time it gets cleared at the port and makes it up to Oregon via truck, it’ll likely be mid-November. Better late than never though, right?? Just in time for me to put up the tree!
We’ve been enjoying the central location of our current rental so much that we decided to extend it until the start of Christmas break, at which point we’ll be coming to MN for 10 days! Then we’ll find a new rental home for spring, hopefully one that’s closer to school.
And now, changing topics… I thought I’d tell you a bit about our new home city, just like I would if we were moving to a new place overseas. I’ve been coming to Bend every summer since 2011 (when my in-laws moved here), and, like most everyone else who’s visited here, found myself charmed by the city. My goal over the next few posts is for you to get to know the history and culture of the city so that you’ll add it to your bucket list and come see what all the buzz is about. :)
First, some history about the town:
Bend began as a logging town at the start of the 20th century. The combination of the Deschutes river, along with the abundance of forests nearby, made it a natural place for a settlement to take root and by 1905 the city had incorporated with 500 citizens.
The city’s name came from “Farewell Bend”, a designation used by early pioneers to refer to the settlement’s location along the Deschutes River. The name was eventually deemed too long by the post office and shortened to just “Bend”.
The addition of an electricity-producing dam in 1910 and a railroad line in 1911 brought more investment and large-scale milling companies to Bend, eventually making it one of the highest capacity milling towns in the world by the 1920’s.
When logging eventually died out around 1980, the main industry shifted to tourism, which is what it still remains today.
Sources: https://oregondiscovery.com/bend-history, https://medium.com/@Rich_Conklin/then-and-now-historic-bend-oregon-338f2e9167d2
In 1980, when the mills started closing, Bend’s population hovered around 20,000. Growth took off in the 90’s though and by the turn of the century the city had swelled to 52,000 residents. The upward trend continued into the 2000’s, with the population doubling between 2000 and 2024. The most current figures estimate about 106,000 residents.
That doesn’t give the full picture though, because tourism brings another 1.4 million people to the city, primarily in the summer, making it feel very crowded from June through August.
Another interesting fact is that since the pandemic, Bend has drawn a lot of tech workers from California and the Seattle area, which increased the average household income to $120,000 and the median house price to $920,000 as of 2024 data. Yikes, huh?! Good thing my in-laws got in before real estate prices inflated!
Sources: https://www.bendbulletin.com/business/central-oregon-tourism-outlook-may-be-blushed-by-economic-unknowns/article_80398d3c-b780-11ed-adee-f79032d37a8e.html, https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/oregon/bend, https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Bend_OR/overview
In my next post or two I’ll talk about what Bend’s culture is like. Hoping to have that to you sooner than later! :)
