When Ron and I tell people in the Bay Area that we are moving to Bend, they are naturally curious about why we chose Bend.   Why not Sedona, as was our initial thought.  And many Californians are choosing to move to Utah, Colorado, even Wyoming.  So ... why did we choose Oregon?

You know, back when we were initially praying about our relocation, and looking at homes on Zillow we thought we were moving to Sedona, Az.  It is beautiful, we love those red rocks ... and they have a vibrant and alive art community.  But then I started thinking about scorpions.  And the fact that our little Walter (chiuahaha/terrier mix) and how he loves chasing lizards.  What if he chased a scorpion?  and surely he would.  He would chase that scorpion and get bit and we'd be rushing him to the emergency vet and they may not be able to save him.  Yes.  this is how my mind works.  And I absolutely am making our big move decision based on our little dog's needs.   Or wants.  Or whatever.  And I started thinking about how I've never been much of a desert person.  Not wild about the heat ... And while Sedona doesn't get anywhere NEAR as hot as Phoenix or Tucson, for example .... I think not.

So much for Arizona.  We wanted to stay fairly close to California, as both of our grown children are here.  Michelle is living in San Louis Obisbo, and Dan is down in LA.  

Where could we go that wouldn't be TOO hard for them to visit?  and us them?    Maybe the Oregon coast?  We hadn't really spent much time in OR (I had driven to Seattle 30 years or so ago, and Ron had never been).  So we started checking out Eugene on Zillow.   Praying, researching, talking with people .... Hubby Ron found a property outside of Eugene that had lake views he wanted us to look at .... so we made a little "recon" trip to Eugene.  And fell in love with Oregon!!!  Rivers everywhere we looked.  Lakes, too!   And TREES!   So so beautiful.  Eugene has a nice, fun downtown area, too -- trendy and hip.  However, we didn't see any homes for rent in our price range.  I imagine that is because it is such a college town (go Ducks!!).  The property Ron wanted to look at was disappointing, too -- needed a lot of work.   We were a little disappointed after this recon trip.  Maybe God had other plans for us?

Back home again, we started looking into the Bend area and were able to find some homes in our price range.  Nice homes!  After a few weeks of searching online, it was time to schedule a recon trip to Bend.  Honestly, I was going to visit simply so I could rule it out -- I was still hoping we could find someplace in Eugene.  

But then we fell in love.  Bend was everything we could ask for, and more.   Absolutely stunning.  The Deschutes River winds throughout Bend and Redmond, it's sister city.  The people at the Oregon Parks & Rec do an outstanding job of keeping the many parks & natural areas beautiful.  These pictures here were taken in Bend; that's the Deschutes.  I started getting excited, thinking of photographing people in front of the river.  So many amazing backdrops!!!

Standing and gazing at that river, we felt God was calling us here.  Was Bend to be our new home?  This place is so gorgeous -- of course our recon trip was in October, and we enjoyed lovely warm days and cool nights; the fall colors were spectacular, the golden light ... the river, the people ... could God really be calling us to this heavenly place?

We started looking at homes.... spent a week scouting Bend, Redmond, even Sisters.  Everywhere we went, we could envision ourselves happily living here.  Then we found a beautiful resort community 30 minutes from Bend, 5 minutes from Redmond.  The resort is called Eagle Crest and it is really stunning.  About half the population rent their townhomes out full time; the others live there.  We liked the idea of having a home that could provide a nice income (in case we decided to purchase another home, we could rent this out).  The opening page of the Eagle Crest website blew us away -- so breathtaking!    Here's the link:

https://www.eagle-crest.com/

We found a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath townhome (small!  only 1400 square feet) that will be perfect for the two (three, with Walter) of us.  The townhouse has lots of natural light -- floor to ceiling windows -- and looks out onto a lovely little creek area.  It even comes furnished!  with a hot tub overlooking the creek!   Eagle Crest doesn't have street lights, so I imagine we're going to have some great star gazing from that hot tub!

The opening page shows Cline Falls, which is 3 minutes from our new townhome. Sweet!!!   Gorgeous hikes ... lots of water sports, too -- kayaking, rafting, paddle boarding (want to try that!!) ... and of course fishing.   It is an outdoor lovers' paradise.  

Oregon reminded me of home.  I am originally from Minnesota -- so I have a deep seated love of water and trees.   Oregon just felt "right".  

So if you are considering relocating, I suggest you hone in on your personal preferences -- do you feel happiest at the ocean?  Or in the mountains.  Or in the desert.  Know yourself and follow your heart.  Cliche ole!

That's all for now.   I hope to be blogging about the people I meet and the adventures we have up in Bend.  Stay tuned :)

love!

nicole