You weren't kidding about it being exspensive that house they want 3M for. WOW!!! Beautiful but very spendy. Thanks for sharing and you have a safe trip and day

When I first started climbing in Smith Rocks more than 30 years ago there was nothing but nothing from Smith Rocks all the way to Bend, and now it's all built up. Bend was a small town for the average person back then. An undiscovered jewel that got discovered. This is why we can't have nice things.

There is a reason things cost so much here, I was born and raised here. It's litterally one of the most beautiful cities and the vibe here is amazing having amazing summers and winters and all 4 seasons to its fullest... river lakes mou rains the ocean only a few hours away, the valley only a few hours a way... it truely is a beautiful city but thats what's happened tourist's have taken Over came in and baught up homes and drove out the true central Oregonians people and generations who have lived here before anyone knew what Bend was... they drove the people that deserved to be there out with their high bids and high prices and Los Angelesizing the city... and many come and are not educated on how to live here... and truely have ruined it for so many and put people on the streets or had to move. go see for yourself and talk with anyone.... they forced out Hometown people with their corrupt BS. it's sad honestly specially when your feom a town like this and you have seen what happend over the years.

Fun fact about Pine Tavern: there’s a tree growing through the middle of the restaurant. The bar is in the front so maybe you didn’t get to see it. Yes, Bend is pretty expensive, but there are more reasonably priced restaurants. Pine Tavern is one of the most expensive in town. Another great thing about Bend is there is always something going on, especially in the Summer. We have lots of parades, festivals, multiple farmer’s markets, and more breweries per capita than any other town in the country. Thanks for showing our town and safe travels to you.

I remember when Bend was around 10,000 people. I knew an old guy who's parents were pioneers, his first job was hunting jackrabbits. When the railroad came through he hired on as mounted security from the packs of feral dogs in the area. Said he got chased into a barn with his horse and nearly froze there for a couple days until the dogs left. Interesting note, by the rr yard south of town there are piles of old oyster shells. They must have been shipped directly north from the California coast.

Funny, i am from Dallas and married my wife in her home town of Bend in 1987 when it was small and very affordable and the mill was still working. Now it is like little Portland and a 50,000 dollar home is now worth 600,000.

Walking through that Blockbuster felt so nostalgic. Miss those days!

I grew up here in the 1980's. Was just a small logging town. Now big money moved here from CA and CO. You cant get a house here for under 800k. Normal 2 bedroom rent about $2200. Still nice but not like it was. Traffic is horrible as the roads were not designed for the amount of people here now. You didn't even go to the real expensive areas on the west side. Most homes there are over 4 to 5 million a pop. The homes downtown are old but most are remodeled. In the 1980s you could buy a home here on land for under 200k. Them times are long gone now. All the lower income people were priced out of this town years ago. Homeless come here from CA in the summer to beg on the corners now.

You completely missed the story of Bend's hyper-growth-- the key reason. When land use planning was implemented in Oregon around 1970, for a brief moment, cities had the ability to declare what's their city limits---- their growth boundaries. City of Bend drew huge boundaries allowing what is basically sprawl, akin to arizona or texas. If the cities in the Willamette Valley had done that, it would look like the Los Angeles basin by now

My grandmother was a waitress at the Pine Tavern in the 40's. The food *IS* amazing! I grew up in Central Oregon & still live 20 miles North of Bend. I've experienced the population boom starting in the 90's & prices skyrocketing both of which are staggering. Thankfully I bought a house in 2000. I'd never afford to buy a house in Central Oregon now. Great video! Happy travels!

It’s a shame but bend used to be a little ski town with seasonal folks coming to work and play in winter…it was a haven. Now it has become a haven for retired Californians who have pushed up real estate astronomically and brought their bad driving. It grew too quickly with poor city management. I suggest you look at the magic of towns like sisters, at the foothills of the range.

Hi, I lived in Bend from 1996 to 2008, not as expensive then as now, been to blockbuster many times!! Thanks for the memory!I II worked at The Riverhouse Hotel for many years. Beautiful hotel overlooking the Deschutes River, I had many? If you go back there go up pilot butte, you can oversee the entire city!!

We also have an exceptionally large homeless population in the area.

Housing, overall cost of living, I remember reading it's In the top 5% of the US a few years back. And crime is of the charts. I live here, if someone tells you different just look up the stats. Car, house, place of work gets broken into expect absolutely nothing from the police. Even if you have video footage. Completely overwhelmed infrastructure here.

Bend is a beautiful place with a serious homeless problem. It may not be obvious downtown but people are living in tents and campers out in the desert. Working folk have to live somewhere and there's nothing they can afford in town. And of course there are the druggies and mentally ill too. China Hat Road is a nightmare.

They called it "Farewell Bend" because it was a jumping off point to cross the mountains and people would stay there for awhile to wait for the snow to melt. And they had great memories and were sad to leave.

Seems to be a lot of places not for poor people these days

FYI, there is no retail tax in Oregon. It is not being hidden in the price.

We spent many a spring/summer & fall in the Bend/Sunriver/La Pine areas (2011-2016) - loved it but it was then & worse now the Californication of the west Coast. The taxes (property, vehicle), insurances,... are outrageous & we chose not to retire there

Sisters, Oregon is my favorite town! Best bakery Sisters Bakery their apple fritters are the size of a baseball mit.

I live in Bend and have no problem with the snarled traffic. I get everywhere on my cargo bike. Much faster than driving.

Lived in Bend for 20 years! Now Palm Desert, seems not so much different in cost of living. Used to be called poverty with a view!

My wife and I were there at exactly the same time. I just got back home to Reno after a week in Bend. Had not been there since 1978 and what a change. I am not sure if I could live there and am positive I couldn't afford it, but it was beautiful and the people that I met were very nice. Lots of great restaurants, scenery and oh, those round-abouts. I went to Blockbuster and got a hat. Bend seems to be a place where people live healthy lifestyles. Even though there seems to be lots of traffic, especially when heading towards Redmond, the drivers were polite and obeyed the speed limits, unlike here in Reno where the speed limits are only a suggestion. One of the nicer places that I have visited this past year of driving to 16 states.

Lived there 1975 to 1989. Loved it, beautiful Cascade Mountains. Great snow and water skiing. Mt. Bachelor and Round Butte Dam is close by. Outdoor recreation is the best! Just got too cold in the winter and became a hardship back in the day.

Bend used to be a cool old town. All the hoity toity people started moving there in the 2000s. No way you can get that back. I remember driving through when we'd go hunting . Old greasy spoon restaurants , old hardware stores , very rustic . If you go to the south of the town, there is a huge apartment complex with a sound wall along the highway...inside the complex is all green grass and trees you'd find in a wetter climate. Sickening. Californication. If you go there for the charm , it was destroyed long ago.

Bend is the most desirable address in Oregon east of the Cascades. The three sisters mountains are a beautiful backdrop to a beautiful town. I looked at houses there years ago. The closest I could get to Bend was about 30 miles out. And the prices are higher now!

This was an outstanding video. I don't know if you saw it when you were eating but in the dining room there is a giant ponderosa pine tree growing inside of the building and it exits out of the roof.

I lived in Bend, 77-78 when it was "the fastest growing small town in the US." Was my favorite place i ever lived, i would trout fish the Deschutes on my lunch hour.

Joe here in Perth Western Australia a suburb called Morley had the second last Blockbuster so when it closed in March 2019 the one there in Bend became the last.

I vacation a lot in Oregon. It's my favorite state. Last summer I did an Oregon Coast trip. Started in Florence, Oregon and went all the way to Astoroa, Oregon and ended my trip in Long Beach, Washington.

Fun fact bend Oregon, sees more sun than most ski resort towns ,it snows at night a lot of the time and the sun is shining while riding the mountain . It also might be the only land locked town that has a small surfboard industry with a smsll collective of shapers who love to snowboard ,Jerry lopez ( pipe master) was the first to arrive in bend ,the guy loves boarding.

Eugene is like that as well. Beautiful houses and 200 year old trees jutting out to the sky on the front lawns.

My brother made his money in the tech/financial sector in San Francisco in the late 70's, purchased land in Bend and had a VERY nice house built there. Of course, he brought his California liberal philosophy with him. He is now upset that crime and homelessness is becoming rampant in Bend. I think of it as "East little Portland." While I fled to Oregon decades later, a socioeconomic refugee from California, I took flight to a near middle-of-nowhere tiny town with conservative values that is affordable and align with my political views; little crime, "down home" values serves me well. Would I like to live in Bend? Yes, but the cost of living is insane and ever so far above my pay grade. No shootings at our grocery store.

Call someplace Paradise kiss it goodbye

Grew up in bend and now live outside seattle, whenever i go back to visit my family i'm always surprised at how expensive things are getting! Rent and houses for sale getting pretty close to seattle metro prices which just seems insane to me.

Grew up in central oregon. As a kid in the 1970’s things were cheap. My grand father paid 100.00 an acre for his land. My mom and dad and us kids lived in Bend on Boyd acres road on five acres. My dad was a supervisor for Moana Maintenance. They were the company that did all construction and maintenance on all the Northwest resorts back in the day. Bends nickname back then was “Poverty with a view” I miss the old central Oregon. As kids we played baseball in the old (Brooks Scanlon) mill yard. Now it’s a theatre and condos and homes. Very sad but time marches on.🇺🇸

Don't miss the floating rapids through the middle of the Mill District. It's full every summer of floating tubes down through town and getting out in downtown. So fun

thanks Joe and Nic beautiful town and food looks delicious 👍

I was an Ag inspector at the California border. All the people from The Bay Area were who went to Bend. Hence the cost and the wage! They went on vacation there and wanted to retire. Traveled through once, stopped at the Walmart and the prices were worst than California! Thanks

We spent our honeymoon there, 41 years ago and have been there nearly every summer since. We just got home a few hours ago from Bend! We spend as much time there as possible and living in the Portland area, it makes it very easy. We have watched it go from a tiny, 30,000 population to the near city it is today. There are so many things to do there, it's hard to imagine, especially if you like to get outside. It can be expensive to visit, but we have learned our way around that. Living there is spendy, but there are payoffs, too, like the amazing year around stuff to do and the nearly daily sunshine. Love it!! Thanks for the great video!

Beautiful. You gotta see the coast!!!! Thanks

Been visiting Bend since 1998 and moved here in 2012. Even 10 years ago, it was still a hidden gem (slowly growing larger), but when AAA featured Bend on the cover of its quarterly magazine, the end of the magic was in sight. I miss the 'biggest small town / smallest big city' that this Central Oregon haven used to be.

Clark Gable worked in the Old Mill lumber.

Go to a Walmart in Bend, and then go to a Walmart in Salem, OR. HUGE difference!!!!!! You don't have to worry about being mugged by weirdos in Bend!!

It's good to see you guys again, Nice little big town.

Been following you for some time, and great to see you in my hometown - and at our favorite tavern. Pleasant journeys!

Fun trip, beautiful town and the food looks amazing!

Note about the winters, you always need to have at least 3 weeks of food and water supply and alternative heating when living there. Most years there are a couple spells that drop so much snow or low temps you have to stay in your house and end up with cabin fever or unable to get to work without a lifted jeep and traction tires. Tire change over season happens twice a year and it is a major pain. The first year I lived there 4 feet of snow in town for over 60 days. Some winters are so bad you can't drive to Sisters, only 15 minutes away. The summer wildfires have gotten worse over the years and you can get boxed in with no evacuation. The smoke comes in your home and can be so dense they have requirements to stay inside. I sometimes think this town may end up like Paradise CA because of how they built it with cheap plastic houses lined up like matchsticks. People are also unfriendly and generally won't talk to you. Recently, you have to wait an extremely long time for service because the property management agencies drove out the service workers with excessively high rents. (more than doubling them) I literally could have stolen 12 pies at Sherri's the last time I was there just waiting for a person to show up for seating. It also happened at the nail place in the mall and at Pastini's in the Old Mill because there was only one waitress for both the inside and outside spaces.

Oregon, by the way, produces some of the best Pinot Noir grape red wine in the world outside Burgundy France. The pinot is a very finnicky grape, which requires exactly the right conditions regarding, sun, rain, terroir and craftmanship from the winemakers. Oregon seems to have the right conditions and the red wines from this region are really making headway in the world.

I make $26/hr with benefits at my day job. Side hustle pizzas at night. I have two roommates to help pay for the rent, and I'm still sinking. I guess I'm considered poor 😂 especially with thousands in student debt for degrees that won't lead anywhere now.

Bend is very nice! I love the downtown and homes. Enjoyed the Blockbuster tour. A trip down memory lane. The river in opening shots is gorgeous! Would definitely visit. Looking forward to Salem.

love your videos and Restaurant visits

Oh my goodness, how many beautiful memories came flooding back when you went into that blockbuster. Absolutely love it, thank you for sharing.

That food was looked excellent especially what joe had and that desert yummmmmy 🤗...even the salad just looked quality and fresh...

What an informative video! Thank you for sharing

Great video, I love all of the history you mixed in. My wife and I moved to Bend 2 years ago and we love it.

Honolulu is another US city that has a volcano (Diamond Head)

Thanks Joe and nic ❤...THE FOOD LOOKS GOOD 😊

Enjoyed the view the landscape was awesome especially the mountains and trees.❤️👍👍

Downtown Bend reminds me of Old Town Pasadena. Looks like the city did a good job of keeping the place in character and scale.

Beautiful town. I love the old small houses. ❤

the tax in on property owners...you should start reporting property taxes on average on the medium home prices you list

Love the old houses! I own an old house. Way out in the country. In Texas. I have a wooden bridge in my driveway. It was built in 1910. Grew up in a Victorian Gingerbrèad. Older homes with craftsmanship & character. That appetizer looked like a delicious meal to me, 😋 yummy.❤

Another great video. You guys have nice taste in restaurants/taverns. That meal looked yummy.

Thank you for this video very beautiful and exciting place especially that cozy alley ❤🙂

I used to drive thru Bend when I was a trucker. It always smelled like juniper. Thought I might move there one day. Out of reach now.

605 congress is just a few bucks away from 3 mil. Such a deal. I wasn't hungry until towards the end of this video dagnabbit. Thanks for another great trip.

I lived here of 4 wonderful years. We moved back to the I-5 valley because we could not afford living there anymore. Our landlord made everyone stop using their fireplace and was raising the rent by $75 every 10 months, we were priced out as most who lived there was. It is a wonderful town when the until intitled Californians show up. The town goes from 90,000 to 150,000 and the visitors are mostly obnoxious. Horne start honking and bad driving and behaviors from May until September. When they go back home one can feel the calming traffic, claiming noise and calming ambiance. I'm is a wonderful town from September until May. Winters can be mild or snowy. Great skiing. Good restaurants (expensive), cool shops, great micro-brews! It is great for young rich kids and rich retired people. Otherwise one has to live in Madras or Prineville. I loved Bend, but I got priced out like all the natives.

We moved from Bend (Redmond) a couple of years ago and I miss it! Central Oregon is a beautiful place with so much to offer. You made a good choice eating at Pine Tavern - it is so good. Next time try Zydeco’s, and the food truck lot “The Bite”. I wish you had visited Sisters, which is right next to Bend. Cutest little town ever. Thanks for featuring Bend!

I’m glad you made it up to Bend. I was hoping you were going to visit Deschutes Brewery, but you hit all the other highlights of Bend. I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Great video by the way, I always appreciate your content.

that house 605 NW Congress St., $2,999,997. 4bed 4bath 5,674sqft. pictures of the backyard and inside of the house is beautiful.

What a beautiful town. I am so amazed by the range of places you’ve taken us to - from ghost towns to this gorgeous place. Safe travels.

That food looked real good !! Have fun !!

There was no tax on your bill because we have no sales tax here in Oregon, although some small communities charge a sales tax, especially on the coast. We have a quite high income tax instead. CA refugee here, good real estate deals can still be had in rural areas, which I sought anyway. Not as good as when I bought in '10, but relative to bigger cities, what I'd call good deals. BTW, it's not only Californians who moved to Oregon, jacking up prices, although native Oregonians blame them. I know just as many who have moved from the East Coast or Midwest-NY, MA, OH, FL, UT, MT and other states.

Hello from the shores of the Hudson Bay, Canada. I really enjoy going on your trips with you and Nic! 🙂

I grew up in Oregon and most of it in Bend. Guess where i can't afford to live 😂😂😂 my family now lives in the Midwest because it's so dang expensive everywhere in Oregon, but especially bend

Funny- I just drove from the Willamette Valley to Boca Chica Texas and back for the eclipse! Welcome to Oregon! Glad you found the Blockbuster.

Done a few road trips from the bay area to the Gorge in Washington . Bend was cheap about a decade ago , house on land for about 150k . Things have changed . I remember passing a ghost town just north of there .

Nice place in the 60's and 70's. Just like San Luis Obispo, which was a great place back in the day. I have no idea what Bend is like today. I assume the traffic is terrible, as they have no freeway -- well at least some years ago. Cannot imagine how many people live in Bend these days.

Beautiful but booshee. Fun for a long weekend 😁🍺

you can't beat the Selkirk Loop, north Wa, Idaho and BC cool towns and great people!

I loved living in Bend and Redmond growing up. I miss it sometimes.

Beautiful place nice trave Joey

Another great video❤❤❤

Did you skip Crater Lake?? It's amazing!!🎉

Sisters Oregon’ s Plentiful Shops are really nice, many high end. The accommodations are very nice too!

Had to watch this because the title was “Bend, Oregon”. Most of my favourite KZfaqrs are from there! So it was nice to see the place. The Tower reminds me of Palace in downtown Calgary. Both were 🎥 theatres at one point.

The outdoor seating in the alley reminds me of Melbourne, Australia. They have the same, lots of coffee shops and restaurants...very trendy.

Know area well live 90 miles away excellent video 😊

Great video...nice city !

Thanks for this video!

Oh yes, I know the area in and around Bend is very beautiful country. I live in western Oregon and we went there about 2 or 3 years ago. There was a park to the south of Bend that was nice to go to. A lot of volcanic features around there. Also, another one, I think to the east of Bend, called Smith Rock. That place was nice as well. I really like Bend, but, yes, like you said, it's a very expensive place to live.

Looks like a really nice place. I'm not a fan of deserts but that town/city I would visit. Someday I'll get over to Oregon and spend time driving around. Someday.

Was waiting for you and Wifey. Actually my hubby and I was waiting for you. We don't miss a beat. I been in Bend. Iam up there by Tacoma. Didn't know they still got a Blockbuster.

G,day Nic and Joe from Sydney Australia. The residential building architecture in your video, very Californian bungalow. A style that gained popularity here in the 1930s along with the log wall bungalows. I did once know the architect's name. 🌏🇦🇺

Welcome to Oregon! I live in a town about 30 miles west of Portland.

Fantastic and beautiful place. The houses were amazing and I couldn't believe it when I saw an Irish flag flying from the top window of one of the houses! I was born in the states but have lived most of my life in Ireland. So unusual to see that flag. Thank you again for a great video.

That kind of seating in the alley sprang up during Covid on West Coast. It’s all over Northern CA as well. Their called parklets.

That Pine Tavern final tally - for 2 people - was obscene. 5 years ago, a happy hour priced hamburger plus fries was $4.95.