Thanks for watching and sharing :-)

I think the “lack of diversity” isn’t really nearly as bad as similar rural states. Your region brings in a true melting pot of individuals from all over the world and country. Any lack of diversity is made up for by the eclectic range of personalities and true individualism that is rare to find in other places in the nation.

I am glad you are enjoying them, thanks for watching! We without doubt, feel very spoiled living here!

Hi Julie, Thank you, I am happy to hear they may have been of some help :) You pose an interesting question. Without doubt we are in a walkable small community with luxuries normally reserved for vacations and larger communities and nature surrounds us in all directions. I have been to Hood River and Bend each a few times, but neither more than that. Hood River is a fun walkable town with a great vibe, food and drinks, with hiking surrounding them. When I have been there it has happened to always be on very windy and rainy days, but I believe wind is common as they are a HUGE area for wind surfers (fun to watch). I believe their weather is very similar to ours in McMinnville yet with more chances of snow. Bend I have been in both winter and summer and luckily always caught sunny weather. IF you love the outdoors, Bend is amazing for everything you can think of outside during all seasons. They do have more of a 4 season year compared to McMinnville as they def have snowy winters.... going skiing there though, the one thing I always notice is the sun is out shining on the snow! McMinnville winters are more overcast with clouds more than sun. I am not familiar with triggers for depression other than when living in AK, the darkness effected people if they did not use UV lamps and keep very active. I know the grey has always been a hard adjustment for me personally and I do take trips every few months to soak in sun for a couple of days to break up the winter months between Nov and March which for me makes a world of difference (though I am also a person that loves to travel and hates sitting in one place too long!) The three areas are very different feels, I would definitely suggest an exploration trip and would honestly suggest in the winter to really give you the true feel of what the hardest time of the year could be.