Bend. Linn, mille pärast siia kesk-Oregoni kolisime. Kodust vähem kui tunniajase autosõidu kaugusel. Kõnekas fakt on, et 80ndate alul oli Bendis vähem kui 20.000 residenti, tänaseks aga üle 80.000.
Bend on värske, kiire, vabameelne, maitsev, moodne, sõbralik. VÄGA sõbralik. Parkisime, ullikesed, auto liiga kauaks kahetunnisesse parkimisalasse. Klaasipuhastaja vahel rohelist ümbrikku nähes vajusid näod pikaks - trahv! Aga ei. Ei olnud trahv. Üksnes hoiatus. Meil ju veel New Mexico numbrid, 'turistidele' täie rauaga ei lajatata. Inimlik! Ning peatänaval pakkus kamp toredaid noori inimesi kõigile soovijatele  tasuta kallistusi. "FREE HUGS' seisis suurelt sildil. Restoranides serveeritakse vett veinipudelites:)
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Bend is the town what made us move to that particular area in Central Oregon. It's fresh, hip, busy, liberal, tasty, friendly town. Group of young people offered free hugs on the corners of main street. Traffic warden gave us just a warning for parking too long on 2 hr parking lot. Because of our NM number plates, obviously. Tourists get special treatment. In the restaurants, water is served in wine bottles:)

/.../ Not so long ago, what is now the most entrepreneurial city in America was nearly a ghost town. The timber industry had crashed, and it was the only industry that Bend, Ore., had. Two of the biggest pine mills in the world, and one had closed and one was about to close. In 1979, when the population was less than 20,000. But it was a beautiful place. Sunny days, crisp nights. It's the kind of place people come to just because they want to be there. And now there's a network of talented people who've done exactly that.
These days, Bend's population is nudging 80,000. There are still rolling hills and mountain vistas, but they share space with a business community that might be the most eclectic -- and fastest-growing -- of any similarly sized city in America.
Bend is humming with new ideas, businesses and capital. You can smell it in the air. The diversity of people bringing businesses here is astounding. A community of big brains, here because they want to be./..../ " Read more: 
09/05/2014