3.4.23 // "How do you like Bend?"

"How do you like Bend?
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I've been asked this a good bit since moving here, and while I love to wax poetically about my time here, I want to be direct in my experience so far.
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I love living in Bend.
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It's surreal because I hadn't loved where I lived (besides my short stint in Chamonix, France in 2021) since 2017, when I first moved to San Francisco, California. And if I'm candid, it feels scary to say I love living here- it feels vulnerable and it makes me wonder if I admit it, then will I lose it? But it's true, I love living here, and this has been my experience so far...
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The sunshine is endless. According to locals, this has been the "gloomiest" winter in recent years. But comparatively, this feels like the brightest, and clearest, winter for me. Most days are sunny, some days are cloudy (epic clouds with the most stunning colors woven into their tapestry), and a few days it's snowed (light and powdery snow that squeaks when you put down fresh tracks and feels like sand when you pick it up).
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The food here is fantastic for the size of the town. The locally made goods, the coffee shops, the restaurants, but especially the grocery stores... For example, Tony's Chocolonely (a Dutch brand that raises awareness around slavery and child labor) is a Bend staple? Almost every grocery store has bars of their chocolate AND they have a flavor that I struggled to find even when I was in Amsterdam, Tony's home market?! If you're ever looking for a sign that you're in the right place, trust the chocolate gods...
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The people here are kind. It's a regular occurrence that I talk to strangers in grocery stores. I even know my mailman's name, he also knows Scout and every neighborhood dog. I've met some really rad women (thanks IG for redeeming yourself) who exude the kindness, openness and care that Bend itself just seems to radiate.
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But I think one of the biggest reasons I love Bend so much is that I picked Bend.
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And I picked Bend for me. It felt right when I came through in the fall and I trusted my intuition and knowing. For the first time in my life, I moved for me, not for a job, a man, or some other external factor. I chose Bend for me.