Entrepreneur Magazine has a glowing article on Bend, touting us as the next Boulder or Austin. Do we really want to be the next Boulder or Austin?
Actually, the article made me shudder. Full of Californians bringing their blessings to the Hinterlands.
Besides, this magazine is a very dubious magazine in my eyes. Really. Always touting the next thing (that really is already on it's unsustainable way out) (Balloon shops, anyone? Scrap-booking? How about Pottery-painting? Hey, you can't lose!) with no regard to the poor saps who believe them.
So considering the source, I'd have to call this a puff piece.
Color me skeptical that we are getting huge numbers of these high-tech immigrants (over and beyond what towns like Salem, Eugene, Ashland, etc. are getting.) Color me even more skeptical about the amount of money -- local money -- they are generating for themselves and for the Bend economy.
Still.
Somethings happening.
I mean, it could be worse. They could not be coming at all.
Combine this with the article in the Bulletin about outsiders buying up cheap land (and buying inexpensive housing on it -- contradicts, slightly, the high-tech immigrant message, eh?) and you'd have to say that Bend probably isn't going backward.
I think there was a lot of damage done in Bend with the underwater houses, but it seemed to be smoothed over by our retirement and tourist industries.
It answers the question all us bubble bloggers had about the effect of the Great Recession. Buster thought the town would hollow out. I felt we might see a slight population decline and a lot of downtown stores failing.
What I didn't see is that there would be more stores opening downtown than closing -- and if I hadn't been keeping my "Downtown Comings and Goings" list, I probably still wouldn't believe it.
But I did allow as to how I thought there might be enough momentum to get us to the other side. I thought there would be more of a hole in the middle -- certainly, there were significant drops in my sales at the stores for a few years, but we seem to be recovering. Our sales this year will be below the height, but not by that much. (Of course, I think it's because of the resurgence in comics, and the additions of New Books and Boardgames, still...)
We will be at least 20% over last year again this month. That will be 14 months in a row.
Actually, the article made me shudder. Full of Californians bringing their blessings to the Hinterlands.
Besides, this magazine is a very dubious magazine in my eyes. Really. Always touting the next thing (that really is already on it's unsustainable way out) (Balloon shops, anyone? Scrap-booking? How about Pottery-painting? Hey, you can't lose!) with no regard to the poor saps who believe them.
So considering the source, I'd have to call this a puff piece.
Color me skeptical that we are getting huge numbers of these high-tech immigrants (over and beyond what towns like Salem, Eugene, Ashland, etc. are getting.) Color me even more skeptical about the amount of money -- local money -- they are generating for themselves and for the Bend economy.
Still.
Somethings happening.
I mean, it could be worse. They could not be coming at all.
Combine this with the article in the Bulletin about outsiders buying up cheap land (and buying inexpensive housing on it -- contradicts, slightly, the high-tech immigrant message, eh?) and you'd have to say that Bend probably isn't going backward.
I think there was a lot of damage done in Bend with the underwater houses, but it seemed to be smoothed over by our retirement and tourist industries.
It answers the question all us bubble bloggers had about the effect of the Great Recession. Buster thought the town would hollow out. I felt we might see a slight population decline and a lot of downtown stores failing.
What I didn't see is that there would be more stores opening downtown than closing -- and if I hadn't been keeping my "Downtown Comings and Goings" list, I probably still wouldn't believe it.
But I did allow as to how I thought there might be enough momentum to get us to the other side. I thought there would be more of a hole in the middle -- certainly, there were significant drops in my sales at the stores for a few years, but we seem to be recovering. Our sales this year will be below the height, but not by that much. (Of course, I think it's because of the resurgence in comics, and the additions of New Books and Boardgames, still...)
We will be at least 20% over last year again this month. That will be 14 months in a row.