J&A Burbank wrote:
So let me understand this Wes, It's ok to come from another state but if
you're from Ca. it's not ok??????
Hmmmmmmm Where's the logic there???
Not D&R
It's okay to come from California, just check your attitude at the door.
The anti-California sentiment might be hard to understand unless you live in a place like Bend's home Deschutes County which is something like the 11th fastest growing county in the USA. The city population has jumped from 19,000 to 55,000 in the 12 years we have lived here. The 'metro' area has done an equally jolting jump to around 150,000 people.
Californians escape their congestion, noise, pollution and crime by selling a 1200 sq. ft. house in California for $450,000 and buying a 10-acre ranch with 3,000 sq. ft. house in the Bend area for 500,000. The demand for housing is such that real estate values have skyrocketed forcing long time residents to lose their property due to the increased tax burden. The demands on water have reached the point where the City of Bend comes close during summer days to not having enough water to fight any fire that would erupt in town.
The explosion in population has seriously stressed the economy of the state. Local governments are at a loss to expand facilities and services to accommodate such a rapid population increase. The local community college library hasn't bought a new book in two years, has closed all the regional branch campuses, has pared instructional offerings down to only classes that require a textbook to teach (goodbye auto mechanics, nursing, music, etc.). Local school systems have had to release 5,300 employees due to budget shortfalls. The solution of course is higher taxes.
Oregon now has the highest unemployment rate in the US.
Californians love the lack of congestion on the roads and the fact they no longer have a 60-minute commute, but they fail to notice that their presence has increased the traffic levels to an unbelievable level in what had been a quiet town. The solution of course is to level more trees, build more expensive road projects, and open up more land for more development. Six months after the major road construction is completed, the roads are just as congested as ever.
Californians (and I am painting with a broad brush here, granted) carry around this attitude that they have vested privileges and demands that must be met by local government and other residents. These Golden State expatriates think they are the best thing to ever happen to Oregon. They have changed local and state government from what was a balanced, give-and-take electorate to predominately conservative Republican.
Many of the developers in town are California-based...they get their money but don't have to live with the consequences. The area is quickly changing to match what Californians left, not retain the character that brought other people here.
Oregon has a lot of protections in place: restrictive zoning, 100% public beaches, lots of public lands, extensive public rights on water that runs through private land, growth controls, systems development charges (inadequate and battled tooth and nail by developers), and a traditional Oregonian-with-an-attitude stance on conservation and environmental attitudes...
But it's been a losing cause, and not just here. It's like California took one giant step inland all over the west. You'll find this situation in many, many towns in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. The worse the California economy, Silicon Valley prospects, and earthquakes get, the worse the problem becomes in the neighboring states.
Why are immigrants from other states more readily accepted? Many are coming to Oregon from Idaho and Washington, and these folks have a closer relation to and understanding of rural values. They can relate more to blending in and becoming like the locals. They also don't stress the real estate and tax values because, often, the real estate values in their state are comparable or less.
Oregonians used to sport a bumper stick that said: 'Don't Californicate Oregon'. There's a lot of truth in that statement.
Wes Wada Bend, OR
