Do you remember being a kid, when everything about the holidays felt huge?

Christmas didn't just arrive—it loomed. Presents showed up under the tree weeks in advance. There were cookies you only ate once a year. Fancy fruit boxes no one bought any other time. Pears. Grapefruits. Pralines. The whole thing felt cinematic.

In my family, there was one Christmas that has since become a piece of permanent family lore.

I was about six years old, and my aunt and uncle had placed a present for me under the tree that was—without question—the largest gift in the room. My six-year-old brain went into overdrive. This thing was massive. It had to be incredible. I spent weeks mentally opening it.

Christmas morning finally arrived. We took turns opening gifts. When it was my turn, I made a beeline for the box.

I tore it open.

And in a moment that still makes me cringe a little… I loudly exclaimed:

"A pogo stick."

Not thank you.
Not wow.
Just: a pogo stick.

I can still picture the look on my aunt and uncle's faces.

That line became a punchline in our family for years.

Here's the part that matters, though: I absolutely loved that pogo stick. I used it constantly. When you're a kid in suburbia, and you've already ridden your bike, thrown a ball, and annoyed everyone inside the house, hopping up and down the driveway on a pogo stick is a surprisingly perfect way to burn time and energy.

What felt underwhelming in the moment turned out to be something I enjoyed for years.

Which brings me to Bend.

Chances are, if you're thinking about moving here, you didn't discover Bend on a random Tuesday in February. You visited as a tourist. Maybe more than once.

You came for an epic ski weekend. Or a Fourth of July river float. Or that stretch of fall when the colors flip, and everything feels impossibly crisp. You stayed in a great Airbnb. You ate whatever you wanted. You drank whatever you wanted. Your kids were exhausted—in the best way—by the end of each day and slept like champions.

That version of Bend is real. And it's incredible.

But it's not the whole story.

When Bend becomes your everyday, everyday life shows up too. School drop-offs. Grocery runs. Commutes. Cold mornings when the river looks amazing but you've got responsibilities. Some challenges that existed wherever you lived before… and a few that are brand new.

That doesn't mean moving here is the wrong decision.

In fact, for many people, it's exactly the right one.

Because when you live here, you don't lose access to the good stuff—you gain more of it. You can ski on a random weekday. Float the river after work. Sneak in a quick ride or hike without planning a whole vacation around it. The access compounds.

The key is making decisions that align real life with the version of Bend you actually want to live.

That means thinking about things most weekend trips never reveal:

• The right school fit for your kids

• How close you want to be to downtown versus trails or river access

• Whether you love dense pine trees or prefer the high-desert feel of sage and juniper

• Walkability, golf access, neighborhood personality

• The subtle—but very real—differences between Bend's micro-neighborhoods

Those details matter. A lot.

And they're hard to understand unless you've made the jump yourself.

Sometimes what looks like a giant, perfect gift from the outside doesn't land the way you expect at first. And sometimes the thing you weren't sure about ends up being exactly what works—day after day, year after year.

If you're thinking about making Bend more than a weekend destination, I'm always happy to talk through what that actually looks like—honestly, practically, and without the brochure gloss.

Because Bend is incredible.

But it's even better when it actually feels like home.