Bend sucks, don’t move here. 

Stickers with this iconic trademark can be found all across Bend: on the backs of cars or sitting on the shelves at Newport Market. Bendites do not try to hide their disdain for the continual influx of tourists arriving, especially not in the comments of Forbes Magazine’s recent Instagram post nominating Bend as the “#1 Coolest Place to Travel to.” Though many cities experience rapid growth, a lot of long-term residents of Bend are unhappy about the fact that the small town they used to grow up in has now become a nonstop growing town of out of state residents.

On December 18, 2021 Forbes made a post on Instagram that had shaken up many locals in Bend. Bendites from all walks of life teamed up on the Forbes instagram page following the post, making satirical comments about Bend in hopes of deterring tourists from putting it on the top of their “destination bucket lists”.

Franny Rogers, a Bend native and former Summit student, is critical of Forbes’ nomination of Bend, fearing it will have a negative effect on the locals. 

“I believe Bend is a tourist trap and has been somewhat tainted by the influx of people,” Rogers said. “What attracts those to Bend ends up ruining it all for those choosing to live in Bend because of the overpopulation of Bend once small kept areas.”

Rogers joined in on the Instagram post by commenting: “Don’t move to Bend, nobody wants you here.”

Bend’s nomination to the Forbes list is due in part to “Black Tomato”. This luxury travel company has their own opinions that the “talented, artistic community” of Bend is what makes the area so unique. However, there seems to be a disconnect between the travel sector and what Bendites actually want. Travel sectors seem to think that the locals want more tourists, so that out-of -state residents can see the beauty of Bend, and possibly decide to stay. 

Bend residents want the complete opposite, however, as all they want is for there to be less tourists, so they can still afford to live in the small city of Bend, Oregon. The National Association of Realtors in Oregon predict that the housing prices will climb 5.7% in 2022. 

“I honestly don’t think Bend deserves to be #1. Bend is absolutely breathtaking with all the mountains and the landscape, but I think there’s so many other gorgeous areas to visit,” said Summit senior Lucia Picarazzi.

Summit students, akin to Picarazzi, shared their voices on the page by working together to deter tourists from Oregon. 

“Bend is in the top ten worst places. I don’t know what these guys are talking about,” said Summit junior Harry Hobin, under the Forbes instagram post.

“Actually Bend sucks, the people are mean and the food is bad. So much crime you’ll probably die in the streets if you go I bet. Take my word for it,” said a former Summit student Chelsea Davies.

“Bend is NOT cool,” said Summit student Sophia Rodriguez.

“I like my small town,” said Summit student Cass Smith.

Bend, Oregon is already so overpopulated specifically in schools. Summit High School was only expecting to have 1492 students in 2022, but now is overflowing with1575 students. With people moving in and out of state, it’s changing the way locals live their lives in Bend. Having more and more people move here makes house prices increase, making it harder for families to find a home. There has been a 13% rise in the homeless population. In December 2021, the median listing home price in Bend was $755k, which has now increased 20.8% year after year as more residents move to Oregon.

This year in central Oregon there have been 1,098 homeless people compared to last year with 969 last year, according to Deschutes County. The more people that move here, the more people that can’t afford to live in Bend anymore. 

Forbes magazine has made it clear that out of state residents should visit and stay. However, if you want to disrespect any aspect of the town then locals have a suggestion: Don’t move here.