Newest Bend salute: No. 4 on ‘Men’s Journal’ top 10

Bend is no stranger to “best of” lists of every kind around the country, and it just made another one, in the new issue of “Men’s Journal,” where it comes in at No. 4 among the “10 Best Places to Live Now.”

Bend ranks just behind Portland on the list — not the one in Oregon, but in Maine — and behind San Francisco on a list topped by Ventura, California and Nashville, Tennessee.

“Start a business, surf on your lunch break, buy your dream home — here are 10 cities and towns where life is good,” the introduction says. (See the list at: http://www.mensjournal.com/expert-advice/the-10-best-places-to-live-now-20150312)

The part about Bend says it’s easy for folks elsewhere in the country pondering the “hazy green vista” of Oregon “to forget that half of the state is desert. It’s the other Oregon, and Bend is its bustling metropolis.”

Among other points, it says the former logging town “is sunny and mild all year round. It’s connected to millions of acres of wilderness by a network of running, hiking, biking, and ski trails that range from the Deschutes River, through town, up onto Mount Bachelor, and out into the wild, arid plateau of Central Oregon along the Oregon Desert Trail.”

There’s a mention of Smith Rock, of course, as well as Class V whitewater and abundant fishing opportunities “close to town.”

“The thing is, and this is key, the people who live in Bend actually do all these things — getting outside is built into the routine of daily life, along with work, family, and community,” the magazine wrote, going on to quote a pretty famous 15-15-year resident — pro cyclist Chris Horner, who says, “You can do it all here. I just hop on my bike and go. You’re always close to downtown, but you can get out of town in five minutes.”

It’s not all PR bullet points — the article goes on to note that in Bend, “the job market is limited; tourism, a nearby medical center, and Les Schwab Tires are the major employers.”

“But there’s a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, from outdoor-oriented start-ups like HydroFlask to the micro-artisanal, with athletes, artists, and craftspeople finding ways to get by in paradise,” the article states.

“We’re really creating a unique culture,” says Paul Arney, a refugee from Seattle and founder of Paul Arney’s Ale Apothecary, which Men’s Journal calls “a tiny sour-beer lab half-hidden in pine forest a few minutes outside of town.”

He says, “Where I’m from was just work, work, work. In Bend, your job and career are important, but there are all these other things — creativity, family, getting outside — that are equally important.”