Bend ranked second in nation for moderates

A new poll from livibility.com claims Bend is the 2nd best city in that nation to live if you’re a centrist.

The relocation website weighed factors like representative ratings in this area, the latest presidential election and how residents self-rate themselves politically.

“I think it’s relatively centrist,” Jeff Eager, NewsChannel 21’s political analyst and former Bend mayor, said Wednesday. “I think it’s diverse, politically.”

Eager says the poll could be more of a reflection of that diversity.

“You’ve got some conservatives and liberals, and when you average them out it’s in the middle,” Eager said.

In the end, he says most people move to Bend for the lifestyle, not necessarily the political environment.

“I think there’s a lot of correlation now between political choices and lifestyle choices,” said Matt Carmichael, editor of Livability.com.

That’s why the website did not stop with politics.

“We also looked at consumer preferences,” Carmichael said.

They picked products that conservatives and liberals skew toward.

“So for car brands, conservatives were more likely to drive Buicks and liberals were more likely to drive Suburus,” Carmichael said.

The poll found Bendites typically vote conservatively in large elections, but liberally on issues like the environment, health care and civil rights.

The poll also says Bendites are most likely to drive Suburus, shop at REI, watch The Bachelorette and read Good Housekeeping.

They also ranked the top conservative and liberal cities – check them all out at http://livability.com/community/these-are-best-cities-liberals-conservatives-and-centrists