redmond usa

I grew up in a small affluent town called Danville just 40 miles east of San Francisco and now I live in an even smaller town called Redmond. It's the kind of town most people in Danville would just as soon forget. But it's my home.
Redmond's been known in the past as the fastest growing city in Oregon, but it's not like that really. The scale of growth is probably extraordinary for someone who grew up here, but I think of growth in this small town as a blessing.
It means more restaurants, more bookstores, more interesting people - people already living here probably don't see the need.

Redmond is the big city compared to Prineville or Madras - it's all about perspective, that's all.
But I see something akin to Danville about 17 miles south of Redmond in Bend, which is where is more commonly known to the outside world.
I wonder what people who live in San Francisco or London would think about a place like Redmond. There's not much to do here in the classic, 25 to 35-year old sense of things to do.
There are no museums, people watching places, no places to spend any time or money. But that's okay, because I have neither time nor money.
All I have is my imagination.
Would someone who saw where I lived suppose that I am wasting my life, wasting my time?
I don't know, but I would have to say they would be wrong.
I have lived in some interesting places, like Madison, Wisc., Arcata, Calif., Seattle, Wash and Osaka, Japan. I would like to live somewhere else again someday, but there's nothing wrong with staying in one place for awhile. And while I'm at it, I might as well get to know the place where I live.
Because there are universalities of man that can be discovered and applied to life wherever you go. And Redmond is pretty much an interesting place to be. It's not like there's nothing happening here.
I've always thought I could live anywhere thanks to my ability to read, write and wonder.
What's going to happen in Redmond, Prineville, Madras, Sisters? I think Bend has already taken shape as far as what it wants to be. The same cannot be said for any other Central Oregon city.
My job keeps me busy. I've established a broad net of understanding with Redmond at the center of it all.
Today, I went to Sunriver, yesterday Prineville, Tuesday and Wednesday I spent in Redmond. Monday in Bend. Last Friday in Madras.
It's a holy circle that I believe will eventually make me understand the people of this region better than anyone else.
Redmond is at the geographic center, equidistant to all.
It is the place that most reminds me of the majority of the U.S. - proud of its decency, not too showy, down-to-earth Redmond. There's no pretense here. It's Flag City USA and Tree City USA and the proud supporter of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter all rolled up into one.
There's local excitement brewing up again about the emergence of downtown Redmond, but I'm not sure I'm buying it yet. I mean really, it's great to see a new bookstore, but two?
And how is the reroute going to help downtown businesses other than to take drive through traffic away ?????
That's what i love about owning a house in Redmond. Christ nobody knows how this market is going to play itself out. We could be talking about whether we're in a depression let alone a recession a year from now.
but I will have a firsthand eye on the entirety of the region, not just Bend, during my time here. I will speak face-to-face with merchants in all the cities of Central Oregon, not just one part of it.
And I will see answers to these questions as they happen in the next 12 to 18 months. Because nothing is inevitable. Anything is possible, and likely.