Moving to The Dalles: what I tell friends who ask
When friends from the west side ask me about moving here, I give them the same three answers every time.
The sun is real
The Dalles sits past the Cascade rain shadow, which means we get real summers and far more clear days than Portland or even Hood River, twenty minutes west. People move here for jobs or family and then stay for the weather. Nobody warns you how much it changes your habits: you cook outside more, you walk the river more, your winter feels shorter.
The money goes further, for now
Hood River prices climbed years ago. The Dalles still lets a first-time buyer or a growing family get a real house with a yard, and my own closings this past year, from the mid 400s to the high 600s, tell that story better than any brochure. If you want the specific numbers, ask me and I will show you what actually sold on which street.
It is a town, not a suburb
Wasco County seat, a working downtown with murals and good coffee, the Cherry Festival every April, Friday games in the fall. When I write that I was born and raised here, that is not a marketing line: my clients run into my old teachers at the grocery store.
Thinking about the move? Send me a note through the contact page and tell me what your life needs to look like. I will tell you honestly whether The Dalles fits it.
