Is Madras a good place for climbers to live?

I'm moving back to the Pacific Northwest after about a decade of school/work in other parts of the country at some point in the not too distant future, and I'm trying to figure out where I want to move to.

I've been pro/conning a number of cities in Oregon and Washington, and have come up with the following:

Portland:
-Good culture
-Good food
-My family lives there
-A bit further from climbing
-Rainy

Seattle:
-Similar to Portland, but...
-Rainier
-A bit closer to climbing
-I've heard the people are less friendly
-Lots of traffic

Bend:
-Fun, small-ish city
-Close to climbing (Smith)
-Short growing season

All of those places are also expensive places to get a house. Bend seems the most promising, but my partner wants to garden extensively, and I'm a bit worried about the short growing season in Bend. Madras seems like a good alternative, being a bit further from the mountains and warmer, with good climbing access. However, I've never spent any significant amounts of time there.

Is Madras a good city for climbers to live in? Does it have a decent climbing community, or do most central Oregon climbers just live in Bend? Alternately, are there any other well-regarded cities to live in close to Bend, but not in it?

Do you like crack climbing?? If yes, then Madras would be hard to beat with Trout Creek as your backyard crag(August to Jan when it's not closed for the birdies). Smith Rock is climbable year-round (hot in summer though) and has enough variety to keep almost anyone entertained for a very long time. You will be close-ish to other crags around Mt'hood and near Portland, and the Washington Cascades are a short 5 or 6 hours away. Having recently moved to Redmond I would recommend the area. I can't imagine there are many climbers living in Madras or that the culture is all that stimulating, but the whole area is growing so that may stand to change.

I can't speak to how happy/unhappy you will be in the smaller places, but Madras will still be a short season climate for gardening. Madras is 70 something frost free days, Bend is 50 something, The Dalles is 170 something, and Portland, you can grow something all winter.

One thing to look into, almost anywhere in the West, is the cost of water. That can be a real limit to gardening now, unfortunately.

Best, Helen (in Boise)

Madras is super small and there's not much going on there. They do have a badass skatepark though. I'd recommend Redmond. Not as pricy as Bend. Smith in your backyard, and a 45min drive to Trout. Still close enough to Bend for a bit of culture.

About Seattle traffic...one thing to consider is that their infrastructure is far superior to Portland and though the volume of traffic is heavy, it's been my experience that it's much easier to get around. Having worked in both downtown Seattle and Portland a lot, I've always found commuting through Seattle smoother and less frustrating. That aside, if my job didn't keep me in the city, I would move to Madras, Terrebonne or Redmond in a heartbeat.

Madras has lots of rock climbing 15 min from down town. But not many climbers. Most commercial gardens are in green houses. Prices of housing is 1/3 of Bend.

You got me to add my climbing area: here is the link

mountainproject.com/v/willo…

Madras is very small and hodunk which is not necessarily a bad thing, but its something you should consider. Another thing you might care about is that the nearest climbing gym would be in bend (~1.5 hours away). Personally I would rather move to Redmond if I was looking to live in the area, but didn't want to put up with Bend.