Opportunities to stress out some more.

If you take what visitors say at face value, downtown Bend really does impress them. That really can't be denied. Whether what they see is what they would get if they actually moved to Bend, is a whole nother thing.

But superficially, at least, Bend is very attractive to them.

I found it interesting that the Rademacher house was precluded from renting out to a clothing store, unless they had tons of experience and credit references. Well, clothing stores are only the most ubiquitous of downtown stores; but there are obviously several other types of businesses that we seem to have a surfeit of; high end restaurants would be another.

The rents are too high for anyone to really make money, I think. But I think the commercial real estate may finally be at a bit of a tipping point. I could possibly buy a building that wouldn't cost all that much more per foot than renting the same space would cost. Even at the beginning. The big payoffs would come further down the road, of course, because the rents are bound to keep going up over the years, and I'd be locked into a price.

I know how I would do it. What I would do. I'm pretty sure I could succeed.

However, what do I need the stress for? Why should I gamble?

I know from the experience of opening 5 stores and closing 3 stores, that it would cost more, take longer, and be incredibly stressful. I'd be a stress puppy for months, if not years.

On the other hand, my downtown store is finally functioning the way I've always wanted it to function. I should probably just take my winnings and go home, so to speak.

It's tempting, but I'm trying to focus on the consequences -- even if I succeeded. That kind of challenge used to really get my juices flowing -- but now I just remember how tiring it all was.

If I was younger, if I was more technically adept, if I had a bit more wiggle room financially, I'd be more likely to try. One of these days, the perfect opportunity may come along. But until then, I think I'm better off sitting tight.