With three women in my family, I’m well aware that Ben Higgins is this season’s heart throb handing out roses on The Bachelor. Currently he lives and works in Denver, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to go house-hunting in Lake Oswego. Here’s why.
1. He grew up on a lake. Last week Ben took his final six prospects to his hometown of Warsaw, Indiana which is nestled around four lakes: Pike, Hidden, Center and Winona—the one his parents live on. Hopping on a boat to travel from one end of town to his parent’s dock seemed natural to him, as it does to my kids who great up on Lake Oswego.
2. He is honing in on a local girl from neighboring West Linn and rumor has it she may be the last one left standing as he gets down on his knee. Although Lauren Bushnell currently lives in Marina del Rey, she grew up in West Linn, a mere five miles from Lake Oswego (and her grandfather actually works with me at the Hasson Company). Which means Ben will be visiting her hometown in this week’s episode and rumor has it she’ll show him Lake Oswego. If he doesn’t fall in love with Lauren, he’s got to fall in love with Lake Oswego!
3. He loves small towns. I don’t watch the show but my wife corralled me when she saw how much Warsaw reminded her of Lake Oswego. Ben’s eyes lit up when he arrived in his hometown—you could tell his roots run deep and he valued the kind of lifestyle and sense of community Warsaw gave him. Lake Oswego would offer the same.
4. He also likes the big city. Ben also took one of the remaining contestants to Chicago, another one of his favorite places to be. Luckily for Ben, Lake Oswego is only 12 miles away from Portland—much closer than Warsaw is from Chicago. He could catch a Trailblazer game (okay, I know he’s a Cubs fan but hopefully we could woo him) and be back home much sooner than he would have from a Cubs game.
5. He wouldn’t have to give up some of the things he remembers about Warsaw. As I scrolled through what Warsaw offers, I couldn’t help but compare it to Lake Oswego.
●They have an art fair in June—we have the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts.
●They have an Exotic Car Show—we have the Oswego Heritage Council Collector Car Show.
●They have a 4th of July celebration—We have a daylong affair beginning with a pancake breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and ending with fireworks on the lake.
●They have disco golf at Lucerne Park—we have Footgolf at the Lake Oswego Golf Course.
●They have outdoor sculptures along the canals on Canal Street-we have the Gallery Without Walls throughout town.
●They have an Oktoberfest—we have a Wine Walk.
The list goes on—tree lighting ceremony, system of pathways…Ben wouldn’t miss a beat. So if he ends up calling Lake Oswego home, remember you heard it here first.

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