Anyone here live in Bakersfield, CA?

[Twinkling]

So our last trip down to Disney, hubby and I passed through Bakersfield, and for the first time we noticed a billboard quoting new homes for sale in the low 200s. Needless to say, we were a little bit mind-boggled. But sure enough, a quick romp through Trulia proves those numbers are more than accurate, and I'd be lying if I said we weren't just a little intrigued by it.

Living in the Bay Area isn't exactly a cakewalk financially, and we've discussed relocating more than once. We'd never considered Bakersfield though, and I'd really love to hear from anyone whose actually a local there. How do you like it? Does it feel safe? Clean? We're currently researching the job market and such, but I'd really appreciate hearing anything from locals.

Thanks!

 

[Disneypro1]

Lived close to there in the Air Force. It’s kinda the Texas of California. A lot of fossil fuels and jobs with that. Great town to live in. We went there a lot. Much more conservative than the Bay Area also. And it probably is much more affordable. It’s only like 1.5 hours from LA. Overall. A nice place. Mountains close and all.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Not sure about Bakersfield, but it can't be much different from Stockton. I lived there for 6 mos and it was AWFUL! Oppressive heat in the summer, thick fog in the winter, that is when they weren't burning the fields in which case the smog was terrible. The crime was the worst part; I had several stories about crimes that I had witnessed, then so did my neighbors - and they WEREN'T the same stories. Good news for Bakersfield though; in another 10 years it just might have high speed rail - to Modesto (yippee!).

Honestly, if Bakersfield is your choice, I'd look outside of CA. At least gas prices would be >$1 less and you won't lose so much to taxes if you did that. Also, closest airport to Bakersfield is LAX. That's not good if you ever want to get away (and I think you would).

 

[bcla]

It's certainly not the most desirable place to live in California. The local economy goes up and down with the price of oil. It's also highly reliant on agriculture. Jobs are centered around those industries unless in the service sector or healthcare. There's always going to be jobs in industries that every area has.

It's kind of like the rest of the Central Valley with a certain amount of drug and gang-related crimes. However, it's a little different in that there are jobs if you're in several specific industries while it's still relatively affordable.

 

[wenrob]

Not sure about Bakersfield, but it can't be much different from Stockton. I lived there for 6 mos and it was AWFUL! Oppressive heat in the summer, thick fog in the winter, that is when they weren't burning the fields in which case the smog was terrible. The crime was the worst part; I had several stories about crimes that I had witnessed, then so did my neighbors - and they WEREN'T the same stories. Good news for Bakersfield though; in another 10 years it just might have high speed rail - to Modesto (yippee!).

Honestly, if Bakersfield is your choice, I'd look outside of CA. At least gas prices would be >$1 less and you won't lose so much to taxes if you did that. Also, closest airport to Bakersfield is LAX. That's not good if you ever want to get away (and I think you would).

It's certainly not the most desirable place to live in California. The local economy goes up and down with the price of oil. It's also highly reliant on agriculture. Jobs are centered around those industries unless in the service sector or healthcare. There's always going to be jobs in industries that every area has.

It's kind of like the rest of the Central Valley with a certain amount of drug and gang-related crimes. However, it's a little different in that there are jobs if you're in several specific industries while it's still relatively affordable.

These.

I lived there for about a year and half as a teen. My folks thought it would be more “wholesome.” The joke was on them. I disliked it so much I moved to a tiny Nevada town that I’m not all that fond of and my sister followed about six months later, followed by my parents about six months after that. You couldn’t get any of us to go back.

My brother however loves the place. He keeps moving back. His family has lived there for the last seven or so years. Here’s the catch though: His family lives there, he does not. There are no jobs there in his line of work. He works in San Francisco, drives to Bakersfield on Friday nights and drives back on Monday mornings. The rare couple of times something in his field has opened up the pay was not worth it to make the move.

 

[bcla]

These.

I lived there for about a year and half as a teen. My folks thought it would be more “wholesome.” The joke was on them. I disliked it so much I moved to a tiny Nevada town that I’m not all that fond of and my sister followed about six months later, followed by my parents about six months after that. You couldn’t get any of us to go back.

My brother however loves the place. He keeps moving back. His family has lived there for the last seven or so years. Here’s the catch though: His family lives there, he does not. There are no jobs there in his line of work. He works in San Francisco, drives to Bakersfield on Friday nights and drives back on Monday mornings. The rare couple of times something in his field has opened up the pay was not worth it to make the move.

The entire Central Valley is sort of like that - hot in summer, cheaper to live in, limited jobs prospects unless you happen to find a specific job where the employer is based there. Except maybe in the Sacramento area where it's a lot of government jobs and all the jobs around that.

I remember one time when Bakersfield was the closest I could get for a certain event. We spent the night there and I remember being in line at a store talking to someone who recently moved there. Asked if we had just moved or not. I suppose it's good there when there's higher oil prices, but it's like any other oil producing area where it goes through boom and bust based on the price of crude oil.

Strangely enough I think it might be possible to live in parts of the Central Valley and work in the Bay Area. At least the Altamont Corridor Express Train goes all the way from Stockton to San Jose. I've taken Amtrak which uses the same station. That train gets really, really crowded. I guess the advantage is it's less tiring sleeping on a train on the way to work, one might be able to even work on the train, and it may actually take less time than dealing with Bay Area traffic. If high speed rail ever happens, it might be viable to commute from Bakersfield to San Francisco.

 

[Searc]

Bakersfield is a location very few people move to willingly.

 

[Twinkling]

I'm honestly really surprised at the amount of hate, but I guess I shouldn't be? My other searches brought up mixed results with the pros being that it's near LA/Disney, the beach, and affordable housing while the cons being the air quality, heat and crime rate (although everything I read on the crime was 10 years ago so I don't have a clear grasp on how bad it is currently). I even saw Bakersfield on a few lists of the best places to live in the US. Some other cons I saw were that there's nothing to DO, but honestly, I never know what to make of that. What exactly is it that people mean by that? Like, there's not a lot of night life? Clubs? Bars? Like I said, it's just a few hours away from LA and several theme parks, the beach, hiking...maybe I don't live a crazy life, but I don't know what else people want?

It's unfortunate that it seems to be a bust. California is so expensive, but to be honest I'm super reluctant to move outside of it. I really do love the area we live in now, if only we could afford it without working ourselves into the ground.

 

[VandVsmama]

Come to Arizona. There's plenty of jobs here and lower cost of living and it's a lot more pleasant than living in Bakersfield would be.

 

[mnrose]

Don't know if it's still true, but it sure was when I represented one of the major oil producers in the 1980's. I spent time there quite often, and I loathed that place. The smell was god-awful from the refineries. Yuck. That alone would be enough to keep me away.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I'm honestly really surprised at the amount of hate, but I guess I shouldn't be? My other searches brought up mixed results with the pros being that it's near LA/Disney, the beach, and affordable housing while the cons being the air quality, heat and crime rate (although everything I read on the crime was 10 years ago so I don't have a clear grasp on how bad it is currently). I even saw Bakersfield on a few lists of the best places to live in the US. Some other cons I saw were that there's nothing to DO, but honestly, I never know what to make of that. What exactly is it that people mean by that? Like, there's not a lot of night life? Clubs? Bars? Like I said, it's just a few hours away from LA and several theme parks, the beach, hiking...maybe I don't live a crazy life, but I don't know what else people want?

It's unfortunate that it seems to be a bust. California is so expensive, but to be honest I'm super reluctant to move outside of it. I really do love the area we live in now, if only we could afford it without working ourselves into the ground.

Bakersfield may not be many miles away from LA but there's a Grapevine pass between them and that drive is no fun. It's kinda/sorta near Magic Mountain but nowhere near DL for sure.
If you really are interested in living there, by all means, pull up Expedia and plan a weekend there and see for yourself. I honestly didn't think Stockton was going to be that bad - it was worse!

Come to Arizona. There's plenty of jobs here and lower cost of living and it's a lot more pleasant than living in Bakersfield would be.

^ THIS! PHX was certainly one of the out-of-state places I was thinking of - and it has an airport!

 

[DLgal]

There is a reason why the homes are so cheap. No one wants to live there. It isn't near ANYTHING. It is a desolate wasteland, for the most part, that smells bad, has terrible schools and public services, and lots of crime. It's a good 3 hours from Disneyland and any beach worth going to.

Where in the bay area do you live? Just go inland to Tracy if you want to see what Bakersfield is like...but Tracy is like, WORLDS nicer than Bakersfield, yet Tracy is awful.

 

[bcla]

I'm honestly really surprised at the amount of hate, but I guess I shouldn't be? My other searches brought up mixed results with the pros being that it's near LA/Disney, the beach, and affordable housing while the cons being the air quality, heat and crime rate (although everything I read on the crime was 10 years ago so I don't have a clear grasp on how bad it is currently).

I don't know about hate, but we're just being realistic. And the really important thing is where one is going to work. If one is in the oil industry then absolutely it's probably better than North Dakota.

 

[Lumpy1106]

There is a reason why the homes are so cheap. No one wants to live there. It isn't near ANYTHING. It is a desolate wasteland, for the most part, that smells bad, has terrible schools and public services, and lots of crime. It's a good 3 hours from Disneyland and any beach worth going to.

Where in the bay area do you live? Just go inland to Tracy if you want to see what Bakersfield is like...but Tracy is like, WORLDS nicer than Bakersfield, yet Tracy is awful.

Well, 2 hours, but who's counting? Funny enough, when I lived in Stockton I would do the 2 hour drive to Santa Cruz almost every weekend. It was worth every mile for sure. Coming back I'd hit that hot air as you crest Altamont Pass and just do a reality check every time. Why on earth would I go back there after spending the weekend in Santa Cruz? I still can't rationalize it.

 

[wenrob]

I don't know about hate, but we're just being realistic. And the really important thing is where one is going to work. If one is in the oil industry then absolutely it's probably better than North Dakota.

This part cracked me up. I had a friend who moved to Minot, ND (on purpose, lol) and she said it was literally a town made up of crackheads. They had to move their business because they couldn’t find reliable employees.

 

[bcla]

This part cracked me up. I had a friend who moved to Minot, ND (on purpose, lol) and she said it was literally a town made up of crackheads. They had to move their business because they couldn’t find reliable employees.

I was just thinking of where else one can find a job in the oil industry. I heard of these cities becoming boomtowns with all the assorted problems from rapid growth. At least a place like Bakersfield it's about relatively mature industries and not quite the same growing pains.

 

[China Expat]

My long time friend teaches and lives in Bakersfield. She hates it.

 

[China Expat]

I was just thinking of where else one can find a job in the oil industry. I heard of these cities becoming boomtowns with all the assorted problems from rapid growth. At least a place like Bakersfield it's about relatively mature industries and not quite the same growing pains.

North Dakota?

 

[cats mom]

We lived in Bakersfield for awhile. Chose it because we figured it was a step up from Tulare where the job was.

We spent most weekends heading to places like San Simeon, Solvang, Paso Robles, Yosemite, Ventura, Carmel, etc, etc. IIRC drive time for most of the places listed tended to range from 3-5 hrs one way, so not all that convenient, but we still took every opportunity to get out of town.

We certainly never loved it in Bakersfield, but we found good friends there, so we didn't completely hate it either.
Breaking point for us was when DD started getting lots of nosebleeds, which Dr's attributed mainly to poor air quality.
Lower COL wasn't worth the health risks for us.

 

[bcla]

North Dakota?

I'm just thinking of places that have had a fairly recent oil boom. I've heard news pieces about how many towns have ballooned in population because of all the oil workers. However, there's really nothing there yet and probably won't be since it's an itinerant population where most of the workers don't live there year round. And over there's it's really gotten strange because it's hard to fill many jobs when oil workers can get paid considerably more and get training on the job.