Please school me about Bakersfield

[scorpion]

You soCal guys are funny. Never could understand you Cali guys

Yes, Bakersfield is an armpit but there is a lot of diverse riding nearby and the cost of living is lower than in LA county. Compared to NC its a vacation wonderland.

SoCal has good weather and good food.
Unless you surf a lot or in "the industry" there are better places to live IMO.

[roundtripping]

Originally Posted by scorpion

You soCal guys are funny. Never could understand you Cali guys

Yes, Bakersfield is an armpit but there is a lot of diverse riding nearby and the cost of living is lower than in LA county. Compared to NC its a vacation wonderland.

SoCal has good weather and good food.
Unless you surf a lot or in "the industry" there are better places to live IMO.

Out here we're all in "the industry". In one way or another.

[D.Bachtel]

Originally Posted by ricmachado

The company I work for has a job opportunity in Bakersfield, CA and the regional manager called me saying that if I'm interested, he would give his approval on me.

It is not a guarantee that I would have the job, but having both my current regional manager and the possible future one vouching for my qualificationis is a great step.

My main concern is cost of living. I live now in NC and everyone always say how CA is expensive. looking online, Bakersville isn't THAT expensive.

so for the ones that are in the area, what do you think about this area? Is it a good place to live? pros, cons..

let's hear it

Well you don't have to live in Bakersfield, you could commute from Frazier or Lebec. You could live in Maricopa if you wanted to.

Give it a try out here in the Wild Wild West. You may like it.


Don in Nipomo.... way out West!

[Ben99r1]

My father and brother in law live in Bakersfield. My father inlaw lives in a house that cost 600,000 about 5 years ago. Then the bottom fell out so now its worth maybe half that. But that house would cost over 2,000,000.00 or more. Here in Los angeles. You have all sorts of area's in Bakersfield. Farms, ranches, track home and estates. If you want to see what your willing to spend can get you? Set up an appointment with a realtor. They do have bad air quality because its surrounded by hills. You might want to google something called valley fever. My brother inlaw suffered from it for 2 years then it just went away. Doctors can't really say what causes it and why it comes and goes to just some people and not others.

[2on2off]

Originally Posted by notmybikemodelname

So, what I'm reading is, if you want something/do something go to L.A., but don't live there because its too expensive. So, instead of living there, or the Bay Area, drive hundreds of miles at $4.15 gallon a few times a month to do something that's not related to cow roping, mud bogging or having sex with your sister/cousin/brother/mom.

Bakersfield Sucks! It's a simple choice between living in the crap hole of CA, or paying a slight bit more to be just as close to all of the great riding but actually be able to experience some culture, sports, good food, beaches, etc, without the drive.

I have lived in Central California most of my life and like the people I have learned to know. Don't know why you hate Bakersfield so much. I guess you have your reasons. I have many friends that live there and they are some of the best people you could ever meet. Went to my 40 year class reunion and most of my former class mates are still married to their first wife.

The air quality in Bakersfield is bad but somehow people survive it. L.A. and the Bay Area used to have much worse smog than Central California but that has changed through the years. I was in Seattle last month and they had very bad smog you could see. When I asked about it they said they hadn't had rain in a while and once they did, it would clear up. Guess we need more rain.

I lived in San Jose for 6 years and there were many things I liked about it. But I liked Central California better so I moved back to raise my kids in a small town. It worked out very well for me but others might want a big city. It's great that we can choose.

[jmabbott888]

I've lived in Bakersfield since 1987 except for a short tour in the Navy. It isn't all that bad but I'll trade you & head back home to NC (I came out here from Jacksonville in 87 lol). It is about the most conservative part of California, Kern county has the most concealed weapons permits than all other counties combined, so if ya don't like guns this probbly isn't the place to be. It does get hot here, up into the 100's during the summer BUT it is a dryer heat than NC so it won't bother you. Our winters get down into the 30's but it only snows every decade or so, last decent snow was in 99 if I remember correctly. We have the Carrizo plains to the west (you get to ride along the San Andreas fault) & we have mountains to the east, then there is the desert further east. About 2 hours south is Hell A (aka Los Angeles) if you want big city, personally I avoid that place like the plague. If you want culture we do have concerts here that range from country to rock to classical, etc. If you want food we have everything from McDonalds to expesive resturants that will break the bank. If you like NASCAR, hell Craftsman truck series started here, The Mears are from Bakersfield as well as Harvick, Ron Hornady called Mesa Marin in Bakersfield his home track, & we have a NASCAR track just outside of town. If you like fishing & boating, we got that to, if you want to prospect for gold, we have that to. All ya gotta do is let us know what you & the wife are into & we can probably help you out. As for cost of living, Bakersfield is decent. Housing is reasonable as far as California goes, groceries are decent, hell most of the vegtables come from this area, gas is at 3.89 a gallon, sucks since we have oil rigs all over the damn place but o'well. Also we get squat for rain, if it rains more than a few inches people bitch, nothing like NC lol.

[ricmachado]

Originally Posted by jmabbott888

Also we get squat for rain, if it rains more than a few inches people bitch, nothing like NC lol.

I can live with that, in December they were saying that the water levels were down because we were 7 inches below the average for the past 12 months, Now we are back on track, for the last month, there was not a week that I didn't have to use the rain gear to or from work, yesterday was a wet ride in, tomorrow they forecast a wet ride back.....

I'm sure being carless I can live in the dry desert.

[jmabbott888]

7 inches below lol, we don't average that in a year lol. I guess I should tell ya that we were cutoff from Los Angeles today, Interstate 5 going south & Hwy 58 going east were both closed due to snow on the passes.

[notmybikemodelname]

Originally Posted by 2on2off

I have lived in Central California most of my life and like the people I have learned to know. Don't know why you hate Bakersfield so much. I guess you have your reasons. I have many friends that live there and they are some of the best people you could ever meet. Went to my 40 year class reunion and most of my former class mates are still married to their first wife.

The air quality in Bakersfield is bad but somehow people survive it. L.A. and the Bay Area used to have much worse smog than Central California but that has changed through the years. I was in Seattle last month and they had very bad smog you could see. When I asked about it they said they hadn't had rain in a while and once they did, it would clear up. Guess we need more rain.

I lived in San Jose for 6 years and there were many things I liked about it. But I liked Central California better so I moved back to raise my kids in a small town. It worked out very well for me but others might want a big city. It's great that we can choose.

My Grandfather and Father were both born there. My Grandfather lived there up until he died about 10 years ago. Had an uncle who lived there for many years.. I'm not foreign to BF or lacking info or time spent there (unfortunately). My feelings are that it's nothing more than West Texas with all of it's red necks, racism, foul smells, heat, smog (Dallas/Ft Worth areas), lack of culture, lack of good food, and lack of healthy fun. Ask yourself why there seems to be more obese people per capita in BF than in most other major metro areas of CA.

By Connie Tran, KBAK - KBFX - Eyewitness News - BakersfieldNow.com

— A study released Wednesday by the California Center for Public Health and Advocacy and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that childhood obesity rates are down in California by 1.1 percent. Unfortunately, in Kern County, the rates have grown.

The number of obese children in Kern County is almost alarming, and it seems a similar trend is forming in other Central Valley counties, such as Fresno and Tulare.

Dr. Harold Goldstein, the executive director for CCPHA said, "In Kern County, 44 percent of students are overweight. That's an increase of 5.8 percent over that five-year period. Really, when I saw those numbers I was shocked, because I had seen the numbers statewide were going down, but (that) the numbers continued to climb in Kern County is especially troubling."

Goldstein said he believes the childhood obesity rates in Kern County and Fresno County are so high because those counties have the highest density of unhealthy food outlets in California.


But like you said, at least we are all free to make our own choices.

[750Volts!]

A few years ago we were traveling through Bakersfield on Christmas and got some decent Chinese buffet for dinner.
So I guess that is +1 for Bakersfield dining. They helped my family keep the only Christmas tradition celebrated by Jews!

[notmybikemodelname]

Originally Posted by 750Volts!

A few years ago we were traveling through Bakersfield on Christmas and got some decent Chinese buffet for dinner.
So I guess that is +1 for Bakersfield dining. They helped my family keep the only Christmas tradition celebrated by Jews!

Really? Eating Chinese food on Christmas is a tradition celebrated by Jews? Who Knew?

[High Country Herb]

The others have covered BF pretty well, I think. It isn't a very scenic place to live.

Valley Fever is some kind of bacteria that lives in the soil, and gets inhaled when wind kicks up the dust. If you are healthy, it likely won't cause any problems. If you are prone to pneumonia, you may find yourself with an everlasting cough. BF also has bad fog in the winter.

Mexican food, as well as their family values, are prevalent in the Central Valley, which is a plus. Fresno and Orange Cove are much worse than BF when it comes to crime and gang activity. All of the Central California towns have OK and bad parts of town, so ask those questions when talking to a realtor.

Taxes are a big problem in California. They are high everywhere in the state, but the benefits go mostly to the big cities. Businesses are moving out, so I see worse economy in California's future. That may be something to consider with respect to your company's plans for this state.

I honestly think L.A. has gotten a bad rap lately. Years ago, it deserved it. I have been spending some time in SoCal on business, and the area is growing on me. I like all the smaller cities surrounding L.A. Lot's of new things popping up, and the people are friendlier now than they used to be. There is a lot to do and see just over the hill(s) from BF.

[notmybikemodelname]

Originally Posted by High Country Herb

Businesses are moving out, so I see worse economy in California's future. That may be something to consider with respect to your company's plans for this state.

Not too sure about that. I'm in Commercial Insurance and we have seen a growth not only in policy premium, which are related to Gross Revenues or payroll, but also in the amount of clients we are gaining each year for the last four years. Our growth has been over 32% for the last four years and over 50% of that is new businesses.

[fallingoff]

from someone outside us

last time (about 2 yrs ago)

my wife and i stopped in bf

for fuel,food,hotel

place was like nightmare

cops everywhere

sirens

only place my wife was freaked out in us

we got back on the freeway as fast as possible

just a very blink of the eyes of bf.

cheers

[High Country Herb]

Originally Posted by notmybikemodelname

Not too sure about that. I'm in Commercial Insurance and we have seen a growth not only in policy premium, which are related to Gross Revenues or payroll, but also in the amount of clients we are gaining each year for the last four years. Our growth has been over 32% for the last four years and over 50% of that is new businesses.

Interesting. I work in the geotechnical engineering field, and our company shrunk by almost 50% over the last five years, while doing better than almost all of our competition. We are seeing a little bit of improvement now, but nothing like yours. About half of our growth in the last year has been in SoCal, though, and I see a lot of new buildings there. Could it be that the outskirts of the L.A.basin are filling in? Maybe an increasing awareness of commercial liability in California? The Central Valley seems to have about 40% empty store fronts.

Sorry, getting off topic a bit...