May be moving...Need info on Bakersfield, CA, please

[Bires]

I'm in the process of moving my career, and the Bakerfield area is one possibility.

I'm most likely going to meet with the school board and some real estate gurus, but I'd like to get the goods from an average joe (or jane).

So, if you live/have lived there, what is your impression of:

Cost of living
Nearby colleges
Schools
Crime
Water/Air
Weather
Commerce

Thanks in advance

[chrissy]

I haven't lived there, but been through there several times and know ppl who have or do live there.

Hot during the summer and when they are fertilizing the fields, keep your windows closed!

[sho.gun]

I was just there 3 days ago! Went to their local jack in the box, and I can safely say that it's the same as the other jack in the boxes in your area.

[revil]

Originally posted by sho.gun
I was just there 3 days ago! Went to their local jack in the box, and I can safely say that it's the same as the other jack in the boxes in your area.
not all jack in the boxes are the same. for instance, our local jack in the box has topless cashiers after midnight.

[sho.gun]

Originally posted by revil

not all jack in the boxes are the same. for instance, our local jack in the box has topless cashiers after midnight.

Hang10wannabe is a part time jack in the box cashier. Draw conclusion.

[Apex]

Close to kern river. Great white water rafting there. :)

[K2]

Originally posted by sho.gun


Hang10wannabe is a part time jack in the box cashier. Draw conclusion.


sho.gun is the only one that visits hang10? :)

[Pinkgirl36]

bakersfield = BORING!!!!

[speedracer120]

Originally posted by Pinkgirl36
bakersfield = BORING!!!!

I concur.

Rolling farm fields, stinking hot in summer. Chance of cathching some strange virus present in the Central valleys of California. Hey, but to each his own, go take a spin around there, some people fall in love with that area.

[Cheesypuff]

So I just went to bakersfield this past spring break, and I really liked it a lot. It was a nice place. Pretty richish place to be, and my friends family business owns the tallest building in towntown bakersfield! The morland corporation. They are some pretty average joes as far as I could tell, and it seemed like a pretty clean city. And my friend also told me, there is a poser gang that calls themselves the peckerwoods! don't ask me where that name comes from. just to let you know...I wouldn't be too scared if a town gang names themselves the peckerwoods! Anywho...my impression on the town was a good one. I actually wouldn't mind living there myself!

[Bires]

Thanks for the input so far.

:)

Keep em coming.

[sourdough]

The best part of Bakersfield is seeing it in my rear-view mirror. As soon as I enter Bakersfield I can't wait to get out. It's usually because I'm going north/south on Hwy 99 and I can't avoid it otherwise.

Bakersfield, also known as Bakers-hell, is a virtual wasteland filled with operational/non-operational oil wells. The level of education in Bakershell can be summed up by this: one of the local high schools has "the Drillers" as their mascot. The air quality also sucks because the tall mountains that encircle the valley form a pocket that low-lying smog can't get blown out and it just sits there in the air pocket above Bakers-hell. There are nice places outside of Bakers-hell, especially Lake Isabella and Tehachapi (notably in the mountains outside Bakers-hell). Avoid Taft, Wasco, Shafter, Delano, and Buttonwillow as they are all equally bad (and they ring Bakers-hell)

Central California has a huge Meth/Crank problem as noted in the PBS show CaliforniaConnected (http://californiaconnected.org/segments/2002/07/11/segment2.html). Bakers-hell is in the middle of this mess.

One last thing that should be strongly considered is that during the summer the temperature in Bakers-hell often matches that of the surface of the sun. With no rain or clouds to speak of during the southern California summer, it literally "bakes" there. Seriously. There are many wonderful places in California. This is not one of them.