HELP! Who Knows Bakersfield, CA?

[Guns Aximbo]

I've been offered a job but the company MIGHT want me to relocate to Bakersfield California. Can anyone tell me what its like? Is there a lot of crime? Schools? etc...

Is it an armpit or is it a garden spot?

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

1. I have a good friend who grew up in Bakersfield

She always said its the middle of nowhere surrounded by huge killing farms. She would always complain about the smell, lol. She also told me about her high school with a huge drop out/not graduated rate, lots of teen pregnancy, all that good stuff.

thats about all i can remember right now

[progmom]

2. Buck Owens is from there I think.

But from all accounts, it's more armpit than garden.

Never been there myself, but Southern CA friends have mentioned it.

[ET Awful]

6. Yes, Buck Owens is from there . . . my mom's uncle got him started

in the music business (same with Merle Haggard).

Bakersfield is a pretty Freeperish town (I lived there for 5 years or so). Of course, it's an oil town so that might have something to do with it.

I wouldn't move back there willingly.

[sniffa]

3. i think

chimpsrsmarter can heLp you out on that

[Richardo]

4. Oil refining, red(state)necks, agriculture.

A lot further from LA and the ocean than you want it to be.

More armpit than garden spot.

[slackmaster]

5. Armpit would be closer

Your profile says you are in Illinois. Bakersfield is nothing like anything anywhere near you.

Bakersfield is close to the edge of the Mojave Desert. There are some almond orchards and other farms around. It's nowhere near the ocean.

There is some crime like meth labs and biker gangs but not as bad as larger cities. California public schools were once among the best in the country. Not so now.

[Kadie]

11. I have often heard Bakersfield referred to as the armpit of California

I have not been there in years so I don't have a personal opinion, just what I have heard. I don't think it is somewhere I would move to. Maybe there is a nice surrounding community and you could commute to your new job?

[Guaranteed]

36. Bakersfield is probably the worst place to live in California

except for maybe South Central. :)

[SCDem]

7. Home of freeperville practically

I'd only take the job if the money were really good and you had an exit strategy. Is about 2 hours away from Vegas where some good fun could be had as well as Lake Mead. But as far as fun in Bakersfield I'd say that is nil.

[ET Awful]

9. 2 hours? No, Bakersfield is about 4 1/2 to 5 hours from Vegas

You may be thinking of Barstow.

[SCDem]

13. Oops I guess I was

But I thought Bakersfield was closer. Use to live in the Inland Valley (Claremont) and would go to Lake Mead for vacations and I could have sworn that we would drive through Bakersfield and Barstow :shrug:

[ET Awful]

15. Bakersfield is just north of the Grapevine (about 20 minutes)

You'd pass through Bakersfield if you were going from Fresno area to L.A. or you can hang a left in Bakersfield and head towards Tehachapi, then Barstow, then Vegas. Barstow is about 2 1/2 hours east of Bakersfield.

[DBoon]

29. Not too far from Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks though

and I think you are a reasonable drive to Mammouth in the eastern Sierra. Mammouth is well known as a ski resort.

If you like outdoor recreation, Bakersfield might not be too bad.

[ET Awful]

38. True. . .

Kern River Canyon isn't too bad, just don't swim in the Kern River, a LOT of lives have been lost there due to the extremely fast currents. Lake Isabella (above the canyon) isn't too bad for fishing.

To get to Sequoia, you have to travel north to Visalia then take 198 east through the Three Rivers area, on up to Sequoia or Mineral King Wilderness Area. Takes 45 minutes to an hour to get to Visalia, then another hour or so to get to Sequoia (approximately).

Mammoth isn't too far, I can't recall exactly as the only time I went, someone else was driving and I was sleeping :)

[short bus president]

8. These guys:

[KurtNYC]

10. Don't know what it is like now but

I know some history. Bakerfield is at the west end of Route 66 and became popular with motorcycle enthusiasts. It was both the birthplace of McDonald's restaurants AND an early hang out for the Hell's Angels.

It sits at the foot of the San Bernandino Mountains with very good skiing just 30 minutes away and a beach about 90 minutes in the other direction. It still has a western flavor and has clapboard houses and horses. But also new tract homes. It is a wild mix.

[ET Awful]

19. Actually, San Bernardino was the birthplace of McDonalds, not

Bakersfield.

Route 66 actually doesn't run through Bakersfield either, it runs throughh San Bernardino (on opposite side of the Grapevine and well south of Bakersfield) and ends in Santa Monica.

[KurtNYC]

33. Throws away decaf

I'm going back to bed now. (Confused Bakersfield with San Bernardino).

[ET Awful]

35. That'll teach ya to drink unleaded :) :) :) n/t

[Helga Scow Stern]

12. Garden spot it is not, although there are some nice areas. I had to cancel

my subscription to the local newspaper when I lived there in the late 70's, due to its continual coverage of grisly kidnappings, rapes, and killings. Bakersfield is a strangely evil and violent place.

Keep in mind that the abortion clinic was burned down there. It is hard to find Michael Moore videos in any of the local Blockbusters. Bush bumper stickers abound.

It is full of ignorant but arrogant shitkicking, Rush-loving, oil-gushing rednecks.

On the other hand, some very interesting, creative, wonderful people thrive in such an environment. Housing is less expensive than other areas of the state...there is growth, etc. The good people there find each other.

[radwriter0555]

14. Armpit. Desert. Hot. Redneck desert culcha, meaning, DENNY'S is the

hot spot eatery in town.

[ET Awful]

16. There's actually a VERY good Italian restaurant in town :)

Mama Tosca's is excellent :).

Also, Bakersfield has extremely bad air quality. Being nestled at the base of the Grapevine as it is (and the Grapevine acting as a bit of a physical divider between Northern and Southern California), all the pollution from points north migrates down to Bakersfield and gets stopped by the mountains. It just hovers there.

When you fly into Bakersfield during the day, it looks like someone stretched a huge yellow cottonball across the town and dropped it :)

[Guns Aximbo]

17. You're all scaring me! The Onion Field?

I have a HUGE family - we're very midwestern... My wife is from central IL for gosh sakes. It sound like I'll have to do some serious negotiating to stay here and travel there (they want it to be the other way around - which is a red flag).

Isn't that where the book & movie "The Onion Field" was based upon?

[ET Awful]

21. I do believe the Onion Field did take place there . . .

and the Joad family of Grapes of Wrath fame travelled through Bakersfield as well (before taking a right turn and heading north up to Pixley, etc.).

[Guns Aximbo]

18. You're all scaring me! The Onion Field

I have a HUGE family - we're very midwestern... My wife is from central IL for gosh sakes. It sound like I'll have to do some serious negotiating to stay here and travel there (they want it to be the other way around - which is a red flag).

Isn't that where the book & movie "The Onion Field" was based upon?

[DoveTurnedHawk]

20. Don't Be Scared of Bakersfield

My best friend used to live there, I visited him quite a few times. There is a decent amount of ethnic diversity (Latinos, some Asians, and surprisingly a strong Basque population), and it's California, which means the weather is great (no winters, it does get very hot in summer, however), and you're within an hour or two of a huge diversity of amazing terrain (mountains, beaches, deserts, forests). You're about 1.25 to 1.5 hours north of Los Angeles and all of the fun and culture that it holds, and you're 4 or 5 hours from Vegas.

It is quite conservative, and in particular the NRA is strong there, but it's certainly not as bad as certain other parts of the country. There are a lot of good restaurants (PM me, I will ask my friend offline for the names of a few I've forgotten), and it's got your typical array of shopping, movie theaters, etc. It's a good sized burg. Oh, and it has good music, not only country at the Buck Owens place, but also quite a few other acts who come through town since it's so close to Los Angeles.

I have no idea what the school system is like, however.

DTH

[ET Awful]

22. I'd forgotten about the Basque stuff . . .

There are some DAMN good Basque restaurants there too :).

[Guns Aximbo]

24. I'm of Basque descent.

Without giving too much away... one of my ancestors helped to found CA.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

25. Wow, That's Cool

Were you aware of Bakersfield's Basque population? It's one really cool aspect of the city, IMO. And there are some amazing Basque restaurants, as ET has indicated as well. :-)

DTH

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

23. IF you are in rural Illinois, Bakersfield won't be a horrible change

For one thing it will be a hell of a lot warmer. It is a rural community but the town of Bakersfield itself is quite large and developed. It is a poor section of the state because a great many migrant workers live there and because there are several state prisons a stone's throw away.

There are some great restaurants in Bakersfield, but there is also a FOCUS ON FAMILY billboard on every corner.

YOu are not far from LA, however and you are only about an hour or so from the coast.

I wouldn't call it an armpit, but I wouldn't call it a metropolis either.

In terms of taking your family places..there are many places to take day trips to...Yosemite, Monterey, Santa BArabra and Los Angeles are all day trips.

Not certain on actual crime statistics of late but no place is immune.

Bakersfield is home to Buck Owen's Palace ... so if you are into classic country..the place is mecca

[Guns Aximbo]

26. nope

I'm just outside one of the GREATEST cities in the world - Chicago.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

27. weeeeelllllll then

it will be a huge change...but warmer

[DoveTurnedHawk]

28. You'll Be Just Outside Another of the Greatest Cities in the World...LA!

Although I guess it depends on your definition of "just outside". :-)

DTH

[LordLQQK]

30. Armpit!!!!

I used to live there for about 3 years. When I was there it was a stink hole. Picture a million square miles of scrub desert at about 500 feet above sea level. Bakersfield is set off on the side of that with the Tehachappi (pronounced Te'-hatch-a-pee) Mountains to the south and south west, oil rigs to the west, dirt farms to the north, and heroin addicts to the east (the suburb of Oildale). It has one pseudo-university CSUB (out in the middle of nowhere) and one community college.
The technical industry is all but non-existent.
There are (to my memory) 3 prisons within 70 miles, and I am not talking light weight places either.
It is 150 miles to get to anything fun (i.e. L.A., the beach, etc...), it is 250 miles from Las Vegas, and 350 miles from real wine country (Napa Valley).

Have I left out anything????

Land is cheap (probably for reasons described above). And the women are either ugly, stuck-up, or have more emotional problem than you can shake a dead cat at (probably due to the red-neck environment domestic violence issues) generally all three.

Did I mention all the truck stops? Great hang out if you can beat off the lot lizards (whores).

Oh and the dust...resperators are a must.

[iconoclastic cat]

43. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

Man, you painted a vivid and disturbing picture of Bakersfield. BTW, what the hell kind of fun is there to be had at a truckstop BESIDES the lot lizards?

[Guns Aximbo]

31. just looked up crime info it's hight than nat. avg.

Industries providing employment: Educational,health and social services (23.5%), Retail trade (11.4%).


Crime in Bakersfield (2002):
22 murders (8.6 per 100,000)
47 rapes (18.3 per 100,000)
355 robberies (138.6 per 100,000)
647 assaults (252.6 per 100,000)
2,436 burglaries (951.1 per 100,000)
6,941 larceny counts (2709.9 per 100,000)
1,398 auto thefts (545.8 per 100,000)
City-data.com crime index = 338.7 (higher means more crime, US average = 330.6)


LOOKS LIKE I'M STAYING IN ILLINOIS!

[DoveTurnedHawk]

32. Probably Always Better to Stay Where You're Familiar

More stable that way, too. All I'm saying is that if it really came down to it, if you had to move there, I don't think it's that bad at all. Like any city, Bakersfield has its good sections and its bad sections. If it's above average in crime, it doesn't look THAT much above average. Have you compared with Chicago?

Regardless, Bakersfield certainly isn't as bad as some have made it out to be, IMO.

DTH

[Guaranteed]

34. ROFL DUDE....

If you're worried about environment/scenery, lack of crime/FREEPERS- if you want to live in a decent place, DON'T move to Bakersfield.

If it's a good promotion, go for it- but don't just change for the sake of it.

[Guns Aximbo]

37. Any Cities an hour away that are nice?

I'll commute an hour. Is there anything nearby that stinkhole thats livable where I can raise my 6 great kids?

[ET Awful]

39. Visalia isn't too bad, mainly agricultural, but not bad

My entire family lives in the Visalia and Tulare area.

A lot of farmers, much nicer (and greener) than Bakersfield, still a bit on the Freeperish side, but not as bad.

Most other places are a pretty long drive (like Valencia on the other side of the Grapevine), but you might get cut off from Bakersfield totally for a day or two in the winter due to the Grapevine being closed by snow.

Also in Valencia is a Six Flags park which has some damned good roller coasters :)

[Guns Aximbo]

40. Crime Rate is HIGHER in Visalia!

Crime in Visalia (2002):
12 murders (12.6 per 100,000)
46 rapes (48.5 per 100,000)
130 robberies (136.9 per 100,000)
674 assaults (710.0 per 100,000)
1,094 burglaries (1152.4 per 100,000)
3,521 larceny counts (3709.1 per 100,000)
832 auto thefts (876.4 per 100,000)
City-data.com crime index = 533.2 (higher means more crime, US average = 330.6)

[ET Awful]

41. Thoses numbers are a bit misleading. . . .

The majority of that crime takes place in a distinctly separate part of the town. Primarily the "North Side." That area has a lot of wannabe hispanic gangs that are trying to prove something to the brethren in Fresno.

The majority of the town isn't like that (I lived there for about 6 years before I moved to Bakersfield).

[slackmaster]

42. Corona is OK and still affordable

Personally I wouldn't live in the "Inland Empire" because of the air quality.

[UdoKier]

44. About as rightwing and Bible-thumpy as anywhere in California.

The weather is okay, but hot in summer - pretty boring midsized town otherwise.

It's not great, but I'd rather live there than in Texas. Cost of living is cheap for CA.

[sandnsea]

45. Bakersfield??? Garden Spot???

rotflmao I grew up in Fresno, hehehehe, garden spot, lolololol.

Think hard. That's all I've got to say.