Our visits to Palmdale, Lancaster, Bakersfield and Oxnard (Vista: appointed, fit in)

[Guitarmaan]

So after getting some advice on this forum about Palmdale, Lancaster, Bakersfield and Oxnard we decided to see for ourselves

And here's what we found.....

I read some positive & negative comments about Palmdale and Lancaster here, so we had an open mind. By the time we left though we weren't in any doubt..... these places were pretty horrific. And to be specific, we didn't feel safe. I guess we must have stuck out like a sore thumb there, & apart from some dirty looks I was immediately approached for money "for the bus home". Jeezuz. We will never return there. Sorry to any happy residents who live there, or people trying to sell their homes.

Next was Bakersfield. And after those two above it didn't have much to compete with! Bakersfield also gets very mixed reviews around here, so we really were curious. After actually seeing the place and checking out various neighbourhoods, I think we left puzzled and unable to make up our minds tbh. A lot of criticisms are true, there is a bad smog obscuring the mountains. And I do mean BAD haha. God knows where it comes from. And yes there are oil machines (whatever they are) dotted around. But really, this is no big deal. And when you're in town you're not looking at the smog on the horizon anyway.

It was apparent there were bad neighbourhoods there. Actually, several of them. But also there were some very well kept and nice looking areas. I would describe Bakersfield as extremely multi-racial, and on the surface everyone seemed to get along fine.

I kept thinking of Bakersfield as the town that time forgot, because you can see some history there. Older buildings still remain, and they are charming. Well, charming to me anyway since I appreciate older stuff with character. In summation I'd say Bakersfield is nowhere near as bad as some make out. It definitely has character, and the people there were very friendly. No one seems to mention it's a 30 minute drive from very beautiful mountains too.

So then we went to Oxnard.

I've read Oxnard being recommended a few times as a lower budget place to head for those wanting LA. Oxnard has the ocean. And that's a big plus. And yes it's obviously cheaper than places closer to LA. But we were disappointed with it really. I guess we felt we wouldn't fit in there. We couldn't afford the coastal homes. And not knowing any Spanish would severely limit our communications with the locals

So that's about it. I hope that info may be of use to anyone interested in these areas. Feel free to ask anything. Overall I'd say Bakersfield was the most underrated, Oxnard the most overrated, and Palmdale just plain X-rated If we ever did have to choose one, it would be Bakersfield!

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by Guitarmaan

If we ever did have to choose one, it would be Bakersfield!

The most shocking thing I have read all week.

[Count David]

MOD NOTE: Moved to the general California forum, as this thread covers multiple locations.

Meh, I would have ranked them in the same order, but horror and Spanish don't bother me much. Hope you had fun.

[ccm123]

Yep, Palmdale and Lancaster was pretty decent in the 80's, when I fist visited. On subsequent visits, to play golf at Rancho Vista Golf Course, it seems to have taken a turn for the worse.