Would you recommend Bakersfield for a recent college grad? (San Fernando: movies, camping)

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

"nothing to see" sounds like a tourist board comment. I don't think even most Bakersfield residents would consider it a place for a non-resident to vacation anymore than Oakland or Concord are considered vacation spots.

But this board is about living there, not spending 2 or 3 days on a vacation. Things that people want in a place to live (housing, employment, friends and neighbors, etc.) are different than a weekend getaway.

Everybody is a "Tourist" of a place if they don't live there. I can visit a place and get a feel if I could live there or not. It does not take me a year to decide if I can live in a place. When I set foot there I knew automatically I hated it. A. It's too hot. B. It's not near the coast. C. It's boring as hell. I was not there on Vacation. Like I said, everybody who I have known to live in Bakersfield left for a reason. They hated it.

I have had to work in NYC, Loved it, Miami, Loved it, Chicago, Yes, Great cities. Bakersfield NO

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by City Boy

Everybody is a "Tourist" of a place if they don't live there. I can visit a place and get a feel if I could live there or not. It does not take me a year to decide if I can live in a place. When I set foot there I knew automatically I hated it. A. It's too hot. B. It's not near the coast. C. It's boring as hell. I was not there on Vacation. Like I said, everybody who I have known to live in Bakersfield left for a reason. They hated it.

I have had to work in NYC, Loved it, Miami, Loved it, Chicago, Yes, Great cities. Bakersfield NO

And I've also been fortunate to travel and work in other cities, nearly all of the 50 largest in the US plus many others. NY, Miami, Chicago are like most cities, it depends on the area and what you prefer.

But your reasons for not liking Bakersfield doesn't mean that the OP is of the same mind set.

Remember what the original poster said

Originally Posted by Grass4

Right now I live in New York, work in NYC, and I hate it.

So you loved New York but they hate it. Sounds like the 2 of you are looking for different things in cities.

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by City Boy

1. It's too hot.

2. There are no great places to eat.

3. There is nothing to do at night or during the day for that matter.

4. It's not visually appealing

5. All Around BORING.

There is a reason everybody I went to college with who happen to be from Bakersfield HATED it. But if you enjoy it so be it.

I can understand why City Boy doesn't like Bakersfield. In Bakersfield, you pretty much have to be able to entertain yourself. Having your entertainment spoon fed to you doesn't really happen there. You probably won't like it there unless you like to do one or more of the following activities:

Motorcycle/ATV riding
Horseback riding
Canoeing/Kayaking/River Rafting
Fishing
Hiking/Mountain Climbing/Backpacking
Shooting
Hunting
Metal Detecting
Gold Panning
Four Wheeling
Rock Collecting
Bicycling
Snowboarding/Skiing/Sledding
Boating/Water Skiing
Skydiving
Flying Model Airplanes/Helicopters/Rockets
Going to Church
Visiting Friends
Camping
Photography/Viewing Wildlife & Scenery
Trainspotting/Railfanning
Geocaching
Building/driving/looking at Hot Rods
Auto Racing
Performing or listening to Country Music
Visiting Museums

If someone doesn't like one or more of those things, they will be bored in Bakersfield, and should live in the Big City. For the rest of us who do like some of those things, there are places in or near Bakersfield to do all of them, and we are rarely bored because we can always find something to entertain us. To the original poster, keep these activities in mind. If you like some or all of them, you may find Bakersfield is somewhere that you would enjoy.

For the record, there are some good places to eat there. Bakersfield is famous for its Basque restaurants, but has some other good places, too. Buck Owens' Crystal Palace is well known for its food, in addition to its entertainment. In my opinion, it's excellent.

As for being visually appealing, what do you expect? It's a city, after all. If you want visually appealing, it's only a short drive (2 hours or less) to some very scenic areas of California, including the beaches, deserts, mountains, and plains.

The Sierra Nevada has some spectacular scenery, including several groves of Giant Sequoia that are incredible. There are also streams, rivers, lakes, meadows, valleys, and peaks that offer gorgeous views.

The California desert offers some beautiful scenery, too, if you just slow down enough to see it. The area around Red Rock Canyon and the El Paso Mountains has some very pretty places, as well as a lot of history.

The Central Coast of California has some neat places like Morro Bay and Cambria, as well as Pismo Beach and Hearst Castle.

The Carrizo Plain offers some scenery that is different from what you find elsewhere in California, as well as some wonderful opportunities for wildlife viewing.

Nearby lakes for watersports and fishing include Lake Webb and Lake Evans (both in the Buena Vista Recreation Area), Lake Isabella, Lake Nacimiento, Castaic Lake, Lake Piru, and Pyramid Lake.

Winter sports are available in several areas nearby, including cross country skiing on Mt. Pinos, sledding and snow play in the Frazier Park and Tehachapi areas, and downhill skiing at Shirley Meadows in the Greenhorn Mountains.

All of these areas can be accessed within two hours driving time from Bakersfield on a good day (accidents and bad weather can cause significant delays).

I hope this long post goes a long way toward illustrating why many people actually do like Bakersfield and other parts of Kern County. It's actually a good place to live, where people care about one another, and life is lived at a slower pace than it is in the bigger cities in California. If this post makes it sound appealing, then you really should check it out for yourself.

[gorideaquad]

Warm..no more like hella hot and polluted in summers.
Low cost of living...yeah well if you can find a decent paing job because they don't pay here like a big city would.
People your age..yeah but they can't wait to get out of town as soon as they are done with college or whatever is holding them down.
Bakersfield is a dusty, closed minded conservative town with very little to do for entertainment. No clubs if you are used to NY forget the nightlife, none. Just a few bars and clubs and most of the gangbangers ruin that with monthly shootings.
No museums, public transportation plus if you don't already have asthma you will get that or valley fever after residing here a few years. Pickup trucks are the norm with super swamper tires. Gangbangers regin supreme. Well a plus is if you like hispanic women there are plenty here.
Yes I live here and yes people will say if you don't like it, move hell if have had my house for sale for a year and when it does i am out. Just a little realism from an insider for you to make up your mind. Oh and yes do visit cause, you will realize why Bakersfield is called the "armpit" of california!

[gorideaquad]

City Boy i concur with your opinions BTW

[gorideaquad]

last comment i swear. Reading JakeDog's comment on Meth users. They will steal anything that's worth taking at any time in this town, oh yeah and you would love the beggers in all the store parking lots. " i need money for the bus " of gas or CRYATAL METH is more like it. Sorry to tell you but Bakersfield SUCKS

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by jdavid93225

I can understand why City Boy doesn't like Bakersfield. In Bakersfield, you pretty much have to be able to entertain yourself. Having your entertainment spoon fed to you doesn't really happen there. You probably won't like it there unless you like to do one or more of the following activities:

Motorcycle/ATV riding
Horseback riding
Canoeing/Kayaking/River Rafting
Fishing
Hiking/Mountain Climbing/Backpacking
Shooting
Hunting
Metal Detecting
Gold Panning
Four Wheeling
Rock Collecting
Bicycling
Snowboarding/Skiing/Sledding
Boating/Water Skiing
Skydiving
Flying Model Airplanes/Helicopters/Rockets
Going to Church
Visiting Friends
Camping
Photography/Viewing Wildlife & Scenery
Trainspotting/Railfanning
Geocaching
Building/driving/looking at Hot Rods
Auto Racing
Performing or listening to Country Music
Visiting Museums


All of these areas can be accessed within two hours driving time from Bakersfield on a good day (accidents and bad weather can cause significant delays).

LOL Ok so what about the city of bakersfield. Not two hours outside in the foothills. So in order to have fun you have to be spoon fed in cities? If you say so. You can do all of that 2 hours away from any major city in the state. Big deal. Go to church? Visit friends? Are you serious?

[gorideaquad]

BTW i ride quads and they are closing up all free land so to ride you have to go to Gorman, jawbone etc. smae goes for dirbikes. Bicycling yeah right with the smog and heat? funny joke. Shooting? you must be the one shooting beer cans in the hills behind my house at night, thanks a lot cause the choppers wake me up when the cops search for the gunfire. Churches there's plenty of those but I don't go and I am still christian. Bakersfield should be training ground for any one going to Irak because the landscape is the same, sandy dusty and just a bunch of criminals waiting to blow your brains out for nothing...Bakersfield sucks when i move i am NEVER returning.

[Roaddog]

To each their own but I have enjoyed living in bakersfield, it has givin me many opportunities, i find plenty of things to do, I have not expereanced crime or gangs, the coast is close by and if i want to enjoy theme parks there are many of then to the south. I guess it depends where a person lives, if one chooses to live in a crime infested area then they get what they ask for.

[JakeDog]

I think I already summed it up, but Bakersfield is California in name only. It has far more in common with west texas and oklahoma.