I "heart" Bakersfield!!!

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by mono#9

As for places that get a lot of flack--my sister and her family just bought a gorgeous, huge house in Fresno for a very reasonable price in an area that looks like a park. For people who have nothing but criticism for places like Fresno and Bakersfield--you need to adjust your thinking a bit. And maybe take another look.

There is a lot of good in Bakersfield and Fresno and other Valley towns.

Time magazine a few years ago called Fresno "The Last Real California". They ended the article by saying, "If loopy optimism and defiance of the odds are what made this state in the first place, then un-Californian Fresno may be the last real California left." Maybe we should extend that to include Bakersfield also.

Here our neighbors are out for walks and biking every night, waving and talking to each other. Different people in the neighborhood host pool parties, block parties, bunco parties, BBQ's, potlucks, etc. every few weeks.

We trust the neighbors to watch our home when we are gone. They even water my wife's potted plants if we are out of town.

Unlike suburbs in larger cities, people in my neighborhood come home from work and interact. They don't pull into the garage at 7PM, shut the door and stay inside until 6AM the next day.

I'll give up a few amenities to the coastal cities if it means a community and people that I like.

[Stelinzoe]

By the way, Lindyscribe, my name is Lindsey (nice to meet you). STELINZOE is a combination of my family: Steve, Lindsey, Lorenzo, and Zoe.
May i ask?: How do you fare in the summers? What do you do with your children, your baby? We are driving up there Labor Day Weekend. Any suggestions for things we might want to do/see? Is there a favorite park/pool?
I appreciate your "testimonies". I live in a part of Long Beach that's more "uppity". I walk up and down 2nd street Belmont Shore almost every day and you see so much Coach and Marc Jacobs and beach blonde highlights and I end up wasting too much money and then have this empty feeling inside, and then when I get dressed I opt for tanktops and yoga pants anyhow! I have loads of make-up and nail polish, but I never wear it!!! I spend so much time looking at magazines and comparing myself to the size-2's and watching E! channel and rethinking whether or not I should get "beach sexy" highlights. And then every once in a while I wake up and realize how different life is here and how much its affected me, and I hate trying to "keep up with the Benjamins". I hate feeling self-conscious. Just today one of the sales clerk on 2nd street stated that Bakersfield was "so different" and "there's not a lot out there" and that Long Beach was more "trendy, hip". You know what? I was glad she said that. Because I am not a "young, hip, single girl' anymore. I am a mom and I have kids, a family. I became more convinced I am ready for the "simple life". And as I have stated before I was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska - 300,000 people, everyone saying hi. I've concluded that Bakersfield must be just like home, only a heck of a lot hotter.
See you there!!

[Stelinzoe]

Fresnofacts, I appreciate your input.
That's the life I want for my kids!! I grew up riding my bike to the candy shop and running around the neighborhood throwing water balloons. You know how my kids are living right now?? Well, we live on a corner of two business streets. Directly across the street is a Sex shop with two "gay" mannequins with Tshirts that say very very explicit things. MY SON IS LEARNING TO READ. You catch my drift? Next to it is our most popular lesbian bar in which a lot of the women get extremely drunk and fight in the street every thurs - sun night, every other word a curse word. (I am not picking on homosexuals by any means. I am just upset at the violence and language and explicitness.)This is what my children hear when going to sleep. On the other side of the street is another bar, and even in the middle of the day there are drunks. Just last week one fell on my four year old, scaring him, as we were walking to the laundry mat.
I have forgotten what family neighborhoods are like!!
Looking forward to next weekend!

[FresnoFacts]

Stelinzoe, I hope you find what you are looking for in Bakersfield. We found it for ourselves here (neither of us is originally from Fresno).

There are 2 homes in my neighborhood up here that are occupied by families originally from the Bay Area. They have both said they love the Central Valley, that it reminds them of when they grew up in the Bay Area suburbs pre-Silicon Valley days. They like being able to give their children a similiar childhood to what they remembered.

[Stelinzoe]

Hey to all, and a very big thank you. I have joined 2 or 3 forums and it seems that most everyone seems to be very eager to help and have positive things to say. You all have really been the biggest help in easing my fears and have been very friendly indeed.
When I lived in Alaska and was planning to visit Los Angeles (I just had to get out of the permafrosted tundra and see life!!!) it seemed that every time I called a business in Los Angeles I was dealt with rudely and/or hung up on! I've been here six years now and am now accustomed to honking and yelling and just ignoring everyone else' honks and yells. hehe.
Now it's time for some more "adaptation"...but a positive one. Back in the right direction.
Eager to meet my new neighbors!!

[Lindyscribe]

Hi Stelinzoe, feel free to email me anytime if you want to talk:

Lindyscribe@sbcglobal.net

Hugs,
Lindy

[Richard in Pasadena, CA]

How can a person with 20 years experience in accounting get a job in Bakersfield? I have tried for 4 years now and cannot find one that offers a great salary and stability.

[LASam]

Originally Posted by Richard in Pasadena, CA

How can a person with 20 years experience in accounting get a job in Bakersfield? I have tried for 4 years now and cannot find one that offers a great salary and stability.

Have you been in contact with professional recruiters in the Bakersfield area? That's always a great starting point for finding jobs in accounting.

[jc76]

I'd take Bakersfield over the abyss here in the midwest any day. Sad thing is I had a chance to move there a few years ago but was swayed by 90% of people telling me it was a war zone/dump. Now I regret it because I hear lots of good things lately. Maybe I'll reconsider Bakersfield when my house here sells. Is it one of those towns where you won't find a job unless you have a college degree?

[LASam]

Originally Posted by jc76

I'd take Bakersfield over the abyss here in the midwest any day. Sad thing is I had a chance to move there a few years ago but was swayed by 90% of people telling me it was a war zone/dump. Now I regret it because I hear lots of good things lately. Maybe I'll reconsider Bakersfield when my house here sells. Is it one of those towns where you won't find a job unless you have a college degree?

I'm not sure about this... but I think there are non-college degree jobs in the oil business there. I just read about Occidental discovering a new well in Kern County as well... so there may be some opportunities coming soon.