Help! Lancaster/Palmdale/Tehachapi/Bakersfield? (Delano, San Fernando: renting, crime, home)

[kitty3]

Hi DesertBob-
What do you know of the area of Hart Flat? Is it possible to find a home (not a mobile home) for under $300k? I am looking to move to the area from the midwest, sometime in 2008. I have NO desire to live in Lancaster or Palmdale, but will be working in Rosamond and Bakersfield (probably mostly in Bakersfield). I want something about 3000-4000 feet elevation, VERY remote and wooded, with lots of wildlife and nature. But within an hour's drive of both cities. What are your thoughts on Bear Valley Springs? (my second choice after Hart Flat). What other areas would you recommend? Where is Old West Ranch? (someone mentioned that place...can't find it on a map). I have no kids, so I don't care about schools. I just want to live in (relative) seclusion. No houses right up next to one another....maybe where you could just barely see your neighbors house through the trees. Any suggestions??

[ewvdt]

Check out West Golden Hills of Tehachapi. You'll like it.
My son worked at the prison there over a year ago.

good luck!

Originally Posted by Tamara_T

Hey all!

My husband and I currently own a home in Lancaster, CA (east side) We HATE it! We just had a HUGE slew of robberies/vandalism over here and want to sell and get out.. pronto!

We are considering Bakersfield or Tehachapi... I would LOVE opinions on schools... etc in those areas. I have been to Tehachapi once to visit one of my husbands co workers. I didn't care for the emptyness up there.. didn't seem like much to do.. but then again. I didn't see any "trash" hanging around the stores, neighborhoods, etc.

A little about us..

My Husband works for the CA dept. of corrections and I own my own photography business Lancaster California Children's Professional Portrait Photographer - Maternity - Newborn - Family - Child - Babies - Black and White - Tehachapi - Palmdale

We are 28 and 24.. have two young children ages 18 months and 4.

Thanks a bunch!!!

[Arabian]

I may be working at Dryden for a few years before I can retire from the Federal govt. I currently live in the Bay Area and of course it's gorgeous here, green and the weather is perfect. But it's also densely populated. My question is, would it be out of the question to commute from Hollywood Hills each day? Also, if so, do people sometimes rent a room in a place like Tehachapi and spend weekends in LA? Another question...if the commute would be too much to LA, is it possible to find a small (2 or 3 br) cabin in a beautiful natural setting in the Tehachapi area where I could have a horse and are there good riding areas out there? What do people do for recreation? Are there good places to hike and beautiful places to see down there like there are up here in the Bay area?

[kitty3]

I don't live in Tehachapi but have been there a couple of times. Not sure about a commute to Hollywood...probably almost 3 hours? Not sure about renting either. But YES, there are tons of riding trails. The majority of people there have horses it seems. Very rural, lots of ranches, very pretty.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by Cali-girl

Lancaster & Palmdale used to be working class, conservative, white communities with low crime rates - until the State built the maximum security prison there on the westside. Many prisoners' families moved to the AV after that event due to a low cost of housing and proximity to their inmate(s). Until the State rescinds conjugal visits, then this trend will continue (unless that is the intent).

I agree that Lancaster has a bad crime problem but, if the prison was the primary cause then, wouldn't Tehachapi also be a high crime town?

Yet, it isn't. Prison towns don't always have high crime ...

[sheri257]

Since other prison towns don't seem to have the same crime problem that Lancaster has ... I think the problem lies more with the ineffectiveness of the police department which, I believe is run by the LA County Sheriff.

Lancaster police are notorious for nailing people for minor traffic violations. If you're even just five miles over the speed limit ... they'll nail you with a ticket.

While that does generate a lot of revenue ... it probably also drains manpower away from real crime fighting.

I can't help but wonder if this is the reason why Lancaster has such a bad crime problem. Lots of desert cities have gang and meth problems but, Lancaster does seem to have it worse than other towns.

[canibeyou]

Originally Posted by sheri257

I agree that Lancaster has a bad crime problem but, if the prison was the primary cause then, wouldn't Tehachapi also be a high crime town?

Yet, it isn't. Prison towns don't always have high crime ...

You make a good point... but Tehachapi also doesn't have public housing/ Section 8 housing (yet). Many people with loved ones in the California Correctional Institute can't afford to live near the prison and pay regular price for rent without the govt. aide that things like Section 8 offer. CCI is situated so not many homes are around it (meaning... it's a drive to get there). And those that are, people wanting to move into the area just while their loved one is incarcerated, the price for the homes aren't what they can/ want to afford.

No... not all those with loved ones in any type of prison are low income, Section 8 type of people. Please don't misquote me as saying that. But those that show up on visiting day are not the kind interested in dropping the money it would cost to own/ rent a home/ ranch in the Tehachapi area... especially just for a short period of time (depending on how long their loved one will be in the CCI; you never know when they may get transfered to another facility too).

Plus, add to the fact that most people in the Tehachapi area commute down the moutian for work... I'd suspect that it's easier for most to live in the Palmdale/ Lancaster area and commute even as far as Los Angeles for their job. When your loved one is sent to CCI and you've had a job down in LA for years, it makes no sense to quit your job to move closer to CCI for the few years your loved one might be there, and then look for another job. It's just easier to keep your job and go up to CCI on visiting days.

You can also add in the factor that tons of CO's, Sheriff's and Highway Patrol call Tehachapi "home"... that tends to cut down on people trying to get away with stupid crap. Or it should at least make you think twice. And I guess you could even add in the fact that Tehachapi is semi-remote and doing a crime and having an easy "escape route" really should never be in the same sentence together. You commit a crime in Tehachapi, you have a looooooooong way to go to be able to hide anywhere. There just isn't a lot of "blending in" one can do. You rob a gas station in Tehachapi, you have a loooooong drive on the 58 to try and run from the 'po-po' who are gonna be all over the place looking for you. You have nothing between the gas station you just robbed and either Mojave (20 miles away) or Bakersfield (40 miles away). Places like Lancaster, you can rob a gas station and drive 4 blocks over and blend into the neighborhood. Not really a reasonable possibility in Tehachapi. And, lastly, many Tehachapi locals have CWP. If you wanna guess which local is packin' or not packin', go ahead and take that gamble. You might get lucky.... and you might not.

Not much crime in Tehachapi... and the locals like it that way and will do what it takes to keep it that way!

LOL..... look at that book I just wrote!

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by canibeyou

You make a good point... but Tehachapi also doesn't have public housing/ Section 8 housing (yet). Many people with loved ones in the California Correctional Institute can't afford to live near the prison and pay regular price for rent without the govt. aide that things like Section 8 offer.

I wouldn't be surprized if Section 8 is the problem but, keep in mind that many prisoners are routinely transferred all over the state. So if people are moving to Lancaster in order to be able to visit inmates ... there's no guarantee that the inmate and their friends will be there for long so ...

I just think there's got to be other explanations besides the prison itself because Lancaster obviously has tons of CO's and cops also.

[canibeyou]

Did you read my whole post? It involved more than just the mention of Section 8 housing. Lots more reasons why Tehachapi isn't like Lancaster.

[the city]

Bakersfield-350,000 population
Delano-50,000 population
Wasco-10,000 population
Tehachipi-5,000 population

They call Tehachipi the town of the 4 seasons. Harsh weather conditions there. not many schools nearby the city. a really small school, and quite a drive to bakersfield.

i wouldnt live in wasco cause of the prison being there, bakersfield has LA gangs and has nothing to do there, Tehachipi has bad weather. Delano is okay, they have a lack of tax revenue from not allowing Super Wal-Mart to be built.