Is Lancaster / Palmdale as horrible as they say?? (Los Angeles, Inglewood: foreclosed, insurance)

[dogard321]

lived there 4 years ago & it was pretty dangerous

[alize001]

dogard are you referring to Palmdale, Lancaster or Tehachapi? Please clarify? Thanks.

[Baldy]

The Antelope Valley (Palmdale, Lancaster, etc) is very, very bad. Avoid it at all costs.

Best bet is to find a place close to the base. There's plenty of rural rentals, if you're so inclined.

[Flashbaak]

Originally Posted by Baldy

The Antelope Valley (Palmdale, Lancaster, etc) is very, very bad. Avoid it at all costs.

Best bet is to find a place close to the base. There's plenty of rural rentals, if you're so inclined.

I disagree. I've lived in various neighborhoods on the west side of Palmdale and Lancaster over the past 20 years, and never had any sort of problem.

Stick to west side neighborhoods; you'll be fine.

[alize001]

There are so many mixed opinions here! I am still looking closely at Tehachapi and Bear Valley Springs. I appreciate everyone's input, albeit I am confused by all the conflicting opinions about the Palmdale area. Thanks again...still looking...

[cindycat]

We plan to visit Palmdale later this month. I know it's not a tourist town but we have a personal connection to the B-52 they're restoring at the museum...want to come by and "pet" it. We'll have to spend a night there before going on to Scottsdale. Any suggestions...any place we should definitely avoid? Thanks.

[Flashbaak]

Originally Posted by cindycat

We plan to visit Palmdale later this month. I know it's not a tourist town but we have a personal connection to the B-52 they're restoring at the museum...want to come by and "pet" it. We'll have to spend a night there before going on to Scottsdale. Any suggestions...any place we should definitely avoid? Thanks.

Avoid any hotel/motel on Sierra Highway.

There are several newer hotels in Palmdale/Lancaster. The Courtyard Marriott in Palmdale is near the mall, other shopping, and the freeway.

[eastside desert mom]

Originally Posted by alize001

Good'ay all - I have a question specifically for people in the Lancaster / Palmdale area of southern California. My husband may be relocating to an air force base close by and I was told to look for off base housing in Lancaster or Palmdale. Someone also recommended Rosamond or Tehachepi but I can't locate much info on the latter. Everything I have read about Lancaster and Palmdale has been BAD. Specifically section 8 etc.? Like this article: Lancaster Palmdale section 8 BS | Palmdale | Lancaster | Antelope Valley's Best Local Site Is it true that the area is so bad? Full of section 8? It's practically inconceivable that any area could be so bad and I hope it's not true because this is very depressing for us to have to think about living there if it's true. If anyone could enlighten me I would appreciate it! I am on the verge of begging my husband to turn down the job at this rate.

I've lived in east palmdale for over 17 years , my family and myself have never had experienced any problems , I have 4 kids who are all adults now
they all graduated from palmdale high, they are college educated,working,
I live in the joshua hills area and I love it, other family members live close by, it's good here. If you have kids, no matter where you live, what I would strongly recommend any parent is you drive them to school and pick them up, no matter if you live in beverly hills, no matter what, that worked for me.

[california5]

My husband works at EAFB. We spent the first 8 years in Rosamond. We looked in Lancaster/Palmdale but we didn't like the area. Crowded, lots of traffic, gangs, crime...not what we wanted for our family.
Rosamond wasn't a great place either. The schools are horrible, the people lack ambition, it's a depressing place to live.
Three years ago, we moved to Tehachapi. Our only regret is waiting 8 years to move, we are so much happier here. The environment is much better, it's a very family friendly town, very artsy. From what I hear the schools are good here.
It's a great place to live, our family is so happy here my husband doesn't mind the extra commute time. (In Rosamond it took him about 25 minutes to get to work. From Tehachapi it's about 45 minutes) One thing about Bear Valley, while it's beautiful...it will add an extra 20 minutes or more to the commute time.
If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message or email me... california5@gmail.com

[floopy]

I have lived in Lancaster most of my 30-something years. My husband's parents live in Palmdale. They live in one of the nicer neighborhoods on the west side, built in the mid 1990's. These are two-story homes with RV's and swimming pools. Three doors down from them is a house that has been obviously vacant and neglected for the better part of two years. All the landscaping is dead; the "clean it up" notices posted repeatedly by the city remain hanging on the door, etc. The street that runs past their subdivision is somewhat "out of the way" of the main thoroughfare, and therefore used for street racing. Mail theft from the neighborhood's mailbox kiosk has been a problem in the past. Even the nicest parts of Antelope Valley have problems.

Just don't live on the east side of either town. Things change fast. We rented a house on the east side of Lancaster. When we moved out a year later, the owners were astonished at how much the quiet neighborhood they remembered had changed for the worse.

I'm not going to continue rambling on with every negative story I have. I do recommend Tehachapi. I have several family members who live there. Generally it's prettier and safer than AV, and not quite so blazing hot in the summer. I don't know the housing status currently, but as of a couple of years ago the prices were better than in AV. We'd live there ourselves, but my husband's odd working hours make the commute too difficult.