Is Lancaster / Palmdale as horrible as they say?? (Redlands, Poway: for sale, low crime)

[elousv]

Originally Posted by majoun

The AV, was known for white supremacist groups, and the Aryan Brotherhood and Nazi Lowriders(which began in Lancaster) are still strong there, in addition to a plethora of other gangs.

WOW, lived there for quite some time and never heard of that.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by elousv

WOW, lived there for quite some time and never heard of that.

Nazi Lowriders began in Lancaster ; AB began in the prison system 35 years ago.

[Cali-moving]

Originally Posted by KNJO

I lived in Glendale at the time; even had the Hillside Strangler offer me a ride. Glendale is far safer compared to Lancaster/Palmdale; even today.

Glendale had its bad sections in the 70's, those would be considered good sections in Lancaster/Palmdale. Glendale High, did not have the problem with gangs like the High Schools in the High Desert. In the late 70's; Glendale High had one or two black students I know of.

You might consider the far westside around Neenach, if you have kids; or Antelope Acres around 90th west which is very nice too.

Yes true. But even back in the 70's when I was in school in Glendale, Roosevelt JR high had problems with gangs and you didn't go south of Broadway after dark if you were young and white cuz you'd get your ass kicked. My best friend in jr high was beaten up several times by Mexican girls just because she was white. My point is only that crime is EVERYWHERE, even what was then the white aryan brotherhood Nazi-newspaper capital of CA - Glendale (yes it was folks - the American Nazi party newspaper used to be printed on Colorado Blvd in Glendale). I'm not saying it was better or worse than Palmdale. Just it had crime...ALL cities have crime. If we're looking for Utopia, it doesn't exist. But thanks for the pointers of other communities. Points taken. Have a good one.

[Twomanyjeeps]

Go to cityoflancasterca.org and use the search function "crime". Not sure if the statistics are good because it is coming from somewhat of a potentially biased source but read into it what you will. Supposedly crime has been drastically reduced in the past 6 months. I'm being offered a position at edwards and at this point I've decided to either live in Rosamond or Tehachapi (coming from ohio) for the first 6 months to a year and use either of those places as a base to prorperly recon the Lancaster Palmdale area. I won't rule them out at this point but I'm afraid to commit to them without being acquainted with the area at all.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by Cali-moving

My point is only that crime is EVERYWHERE, even what was then the white aryan brotherhood Nazi-newspaper capital of CA - Glendale (yes it was folks - the American Nazi party newspaper used to be printed on Colorado Blvd in Glendale).

The presence of white supremacist groups generates crime. It does not reduce it at all, exactly the opposite.

[H Leona Valley]

Hi
I lived on the western edge of the antelope valley for 11 1/2 years and we loved it. If you live west of the 14, you will be amazed at how nice it can be. There are mountain and small lake communities along the last ridge of the mountains (Leona Valley 8 miles w of Palmdale on Elizabeth Lake Rd/Palmdale Blvd, Lake Elizabeth, 20 M west, Lake Hughes, 25 m west). All of these are facing the mountians. There are ochards and vineyards there as well. The mountains are 10-15 deg cooler than Palmdale Lancaster and gets more seasons.
Down on the flats are areas like Quartz Hill which has some very Large houses on large lots. Further west are Antelope acres and Three Points.


I still own a house there and liked it very much
hflinn@bellsouth.net

[Reziac]

I grew up in Montana but I've lived in the AV for 12 years now (and was nearby in Santa Clarita for 13 years before that). I like it best of anywhere in CA. Relatively open, relatively laid-back, tho that is changing as the population grows (used to be a slow-moving rural area, now it's largely fast-paced and mall-oriented) -- pop.growth from 30,000 to over 300,000 in less than 10 years will do that. Quite appalling if you hate urban sprawl!

Highest foreclosure rate in all of CA -- tho a side effect of that is you can still find the occasional good deal on real estate or rentals.

Crime rate is about 3x the national average, tho still lower than most SoCal cities.

The high desert looks bleak and barren to some people, but I like the wide open spaces and the long long views across the valley floor. My sister hates it. Oh well!

Rosamond is literally "right across the street" from the base. It has both new and run-down sections, but is still a good place for a bargain, as SoCal goes.

If I were mil, tho, I'd look first at base housing -- Edwards recently upgraded everything and built new housing, and man, those are nice houses with big yards, like old-time middle America. The commissary and BX are fairly new too, and the one time I was there with a veteran friend, it was quite pleasant (tho prices were about the same as at Costco).

As to east or west of the 14 Fwy, I've lived both, and it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. There are nice and nasty neighbourhoods on both sides. The east side is older and more laid back; the west side is mainly new developments. There are a lot of spec houses sitting empty on the west side right now. Once you get beyond the newer growth, the further out from town you get, the more run-down the housing is, eastward or westward. There's just more of it to the east.

I think a lot of the "geez it's so horrible" stories come from folks who don't like the desert in the first place. The desert environment does seem to magnify everything, so anything bad seems worse than it really is.

If it weren't that CA has become so regulation-encrusted that I can't do business here anymore, I would be staying and eventually retiring right here in the AV. As it is, I'm working on moving back to MT. So it goes.

Good luck!

[KNJO]

Just know that Neenach has wind and LOTS of it. I tied two cinder blocks to a patio table and it still took flight.

You are not going to get an argument out of me on that! But your kid is less likely to be beat to a pulp or killed because of their skin color in Neenach, than Lancaster or Palmdale.

[KNJO]

If it weren't that CA has become so regulation-encrusted that I can't do business here anymore, I would be staying and eventually retiring right here in the AV. As it is, I'm working on moving back to MT. So it goes.

It cost $28,000 just to get a permit for a small barn without a slab in LA County; the barn only cost $13,000. California is definitely the anti business state! From sales tax to business license fees and permits; you are going to get reamed in the Socialist state of California.

Steve

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by KNJO

It cost $28,000 just to get a permit for a small barn without a slab in LA County; the barn only cost $13,000. California is definitely the anti business state! From sales tax to business license fees and permits; you are going to get reamed in the Socialist state of California.

For a BARN? like, four walls, a roof, and dirt floors? Anyone else notice how absurd that is??

And 10 years ago it was $38,000 for the basic house permit (not including the electricial, plumbing, sewage, and whatever other permits). Dunno what it is now. Enough that my vacant lot is gonna stay vacant, tho, cuz I could never get back out of it what I'd have to put into it. How many jobs does that kill, every time someone makes that decision? Also gotta wonder if this actually costs more in lost property tax than it nets in permit money up front. At a guess the permit amounts to 10 years worth of property tax. Since most structures stay in use for about 50 years, that works out to a net LOSS of 40 years worth of property tax, for every time someone decides NOT to build thanks to high permit costs.

LA County must have also done away with the grandfathering of older buildings, too -- used to be so long as one wall was still standing, you didn't need the most-expensive new-construction permit, so no one ever totally did away with an existing structure. But over the past couple years they've been demolishing rather than rebuilding (even when the older building isn't in bad shape), which I take to mean the grandfathering has either gone away or no longer amounts to any savings.

My sister is an architect up in the Bay area. She tells me we're getting off cheap. In Pleasanton, building permits will cost you $125,000 right up front. Mind you the whole house might not cost that much to build!!

And people wonder why newer housing in CA is so damned expensive... well, d'oh!!