What can you tell me about Bakersfied / Shafter these days (San Diego: mineral rights, lease)

[wellguy]

How are things in Bakersfield these days. I left the area 25 plus years ago.

Lived in Shafter also.

[Montana2Clark]

yeah...Bakersfield to me is like a big, dirty parking lot that's always hot. You're driving around and around, trying to find a nice place...but no matter how hard you try, you just can't find it.

of course, I live in Carlsbad...so we try to avoid Bakersfield when we visit family up North.

[FresnoFacts]

Bakersfield has grown a lot in 25 years. But the area still reflects much of its history from the Dust Bowl migration in its political conservatism and street names like Buck Owens Blvd and Merle Haggard Drive.

Unemployment is low by current California standards. I posted in another thread that Bakersfield currently has a 9.7% unemployment rate, the same as San Francisco and lower than San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose and many other cities in the state. California is currently 12.2%. Oil and warehousing seem to be keeping Bakersfield unemployment lower than the rest of the state.

There are some locals who pass through here on occasion who can give a direct view, as opposed to outsiders who just drive through. Like most cities there are people who hate it and people who like it.

Shafter? Really hasn't changed much in my eyes when I pass through. Still under 15,000 people and probably hasn't grown more than a few thousand people in the last 25 years.

[Clarks]

There is a Kern County oil boom. There is oil work outside Bakersfield, Taft, Maricopa etc.

[canibeyou]

Originally Posted by Montana2Clark

yeah...Bakersfield to me is like a big, dirty parking lot that's always hot. You're driving around and around, trying to find a nice place...but no matter how hard you try, you just can't find it.

of course, I live in Carlsbad...so we try to avoid Bakersfield when we visit family up North.

You made me laugh out loud, literally, with your last, trying to be snooty, comment.

You'd be amazed how many people try to avoid Carlsbad too!

And, no, I don't live in Bakersfield, but I have gotten off the freeway/ main streets and therefore have a better perception of the area than those that just pass thru.

[Montana2Clark]

Originally Posted by canibeyou

You made me laugh out loud, literally, with your last, trying to be snooty, comment.

You'd be amazed how many people try to avoid Carlsbad too!

And, no, I don't live in Bakersfield, but I have gotten off the freeway/ main streets and therefore have a better perception of the area than those that just pass thru.

snooty? lame, I was going for "elitist" lol
you're right, I would be amazed at how many people try to avoid Carlsbad! I wonder if it's the same folks who hold Bakersfield close to their heart?

[wellguy]

Originally Posted by Clarks

There is a Kern County oil boom. There is oil work outside Bakersfield, Taft, Maricopa etc.

My Mom still owns Mineral Rights, along with her Sister and Brother, to land that her Parents owned years ago. The land in on Enos Lane just a bit South of Rio Bravo.

The Company that leased the rights drilled three wells on that property about a year ago. From what I heard and I cannot back this up since I never saw it, again only heard, that either the largest or one of the largest Rigs in Californina drilled the wells. Drilling had stopped and the Rig is long gone. It appears that pumpage has slowed down since there are no transmission lines to refineries.

[wellguy]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

Bakersfield has grown a lot in 25 years. But the area still reflects much of its history from the Dust Bowl migration in its political conservatism and street names like Buck Owens Blvd and Merle Haggard Drive.

Unemployment is low by current California standards. I posted in another thread that Bakersfield currently has a 9.7% unemployment rate, the same as San Francisco and lower than San Diego, Sacramento, San Jose and many other cities in the state. California is currently 12.2%. Oil and warehousing seem to be keeping Bakersfield unemployment lower than the rest of the state.

There are some locals who pass through here on occasion who can give a direct view, as opposed to outsiders who just drive through. Like most cities there are people who hate it and people who like it.

Shafter? Really hasn't changed much in my eyes when I pass through. Still under 15,000 people and probably hasn't grown more than a few thousand people in the last 25 years.

When I tell folks where I'm from they always mention Buck and Merle and of course "The Streets of Bakersfield Song". As I'm sure you know Merle Haggard had a huge home on the left a little before you entered into Kern Canyon. Do they still have the sign as you enter the Canyon that states how many people have drowned since 19..? It was constantly being changed.

Just out of Shafter heading south there was a section called Cherokee Strip. It is my understanding that some of the Okies' settled there. I can still remember the Migrant Farm Worker's Camp (as they were called) between Shafter and Wasco -Many poor white folks lived there when I was a kid.

Have you ever been up to Panorama Drive near Bakersfield College and look down towards the west and see all those Pump Jacks? Oil is something that people assc. Bakersfield with. I still remember Valley Fever is that a threat still? I always enjoyed Pioneer Village (it was called that when I was young).

Not to age any of you but do you remember Woody's Toy Circus the huge Toy Store on Chester Ave.? Is it still called Chester Ave?