Moving to Bakersfield/Fresno soon (Los Angeles, Visalia: real estate market, apartments, crime)

[getnrdy]

I have been offered a transfer to this area. I would work a regional area (Bakersfield to Fresno) and I can live anywhere inside that area. I would prefer a smaller town. I was thinking of one of the cities along Hwy 99 between Bakersfield and Fresno.

Can anyone tell me anything about those areas? We have no children, so schools don't matter.

Thanks

[bikegirl]

Well, according to a nurse that I know from UCLA, they see a lot of cancer cases from Bakersfield. Poor air quality and it's a major agro/oil area.

[Roaddog]

Originally Posted by bikegirl

Well, according to a nurse that I know from UCLA, they see a lot of cancer cases from Bakersfield. Poor air quality and it's a major agro/oil area.

Not really, heres the answer to your question, visalia, tulare and hanford would be good options, bakersfield is fine to.

[Katie1]

I have a friend in Visalia she loves it!!

[getnrdy]

Thanks all. I was just looking at that triangle area. We are in Omaha, NE. With the difference in housing prices, we will likely not purchase anytime soon. But, it looks like there are some decent apartments in these cities. Apartment prices seem to be about the same as here in the midwest.

[SamInCA]

I'm originally from bakersfield. It was a good place to grow up, but bakersfield, like most of the central valley suffers from terrible summers and terrible air. Bakersfield fortunately is kinda close to LA and the central coast for weekend vacations. I'd choose bakersfield over fresno because of it's location and it's size(I like smaller cities). I'm pretty familiar with the cities in kern county, but not to familiar with any of the others between bakersfield and fresno.

[roseleadfoot]

I live in Bakersfield. THe air here is awful and summers are unbearable. I would go up the mountain to Techatchapi. Rolling hills, beautiful areas, cooler and some light snow in winter. Small town feel. Just 30 minutes down to Bakersfield. Prices are low to average.

[canibeyou]

Gotta ^5 to Tehachapi! Perfect community to buy a home, raise a family. And it's location to Bakersfield is nice 'cuz you can enjoy the shopping and dinning of Bakersfield and yet live in a smaller community, cooler climate in the summer and cleaner air (no fireplace restrictions).

[elcapitan]

First of all, Bakersfield isn't for everyone. I lived there for about four years, my wife grew up there, and we still visit her family regularly, so I would say I know quite a bit about the place.

I would say it definitely has a bad reputation within California (known as the "armpit" of CA.) It does have one or two perks though. There a couple of decent schools, but that is irrelevant since you do not have children. It is also semi-close to better places; its about two hours from San Luis Obispo, 2 1/2 hours to coast, mountains, etc. People there consider it a positive in that it is close to Los Angeles, but I see that as a negative.

It is very flat, VERY dusty, and extremely hot from May through October. I always have to laugh when people there say "But it's a dry heat"- after twenty consecutive days of 105 degree temps you will see what I mean ; I was so miserable with having to stay inside with the A/C on full blast, paying astronomical electricity bills. It also heats up very early in the morning and doesn't really cool down much at night, so the heat is truly relentless.

We have two small children and decided to move away for their sake. The air is SOOO bad, especially when you consider that Bakersfield isn't really THAT big. Gang crime is on the rise, and we just decided that what was once positive about Bakersfield exists no longer. It has grown a lot recently BUT this growth is very deceiving. They basically keep building more and more housing tracts, but infrastructure and amenities have remained stagnant. Every once in a while they will build a new chain restaurant, and this strangely seems to keep the residents pacified.

There is definitely a sort of "Good 'Ol Boy" mentality in the air there, which you may be fine with, depending on how conservative you are. I do know that there is a very low percentage of college graduates, so the socio-economic landscape reflects that. There is a Cal State University there, but it ranks very low and has absolutely no presence in the town (doesn't feel anything like a "college town.")

Another thing is that it is supposedly one of the most over-inflated real estate markets in California. A few years ago there were many speculators with money from Los Angeles buying up property. It created a kind of artificial demand, and now prices a facing drastic corrections. It is still relatively affordable for California, but as they say, you get what you pay for.

Sorry for all the negativity, but I would definitely think twice about moving anywhere in the Central Valley, as they all seem to suffer from the same problems. Sure, there are nice people there, but there are nice people everywhere. Good luck.

[getnrdy]

Thanks for all the input. My new territory runs from Tehachapi to Fresno. Tehachapi sounds nice, but would require more highway miles for my work. Also, my wife needs to work, and I would prefer that she has a short/quick commute.

The bulk of my customer base will be in Bakersfield area, so it looks like Bakersfield may be the best option. I am leaning toward the west side and north side. Or possibly Delano/Porterville.

We will be in Bakersfield on 6/4-5 to scout the area. Hope to have a good look around then.