Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I dont know much about this area, but my hubby and I have been looking for work in California for a while now and have received a call today from someone that works at the center... Sounds like a great opportunity to us as we need to get the heck out of the fiery pits of Alabama at this point due to allergies in the humidity climate of the south east USA.
The cost of living being low means being able to afford better things for our kids...
We are used to the remote life style as we just moved back to the states after living in Delta Junction and other remotes of Alaska for the last 6.5 years... Believe me.. we know what remote is.!!
That really isnt the big concern for us... as much as being able to leave when we want to for visits or trips and so forth.
We want to be able to make enough financially that we will be able to take trips regularly. We homeschool all 5 kids, but to be honest we have been thinking about putting them in the school system if we receive an offer there in the California area.
How are the schools there?
What about medical facilities?
What is the salary range for an Engineer at the center there?
That would be my husband. He is an Engineer of 22 years+.
Maybe someone will know so that we know what to ask for that way if they should offer a position to him.
What other small towns if there is such are there to live that are within no more then a 30 minute commute to work each day?
I dont know much about this area, but my hubby and I have been looking for work in California for a while now and have received a call today from someone that works at the center... Sounds like a great opportunity to us as we need to get the heck out of the fiery pits of Alabama at this point due to allergies in the humidity climate of the south east USA.
The cost of living being low means being able to afford better things for our kids...
We are used to the remote life style as we just moved back to the states after living in Delta Junction and other remotes of Alaska for the last 6.5 years... Believe me.. we know what remote is.!!
That really isnt the big concern for us... as much as being able to leave when we want to for visits or trips and so forth.
We want to be able to make enough financially that we will be able to take trips regularly. We homeschool all 5 kids, but to be honest we have been thinking about putting them in the school system if we receive an offer there in the California area.
How are the schools there?
What about medical facilities?
What is the salary range for an Engineer at the center there?
That would be my husband. He is an Engineer of 22 years+.
Maybe someone will know so that we know what to ask for that way if they should offer a position to him.
What other small towns if there is such are there to live that are within no more then a 30 minute commute to work each day?
How far is the ocean from there?
Thanks again
Ridgecrest will definitely be hot, but with out the humidity (98% of the time). I don't recall if allergies were a problem for me there. Cost of living is low, by California standards, but probably higher than you would find in Alabama.
Schools there are rated (great schools/test scores) higher when compared to other schools across the state, I have made a few comments on this thread about them, teachers/administration/other parents being quite judgmental, more of the "Keeping up with the Joneses"/"This is the way you oughta be" type. My stepson had to repeat first grade if that helps at all.
I also made earlier comments about the medical facilities, definitely not top-notch, they'll ship you away to Loma Linda (about 2.5 hrs south) for anything major and even broken bones. The ER is okay, not usually crowded, but they have to rotate doctors in from out of town.
I know very little about pay for jobs on base, but I would imagine your husband would command quite a salary with that much experience.
Nearby towns within 30 minutes include only Inyokern and Trona. Mostly open space within 1.5 hours of Ridgecrest. Inyokern is a rural town to the west with a very small downtown, mostly farms/ranches and trailers on acreage, a few eateries, a bar and a couple of gas stations. Trona is the pits, a borax mining town on a dry lake about 25 miles northeast of Ridgecrest. Trona is very cheap, plenty of abandoned houses, but home to many meth users, and that ever so pleasant smell of sulfur.
Ridgecrest is NOT convenient to the ocean. It is about 200 miles or 4 hours to the nearest beach, which would probably be in Los Angeles or Ventura counties. Lake Isabella is a good substitute, which is a dammed freshwater reservoir (snowmelt), a popular boating, swimming, waterskiing, or camping spot. It's usually cooler than Ridgecrest temperature-wise, but can also be very windy. Lake Isabella is 1 hour, 20 minutes away. On the way, Walker Pass can provide a little spot to snow-sled in the winter time.
Good luck, and I'd be happy to answer any more questions you may have.
[After living in Ridgecrest, I came to the conclusion that the closer you are to a major city, the more civilized things tend to be]
Dave, the conclusion I have come to after living in both Los Angeles and Riverside counties, is just the opposite. Ridgecrest is much more civilized and more relaxed. A better place by far than all of the numerous times I have spent in those places. You obviously have a pointed view of civilization. The clearer thinking of most Ridgecrest residents makes the city more civilized than the larger cities farther south. So actually, the closer you are to a major city, the less civilized things tend to be. The people of Ridgecrest are much more civilized than the people of the large cities to the south. And I've met many.
[People should expect below-average service in restaurants, i.e. expect to be ignored more by your server.]
This is also a misconception on your part. Just about every single restaurant everywhere you go these days, is serving up bad service. This seems to be the case these days but it's not just isolated to Ridgecrest. I have, however, noticed if you go farther north (Bishop, Lone Pine, etc.) the service is good at just about every establishment. It seems to me to be a modern cultural degradation in today's "me" society. Servers seemingly do not provide real customer service anymore, just about everywhere you go.
[Ridgecrest definitely is for those that are simple-minded]
This staement makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. Obviously you have been disenfranchised with people who don't think the same way as you, so you generalize that they are simple-minded. I have never experienced this from anyone in Ridgecrest.
[Ridgecrest is not a place to raise kids]
I grew up in Ridgecrest and spent many years there. There was no better place to grow up, than in Ridgecrest . We had desert entertainment, galore. And when we wanted to, we took off to Lake Isabella, Kernville, Bishop, etc., for even more wholesome entertainment. In the eighties an influx of drugs was introduced and the particular kind of drug came from the surrounding Riverside communities. The drugs didn't originate from there but migrated from there, to be sure. At that time there were many undesirables lurking about in Ridgecrest. That may or may not have waned since then but I certainly don't see it anymore. It's what you make of it. If you don't like Ridgecrest, your mind has already been set. If you like Ridgecrest, you'll enjoy it. Just like anywhere else.
[Nothing worse than raising your kids to be narrow-minded lowlifes with no desire of improvement.]
Here is the reason you had such a negative experience in Ridgecrest, Dave. How bizarre of a statement. If this was any indication of your thought process and demeanor, it's no wonder you had such a hard time. Narrow-minded lowlifes are narrow-minded lowlifes, no matter what city they live in. I have experienced these people in much greater numbers, farther south of the mojave desert. It sounds to me you ruffled some feathers and since nobody would agree with you, you choose to lambast the population. My dad retired and moved away from Ridgecrest a few years ago because it's getting too big for him, and he's very comfortable. I make a very comfortable living myself, also. Our "desire for improvement" matches nothing whatsoever, with your ridiculous statement. My sisters and brothers are doing quite well, also. You should state, in your answers to peoples' questions, the fact that you were disappointed that the citizenry of Ridgecrest wouldn't bend to your way of thinking, instead of making the city sound like a bunch of lowlife residences. Ridgecrest is a nice place to live. If you don't like the desert climate, don't move there. If you're expecting malls and concrete jungles, don't move there. If you want to get away from the jungle of endless concrete and deplorable traffic congestion, go ahead and make the move. The people of Ridgecrest are good people and will welcome you.
Well, I can't fault you for defending your hometown. It basically boils down to "different strokes for different folks,". Oil, you grew up in a small town, that is what you grew up with and have decided you like after experiencing both small-town living and city-living. I, however, grew up in "the city" and would rather take city-life over small-town life. I have done both as well, it simply wasn't for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OILman1
[After living in Ridgecrest, I came to the conclusion that the closer you are to a major city, the more civilized things tend to be]
Dave, the conclusion I have come to after living in both Los Angeles and Riverside counties, is just the opposite. Ridgecrest is much more civilized and more relaxed. A better place by far than all of the numerous times I have spent in those places. You obviously have a pointed view of civilization. The clearer thinking of most Ridgecrest residents makes the city more civilized than the larger cities farther south. So actually, the closer you are to a major city, the less civilized things tend to be. The people of Ridgecrest are much more civilized than the people of the large cities to the south. And I've met many.
I think the word "civilized" was a poor choice of word on my part. The comparison I was trying to make was the closer you are to a major city, the more "desired" it becomes. Not "desired" in a sense of it's for everybody and that's where everybody should be, but population trends show people pack in closer together the closer you get to a major city, Ridgecrest falls to the bottom of that hierarchy. For instance, after growing up in Riverside County, I realized hardly anybody really wants to live there. If they could afford to, many would just live in Orange County, because that's where they are or want to be most of the time any way (work, beach, family, etc). My parents were Orange County expatriates, the only reason we moved to Corona when I was 2, was because my parents could afford a house there, and the neighborhood we moved to was a slight step up from where we were in Santa Ana. They traded commuting for a house. If they could have afforded to stay in OC and be in a nice neighborhood they probably wouldn't have left. The point that I was making is, nobody really wants to live far out, unless they really desire a certain way of life, which usually means owning a house. My mother moved to Ridgecrest because it was the closest place she could buy a house. At the time I was just validating Consolecowboy's point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OILman1
[People should expect below-average service in restaurants, i.e. expect to be ignored more by your server.]
This is also a misconception on your part. Just about every single restaurant everywhere you go these days, is serving up bad service. This seems to be the case these days but it's not just isolated to Ridgecrest. I have, however, noticed if you go farther north (Bishop, Lone Pine, etc.) the service is good at just about every establishment. It seems to me to be a modern cultural degradation in today's "me" society. Servers seemingly do not provide real customer service anymore, just about everywhere you go.
I was a server (waiter) for six years. When a person has been a server for that long you nit-pick every little thing your server does. At Sizzler in Ridgecrest, I had the worst birthday dinner of my life 3 years ago, our server didn't speak well enough English and got every part of our order wrong (I think he's their manager now ). At Lugo's (new restaurant where Nickoletti's used to be), the only time we saw our server was when he/she took our order and brought it out. No drink refills, no "is everything ok?", nothing, and we were the only customers in the restaurant most of the times we went there. Denny's is hit and miss because most of the servers there were more interested in being socialites than being good servers. There was one guy at Denny's though, that we tried to go and see every weekend, he took good care of us. I expect a lot, and unfortunately I think I hold my servers up to my too high standards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OILman1
[Ridgecrest definitely is for those that are simple-minded]
This staement makes absolutely no sense, whatsoever. Obviously you have been disenfranchised with people who don't think the same way as you, so you generalize that they are simple-minded. I have never experienced this from anyone in Ridgecrest.
Mr. Oil, I'm not disenfranchised with you at all, and we couldn't sit further apart. Nor do I find you simple-minded; I like a debate. However, you clipped and cut my posts down to make them appear much harsher than they are. Point: Ridgecrest is great if you don't ask for a lot in your place of living. Feel free to quote me on the first three words after the last colon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OILman1
[Ridgecrest is not a place to raise kids]
I grew up in Ridgecrest and spent many years there. There was no better place to grow up, than in Ridgecrest . We had desert entertainment, galore. And when we wanted to, we took off to Lake Isabella, Kernville, Bishop, etc., for even more wholesome entertainment. In the eighties an influx of drugs was introduced and the particular kind of drug came from the surrounding Riverside communities. The drugs didn't originate from there but migrated from there, to be sure. At that time there were many undesirables lurking about in Ridgecrest. That may or may not have waned since then but I certainly don't see it anymore. It's what you make of it. If you don't like Ridgecrest, your mind has already been set. If you like Ridgecrest, you'll enjoy it. Just like anywhere else.
I feel Ridgecrest doesn't provide enough culture to provide a child a well-rounded upbringing. Sporting events, zoos, aquariums, museums, festivals and such are too far away from Ridgecrest to enjoy on a daily/weekly basis. There isn't enough acceptance of diversity to go around, and I didn't enjoy hearing racial epithets on a daily basis. I didn't want my stepkids, or future kids to grow up to drop out of high school, not work, live with me until 24, have kids at a young age, and only want to hang out, drink and do drugs. I saw too much of that in Ridgecrest.
Ridgecrest is more suited to those that would like a conservative environment to raise their kids, which I found to be too harsh and right-wing for my palate. I prefer more of a balance. All of those things you mentioned are great, we indulged in them as well, I just know there is more to life than that. And yes, Riverside does have tweakers. Greater Ridgecrest does as well, maybe a few more per capita.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OILman1
[Nothing worse than raising your kids to be narrow-minded lowlifes with no desire of improvement.]
Here is the reason you had such a negative experience in Ridgecrest, Dave. How bizarre of a statement. If this was any indication of your thought process and demeanor, it's no wonder you had such a hard time. Narrow-minded lowlifes are narrow-minded lowlifes, no matter what city they live in. I have experienced these people in much greater numbers, farther south of the mojave desert. It sounds to me you ruffled some feathers and since nobody would agree with you, you choose to lambast the population. My dad retired and moved away from Ridgecrest a few years ago because it's getting too big for him, and he's very comfortable. I make a very comfortable living myself, also. Our "desire for improvement" matches nothing whatsoever, with your ridiculous statement. My sisters and brothers are doing quite well, also. You should state, in your answers to peoples' questions, the fact that you were disappointed that the citizenry of Ridgecrest wouldn't bend to your way of thinking, instead of making the city sound like a bunch of lowlife residences.
I had plenty of friends in Ridgecrest, (I know hard to believe) and I wasn't worried about people agreeing with me, I can be friends with people who disagree with me entirely. I will admit I had a culture shock when I got to Ridgecrest:
-I couldn't believe there were so many able-bodied people that didn't work.
-I didn't understand why drug/alcohol use was the goal of the day
-Why education wasn't a priority.
-Why couples got married at 19.
-Why guys/gals had kids with 3+ different people.
-Why people could pop out kids just to get on welfare/food stamps/WIC
-Why I have an easier time naming friends/acquaintances who dropped out of HS in Ridgecrest, than have graduated from Burroughs
-Why people don't want better for themselves
-Why so many people I knew have been in jail/prison
Yes, I'm sure those things occur "down south" as well, but either I wasn't exposed to them or they weren't as prevalent.
By no means am I trying to paint with a broad brush, there are definitely wide variances and am not trying to make generalizations, those things just appeared to be more common than what I was used to.
I'm not saying there aren't good people in Ridgecrest, overall they are quite friendly, (more so than here in aloof Denver) just stating my experiences from my point of view.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OILman1
Ridgecrest is a nice place to live. If you don't like the desert climate, don't move there. If you're expecting malls and concrete jungles, don't move there. If you want to get away from the jungle of endless concrete and deplorable traffic congestion, go ahead and make the move. The people of Ridgecrest are good people and will welcome you.
Good advice.
OILman, I wasn't trying to ruffle any feathers, and a lot of people did agree with me to some extent. When I started this thread I had a lot about my three-year experience in Ridgecrest that I needed to get off of my chest. I felt the public had a right to know, and I needed to honor a place that ultimately has had a big impact on my life. Maybe next time we have a good ol-fashioned debate, point out some of my positive comments on the IWV
Great posts about the area. Physically, the public airport is in Inyokern. (Just in case anyone is wandering around Ridgecrest still looking for it, lol)
We live a bit north of Inyokern off of Brown Road. Recently decided to move and sell our place. Anybody know if there is a forum for People looking for Real Estate?, or what Forum people moving here from Pt. Magu are on? Just trying to find someone looking and give the buyer a break.
Thanks for any reply. Please don't flame me, I didn't know where else to post this.
I need some help with finding a program that assists in rental funds. Not Section 8. I was told by an unreliable source that they needed funds to initially rent a place and that this agency would reimburse them once they were moved in and could give documentation to it. I was told it is called"Keys for homes" or "Homes for Keys". I am the third party and obtained information by the second party. If you could steer me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I am going on vacation tomorrow and will return on Wed 6-25. Thanks for your help!
Great comments in this thread about that place that so many of us have passed by on our way to somewhere else, but never spent enough time there to know much about. I've known a few people who cashed out and retired in RC. Too hot and dry there in summer for my tastes. I'm spoiled by the afternoon breezes off the Pacific that drop the temps just enough to get by without air conditioning most of the time during summer.
One thing about Ridgecrest, if a person loves to explore desert and mountain backroads, it doesn't get much better. Just carry along good maps + compass or good GPS, because there won't be signs or people around to point you the way back to the pavement.
Yeah, and don't forget to carry extra Water! Our temps right now are running about 105' during the day and dropping down to high 60's mid 70's at night. Great for viewing Stars.
Forgot to add there will be a Super WalMart soon in Ridgecrest. Most people are not leaving the valley to shop due to gas prices though. Right now we're running $4.55 for the cheapo regular. It's almost tied with the price for a loaf of bread! lol
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). At Lugo's (new restaurant where Nickoletti's used to be), the only time we saw our server was when he/she took our order and brought it out. No drink refills, no "is everything ok?", nothing, and we were the only customers in the restaurant most of the times we went there. Denny's is hit and miss because most of the servers there were more interested in being socialites than being good servers. There was one guy at Denny's though, that we tried to go and see every weekend, he took good care of us. I expect a lot, and unfortunately I think I hold my servers up to my too high standards. 
Inyokern
