I wish Bakersfield, Ca. was Better (Los Angeles, San Diego: condo, home, construction)

[Flovis]

Bakersfield is like the 12th most important city in California. You need to stop comparing it with more important, smaller cities in other states.
Its doing alright all things considered. Going to take time to move up the list and leave the small town roots behind. Relax, mate

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Flovis

Bakersfield is like the 12th most important city in California. You need to stop comparing it with more important, smaller cities in other states.
Its doing alright all things considered. Going to take time to move up the list and leave the small town roots behind. Relax, mate

I don't mean this pejoratively but I hope no one's holding their breath waiting. I'm very much aware that growth takes time but I lived there 27 years ago and although there's been a lot of expansion to the west (started when I was there), the one thing that can't be changed is location. It reminds me of Sacramento with the lamentable reputation of being a "close to" city; close to San Francisco, close to Napa, close to Lake Tahoe, etc. Bakersfield is even further from desirable sites and always will be. Remember, old as it is, even Sacramento is still considered to be a cow town by many.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

No Sports teams? These cities don't have one either. Realize we have entire states that do not have a sports team.

Biggest Cities Without a Pro Sports Team

Top 10 Untapped U.S. Markets for a Pro Sports Team - TheRichest

Does size matter when it comes to a city? Maybe in fly over country.

73 cities in California have over 100,000 people living in them.

23 of those 73 cities have over 200,000 people living in them

13 of the 23 have over 300,000 living in them

3 of the 23 have population of over 1,000,000 with Los Angeles over 3,971,000 people

To compare:

6 States have less than 1,000,000 people in them.

The Largest city by population in 19 states is Smaller than Bakersfield, a city that is not on the radar of many people within the state.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

The Largest city by population in 19 states is Smaller than Bakersfield, a city that is not on the radar of many people within the state.

I was frankly surprised to find that Bakersfield has 50,000 more people in it than St. Louis. For its population the city really has little to recommend it in terms of professional not just sports but other draws and amenities and especially sophistication. I think it needs to pick up its game even though it is relatively isolated.

[Justabystander]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

People live in Bakersfield because the homes cost a lot less than on the coast. The home we own in Oxnard was built in 1962 and supposedly is worth $477,000 or so depending on who you ask. Here are some examples of homes that you can have built in Bakersfield.

Residence 2514 in Westwind, Bakersfield, CA 93313 | ID: RESIDENCE2514 | HomeFinder.com

Residence 1670 in Olympian Hills, Bakersfield, CA 93306 | ID: RESIDENCE1670 | HomeFinder.com

Yes, but you're living in Bakersfield! If someone offered me a one acre lot in hell with a tennis court and 6 bedroom house for a song, I wouldn't take it because it was, well, in Satan's neighborhood. I'm not saying Bakersfield is hell, but it is really one of the most unattractive places I have ever seen, and that is saying a lot since I have travelled to garden spots like Youngstown, Trenton and Flint. Look at the price reduction on one of them! Even at a song, these new houses look like they are not going anywhere.

[Californiaguy2007]

I think Bakersfield is moving along just fine,and remember it's a Central Valley city,it's not L.A,San Francisco or San Diego.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I was frankly surprised to find that Bakersfield has 50,000 more people in it than St. Louis. For its population the city really has little to recommend it in terms of professional not just sports but other draws and amenities and especially sophistication. I think it needs to pick up its game even though it is relatively isolated.

[Californiaguy2007]

If you think Bakersfield is one of the most unattractive places you've seen,you seriously really need to travel more to other parts of the country and the world...Considering how arid the climate is in Bakersfield,there sure is a lot of greenery throughout the city and the surrounding agriculture fields adds to the charm and the views of the mountains on a clear day is breathtaking.

Just because the price for a house has been reduced doesn't mean every house throughout the city is being reduced as well...Price reductions for homes can be found in any other city as well,and trust me these new homes do get sold,but some people are simply just wanting lower prices and are willing to wait for it.

Originally Posted by Justabystander

Yes, but you're living in Bakersfield! If someone offered me a one acre lot in hell with a tennis court and 6 bedroom house for a song, I wouldn't take it because it was, well, in Satan's neighborhood. I'm not saying Bakersfield is hell, but it is really one of the most unattractive places I have ever seen, and that is saying a lot since I have travelled to garden spots like Youngstown, Trenton and Flint. Look at the price reduction on one of them! Even at a song, these new houses look like they are not going anywhere.

[sacreole]

You have to realize that Bakersfield is one the fastest growing cities in California. It's also located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, California's farm belt. Therefore, it hasn't had a chance to really "mature" into a city comparable to others its size. It's a big country town. Just like San Jose, which grew from about 200K in population in 1960 to over one million today surpassing that of San Francisco.

Eventually, Bakersfield will mature and gain a certain level of sophistication on par with other cities its size. But its economic and social roots have been agriculture and oil/gas production. In certain things, Bakersfield can hold its own. The annual Bakersfield Business Conference attracts world-renown speakers representing a wide field of endeavors (politics, business, entertainment and journalism). It has several entertainment and sporting venues. Granted, Bakersfield is not Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco and never will be any of those cities. But don't underestimate its potential.

[Bruce81]

I have been in Bakersfield (SF valley as well for work) for the past 5 years and it has grown quite a bit. Since then, the new Tejon outlets opened which employ many Bakersfield residents, many more shops and restaurants have opened and the city now extends way south of Panama Ln. No doubt it's not the most attractive city in the state, but take a stroll through Mill park downtown, the bluffs, ride your bike on our wonderful 20 mile bike path, look at the mountains on a clear day( I travel through the Central Valley and besides Porterville you should consider yourself lucky we get some views of the mountains, from Shafter all the way to Modesto all you see is flat fields) we get concerts and so on so its really not that bad. I think since we are close to LA, many rely on heading south for entertainment and it's ok like that. I think being a mid sized city 90 miles from the 2nd largest city in the country is really not that bad.

[Californiaguy2007]

Well said "Sacreole"

I truly gotta constantly defend Bakersfield often in these forums or else people would think it's a larger version of Compton with all the haters and negativity being said about Bakersfield.

Bakersfield truly does have a lot of potential and the city leaders are realizing this especially because of it's close proximity to Southern CA.

Originally Posted by sacreole

You have to realize that Bakersfield is one the fastest growing cities in California. It's also located at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, California's farm belt. Therefore, it hasn't had a chance to really "mature" into a city comparable to others its size. It's a big country town. Just like San Jose, which grew from about 200K in population in 1960 to over one million today surpassing that of San Francisco.

Eventually, Bakersfield will mature and gain a certain level of sophistication on par with other cities its size. But its economic and social roots have been agriculture and oil/gas production. In certain things, Bakersfield can hold its own. The annual Bakersfield Business Conference attracts world-renown speakers representing a wide field of endeavors (politics, business, entertainment and journalism). It has several entertainment and sporting venues. Granted, Bakersfield is not Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco and never will be any of those cities. But don't underestimate its potential.