Help! Lancaster/Palmdale/Tehachapi/Bakersfield? (Los Angeles, San Diego: houses, neighborhood, buyers)

[canibeyou]

Um.... you might want to reconsider what you just posted. The stats for Tehachapi schools is:

Cummings Valley Elementary School
Golden Hills Elementary School
Jacobsen Junior High School
Tompkins Elementary School
Wells Elementary
Monroe Continuation High School
Summit High School
Tehachapi High School

And there are also several private schools in Tehachapi.

The population you quoted (5,000) is "in town" and doesn't include the surrounding areas outside of the city limits. Each of the surrounding areas has approx. 5,000- 6,000 people per area (Bear Valley, Golden Hills, Stallion Springs, etc.). And the "in town" population hasn't been changed in well over 7 years. There's way more than 5,000 that live in what is considered "town".

And severe weather? It snows in Tehachapi. Not even enough to have to own a 4-wheel drive. It snows at night and the roads are clear by morning. Other than that, there's no severe weather in that area. City-Data has a great link to check the weather patterns in Tehachapi and the snow level is so low, City-Data doesn't even record it. They sometimes get wind (not all the time; gain, check the stats here on City-Data), but nothing that does damage; the summer temps look super great...... I'm confused as to what is considered "severe".

[OILman1]

Too many illegals in Bakersfield now. Last time I was there hardly anyone spoke english. So the 'Trash' would still be very prevelent. Not too safe these days. Tehachapi on the other hand, would definitely be the ideal place to raise children. Who cares if there's not much to do? Enjoy the peacefulness of the local community and the good people who live in the area.

[Californiaguy2007]

What part of Bakersfield you've been going to????

I live near Bakersfield and go there often,and in my opinion most people in Bakersfield do speak english.

Originally Posted by OILman1

Too many illegals in Bakersfield now. Last time I was there hardly anyone spoke english. So the 'Trash' would still be very prevelent. Not too safe these days. Tehachapi on the other hand, would definitely be the ideal place to raise children. Who cares if there's not much to do? Enjoy the peacefulness of the local community and the good people who live in the area.

[canibeyou]

Originally Posted by Caliguy2007

What part of Bakersfield you've been going to????
most people in Bakersfield do speak english.

Ditto. Every time I've been in Bakersfield, I've met nothing BUT English speaking people.

We are talking about the same Bakersfield, right????

[sgoodrich]

Can someone tell me why it is better to live in West Palmdale than Lancaster which is only 13 miles away? Thanks so much!

[elousv]

Once upon a time there were several towns that were miles apart. Today the Antelope Valley is an amorphous blob. The neighborhoods were sometimes built miles apart, but over time they touch each other. So you do have nice ones right against not so nice. But generally, west is nicer and unfortunately windier.

[scorpio88]

I live in Bakersfield. Bakersfield has bad air, a lot of gang activity, boring. The best is that Bakersfield people care about the ones who live in the community. Bakersfield people always care when another needs help. If you do make the choice to move here, I would suggest the Southwest, or Rosedal, Stockdale area.

[california5]

Originally Posted by canibeyou

Well... I was just going to observe this thread, but the more I read about Tehachapi, the harder I was laughing, so I thought I'd put in my 2 pennies.

My husband and I made a decision, four years ago, continue renting in the San Fernando Valley (where I was born and raised) or move to a place where we could afford to buy a home. We made the decision to buy and we moved to Tehachapi. Fast forward 4 years and we own a large home on property that we owe next to nothing on (hence the ability for me to not have to work; live on one income), we have fantastic neighbors, literally no traffic anywhere up here, the air is clean, the sky so blue it sometimes takes your breath away and at night, the stars are so bright and gorgeous (no street lights where we live) you can actually see satellites flying in the sky, not to mention how gorgeous the Milky Way is.

No crime (no sirens or helicopters looking for the bad guys; only time you hear a helicopter is if a fire is being fought)... well, I should say, no gangs (contratry to what someone posted here).. too many CHP, CO's and Sheriff's live up here and gangs tend to like to blend in and not stick out like a sore thumb.. plus they seem to like areas where the cops are already preoccupied and they're anything but preoccupied here, so they're quick to respond to crime, should there be a call for them to answer. Meth... yes, there are people up here that do meth. Alot of people? Nope. Some? Yep. But show me a city in America that doesn't have someone doing meth.

There are a few private schools up here, but if you chose the public schools, they're not over crowded like in big cities and therefore there's more time for teacher/ student interaction. This is second-hand info. as we have no kids but some of our friends do. There's always the option of home schooling. But our friends that have kids have let us know what a great relief it is to live in a place where they don't worry about anything happening to their kids when they're outside playing. I've never experienced any kids up here (ages 5-20; 20 is still a kid, right! LOL) wandering around, looking to get into mischief. To the contrary. Before we moved up here, we were eating at the McDonalds. We watched a young girl, probably 9, hop out of her Mom's car and make a run for the door.. she ran right around an elderly lady walking towards the same door. To our shock and suprise, the young girl got to the door and, instead of running inside, she opened the door and held it open for the elderly lady and then went inside behind her. And, to this day, the kids we see are just as respectful.

People up in each others business???? Wow... haven't experienced that at all up here. We know our neighbors and watch out for each others property, but if you're not my immediate neighbor, I probably just know your name and nothing more. Then again, I don't gossip and no one I know does either. that might be the difference. I love the fact that we're a small enough town that, when you go, say, grocery shopping, the cashier recognizes you from the previous times you were in and he/she genuinely wants to know how you're doing when she asks. Same with other establishments. Some are small enough that they'll actually say "Hi ___________ (<--- insert your name here)" when you walk in. To me, that's not being up in anyone's business. To me, that's a sign of someone actually careing and being genuinely nice. Plus, it's nice, when you're driving thru a neighborhood, the residents here actually wave "Hi" to you.

Traffic???? What traffic??? If there are 5 cars within site, on the road at the same time, we call that "rush hour". And we're a small enough town that there's no one willing to risk the embarrasment of driving with road rage/ like a jerk 'cuz chances are, if they do drive like a jerk, they're going to the same destination as the person they just cut-off.. and that's just down right embarrassing. So, no road ragers up here.

And yes, we are a small town, with not much to do, but we are located close enough to larger cities that we can take advantage of everything they have to offer and, when we're done, we come home to our quiet little town, sit on the porch and watch the sunset on another perfect day.

Tehachapi isn't for everyone. I guess, when contemplating a move, you have to ask yourself what really matters. On one hand, you have Tehachapi; a safe, quiet community where it's safe to raise your kids. Or, say a big town like Bakersfield, where you have the big city ammenities, but everything else that comes with big city living. And, for the record, I think Bakersfield gets a bad rap whenever anyone mentiones it in a thread. Bakersfield is great for food, malls, entertainment... but at my age, I like being able to leave the big city behind when I go home.

Sorry for writting a book. Just thought I'd let you know what it's really like to live up here and not just come for a visit every now and then.

Just wanted to agree with the above post. We've lived here 2.5 years, moved up from Rosamond.
My only regret about moving to Tehachapi? That we didn't do it sooner!

[california5]

Originally Posted by the city

Bakersfield-350,000 population
Delano-50,000 population
Wasco-10,000 population
Tehachipi-5,000 population

They call Tehachipi the town of the 4 seasons. Harsh weather conditions there. not many schools nearby the city. a really small school, and quite a drive to bakersfield.

i wouldnt live in wasco cause of the prison being there, bakersfield has LA gangs and has nothing to do there, Tehachipi has bad weather. Delano is okay, they have a lack of tax revenue from not allowing Super Wal-Mart to be built.

Tehachapi has bad weather? No, Tehachapi has warm summers, not baking heat like the AV or Bakersfield.
Winter isn't harsh by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, it snows occasionally, but it doesn't stick around long and the temps are not extremely cold. The wind does blow here, but no more than it does down in the AV.

[california5]

Oh wait! After talking to my husband-the weather here is harsh, the schools are horrible, the drug problem is out of control, the gangs are everywhere, everyone knows your private business and there is absolutely nothing to do here.
No need to ruin my paradise.