Is Lancaster / Palmdale as horrible as they say?? (Salinas, Burbank: rent, house)

[CamaroGuy]

Originally Posted by Reziac

That's a good point. Lower-income areas are usually the first to get hurt and the last to benefit, when a state goes as far awry as Calif has, or when it gets better (which I don't see happening unless CA's anti-business policies are radically changed -- without business, you don't have jobs).

Good point.

[landoplenty]

I live on the mountain and do most of my shopping in Palmdale. I happen to like the town! Parts are gritty, but other areas are very well kept, and still others are rolling hills and country. Palmdale and Lancaster have bike trails and many parks, a lake and a lot to do. Like most places, you have to be careful of the neighborhood you move into.

[neelpert1]

Originally Posted by canibeyou

LOL... eh.. I rarely post in the California threads 'cuz there's so much of the "you can't live here unless both spouses are millionaires", blah, blah, blah. And those are posts usually made by people who made bad choices and are living the results of those choices.

I didn't post that to make you feel stupid or anything. Just thought the OP might not look into it if she thought it really was that far away from Edwards!

( To the OP... its actually only about a 40 mile commute with no traffic... unless you consider 8 other cars on Hwy. 58 "traffic".)

Sorry, even though it's a generality it is generally true. When a median home costs over $550,000 then each spouse needs to make about $150K for the math to work...otherwise the math doesn't work.

And only if the house is making money does anything like "no-load, interest only, ARM" make any kind of of financial sense.

I've been there, done that and my wife was born near Salinas. It was a one-way move out, and when we tried to come back and live it took about a year for both of us to wake up to the reality.

Choose any move to California, other than Sacramento and maybe the I-5 corridor, with caution. And even then, it's not really "California" when you live in Modesto or Fresno.

Just sayin.

[gargoyle661]

I have live out here since 93 . I moved out from Los Angeles suburb.it is true it does have its bad sides. Due to section 8 and other low income living some areas are bad. But when you compare it to the city I left it is not. You can run away fairly eazily. The back roads are a peacefull place to catch your thoughts. I have always loved the age this city had. What does make me sad is the constant destruction of old buildings to make way for the model homes and modern architecture. A town that forgot that the roots was agriculture , has become a town of techonology due to the bases and companies such as skunks... The legends and stories that this town has are amazing also. I have been into this town since I first rode by when I was 15 .( [url=http://www.AntelopeValleyHaunts.com]Antelope Valley Haunts Paranormal Research - Home[/url] ) From the small town of Harold to the host stories that are out here, Lost mines with gold and treasure , bandits and Indians, I always am looking for a new cool story about this city in every corner I turn. After reading these post I find that some peole don't like this place. First of all I live in the East side its not bad at all. My daily rutine , when I am not working I am either fishing or exploring this desert.

[Iwaswondering]

Lancaster and Palmdale are pretty bad and now it has nothing to do with the Section 8 problem which they have pretty much gotten a grip on. The current Mayor has declared Lancaster "A Christian Community". The People have actually voted to keep the name of Jesus in prayers at the beginning of all City meetings! It absolutly unbelievable to me that this could happen in California in 2010. Despite what the Mayor says there are many religions represented in Lancaster and to me this is nothing but a slap in the face! It's so totally rude and shows a great lack of Tolerance. After asking around, the Baptists (which the Mayor belongs to) and other Christian churches were encouraged to "vote Yes for God". Even though it was really about Jesus. This extremly rich, former Lawyer who owns most of the town is just creating his own little town, based on what he wants. Closed minded and based on the 1950's, that's what I'd say about this town. Oh, and this Mayor R. Rex Parris is getting an "eye in the sky" to watch over "his" city. We're leaving here in June after school is out. One more thing: the schools are in the BOTTOM 1% of the nation. Check out Great Schools.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by Iwaswondering

This extremly rich, former Lawyer who owns most of the town is just creating his own little town, based on what he wants. Closed minded and based on the 1950's, that's what I'd say about this town. Oh, and this Mayor R. Rex Parris is getting an "eye in the sky" to watch over "his" city. We're leaving here in June after school is out. One more thing: the schools are in the BOTTOM 1% of the nation. Check out Great Schools.

I don't know what bibles he thumps but he does have an utter contempt for our Constitutional rights as Citizens. And his "tough on crime" thing is really an ambulance-chaser philosophy of "someone must pay!" and he doesn't really care if it's the perps or ordinary citizens.

The massive destruction of our uniquely quaint downtown area is a good example -- I've been told he has some fantasy about making Lancaster a "historic tourist destination" or some such drivel. Yeah, right. (I predict that parking meters will eventually be part of the revised "scenery".) You do that by destroying what made it historic and turning it into a generic SoCal downtown, and by mucking with the formerly-smooth traffic pattern so you're forever waiting to get in and out of the nose-in parking, right?? And where exactly are all these tourists, not to mention the many things for them to see and do?? -- Some of the older motels have been trying to remake themselves as convention centers, and that hasn't flown either (judging by the fact that a couple of them are no longer motels at all), which doesn't bode well for this "attract tourists to Lancaster" fantasy either.

Of course we have millions of dollars to destroy one of the last unique downtown areas in the entire state, but no money for the schools or the library. Explain THAT one, King Rex??

(Yes, I know "king rex" is redundant. So is he.

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by gargoyle661

The legends and stories that this town has are amazing also. I have been into this town since I first rode by when I was 15 .( Antelope Valley Haunts Paranormal Research - Home )

I used to live in a haunted house in east Lancaster The "ghost" (not a person-ghost, but maybe some sort of tree spirit) that lived indoors was friendly, didn't bother me any, but the previous tenants had tried to exorcise it! However there was a Nasty living in a tree in the back yard.

And it wasn't just me... once had a client drive up and the first words out of her mouth were "Did you know you have a ghost in your house?" Yep.

[aliseaodo]

Originally Posted by SHABAZZ310

I have, when I lived out there I beat up many skinheads. I remember when a couple of skinheads killed a black guy and left him by the dumpsters at seven-11 on the east side. After that happened there was a problems for a while.

I know this was posted forever ago - I joined this forum specifically to ask when this was? (my parents moved to Palmdale in the 70's, we (my three sisters and I) grew up in Palmdale - on the east side, across from Yucca Elementary, from 1984 to 2007) Just never heard of this incident...also - If you are "beating up many skinheads" aren't you contributing to the so called "problems"? Just sayin...

[sk8njam]

ive lived here all my life,im now 20 yrs old...ive lived in 23 different places in palmdale and lancaster,both east and west side....east side of both cities are always gonna be worse than the west side but i wouldnt call the antelope valley unsafe...of course we've got our gangs and plenty of drugs but almost every city does...i always lived in what most of you consider the "bad" parts of palmdale and lancaster...some areas were worse than others just like any other city...im not sure if i would want to raise my kids here just cuz i know how easy it is to get involved with drugs here...everybodys got it or knows someone that does...quartz hill and the west side of palmdale are real nice....weve got plenty of "beverly hills" type areas too,million dollar houses,an ok mall(everyone complains sbout it but its really not bad),lots of good food,good movie theatres,the jethawks minor league baseball team...lancaster city park has a softball league that gets pretty intense...we have the Av Fairgrounds and tons of good spots to ride dirtbikes...i graduated from lancaster high school,it was actually a really good school,of course we had fights and occasional weapons issues but nothing too serious....all the drama took place outside of school mostly...

in a nutshell Palmdale/Lancaster is like a mini LA...lots of mom n pop shops,tons of mechanics,culturally diverse,AVC is a great community college,so anyway im sick of writing this,im surprised i wrote this much actually haha...just move here,i still love it

[glenn_1000]

Yeah, a lot of people in AV are into dirt bikes, dune buggies, and boats. Drive down any street and about every 10th house will have a toy hauler, boat or RV. The houses are big, most have 3-car garages and a RV space alongside the garage. You are much closer to the popular riding spots and lakes than living down in the valley. Most families are younger and like to have fun together, that's the impression I get.