Is Lancaster / Palmdale as horrible as they say??

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by CamaroGuy

I seriously doubt any parts of Palmdale look like Cancun or Cabo San Lucas.

Well, maybe we could build a couple o' fancy resort hotels down on Lake Palmdale, that'll fix 'er right up.

Or maybe over on Edwards Lake... you looked at it lately? After all this rain it's like a freakin' ocean!! Maybe the Air Force can sell oceanfront property.

[Desertstone]

I was born and raised in Lancaster and Palmdale. It really is not that bad, there is of course areas thatyou would rather not live in. If you want to live somewhere near the base that area is not the best. I suggest living on either the West side or the far East side if you are looking for the "good" areas. I grew up on the East side and know how it is there. I hope this helps. Also the city itself is boring so I would look for stuff to do at the beaches or towards L.A. or San Diego.

[reddesertfox]

Originally Posted by Jay100

I haven't been there but know people who have lived there and they say it's BAD. All the hoodlums that were scared to stay in "Los Angeles" moved on up and out to Palmdale/Lancaster to continue their lifestyles.

Don't do it.

I am a 67 yr old man with disabilities planning to move there with my dog.So it has changed that much...this Sec 8 business oh boy.

[AllenSJC]

I know someone who grew up in Lancaster/Palmdale area. He said it was once a real hick town, lots of "rednecks". Now there are parts that are becoming more ghetto-ized. But still, I imagine it's an ok/nice area in general, even if it's cheap by California standards.

[Reziac]

It had been a year since I'd been to Lancaster (I moved back to Montana two years ago) and... I was shocked at how much it's gone downhill in just that short time. Since when do swarms of druggies roam Lancaster Blvd? My transmission guy told me they don't even keep water cups and business cards on the counter anymore cuz the lowlife steal 'em!

My tire guy told me the problem is LA County decided Lancaster would be a good place to dump their unwanted perps, so.. here they are, no longer in the normal ones and twos, but in whole swarms.

Second, and this is LA County's problem as a whole -- I had a bad tenant who did $15,000 worth of damage (including all the metal stuff they stole and probably scrapped) and I found some of my stolen property down at the granddad's house (he's old and senile and probably knows nothing about it). The sheriff's dept. wouldn't even take a stolen property report, and basically told me if I can steal my stuff back, go for it.

They did the same thing when a friend's reasonably valuable truck was stolen a few years before -- he even located the truck for them! But he was told if it hadn't been used to commit a crime, there was nothing the cops could do. They weren't amused when he pointed out that Grand Theft Auto IS a crime...

[honeypot]

C'mon you holier than thou people! I have lived in Palmdale for 25 yrs and yes it has changed. I work with the community and see a lot of drug use/milking the system_ but that is California. Stay on the west side and do your research. Good neighborhoods still exist and housing is still somewhat affordable.

[Reziac]

Fact is if I were moving back to SoCal, Lancaster area would be my first choice because I like it that much. And it's a better place to live than a lot of Los Angeles County. I really hated seeing parts of Lancaster go downhill like that. But yes, there are plenty of very nice safe quiet neighborhoods. And you can pretty much spot them just by looking.

[volosong]

The current mayor of Lancaster has done a lot to clean up the boulevard and the city in general.

If you move up here, just remember one thing . . . you want to be on the west side of the freeway!

(Been a Rancho Vista resident for about twelve years now. The Antelope Valley is a pretty nice place to live. However, gets a bit cold in the winter. Would much rather be up here than anywhere down below.)

[Reziac]

Coldest I've seen it in the AV was 10 below zero. Not unusual to hit zero for a few days in midwinter. Remember the three feet of snow?

[Billyvannuys]

Wife and I (both white, in our '50's, incidentally)bought a fixer-upper home just East of Division St. near K in Summer of 2014. $145,000 for a 1972 4 bedroom, 2 bath house with worn-out swimming pool. I retired from construction job in Dec., wife got hired right away at Eastside Union School District as teacher. Spent about $20,000 fixing up house. Not done yet.

Likes:
1. Less street traffic than San Fernando Valley
2. Unlike SFV, most everyone here speaks English
3. Desert animals near or on our property (ground squirrels, lizards, hawks, blackbirds, hummingbirds, etc.)
4. People willing to open up to us and tell about their lives. (don't know why they do this here, maybe we look respectful and responsible)
5. Winco prices (but,not the ugly, glaring looks or bad behavior from some of the customers there)
6. Wife got great teaching job.
7. Unlike students in SFV, most students here speak English
8. Nature, rocks, animals and desert flowers.
9. Cheap housing prices.
10. Lots of parking everywhere.
11. Lots of Sheriffs everywhere.
12. The Blvd. Cinema
13. Small town atmosphere at some merchants.
14. AV Air Show.
15. All the great military aircraft flying overhead (saw stealth bomber fly right over us)
16. Lancaster Center for the Performing Arts
17. Poppy Festival

Dislikes:

1. Dead grass on front yards ( put something nice there)
2. Proliferation of Section 8 housing ads in Valley Press Newspaper.
3. 6th graders at wife's (Eastside) school seem like their home life must be terrible. First grade writing, reading, and math level, no manners, Bad behavior, sexual comments to my wife, think they're bad gangsters, angry parents who intimidate teachers who inform parents about students' poor grades and behavior issues.
4. Too many pan-handlers.
5. No great restaurants. I mean really great.
6. No vegetarian restaurants.
7. No fancy, upscale club with great music.
8. No real shopping on Lancaster Blvd. (just a bunch of little, struggling stores, many closing)
9. A V high school has a horrible rating. 10 out of 100!! yes, 10 out of 100!
10. Way too many pan-handlers.
11. Too many boarded-up houses and businesses.
12. Too many used car lots.
13. Too many liquor stores and massage parlors.
14. No Von's Supermarket in Lancaster.
15. Too many dogs running around loose.
16. No great deli restaurant in Lancaster.
17. Single Mom's with baby dads in prison or just "not around"
18. Too many people driving around on little motorized disabled scooters. (what the hell? lose some weight and walk, people.)

Overall, not bad, but looking to sell Eastside Lancaster house and move to nice house Westside Palmdale as soon as we can. Many current residents of Eastside AV (*Lancaster and Palmdale) really don't seem to give a damn about the area. If I had it to do over again, would skip pool and pick house on Westside Palmdale which is 10 miles closer to SFV, and where things just don't look as rundown, scary, and wild as in Eastside Lancaster.