Lancaster/Palmdale safe neighborhoods? (San Diego, Gardena: for sale, apartments, to rent)

[C_A_Braun]

I think much depends on what is important to you in your new area? You have kids and therefore schools are important but are you a socialite that likes to go out dining a dancing on a regular basis? Is shopping important? Too many factors to consider when you say a generic "What areas are nice or not so nice". Much depends on your needs and circumstances.

My family moved to Lancaster in 1971, when I was 3. Other than my time in the Air Force (6 years) I have lived here all that time. Even my time in the Air Force included 2 years at Edwards AFB so of my 43 years, 38 have been spent in the Antelope Valley.

So let us know what is important to you in a home and you might get more specific responses.

Oh and another reason for cheap houses here, that has not been mentioned yet is there is a huge oversupply of houses as a result of the bubble.

[njac]

I live in a gated condo community and have had zero problems thus far.

[iamtall]

I love the community of people up here. I feel like I know everyone. It is getting bigger, but I cannot go anywhere without running into someone I know. A community is only made by what people invest in it. At this time Lancaster is on the brink of very positive change. There have been growing pains, as as Lancaster became more of a big city, it struggled with more big city problems like crime. Over the last couple years crime has been on the decline even thought the population has been growing. Lancaster is in a good place for the future, I care for my community, and most other people I know also do and will do what it takes to make sure it stays a nice community.

[jccohen]

Originally Posted by LancasterisAwesome

Be careful of what people say on the internet, always check it out for yourself first, but this is my honest opinion. I have lived in Lancaster/QuartzHill for eighteen years. I still absolutely love it here. Anonymous people on the internet will try to deceive you thinking that it is a horrible place. It was a great place to grow up, and I would love to raise my future kids here as well. As a general rule you could say that the westside is nicer than the east. It is tough to say that across the board, there are some beautiful and very safe neighborhoods in East Lancaster. I have lived in West Lancaster/QuartzHill since my family transferred to Edwards Air Force Base. We live close to the college. Some of the nicest homes are around the college and west and south of there and into West Palmdale. As a general rule, I would say your nicer places to live would be west of 20th West. You can also live further out in the country like Leona Valley or Antelope Acres, which are nice areas close by.

The reason it is cheaper out here, because the way that housing works in CA is this. You pay more money you closer you get to the ocean, and you pay more money the closer you get to you big cities like LA, SF and Sacramento. If you want to be closer to LA you will pay more money, the closer you get. The closer you are to LA, the more congestion there is. You have to think about what you want. To further explain, there are limited places to build close to LA, so when more people move to So Cal, these houses are built further away, and because they are further away, they will always be a little cheaper, if not a lot cheaper. It is a nice affordable community out here, that is why people make the move.

I hope this helps! Feel free to contact me with any other questions. No matter what people say, you will not get a good feel for the community, unless you check it out yourself.

I joined specifically to reply to your post. I have read 100's of post that are %90 negative about Palmdale. And yours is the most positive and productive I've come across. I am planning on moving from Santa Monica to Quartshills. The price of a home there, the KB or Richmond American (anyone feel free to give feedback on that) are a 3rd cheaper than renting in LA and you get so much more sq footage, new this and that it's unbeleivable. Yes I know the 5 day drive to LA is something to be reckoned with. However most of all the neg comments circle around the city having a lot of section 8 and crime being rampid. Can you eleborate on this?

Thanks

[iamtall]

Like you said many people on the internet love to rip Lancaster/Palmdale apart. I saw one day what people were writing, and thinking to myself, wow people are actually believing all these horrible things. I don't spend much time on the internet, because I am often out and about in my community. It seems that most people that complain do not have a life outside of ranting on the internet.

I live in QuartzHill/West Lancaster, and personally I think it is the best part of town, even though there are other nice parts as well. As far as crime goes, let me tell you that I have lived on my street for almost twenty years. There are have been two attempted robberies since these homes were built. I have never been fearful of walking, biking and hanging out outside of my house. My garage is open most of the time, and I have never had a problem. My neighbors are friendly, and most of them are original owners. I love where I live. I went to a private school, and had a great education. Some of my siblings went to public school, and also had a wonderful experience.

Each neighborhood has its own personality, you really have to check out the exact neighborhood to get a good feel for it. Where I live and where most of my friends live, crime and section 8 are not problems. The city and sheriffs department are doing a great job on cutting down on crime. There are a lot of really great things happening in Lancaster right now and in the near future.

I bike all over town also and have never had a problem. I bike to the downtown with my family to go to the library and hang out on the BLVD. Many people use their bicycles up here, the flatness is conducive for that. The city is building new trails all over the city.

I have much hope for the city because people are not just fleeing because of some changes, we are fighting for our community to make sure it stays a wonderful, safe place to live. It is not perfect up here, but to be honest, there is no where else in CA I would rather live. I have lived in Nor Cal and Newhall, and I much prefer Lancaster to both of these places.

Coming from Santa Monica, the weather is different. The biggest difference is the air-quality, it is the biggest selling point of the AV. The air is much cleaner than anywhere you can find down the hill. You can see stars at night. We have four seasons. It is hotter in summer and colder in winter. The leaves on our trees change colors before they fall, we are not unaccustomed to an occasional dusting of snow in the winter. In Spring we can be especially breezy. The summer on average about 95 degrees, but the the wind coming off the coast tempers it alot, as well as the fact we have very little humidity. We also get some monsoonal thunder and lightning during the summer. The sunsets are amazing. The clear blue skies are beautiful. The mountains that surround us are majestic. The greatest thing about the AV is you think you have it figured out, but then it chooses to amaze you in a whole new way.

If you have any further questions I think you can send me a personal note, and I will reply to it!

[tbanke]

I grew up in the antelope valley. Lived there for 40 years. Their are some good area's but I moved out because of the crime and general quality of life is terrible.

[iamtall]

I am not sure what the problem is with tbanke, why he does not like the av, I guess it is a good thing he moved out, leave the people who love it alone. The antelope valley compared to most of the country has as average crime rate, and this is continually dropping. The quality of life is based on many factors, including income, church attendance, divorce rate, etc. When you weigh all these in, Lancaster and Palmdale have a high quality of life. Although unemployment is up, we still have many solid employers like the airforce and aerospace companies. It is important to look up the facts before an individual starts stating facts that are not true.

[tbanke]

You seemed to seeing thru rose colored glass's. Don't tell me how great it is because it isn't true. The crime is average for what - Los Angeles County - Give me a break Your not being truthful and DON"T call me a liar until you get your FACTS straight

[iamtall]

I did not call anyone a liar. I am just stating facts, do the research!!!

[tbanke]

List of neighborhoods - Homicide Report - Los Angeles Times


Moderator cut: link removed


http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2010..._hightolow.pdf