Neenach/Holiday Valley Estates area? Near Lancaster? (Los Angeles, Santa Clarita: crime, loan)

[jb1234]

Hello,

A family member was looking into Neenach or the Holiday Valley Estates area in the Antelope Valley near Lancaster but since I mentioned all the posts warning about the crime/gang infested areas of Lancaster and Palmdale, she is having second thoughts.

Is it really that bad up there or is it more towards the south near to or in Palmdale? Did I scare here for no reason at all? She really wants to custom build a home for her rather large family away from the city.


JB

[jdavid93225]

From what I've seen, the crime problems in Lancaster and Palmdale have not spilled over into the Neenach/Holiday Valley area. I don't think there is that much to be afraid of in that regard.

The area is sparsely populated, because it has very little to offer other than low cost land. The climate is hot in the summer, and cold in the winter. It's windy almost year round, from what I've seen. Folks out there need to be more or less, self sufficient, as there are very limited public services. For a large custom home away from the city, this may be a decent location.

I would also suggest looking at Leona Valley, Lake Elizabeth, Green Valley, and Tehachapi. These are communities that are somewhat more established, but still offer many of the same advantages as the Neenach area. If the person that is looking to build is dependent upon the city in some way (such as working there), then I would suggest picking an area closer to where they work.

[elousv]

I lived there for a little while. Nice country if you want some elbow room. Had a good well at 50 gal/min. My house was broken into, probably because it was easy pickins with nobody around. The community mailbox kept getting broken into. Houses range from a 40 year old travel trailer to very nice customs. Nice views of mountains and night sky was great. It is out there so 40 minutes to Lancaster. Came across a few rattlers. The wind is unreal. It will blow the shade right up from under a tree.

[jb1234]

Originally Posted by elousv

I lived there for a little while. Nice country if you want some elbow room. Had a good well at 50 gal/min. My house was broken into, probably because it was easy pickins with nobody around. The community mailbox kept getting broken into. Houses range from a 40 year old travel trailer to very nice customs. Nice views of mountains and night sky was great. It is out there so 40 minutes to Lancaster. Came across a few rattlers. The wind is unreal. It will blow the shade right up from under a tree.

Rattlesnakes? I don't think she has thought of that. She has small kids, hence why she wanted lots of open space. Thanks for the first hand account. I'll be printing out this thread so she can read for herself.

[sfrancis]

Go to Leona Valley instead! Great small town feel, much less wind. Plus, its BEAUTIFUL. Neenach is just flat brown desert. Im a substitute teacher and have worked both schools and can tell you Leona Valley is a dream of a school. Theres only 1 classroom for each grade.

[jackneenach]

Originally Posted by sfrancis

Go to Leona Valley instead!

Neenach/Holiday Valley Estates (HVE) has fantastic views. It is very close to two mountain ranges. It is 1 hour (roughly) from downtown LA. It is part of Santa Clarita not Lancaster/Palmdale. Soon it will have civilization close by. A special projects department of Regional Planning is busy with Centennial in downtown LA currently, now. A Visitor Service Center (VSC) should be available about 6-7 miles away by the time you finish building. Eventually a VSC will be planned in the distant future for 138 HWY/300th St. West (4 minutes drive away). All the lots have all of the utilities necessary for building.

To be honest and balanced, here are the problems:

- often windy
- currently civilization is 30 minutes drive away
- theft is rampant
- Edison power connection scheme is a bi...

The problems I see/saw with Lake Hughes/Elizabeth/Leona Valley:

- the windy road to/from Castaic made my stomach nauseated
- your backend is Lancaster/Palmdale
- no utilities at the lots that were reasonably priced
- most of the lots were not flat

The features that were most important to me were proximity and travel to Los Angeles and minimal hassles during the building permit process. Given the requirement of a place I can own no loan within 1 hour drive of downtown Los Angeles HVE was the best choice in my opinion.

[kingbulldog]

Any mtn. lions or bears in the area? I heard the Pine Mt. Club/Fraizer Pk. gets a lot of bears in the area. Any snow too. And about that centennial thing, has it started yet?

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by kingbulldog

Any mtn. lions or bears in the area? I heard the Pine Mt. Club/Fraizer Pk. gets a lot of bears in the area. Any snow too. And about that centennial thing, has it started yet?

I have not heard of any bears in the Neenach area, but it is possible, since it's a rural area not far from the mountains. I know there are bears in those mountains, and if they get hungry, they could go into the valley looking for food.

As far as mountain lions go, I'm sure the area is within the range where some of the big cats hunt. Mountain lions have a huge range, often estimated to be as high as 300 square miles in some cases. There is a good chance that mountain lions pass through the area, but they are stealthy, so they may not be observed very often.

The area does get occasional snow, but it is low enough that it doesn't get a lot of it. Most of the times it does snow there, it doesn't last long.

As for Centennial, nothing has been started yet, other than planning and preparation. With the downturn in the housing market, I would not expect to see any groundbreaking for several more years, if the project does go forward.

[kingbulldog]

Thanks jdavid