My Opinion on Lancaster, CA.
-
12/12/2010
I have lived in the Lancaster area from 1998 - the present (2010).
PROS:
-decent year-round temps
Since we are not in the close L.A. area we don't get their great temps but our 2500' elevation and southerly latitude gives us pretty good numbers. (Why do you think Mexico City is close to 70 degrees, year-round? It's at 7500' and has a real southerly latitude.)
We may get hot on summer days but, most all of the summer nights are cool. And we only get "Texas-sized heat" (Dallas,Houston,San Antonio,Austin,etc.) about 2 -3 weeks of the summer (not the whole summer as there). I.E. Our 110 degree days equals Dallas' 100 degree days (with some humidity). Most of our summer days are 90 - 100 degrees.
We may get cold in the winter (down to low thirties at night) but we have many sunny winter days, with temps in the 60's.
-smog isn't as bad as most of California is
-lots of old and new common retail outlets and a nice mall (over 400,000 people in the area)
-2 hours away from one of the most visited places in the world (Los Angeles)
and all that it has to offer in shopping, recreation, dining, entertainment, culture, sight-seeing, etc.
-we're in a big valley and have a nice view of the mountains surrounding us - some with snow on them
-can actually get green out here (beautiful on the hills) in wet weather (lots of desert flowers!- we're home of the State Flower/California Poppy Preserve)
-don't see a lot of spray paint graffiti here - gas pumps and restroom mirrors are etched up but not a lot of paintwork (or it gets removed quickly)
-I like how we have a rainy season and dry season. And, in general, I like our abundance of sunshine/lack of rain. Do miss the clouds at times, though.
Particulary with our elevation, that California sun can be brutal and relentless (months on end) at times.
I.E. If you are fair skinned you will probably be indoors a lot.
-no traffic!! It is getting heavier, but since I have been here I have not been in bad traffic jam once! The area is pretty spread out. (Although, maybe I am just lucky. I don't get in a traffic jam when I go in to L.A., much either. But, I don't go into L.A. a lot.)
-housing: affordable (especially by California standards) (now, 2010, it wasn't affordable 4 or 5 years ago - I thought it was overpriced, it looks like I was right)
CONS:
-The frequent high winds!! There is a reason they put multi-million dollar wind turbines in this area. The spring is the worst, in frequency and in severity. But, most of the year is pretty windy in general. Although, it is hard to gripe about the wind in summer (it can be very cooling at times, particularly at night).
-not much in the way of blue or white collar jobs
-no large entertainment venues (to be expected since Lancaster and Palmdale are more large "suburbs/ bedroom communities" than a real metropolis - you won't find any skyscrapers in this {large valley)
-not much culture,real defining heritage that I know of, although, we do have Edwards Air Force base and the aerospace industry, and our region is rich in minerals and alternative energy (solar and wind), and lots of Indian artifacts.
-lots of brown desert in the dry season - which reminds me, fire season can be bad (awful air quality) I have been pretty lucky in that, too. Lots of fires around me my 12 years here, but it has only gotten real bad for me once (winds helping me out). I would leave the area and go to a hotel if it got real bad - is how much I hate it.
On crime, I would give it a little better than average rating - especially for a large population area.
That is all I kind think of at this time.
Lance | Rosamond, CA