Bakersfield is good. But it has ways to go. - 2/20/2023

I am a millennial, born and raised here. As someone who wrestled with staying for years, there are a lot of valid reasons to not come to Bakersfield. Air quality, summer heat, and lack of green space are my top three that I still think about moving often. The most frustrating part of Bakersfield is the slow moving forward. We could have an incredibly large art community, desert botanical gardens, outdoor concerts, etc. But who is going to spearhead revolutionary changes? We need outside investors to continue lifting this place off the map. Bakersfield has made huge strides in green energy and away from the big oil days of old. We have one of the largest Bike paths. In the cooler months, you can legitimately ride your bike from one side of town to the other. What if solar panels shaded them in the summer? There is a ton I love about living here. A lot have described the "big small town" feel and I think that's a really cool part of the community. I love the diversity here. We have an amazing salsa dancing community, fencing community, ballroom dancing, even things like gaming, photography, and art can be found here. We are a huge Foodie town with some of the best food and passionate restaurant owners. You have to look and get involved in the Facebook groups. There is amazing local talent here. Bakersfield small businesses are strongly supported. We need an independent bookstore desperately. The fabric store on Niles is in a terrible location, but has a better fabric selection than places in LA. The local record store has stocked some crazy amazing finds. And it used to be the best vintage clothing thrifting in CA until resellers took over. As one of the largest places for ag land, the community is starving for bigger farmer's markets and entertainment outside the restaurant industry. We have a few bands and comedians come through here, but when they do they draw large crowds and unfortunately a bit of the riff raff comes out. Last year Taylor Tomlinson came to the Fox theater and she was heckled, probably won't be back. Things like this make me so frustrated because Bakersfield has an overwhelmingly negative reputation and stupid things like this set it back when there is a huge number of people trying to bring out the good here. This is in addition to the police reform that needs to happen, education needs serious support, and community literacy needs to increase significantly. The cost of living is still affordable, but it's getting difficult. Definitely takes two incomes to buy a house here and that is pretty recent. I can name three local businesses that opened during the pandemic. Bakersfield could absolutely be on the map as being a true Nashville of the west if it leaves behind the romanticization of urban sprawl and McMansions, putting steel walls and barrels in every single restaurant. Would love to see the revitalization include outdoor space. Have the city hire Monji Landscaping and turn Hart Park into a destination concert oasis. Bakersfield has the land, the people have the ideas.

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Gotta get out of here - 8/27/2021

I have lived here all of my life. 40+ years. It used to be fun and kinda safe but now it is so scary to go outside. We are literally a homeless dumping ground and there is no where for them to go. They are everywhere. I saw a couple shoot up and nod out while I waited in a drive thru to get ice cream with my daughter last weekend. It’s lost it’s hometown feel and the police department sucks. If you’re thinking of moving here…you’re nuts. I’m moving away in a few months and I couldn’t be more thrilled just to move a little ways up the Central Valley. Good riddance.

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It’s better than you may think! - 7/5/2020

I moved here from Seattle 25 years ago, when it had a population of 200,000, and practically the only place to get coffee was a place called “Duke’s Ranch”. Why did I do that? It was a hard choice, as I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and have deep roots there. However, (surprise) I got a much better job here, and when I arrived, found I could buy a beautiful home on that salary. I told myself I’d return to the northwest as soon as my son graduated from high school, but fell in love with the man who built my house, and here I am...still! I am going to give some objective pros and cons that some of the previous knee-jerk-reaction reviews did not consider. FACTS: 1. It’s a desert. 2. Economy is primarily agriculture / oil industry 3. There is a literacy/ dumping problem. 4. Sometimes (not always) the air quality is bad. (I don’t suffer from it where we now live, just outside town in the foothills, away from cotton / almond crops.) JUST A FEW of the many PROS: 1. OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES: The mighty Kern River (Olympic trials are held there) is literally a few minutes from our doorstep (to fish, whitewater raft, kayak, camp) 2. BOATING: Also minutes away for power-boating & sailing: Lake Ming, Buena Vista Lake, (and Lake Isabella up the Kern River Canyon). 3. THE ARTS: An arts / civic Community that promote the arts downtown through First Friday events. 4. WEATHER: Really pleasant 9 / 12 months. 5. TEAM SPORTS: A thriving youth sports community. 6. EDUCATION: Some great public schools (pick your neighborhood by schools and your children will get a good education) and some phenomenal private schools (high rates of graduation and high rates of later graduation from college). 7. HIGHER EDUCATION: CSUB (no, It’s not Harvard, but give me a break, here!) BAKERSFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE has some great programs, including a phenomenal graphic arts program; students have gone straight into jobs for companies like PIXAR from there. 8. COMMUNITY: Most people are very friendly... strangers still talk to one another here. There are wonderful people here to have fun with and work with to address community issues. 8. BIG CITY ENTERTAINMENT: It’s a very short drive (<2hours) to LA for ocean beaches, concerts, plays, shopping, arts. 9. PARKS/ OTHER ENTERTAINMENT: It’s less than 4 hours to Yosemite Valley, a wonder of the world, less than 2 hours to The central coast for GREAT wine tasting, and just a little over 2 hours to Santa Barbara... and more. 10. COMMUNITY ISSUES: The local animal shelter is making HUGE strides toward becoming a service-oriented, no-kill shelter and toward rehoming greater numbers of pets. 11. AFFORDABILITY: Depending on where in town you settle, you can live your dream, whether it’s a gated community with clubhouse, pool and golf course, a modern “urban” condo, a small ranch with farm animals and views of sunsets, sunrises, and city lights, a home on the river or a private lake, or just a really clean, well Kept suburban neighborhood. 12. LOCAL HISTORY: There are half a dozen landmark restaurants and watering holes that locals have frequented for over a century. One of them, Luigi’s, Is a Saturday morning hotspot that attracts people from every walk of life. It’s a place where you can shop in their quaint deli, have a cocktail with your friends, and make new friends while waiting for your table! CONS: 1. HEAT AND AIR QUALITY 2. ILLITERACY (but It’s not the entire population!) 3. JOB MARKET can be limited, depending on your niche of expertise. 4. ONLY A RIVERBED RUNS THROUGH IT. My pet peeve! The mighty Kern RiverBED runs through town. Only sporadically do they allow the diverted water to run through town and populate the lovely waterfront parks. (Something I hope to see change someday.)

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Beware of the Lords of Bakersfield - 11/19/2018

I've been in this area almost 50 years. I have encountered two classes of people here: the salt of the earth, give you the shirt off their backs and THE LORDS OF BAKERSFIELD. You can google and read all about it. Bakersfield is a good place to make a fortune and get out. There is money to be made here. If you are okay working and going home, you will do fine here. Of course, there are a lot of bars (not my thing.) There are some safe organizations you can get involved in, and there are others run by opportunists who couldn't make it in bigger cities. One has to beware and trust one's gut. If you are not careful, you will get sucked into someone's personal little kingdom. There are a couple of megachurches I would advise you to avoid.

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Moved in 1997 - 6/22/2017

My husband and I both grew up in Bakersfield and married after High School (attended South High which now looks like a juvenile detention facility more than a High school). We had our children and after our son was born in 1995 and had a drive by shooting on the block behind us the first couple of days after I came home from the hospital with him, we decided we didn't want to be there anymore. Btw, we lived in a nice neighborhood which you would never think something like that would happen. We moved in Feb 1997 to come to Arkansas and raise the kids out here and it was the BEST decision we could have ever made. We built our first home on 2 acres and stayed until the kids graduated high school and just recently sold it and we bought 16 acres and are building a house on it. We plan on having a small farm. Something we could NEVER had done living in Bakersfield. My kids have grown to be well rounded individuals, each very successful. My son is pre-med and my daughter is getting her paralegal degree. Again, there is no telling how successful they would have been out there, but chances are they would have turned out much different. So moving to Arkansas was the BEST choice we could have ever made for our family. We go back to visit family, but do not ever consider staying.

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Where to begin - 12/18/2016

Bakersfield has the dirtiest air in the state or US i cant remember. My car is covered with a black soot all the time, have to wash it a lot. Allergies are bad here to, the air, the not so many trees, in a valley, so maybe. Cheaper housing but you get cheap, I mean cheap not so nice housing for your money. The summer is so hot, 110F. Cost is for me is $300 a month and thats with a CARE discount, what a rip off. This is for 4 months or more. CA is to expensive, gas prices at 2.50, dmv for a newer car 200, insurance for car 1000 a year, house tax a year 1200 for a older home, food is high, eating out is 7-10 for lunch more for dinner. I have to move to get away from these costs. Plus Bakersfield has nothing of its own to do you have to drive at least 1 hour out and more to other places in CA traffic, forget it.

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Can't wait to leave.. - 12/30/2015

For basis of comparison I lived in: San Francisco, CA Oakland, CA Walnut Creek, CA Moraga, CA Coeur d'Alene, ID Rutland, VT Dallas, TX Los Angeles, CA San Bernardino, CA Redlands, CA And now, Bakersfield. This place is bar none the most depressing, boring, and inhospitable area I've ever resided in. Horrible air, horrible uneducated/gruff/bigoted people, lack of higher education or higher educational resources (CSUB doesn't even offer GRE prep courses), unemployment is rampant, meth heads are everywhere, the cops are atrocious.... I could go on and on and on. The housing is cheap here for a reason. I'll be moving out soon and I suggest anyone who is planning/thinking about relocating here spend some significant time in this city and its surrounding areas first-I wish I did.

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RUN - 12/13/2015

Background: I lived in the Bay Area for the majority of my life and Los Angeles for 4 years. I've been in Bakersfield for about a month to study for the GRE and save up money for grad school. The positive: I rented a HOUSE for LESS money than my monthly rent at my LA apartment (hence, my rationale to move here). The negative: -The people are rude (this is coming from a guy who just left LA-they are indeed worse here, but, unlike LA, have nothing to brag about). -The air quality and scenery makes even DTLA look like the Garden of Eden. -There are little to no higher education resources (likely because the people here are about as dumb as they come). -There's NOTHING to do. -People drive horribly even though there isn't much traffic (at least compared to SF/LA). In sum: I'll be leaving this hell hole....I mean city...after spending about a month here-I've seen enough. I was always puzzled when I told people I was moving to Bakersfield that their immediate response was: "WHY?!". Now I know the root of their concerns. This place and its inhabitants are a joke. The lesson: the rent is so cheap for a reason and the stereotypes are REAL IF NOT WORSE. Buh bye "Bako"!

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education - 9/20/2015

I like the comparisons its very informational.

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Quality of Life in Bako - 8/3/2015

I've lived here all my life except for the three times I've moved out to live in different parts of TX. I don't find the cost of living cheap because it's all relative to what you make. Jobs here are not easy to come by unless you're in Corrections, we have plenty of jails, or if you are a teacher, nurse, ect. The heat is unreal 6 months out of the year. Most people have RV's to travel to the beach in summer and fall. Getting back to the job situation, this is the Good Ole Boys network, if you don't know someone,or speak Spanish, you will have difficulty. Applying online and then stalking the hiring Managers at stores, restaurants are the way to go. There is a reason so many are in jail, I think it is to have a roof over your head. Crime here is limited to areas, your lower income areas have more crime. Don't rob a bank here, you'll wind up dead. This is the Wild West and the cops here aren't known for their hesitant trigger fingers. Don't get me wrong it's not the worst place in the world but you have to know how to go about life here. Gas is high and PG & E has a huge monopoly on energy. People are now buying Solar Panels which you have to have good credit but well worth it. Lot's of eating places here. Some places you want to stay away from. Lower east side and Oildale. Some parts of Oildale ok. Agriculture around here is pretty nice.

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Affordable?? - 6/4/2015

Bakersfield is still one of the few larger cities in California with semi-affordable housing.

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What to do... - 10/10/2014

Bakersfield has few attractions. The Kern River runs through it, passing through Hart Park, but the river is usually pretty low. Too low to float down without a few bumps to your bum. Lately is smells like dead fish and is decorated with trash. The next attraction on the list is The Bluffs. The Bluffs provide some good hiking trails that lead down to a nicer area of the Kern River. This spot has mud sucker fishing and once in a while something you might want to eat. Another attraction might be college. CSUB offers a wide array of programs and degrees and sits across from River Parkway which is a bike trail that goes for miles around the dried up part of the Kern River.

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Air - 6/19/2014

Great people,lousy air quality

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comments - 3/27/2014

real property, housing and taxation lower in cost than other CA cities while services and infrastructure are excellent.

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like any city, there are good and bad areas - 3/14/2014

I've lived in Bakersfield for 45 years and I don't think its a bad city. Contrary to some opnions, we are NOT all uneducated hicks. Like any city , there are some bad areas , however I challenge you to on find a city that does not have some bad areas. Our city is growing and with that comes the good and bad. The city for the most part is well maintained and there is a lot of expansion and construction happening especially in the Rosedale area where I live. I think Rosedale is a very nice place to live. There are areas in Bakersfield id rather not go but I think thats the same with any city. So I differ in opnions with most of the other people who have given opnions on this site. I will say Bakersfield for the most part is a nice place to live. I agree we do have our negative areas but so does ever other city.

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Not Everyone's the Same - 9/7/2013

What's wrong with country every once in a while. Nobody is perfect everyone does things wrong ,no one is perfect. Everyone is different in a way, but that doesn't mean every place we go is bad. There maybe better places in the world, but the reason they turn bad is because we don't try to make them better. So what there bad who says in the future this place can't get better. There is not need to judge, not everyone is smart but you can be. You have to just keep trying and challenging yourself.

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Bakersfield - 7/20/2013

I agree with the negative comments re Bakersfield. Lived there for 18 years (strange, seemed longer). A rough town with a lot of uneducated, rude people. City/county budget is hopelessly inadequate. If you like rednecks, country/western music and poverty, this is the place for you!

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Judge for yourself - 3/13/2013

Hot, 90+ from June thru September. Questionable air quality. University town with economy driven by Agriculture and Energy. Two hours to the coast. Closer to the Sierra Nevada's on the east.

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It is what it is. - 3/9/2013

Just a short comment about Bakersfield. I was born and raised in Bakersfield. Like most towns in the Central Valley, as the years have gone by, the crime rate has risen and gangs are prevalent. Bakersfield is not alone in this. Salinas, Stockton, Fresno (and the list goes on) all have this same problem in common. If you want a beautiful place to live in California, the State has many wonderful towns and cities that are crime free with clean air, but be prepared to pay for it. They are expensive. Bakersfield, is hot in the Summer, with bad air. Pockets of Bakersfield are barrio or ghetto. The town has some wonderful neighborhoods too. Close to the beach and to the mountains. Bakersfield is not very expensive as far as the cost of living, comparatively speaking. Good shopping, nice restaurants. The town does have pros and cons.....look for the good and you will find it!

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No free thinking allowed - 12/23/2012

When I taught in Bakersfield I was negatively impressed by the uniformity of thought; many fearful people, tyrants, chauvinists, criminals, anti this's and anti that's. Little truth telling because little was allowed. The aim seemed to be for an apple pie culture, without any of the good will required to make anything authentic. Stifling, and I left - valuing even more the freedom I found elsewhere.

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