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Bakersfield, CA is known for its stunning natural beauty and wide open spaces, making it a popular destination for outdoor adventurers. It is home to sprawling vineyards and colorful hot air balloons, making it a great spot for sightseeing. From the Kern River to Lake Ming, Bakersfield offers numerous opportunities to explore nature while providing a range of experiences from outdoor recreation to cultural attractions. Visitors also have access to some of the best Mexican food in California at restaurants like El Molcajete and La Casita Mexicana. The bustling downtown area has something for all ages with music festivals, museums, and plenty of shopping options. A visit to the Kern County Museum or the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History can give visitors an insight into both local history and culture. With its easy access to Los Angeles and San Francisco, Bakersfield provides travelers with an unparalleled opportunity to experience the best of both worlds in one place! Reviews for Bakersfield often mention its breathtaking scenery, delicious food offerings, lively nightlife scene, and welcoming locals, making it an ideal stop for anyone looking for an unforgettable adventure.
based on 75 ReviewsGet to know Bakersfield with the latest comments and reviews from people who live in or have visited Bakersfield
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
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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
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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.)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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