Palmdale is not "the place to call home"
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7/27/2007
I moved back here 4 years ago to be close to family. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do. Palmdale has really changed for the worse since I lived here back in the 80's. They built the prison in Lancaster and built a ton of section 8 apartments all over. Section 8 in theory should be a good thing to help families in need. However, it is mostly abused and I don't know anyone who wants that on their street. The new houses are beautiful and affordable but when considering everything else it is not "the place to call home". The crime is up. Even if you live on a nice street, there is no guarantee that your neighbor will not rent out to section 8. The "not so good" people walk into your neighborhood and vandalize it and mark it all over with graffiti. I do neighborhood watch and got so tired of painting over the graffiti on our street mailbox that I just call the city to do it now. The public schools are really bad (35 or more:1 student teacher ratio) so if good schools are a criteria you need to be able to afford private school. Do your research!!! I didn't and I'm paying $900.00 a month for private school! There are a lot of sex offenders living right in or near your neighborhood so you have to beware of that. They are let out of the prison on a regular basis. Many people don't believe in taking care of their yards. On every street there is an eyesore. Code enforcement is a joke out here. Some things like the weather have not changed. It is really cold in the winters and really hot in the summer. Expect a high electric bill in the heat and a high gas bill during the cold months. Very extreme weather with the high winds blowing at least 6 days a week. We rarely get to enjoy our beautiful backyard and pool because of the wind. Most people commute to the S.F.Valley or L.A. and the traffic is mostly unbearable getting worse all the time. The medical practices out here are a joke. It is very difficult to find a good HMO doctor. Consistency is non-existent. If you have a PPO you might do ok to drive to the valley. If you have a job that requires a doctors note, be prepared to sit in urgent care for hours because "same day appointments" are only for the lucky. If you must live in Palmdale, the westside is a little bit better (and more expensive) than the eastside. Stay away from East Lancaster (very scary). The prison is in west lancaster so stay clear of that. Better yet avoid Lancaster all together if you can. If you choose Quartz
Tina | Palmdale, CA