COMMENT BY
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
Vancouver, WA
COMMENT
Best city in the high desert, but...
I've lived in the desert most of my life. Of the main cities that make up the high desert (Victorville, Hesperia, and Apple Valley), I'd say it's the best, but this whole area is going downhill.
Weather: Summers 110+, winters get down into the 20s at night. (it can get really hard to find plants that can survive our summers AND our winters). It's windy all. the. time. Hot wind in the summer, cold wind in the winter. Very very dry all the time
Pros: Apple Valley has some nice areas (as well as some run down areas). In general, I feel safe in my home. There's a variety of property and home sizes. Hiking close by (Pactific Crest Trail for one), dirt bike riding, hang gliding, hot air balloons. Star gazing. I hear our golf course is pretty nice. A few man-made lakes near by and short drive to the mountains when you're missing the color green and trees. We've gotten some larger stores and restaurants, so it's not as small town as it used to be. They've improved commute time to the freeway by opening up some more bridges. I really enjoyed and benefited from my time at our local JC- Victor Valley Community College. We have some neat wildlife in the desert- coyotes, lizards, not to mention the endangered Joshua Tree (ugly but interesting). It cools down at night during the summer much more than other hot areas.
Cons: In general, we're seeing a huge population surge, and not in a good way. New businesses popping up often but they tend to build new buildings rather than fill the many, many empty ones we have- parts of these cities look like ghost towns. Because it's so cheap to live up here (compared to the rest of CA), we are getting a lot of low-income people, and crime is on the rise. Just trashy people in general, or gang members. People taking advantage of the system- welfare, fraudulent unemployment or disability. There are actually jobs to be had up here but no one wants to work. Tons of gang activity right next door in VV, drive-bys, robberies, shootings, break-ins... Oh and meth is in abundance in these parts. No one around here respects our little desert. Litter blowing all over the desert, along with people just randomly dumping their unwanted belongings and furniture in the middle of the desert.
We used to have great air quality and could see the mountains clearly on all sides. That's changed just in the last couple years- we're starting to get the LA haze look. It would probably be worse except for the horrible wind that plagues the area so often. I have a really nice back patio that we never get to use because it's a constant dust storm.
This used to be nice community but it's time to leave