This morning I got an official job offer in Bakersfield. I’ll be starting in June, and in the meantime need to find a place to live, move my things from New Mexico, etc.
So… any Bakersfield dopers? Ex-Bakersfield dopers who can give me some insights about the area? So far I know that summers are hot, smog builds up in the area, and it gets Tule fog in the winters. It’s also on the conservative side for California (but I don’t think I’ll notice, having lived in southern New Mexico for the past two years).
Opinions? Things to do? Dopefests? Mundane pointless Bakersfield trivia you must share?
I went to college in Bakersfield, my sister and aunties live there and it’s about an hour and a half from Fresno. Dewar’s IceCream is goooooooooooooooood, they make wonderful candy, too. Mexican food is best on Chester Avenue, they have some good concerts at the Centenial Gardens on Truxton Avenue. Basque food is good there, too. A couple hours gets you to Pismo Beach and all the clams you can eat!
My Aunt & Uncle lived there until their deaths (you can visit their graves for me if you really want something to do :p), so I spent a lot of time there growing up.
I lived there for a couple years and my cousin still lives there. In fact, Rico and I are going up this weekend to see my cousin
My cousin lives in the house her parents owned for 50 or so years… It’s on the East side. I don’t recommend the East side anymore. It used to be a good middle income low crime neighborhood. Now it’s high crime low interest in taking care of your property (with the exception of my cousin) area.
The west side is newer and cleaner. I’m not sure about the crime rate.
About the only thing to do there is to toast your toes if you walk outside without shoes.
Ok, so there are some other things. Ming Lake…they used to have boat races there. If not, I understand you can still feed ducks there.
There’s also a racetrack for some sorta cars somewhere just outside Bakersfield, or that’s what I heard. I’m not into car races.
There’s also California Living Museum. It was pretty interesting about 12 years ago. I make no guarantees about now.
I can’t think of anything else that doesn’t involve food or air conditioning. If I do think of something, or find out they have anything interesting when I see my cousin this weekend, I’ll let you know.
Hmm, maybe I could make a second income visiting people’s relatives who live in Bakersfield for them. “No, really, consider this to be a visit by cadolphin. I was hired since no one else wants to come to this godforsaken place.”
Thanks for the info, though.
BadBaby I guess I made a career mistake by majoring in natural resources. By definition I’ll be living in small towns; Bakersfield was one of the largest towns I applied for a job in. I’m happy to have things like multiple grocery stores, and major cities within a day trip’s distance.
I’ve passed through Bakersfield a few times on my way to Yosemite. That was enough for me. Although, come to think of it, I once took my Young Butrscotches to a Star Trek convention there (when we lived in Lalaland). I forget why we went to Bakersfield. But that one afternoon was enough for THIS lifetime. (Of course, I spent an afternoon in Plano, Texas once, too…)
We were shooting a music video in Bakersfield back in the '80s and needed someplace that looked like it had been hit with a nuke. We got a panorama of Oildale.
I’m from Bakersfield! My grandmother still lives there–she refuses to come and live near us, in nice pleasant (and not quite as hot) Chico. I’ll second Dewar’s and the Basque food, though that is a lot pricier than it once was.
The libraries are pretty good for CA, there are lots of swimming pools…um…oh! see if you can see something at the old Fox theater. I think they do live shows now, but when I was a kid we went and saw movies there. Nice old glamorous place.
We lived in Oildale for a few years, and my school was out in the middle of cotton fields. We could reach through the fence and gather ladybugs. There are a lot of oil rigs, too. It’s not the most exciting place, but Taft is worse, and you’re not far from nice places in a couple directions.
Crystal Palace. Coolest honkytonk this side of Gilley’s.
Really, it won’t be that bad. Look for a place up in the foothills east of town. I work in Fresno but live up in the mountains. If you don’t mind the drive it isn’t a bad deal.
BTW, what kind of natural resources do you work in? I’m in cultural and we work quite a bit with the natural resources folk around here.
Oh, and as far as natural environment goes, you’re not too far from the Carrizo Plains which is an absolutely amazing place to go (provided it is spring or fall, summer there is a bit warm) and a well-kept secret.
I’ll be working as a range management specialist for the BLM. Thanks for the tips! I did hear about the Carizzo plain, I’ll definitely go take a look when it’s not too hot. I’m sure I’ll see a lot of the countryside from behind a windshield during work hours, too.
I’ll take a look at the Fox Theatre and Crystal Palace, too. Live music is my thing.
So, I guess the superior intellect of your average doper keeps him from living in Bakersfield of his own free will, huh?
