Stockton/Bakersfield

[053e'de]

Does anyone has some more info about these two cities?

I don

[colin]

I don't know a whole lot about them, but I know that Bakersfield is sort of an oil/farming center. Kind of a sh*thole too. I've met several people from here before and they all had nothing good to say about it.

I have heard conflicting things about Fresno, though.

[053e'de]

I know population stats can be found on city-data, but i was wondering if anyone has some pictures or background info about their history, transportation, sports etc. and i don't mind if bakersfield or stockton are sh*t holes, they are still cities and therefore i find it interesting.

[Jaybee]

Fresno is awesome (with the exception of its Downtown)!!! Stockton is the St Louis of California. Bakersfield is the Nashville of California with Oil rigs and more smog than anywhere in the US.

[colin]

Bakersfield is the Nashville of California with Oil rigs and more smog than anywhere in the US.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oil and smog in Nashville? I don't know about that. That sounds more like Houston. I don't think that there's a single oil well in Tennessee.

If you mean the redneck part, I've heard the same about Bakersfield. I used to work with a guy from Visalia who might as well have been from southern Georgia.

[Jaybee]

Nashville?

Yes, Nashville. There is a big Country music scene in Bakersfield. Watch this and you'll get the idea of this place.

[convulso]

i wish i knew more about the city of bakersfield. i do associate bakersfield with the end (or beginning) point of the most beautiful 30-minute stretch of driving i've yet done. en route from barstow, stop and eat in mojave (primo's is the ritual for us) and then...take a breath or two and just go...massive dramatic elevation changes through the tehachapi pass (usually in the 2,000 - 4,000 foot range) for about 30 miles until you finally bottom out near oildale / bakersfield - the beginning of the central valley. turn around and go back the other way and try to spot a train going through one of the mountainside tunnels. go at sunrise or sunset and admire how enormous those windmill blade shadows are against the mountains. it's just a sublime landscape, if that description hasn't been beaten to death.

the 'other' tehachapi pass is the tejon pass (the grapevine), west of here. the slopes are steeper, and it's beautiful - but it doesn't compare to this one, imo.

[ATRAYU]

I, LIVED IN BAKERSFIELD FOR 12 YEARS, IVE HEARD SO MUCH BAD TALK, ABOUT IT. I THINK ITS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE, VERY AFFORDIBLE. OTHERS AGREE, THE POPULATION, JUST KEEPS GROWING. THE POPULATION AS OF 2006 IS ABOUT 325,000. AND STILL GROWING IT HAS EVERYTHING A CITY ITS SIZE SHOULD HAVE. 2 MALLS LOTS OF SHOPPING CENTERS AND SO ON. IT IS VERY HOT IN THE SUMMER , WELL OVER 100 DEGREES FOR A FEW MONTHS, IN THE SUMMER I ADMIT THE SMOG IS VERY BAD, IT BLOCKS THE VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS, BUT THE REST OF THE YEAR ITS GREAT. NOT MUCH RAIN. AND IF YOU WANT BIG CITY LIFE, LA IS JUST 100 MILES SOUTH, OVER THE RIDGE ROUTE, IF YOU LOOK DOWNTOWN, THERES NOT MUCH OF A SKYLINE. THE TALLEST BUILDING DOWNTOWN, THE BANK OF AMERICA BUILDING IS ONLY 10 STORIES. IT THE SOUTHWEST PART OF TOWN IS THE TALLEST BUILDING , ROYAL DUTCH SHELL BUILDING, AND ITS ONLY 12 STORIES. MORE AND MORE FARMLAND IS GOBBLED UP IN SPRAWL. BUT TO ME ITS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE, NO WORSE THAN ANY OTHER CITY OF ITS SIZE. AND I VE BEEN TO LOTS OF THEM.

[FromCityToRural]

Stockton ain't much of a place...it looks like the town that every illegal immigrant in the San Joaquin Valley lives in.

[Chris-LA]

I, LIVED IN BAKERSFIELD FOR 12 YEARS, IVE HEARD SO MUCH BAD TALK, ABOUT IT. I THINK ITS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE, VERY AFFORDIBLE. OTHERS AGREE, THE POPULATION, JUST KEEPS GROWING. THE POPULATION AS OF 2006 IS ABOUT 325,000. AND STILL GROWING IT HAS EVERYTHING A CITY ITS SIZE SHOULD HAVE. 2 MALLS LOTS OF SHOPPING CENTERS AND SO ON. IT IS VERY HOT IN THE SUMMER , WELL OVER 100 DEGREES FOR A FEW MONTHS, IN THE SUMMER I ADMIT THE SMOG IS VERY BAD, IT BLOCKS THE VIEW OF THE MOUNTAINS, BUT THE REST OF THE YEAR ITS GREAT. NOT MUCH RAIN. AND IF YOU WANT BIG CITY LIFE, LA IS JUST 100 MILES SOUTH, OVER THE RIDGE ROUTE, IF YOU LOOK DOWNTOWN, THERES NOT MUCH OF A SKYLINE. THE TALLEST BUILDING DOWNTOWN, THE BANK OF AMERICA BUILDING IS ONLY 10 STORIES. IT THE SOUTHWEST PART OF TOWN IS THE TALLEST BUILDING , ROYAL DUTCH SHELL BUILDING, AND ITS ONLY 12 STORIES. MORE AND MORE FARMLAND IS GOBBLED UP IN SPRAWL. BUT TO ME ITS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE, NO WORSE THAN ANY OTHER CITY OF ITS SIZE. AND I VE BEEN TO LOTS OF THEM.

Yeah I hear a lot of bad talk too, but I agree its not as bad as some make it out to be. Most people have to realize many coastal Californians have a negative view of central valley cities. Yet these valley cities placed somewhere else in the country wouldn't be all that bad. They're not run down and for the most part very clean. There are some historic gems and neighborhoods, but not really all that appreciated. Yet some are starting to become more yuppiefied, the Tower District in Fresno comes to mind. I lived in Fresno for 5 years and I moved there for a job oppurtunity. I really didn't want to move there as I was living in Chicago at the time, but I needed this job. Anyway I had mixed feelings about Fresno. I loved the the cheap cost of living, and I lived in one of the nicest luxury apartments I never could afford living in Chicago or Los Angeles. The thing that was difficult was getting used to living in a smaller city that I thought didn't have much to offer. That changed after a while once I got to know the city a little better. The valley weather is more seasonal, winter is cold & foggy. Spring & late Fall is awesome, and Summer just sucks if you don't care for hot weather. I did like the warm evenings because you didn't need a light jacket at night and you could enjoy swimming without freezing unlike Los Angeles (too cold at night).

Anyway getting back to Bakersfield, I don't find it all that bad. It reminds me of other valley cities, and a sort of looks like Fresno but smaller and the people are slightly different. Stockton I can only comment on what little I've seen. Exiting highway 99 and driving to downtown looks rather depressing. I know it was viewed in a negative way by people from Fresno. Some of the residental areas near downtown reminded me a bit of a mid-western or eastern city for some reason. Maybe even parts of San Francisco or Oakland. To me it just had a different kind of vibe than the other valley cities, and seem more urban whereas the others more suburban. Anyway thats about all I can say since I only know just a little about these cities, but been to all of them.

[mercurypa]

We are moving to Bakersfield from DC to be close to family as they age. I grew up in Orange County, and many parts of Bakersfield remind me of Orange County. Suburban and sprawling. However, I recently went on a tour of the older neighborhoods and downtown and find it to be very charming. Check out the Wikipedia listing for the city. Its is much like the older cities of So. CA like Pasadena, parts of LA, and Long Beach. It's downtown is very charming and gridlike and could be a great walkable neighborhood with a little investment. The older historic homes are charming and retain their value. We will be settling in the Oleander district near Downtown. I think with so many parts of CA filled to capacity Bakersfield will be another option for some. It just needs some better PR.

[tombarnes]

Padre Hotel in Bakersfield to See New Life

The landmark Padre Hotel in downtown Bakersfield could soon see new life as a boutique hotel. The current owners are embarking on a renovation plan which should follow through where the previous renovation plans did not. The building is important to the integrity of downtown Bakersfield and every effort must be made to see that the renovation is a success.

Hotel-Online

[FromCityToRural]

Let me say this...between Stockton and Bakersfield, I'd pick Bakersfield. I don't know much about Bakersfield and my only experience with it was driving through the outskirts of it when we moved out of California, but Stockton is in a ton of trouble. It's got a very high crime rate compared to the rest of CA, and has a lot less economic movement than Bakersfield. For what it's worth, I remember hearing on Loveline (you know, with Adam and Dr. Drew!) it had a massive teen pregnancy rate, too *shrugs*. On the high note, Stockton has Mustangs Plus, a great Mustang parts house which also has a pretty good Mustang show twice a year, and good access to the state capital of Sacramento...although Bakersfield is a slightly longer drive to LA, but LA has a lot more going on than Sac...