I find that the people there are very friendly, mostly Conservative Christians (unlike the hippies, liberals and atheists who seem gravitate to the coastal regions) and have cultural values closer to mine. There's some good country music in Bakersfield that the snooty elites in places like Santa Barbara, La Jolla and Marin Country shun.
Bakersfield and much of the valley was settled by good, salt-of-the-earth folks from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. In my opinion, they seem more proud to be American than in parts of California. I saw a lot of American flags a-flyin' when I was last there. Plus, who can't love a town with a suburb named Oildale? :-)
I'm sure Fresno is also a good place (aside from the illegals and the commie fools at the Fresno Bee). Right Jim?
All the Okies and Arkies have gone back home as soon as they were able to leave. Bakersfield has been taken over by illegals. They are not just in one part of town, you can’t escape them. They are everywhere you go.
We also have a huge gang problem and finally it doesn’t seem to matter where you live anymore. Even the best neighborhoods are subjected to home invasions and burglaries.
I love Bakersfield and it has been my home for most of my life but it is now a pit.
If you ever get a chance, check out my neck of the woods, the Eastern High Sierra, 85 miles from Fresno as the crow flies, but six hours by highway due to the High Sierra mountain range blocking the way. God fearing real American Conservatives and the most beautiful rural landscape you have ever seen; 14,000’ snow capped mountains and thousands of square miles of wide open, uninhabited country where one can roam free to hunt, fish, and camp undisturbed.
I agree with you regarding Bakersfield; at least how it was in the mid-’70s. One of my wife’s four older sisters married a guy (they both grew up in Arkansas with tenant farmer parents) whose only work was driving a dump truck. They struck out for CA and ended up in Bakersfield. I found out that there were many others in the area from Arkansas and Texas and it was a conservative “atmosphere” after visiting with them a couple of times.
We spent a few days with them around 1977. Their house faced a busy main road in town, but across the street was a huge orange orchard and the smell was fantastic. They had trees in their backyard for grapefruit, orange and lemon.
I rode with him on his job a couple of days, as by that time he had a large business doing contract work for the oil companies; building roads and constructing well sites. I recall a place called Onion Patch. .....He became a millionaire by the late ‘80s and also had a trucking business that would haul heavy earth moving equipment for others. He got into collecting old classic cars, like the RR Silver Cloud (which they drove to our house in Texas one year) and had a huge RV. .......Their kids all grew up working in his business and two are still out there. He retired back to Arkansas and died a couple of years ago.
Geez... Sorry for being so mouthy. Just stirred memories.