CA Guys...Palmdale/Mojave area

[Embraer]

Where would you live? How come? Taxes, Crazy BS, etc?

I could live in the desert...no problem with that. If I take the job, I'd probably live there 4-5 years, and see how I like it, with possibly a transfer back to Indy.

thanks!

[sammyg2]

Hot, cold, windy, dusty, dry.
nuff said.

[Embraer]

are we talking California cold? i'm used to subzero temps....

[Hugh R]

Where would you work? If LA, then get in line with 10,000 other cars inching up and down the 14 freeway every day. Mojave is almost an hour north of Palmdale.

[Embraer]

working in palmdale. id rather avoid the city at all costs.

[Hugh R]

About 1/2 hour from Willow Springs, so you've got that going for you.

I live a few miles north off of the I-5 from where it meets the 14 freeway.

[Targa Me]

Embraer, I live in Lancaster, next city north of Palmdale.
I'll send you a PM.

[Hugh R]

I know several people who live in Santa Clarita where I live, who commute to Palmdale. About 45 minutes, but not traffic going counter to rush hour traffic. Santa Clarita is more expensive, but a much nicer area.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Embraer

are we talking California cold? i'm used to subzero temps....

No, not that cold, but it does snow out there once in a while. The snow doesn't stay on the ground long.

Very windy most of the year everyday from late morning to well into the evening and sometimes all night. Hot and windy during the summer, like everyday 100 degrees hot and can go much higher.

But, a day with a chilly morning and a balmy mid day with little wind found sometimes in the spring and a little more often in the fall can be one of CA's best days anywhere in the state.

Clear air and azure blue skies that you just don't find everywhere. Alas, it doesn't last long. In fact, the best way to live in the desert is probably summed up in Willie Nelson's song where he said cowboys like clear mountain mornings and smoky old pool rooms. If I lived there, I'd be up every day before dawn and outside. I'd be inside most afternoons with a beverage. It's a great place to work indoors.

I think people out there are different and would not move away too easily. It's not too hard to find a cowboy mentality in the desert and I don't get the idea that the cops spend much time walking the beat making friends with the population.

Crime can be a factor. You do want to live in the best place you can afford and drive a car you can afford to lose to the elements.

[Targa Me]

I moved up there back in 1993 and will never move back into L.A. The best/safest areas are on the west side of the 14 frwy. I live next to a park and I would not hesitate walking through that park at 10 or 11 o'clock at night. Hugh is right as far as Santa Clarita being a nicer area as far as structure and development goes. There is so much less traffic in the desert. Milt is right about the climate. It does get hot up there but its a dry heat and it doesn't feel the same as a humid heat.

[Hugh R]

If you're planning on buying, watch out for what are called "Mello-Roos" housing tracts. You have a debt for the roads and infrastructure tacked on to your taxes. The concept works well if Phases 1-5 actually get developed. If only Phases 1 and 2 get sold, but the infrastructure was built out for Phases 1-5 you could be on the hook for the rest of the Mello-Roos bonds. Lots of developments went bust in the 80's and lots of people saw their Mello-Roos go from say $500/month to $5,000/month; a lot of people walked on their homes, increasing the indebtness even more for those who remained, putting even more pressure on more people to bail.

[Zeke]

Yeah, I lived over in Vegas for a year and got used to it. Some visitors to the desert get nose bleeds for awhile until they get acclimated to the low humidity. There is more rain in the Palmdale area than southern NV. but it's not much. You gots to be on your toes if it rains heavily, but methinks the developed areas have runoff managed better than just out in the vacant desert.

Anyway, I bet we can agree than it's different and worth a try. I'd visit a couple of times, once in the summer and once in Feb. Living there 12 straight months can only become better than that experience.

I didn't know about Mello-Roos out there. I thought that was an OC deal. Good point!

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by milt

No, not that cold, but it does snow out there once in a while. The snow doesn't stay on the ground long.

I worked at Edwards AFB for a couple years.

We're talking high dessert windy and cold. I moved there from Minnesota in January and I thought it was cold.

I travel there about every 6 months and where I used to live in Lancaster seems to be a gang area.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

I know several people who live in Santa Clarita where I live, who commute to Palmdale. About 45 minutes, but not traffic going counter to rush hour traffic. Santa Clarita is more expensive, but a much nicer area.

I drove by a few times this week. My company has a contract to build a new UAS with the folks in China Lake. I always fly into LAX and drive to Ridgecrest.

Should be there a bunch. Next time I'll buy you lunch if you are in town.

I like the high desert a lot and could live there in a cactus minute, but it is not for everyone. I agree with Hugh, btw. Spend a week there before you commit.

[Embraer]

I think I'm going to check it out. I grew up on a farm, have lived in Chicago and now Indy. (Indy can't even compare to Chicago for traffic and congestion. It's non-existant here.) If anything, it would only be for a few years, until I could transfer back to Indy if I didn't like it.

The job will be paying in the 6 figures, and I figure that would be plenty of income for a single dude living in the desert.

TargaMe, I'll give you a call later on....

Mike

[Zeke]

Some great roads nearby. And some higher elevations where it's cooler and there are streams and some lakes. Not like you're used to, I'm sure.

[Embraer]

Thanks for the info guys. For the people who have lived in So-Cal your whole life, there's a weird feeling of "foreignness" that you haven't experienced about it. For people here in the midwest, and elsewhere, it truly does feel like so-cal is it's own country/way of life....

[Hugh R]

Six figures and single in Palmdale. Dude, seriously consider living in Santa Clarita, the traffic out to Palmdale in the morning is non-existent. Same with coming back in the evening.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I drove by a few times this week. My company has a contract to build a new UAS with the folks in China Lake. I always fly into LAX and drive to Ridgecrest.

Should be there a bunch. Next time I'll buy you lunch if you are in town.

I like the high desert a lot and could live there in a cactus minute, but it is not for everyone. I agree with Hugh, btw. Spend a week there before you commit.

I work in Burbank, we could meet anywhere in the San Fernando Valley, you'd probably be driving from LAX up the 405, which is close.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Six figures and single in Palmdale. Dude, seriously consider living in Santa Clarita, the traffic out to Palmdale in the morning is non-existent. Same with coming back in the evening.

Hugh, there are some nice homes on the hillsides along that route. In this economy, I'll bet there are some smokin' (wait, wrong term for that area) deals for a mini estate. Even a lease.

If I could post a screen shot of Google satellite, I'd show what I mean.