I just a job with Lockheed Martin and I am moving out west. I have never even been to CA so I have no idea what to expect.

I have ben here in Santa Clara for six years now. Expect high prices for everything and many liberal ideas. It is a nice area and the weather is generally good. They are in to the pro sports but the colleges are an afterthought most of the time. Go to the Bayarea Aggies site and register they will send periodic reminders about event in our area for us Aggies.

I don't know how to sleep, I only know how to pass out.

Are you working in Palmdale, at Edwards or down in LA? I can give you the dirt on Edwards or P-dale.

The gas prices are ridiculous, currently at $3.60/gal, traffic always sucks, and there are a lot of rude people everywhere. All of the telemarketers that call me speak Spanish and hang up when I answer in English. Home prices have been falling, so they are actually somewhat reasonable. Whatever your salary is, ask for more. No one has a clue about what an Aggie is (even here on base). Everyone just assumes tu even when you say 'Texas A&M'. There is a So Cal A&M club that has a weekly happy hour and gets together to watch games.

The weather is nice most of the time and there are a lot of fun things to do close by. It's definitely not Texas...

I will be working in Palmdale. It is only for one year though, then I will rotate somewhere else. I hear the crime is bad. Do you know of a safe area to live? Is commuting from Santa Clarita to Palmdale too far? I really would appreciate any advise.

A lot of people who work in P-dale commute from Santa Clarita. Santa Clarita has a lot more options of places to live and you're closer to more stores and resturants and things to do. However, home prices and rental properties will be a little more expensive than what is available in P-dale.

Personally, if I was working in P-dale, I'd probably live in Santa Clarita and commute too. Your commute should be good because you will be traveling the opposite direction of most of the traffic. I work out at Edwards, and the commute is just too far from SC, especially when I have 0600 flight briefs. ugh!

Crime in P-dale and L-caster is pretty high. We have a prison in L-caster and when those people get out, they figure out that it is cheaper to live here than down in LA, so they stay here. It's really weird because anywhere I lived in TX, it was easy to 'define' the bad part of town and just stay away from that area and feel safe. It's not like that here. Crime is everywhere. Even in the more expensive neighborhoods you have shady people living in houses next door to regular families. I have a friend who was chased down the street. He was in his truck and some psychotic nutjob with a giant axe was running after him down the street yelling and swinging the axe at his truck. Nutjobs come from out of nowhere around here.

Also, P-dale and L-caster don't have municipal police departments, we just have the LA County Sherrif. If you call 911 in P-dale, expect to be on hold for a long time. Everyone I know who lives here has their phones programmed with the direct number to the sherrifs office in case of emergencies.

A married couple that I am friends with had their home robbed. They lived in a decent neighborhood. It took the cops 2 days to get to their house and take a report. Another friend heard 'firecrackers' outside of her apt. She went outside to look and saw her neighbor shooting a guy in his leg. She called the cops and it took them an hour to show up. We also get tired of hearing the sherrifs helicopter circling overhead at night looking for bad guys. It's ridiculous. As a female, I've always been told to be aware of my surroundings, not go out alone late at night, etc. Living in TX I never really did any of that stuff, but living in L-caster, you have to. Down in LA they are also having more of the freeway shootings, but fortunately none of that has happened up here.

We have a new LM guy in my group. His first night in town, someone broke into his truck at his hotel and stole a box that had all of his familie's important documents like birth certificates, credit card info, SSN, etc. He was in his room and thought about going down to get that stuff out, but he thought it would be ok for one night.

There are some places in P-dale & L-caster that aren't so bad. I live in a townhouse community and they don't rent to Section 8, so our area is pretty safe. I no longer hear gunshots on the weekends!

The other apartments and stuff in town all have to rent to low income people, and with that comes crime. They have not been able to build a new apartment community in over a decade in the city because everytime one is proposed, the nearby home owners get up in arms and get it shutdown. (I don't blame them, when I buy a home I will be just as protective.) But, it sucks then because you're paying a high rent for a 20 year old apartment or townhome. I lived in WAY nicer places in college. P-dale just doesn't even give you the choice of renting a nice apartment. Also in P-dale and L-caster, if you rent an apt, they don't supply a refridgerator. They got tired of tenants stealing them when they moved out, so they no longer supply them. That was a big surprise expense when I first moved here. I'm betting that places in SC will have them though.

Now, I know I've painted a bad picture, but it's not that bad, it's just very much a shock for most people who move here from different places. Living in SC will give you many more options and you will be able to find a nice place to live and not have to be as concerned with the crime rate.

The P-dale plant is in the same area of town as the mall, just on the other side of the 14 freeway. That area is where most of the new stores and resturants are. You should have a straight shot from SC to work and you shouldn't really be exposed to a lot of the crime and stuff. Personally I haven't had a problem yet, but just about everyone I know has had a home broken into or witnessed crimes happen. There has been a big community push to work on the crime and I think that is helping.

I'll dig up the link to the So Cal A&M Club's web page. They are pretty active and are having a Pub Crawl in Hermosa Beach this weekend. I haven't been to an event yet but they seem like a fun group, They also have cookouts on the beach during the summer.

dp...ops

[This message has been edited by X-43 (edited 4/4/2008 2:41p).]

Wow, X-43. The poor guy probably changed his mind after reading your post.

I live up the road from you guys (Santa Barbara). No complaints out here, other than it's VERY expensive.

I just moved to Lompoc. I realized that stuff was going to be ex*****ive but I guess it never really hit me till I got here. I also didn't realize how effin cold it would be. But it looks like you'll be more inland so I guess it won't be as cold there

[This message has been edited by Jock 07 (edited 4/5/2008 5:06p).]

Wow. Thanks so much for all the help! I have gotten pretty much the same suggestions on Palmdale, commute! I think SC is the place for us. Thanks again!