My Thoughts

The "Happiest/Saddest" city report recently published in Men's Health magazine has a lot of people talking. More than a handful of people are aghast that Bakersfield made the top ten of the "happiest cities" to live in.

First of all, I think we all need to put into perspective the scope of the report. It was based solely on the number of people taking antidepressants and the number of suicides. Those statistics don't really have anything to do with how "happy" people are. I doubt there is even a gauge available to measure something like that.

The report has spawned a rash of bashing. Dan the man from Bakotopia pointed out a couple of blogs where people had jumped on the bashing bandwagon. As a person involved with the community but not from here, he asked me. "Why do people love to hate Bakersfield?" What a great question. I don't know if I have the answer or not, but I do have a theory.

First of all, there are plenty of reasons to dislike this place. The summer heat is out of control, the winter fog is depressing, the air quality is border line criminal, and we have more than our fair share of narrow minded, red neck, small town people living in these here parts. That's the truth.

Nonetheless, that is not the end of the story. First of all, I have been to cities across the U.S. that are not unlike Bakersfield. Boise, Idaho and Spokane, Washington come to mind. They are largeish, “small towns” full of conservative minded cowboys with little to offer in the way of entertainment or culture. Let’s be realistic here. There are many, MANY more cities in this country that fit that M.O. than the other "sophisticated, cultured, artsy" places we all know and love. As far as I’m concerned we all need cities like Bakersfield. As ugly, unpleasant, bass akwards, and un-cool as it may be, this is where most Americans live.

If it’s so god awful, why do so many people live here? And why are so many people from L.A moving here? I think it’s because it is actually, despite the drawbacks, a great place to live. The housing is affordable. Most of the people living here are married and raising their children, so it’s very family/community oriented. It’s a hop, skip and a jump from L.A., the coast and most of the best travel spots in the state. But most importantly, the people that you meet here and the friendships that you make are genuine.

I was just talking to my friend Bree about this. She has lived all over the place, and she is the person who likes to refer to this town as Bakerstucky. But as we spoke, she said to me, as much as she dislikes so many aspects of this town, that she has met the “most beautiful people here.” Good people. People who care and will always be there. I know people not from here, who lived here just a short while, but that still come back to visit and remember fondly the good times that they had here.

So yeah – ain't all that. Like I said before, we can't all be Santa Barbarba. There are some things that suck about this town, but there are also many things that do not. As far as I'm concerned, the biggest problem is not the bad air, hot summers, and overwhelming conservative presence.

It is the people who continue to perpetuate the idea that Bakersfield is the armpit of California.