Bakersfield is okay. This is opinion from a former New Yorker, someone who called Greenwich Village home. I am the kind of person who joined the Navy 2 months before I turned 35- the cut off age.
Bakersfield could be better, no one will argue that point. Land & home values are inflated, but have made owners happy with the increases. Schools are better than average. Shopping is poor, there needs to be improvements made to that "other" mall, while Valley Plaza is too crowded because it needs a major overhaul. 
Rosedale is growing so quickly that no land developers have considered making a major eCommerce business park or better yet, a skyscraper with a park to bring in the New Year with our own ball and lots of stores.
1). High Technology- Rosedale and the opposite end of town need eCommerce parks. If the so-called figure of 10 residents from Los Angeles moving here each day is correct, why are we not creating economic incentives to bring the big eCommerce companies to town?
Why is anyone in computer & information technology being paid less than our counterparts in Los Angeles, or any other job? It is because the people have not made those demands. It is up to the people to pressure the City & County government to increase local spending, create incentives for major firms to relocate and market Bakersfield as a possible twin sister to Los Angeles.

2). Building UP- We have a lot of land but we are developing horizontally instead of vertically. Our city council is not approving major development for skyscrapers. The city ordinances prevent large "Jumbotron" style billboards which would increase local business revenues while putting more money in the employee's pocket. Our "downtown" is empty... boring... and lacks any excitement.

3). Transportation- Commuting to Los Angeles is horrible as we should have the high speed rail installed by now. Plane rides to LA should be as cheap as the gas it costs to drive there. This area of improvement is overlooked.

4). Recreation & Entertainment- Bakersfield needs to build on our natural strengths & resources. The exciting things that we have &  Los Angeles cannot provide. Our Kern river should have a massive building & advertising project for white water rafting, camping & fishing. Our lakes need redevelopment to offer high scale amenities, luxury rentals and increase the types of recreation at each lake facility. Water sports need to be exploited. The roads to our lakes need improvement. Motocross & race tracks should be developed to bring National talent here in Bakersfield. Whoever helped the owners of Mesa Marin make the decision to sell that track should be persecuted, while those who sat idly by should be ashamed. We lost a major tourist attraction! Before too much time goes by, someone (maybe a land developer) ought to develop another major auto racing venue as soon as possible. Our theaters and music venues need to be doubled, and built bigger and better to bring International and National talent here in Bakersfield. People from Los Angeles & Fresno should have an incentive to get here in Bakersfield to watch performances that cannot be booked in Los Angeles. Our trail systems should be engineered to have horseback, bicycling, dirt bike (OHV) & hiking trails that rival other counties. The city planners need to set vast amounts of land aside for recreational use only.

5). The Bakersfield sign should have been hoisted 50 feet above highway 99 and up-sized to brighten the road up by its enormousness.
Bakersfield should go big. Then our over inflated land & home values will hold the value.
These are just a few things we could do here in Bakersfield.
Go big in Bakersfield...