What It's Really Like To Live In Barstow California?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Barstow is located in the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County in California. City population is 23,812 residents. Barstow is an important crossroads for the Inland Empire and home to Marine Corps Logistics Base.
Barstow is named after William Barstow Strong, former president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Some early Barstow names were Camp Sugarloaf, Grapevine, Waterman Junction and Fishpond. Main street in Barstow is along the famous Route 66.
Barstow is ranked as one of the ten most dangerous cities in California and the robbery rate is one of the reasons. It's 17 times higher than the national average. The violent crime rate here is nearly 3 times the California average. There are gangs here and a drug problem.
Barstow experiences an arid climate. Summer days are very hot, with highs typically exceeding 100 °F (38 °C). Barstow has seen a recent decline in new residents moving to the area after a few years of consistent growth. The city is filled with many young adults in their 20s and early 30s.
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#barstow #mojave #mojavedesert #california #deserttown
Alright, I got a story. I live in Vegas and one day I got a message from this dude who says he’s from Vegas too but he’s been living in Barstow for the past year because he’s a construction worker and working at Ivanpah, building the solar shit. He asked me if I wanted to hang out. He’d request the weekend off & come pick me up to take me out there. Just a couple days to hang out, cuz “there ain’t shit to do out here” he told me. I didn’t know if this was a kidnapping/murder plot or what and I really wondered why he thought Barstow was the appropriate place to spend the weekend but for some fucking reason I agreed.
I ended up staying two weeks. When it was time for me to go, he drug up his job and took his ass back to Vegas. We’ve now been together nine years and we have twins. We really fell in love with each other in Barstow. We spent the best time getting to know the ins and outs of each other, without any distractions, in all the spots you shown in this video. I was never bored. The 99 Cents store where we bought matching coffee mugs, the laundry mat, where we washed his work clothes and ate Chinese food next door while waiting. The Walmart made me feel like a kid back in the 90s because it hasn’t been remodeled like all the ones in Vegas are. We sat there & made each other bust out laughing cuz we were there alone at the lil donut shop, watched our first movie together @ the spot there, I got cool shit at the antique mall that we still have in our home & we spent 2 whole minutes exploring the entire museum. The fuckin food 4 less gas station was my fav to people watch. Who cares that it only took two days to go through the entire town and then we had to do it all over again..I dug it. Any place we could go, we explored. If I was with anyone else, I probably would’ve hated that place and felt like a fish outta water..but I had a killer time. I think that’s how I knew he was the one.
I LOVE Vegas. Born & raised..but it was hella nice to be somewhere for once that was chill, we could get anywhere in a few mins, nothing was packed & at times we were the only ones there. Shit was affordable. Where his spot was, was QUIET at night. It was just a trip to me. It didn’t have any of the big city stresses, so it was a much needed break and i appreciated that aspect.
Anytime I hear “Barstow” I cheese up. That’s the city of love baby! (for us anyway lmao) Whenever we’re on our way to LA. We always have to stop and take a quick drive through and go to a few places for nostalgia purposes while holding hands and giggling like freaks. I’ll always adore Barstow, it’ll forever hold a special place in my heart. & I’ll forever defend it. We literally just celebrated our wedding anniversary on Halloween so I love that I just stumbled across your video. Thank you🥹❤️
Wow, that’s an awesome story! 👍👍👍
I'll be forever baffled by people who are bored by places. Any places. To my eyes, we get from a place what we summon from within ourselves. I'm entertained by spectacle yet I don't require a show to see one.
were is there a SAFE place to stay in Barstow any suggetions what streets if any Thank You
I currently live in Barstow and the next day I moved in 2 guys tried to break in. I have had one guy break-in in the middle of the night at the rear of the house but the Dog scared him away. There are only 3 real grocery stores in the area and people tell me to stay away from two of them due to car break ins and robberies. I dont live in the best but not the worst neighborhood and mail/package theft is a problem and even had a clay planter stolen. Homeless and drug addicts are everywhere along with prostitution. You do have the older and aging population that are good people but they're aging out and the rift raft from LA are being sent up to replace them in the High Desert as its called. One small pet peeve that I have comes from the parking laws and lack of enforcement stemming from people having 3 or more cars parked up and down the street infront or yours and neighbor home's that have flat tires and the city doesn't deal with. Just to name a few issues. I can go on but this sums up the issues that I see. To make a point jobs are centered around service jobs mainly fast food and the like or the Railroads or the military istallation 40 miles away for meaningful employment. The medians that were given I feel don't correctly give a true feel for the market as most homes a lot higher but the law of averages drag down the prices of the real homes that are worth the while of the ones that have jobs that allow home ownership. After 3 years and all the complaints I am only waiting on a better job to open up in another state that would allow me to leave this area.
Oh wow! 😲
I unfortunately live here and it is a dump. Can not wait to leave.
@@scottdudley5170at least you get plenty of good trains!
were is there a SAFE place to stay in Barstow any suggetions what streets if any Thank You
@Joe-ng5ez As in travelings through or moving to?
I lived in Barstow for five years. It was scorching hot and utterly depressing. Stepping outside in the summer felt like standing directly in front of an oven with the door flung open. Nothing but bone-dry heat. While the initial beauty of the majestic beige and brown scenery was captivating, the year-round monotony drove me crazy. Living in the desolate desert, devoid of the lush green trees of the southern states, made me yearn to escape.
Totally understandable
I've been here 2 years. I hated it in the beginning. Love seeing the stars at night now. Still hate the sandstorms, love the desert cold though.
I grew up in Barstow, graduated from Barstow Union High School in 1960. Back then it was a very nice place to be and live in. I left to join the Air Force in 1962. Too bad it's gone the way it has.
Used to be a great little town in the 60s and 70s
The section 8's and homeless didn't help along with poor city management
And the drugs
@@stevesmith756most certainly is a tweaker town.
@@mreppen1 oh so true
Been there. Desert cities in Cali are so depressing and sketchy.
And so hot 🥵 it’s over 100-110F
Palm springs might be better
Piss stop.
Piss stop and Barstow Aztec Football
Sketchy in Utah, Nevada and elsewhere too.
The Walmart Store and the McDonald's train station in Barstow are the main sights worth seeing in Barstow. I used to live near that McDonald's train station. It was from 1993 to 2011. I had to live there for the sake of my family's future. For desert it's a good one and pretty. It's extremely dry and wild cactus cannot grow there. It is a high altitude desert so in the winter it's extremely cold with an occasional light dusting of snow. At night it would be 15 - 20 degrees F. for weeks. It was far to dry to put down any real snow. In the summer it would be 120 F. for 2 or 3 weeks during the hottest part of the season. Without humidity it's not as bad as one would think. We'd have three weeks of great weather for spring and three weeks in fall. Barbecuing for Easter there is the custom! Rest of the year the weather was bad and we all had to stay inside. Humidity was so, so low not many places had air conditioning. Swamp coolers worked great, though. It's a very windy desert too. The soil is finer than talcum powder and is being inhaled all the time. I had pneumonia 4 times the first 4 years we lived there. Lots of fungus, viruses and bacteria in that inhaled soil. Soil is so alkaline nothing much can grow in it unless lots of topsoil is replaced, which works well. The water is very alkaline too. There were big full blown sand storms (haboobs) that showed up a couple of times a year. Most people didn't dust inside their homes. I lived in Barstow, accomplished a great deal for my family and my life, but I don't want to live there again if I can help it. The sober people were great. Thank you for a very accurate video. It's great to see familiar places.
Glad you liked it 👍
First time I walked in Barstow Walmart, I felt like I was in a FarSide cartoon. Very strange looking people.
Was in Barstow for fuel 2 weeks ago.
Sketchy beggars all over the streets. While I was in buying lotto tickets, the checker got a call from another gas station saying 6 thugs had walked thru and stolen a shit load of stock.
Ate at Inn N Out, and had to search (and wait) for a parking place where I could watch my pick up truck through window while eating.
The staff at Inn N Out were great young service oriented people. So great that I called out the staff for their good service, loud enough for everyone to hear.
All the patrons gave them applause and thumbs up.
The staff appreciated the recognition.
I’m going to make a habit of doing that when I see good service anywhere.
Especially in the midst of a crumbling shithole like Barstow.
Very good point 👍
I believe you went to the In-N-Out at the former Outlet. That out have more non-local people.
Ive lived here since birth, im now 19. Its bad but only cause its boring, if you don't involve yourself with negative ppl and actions then the absolute worst thing youll run into in barstow is HEAT AND BOREDOM! STOP OVER EXAGGERATING PLACES ESPECIALLY IF YOU DONT LIVE THERE
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I love your attitude. There are good people everywhere.
You’re only 19 bud
When you grow up , get back to us .
@@Peewyld And your 20 so?
This city has enormous potential for growth and positive development
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yes, Amazon warehouses.
@4KTravelChannel
Ill take Barstow over California City any day of the week!
@papagen00
Ill take Barstow over California City any day of the week!
NOOO, I do not want to buy your Barstow house. lol
I was born there and lived there most of the 35 or so years I lived in California (also lived in Lenwood and Yermo a bit). I loved my town of Barstow until about 1993; that's when things started to change a little bit and it slowly started going downhill. By about 1998 it was a nowhere, no-count, nothing of a town, but it was still tons better than what it became in the 2010's and beyond. Thanks for making this video. Despite the depressing info you graced us with, it was neato to see what is still there, what's been replaced with something else or what isn't there and hasn't been replaced with something else. This video was both depressing and fascinating at the same time, like an episode of "Hoarders".
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Hell no
I lived on George AFB while in the service from 1969 thru 1971. It was not a pleasant time there although it was the place where I met the kindest guy I ever met in my entire life. That was 1971, so Barstow for me is a wonderful part of my life. (thank you my friend) You worked the the diner at the old train station. I was covered in oily steel shavings having just hopped the train in Bakersfield which was empty. It was one of those trains cars without a roof which was so light that I had to stand to whole time holding to the top of the 'bucket' because the car so violently bounced around, that I had to use my knees as a spring to keep me from being thrown around the car which would have killed me and I had to keep holding my breath through the tunnels or I would have been asphyxiated and I had no way to know how long the tunnels were. I just had to hope the tunnels weren't too long and there were a lot of them. He took me under his wing, let me use his shower got my clothes washed, fed me and sent me on my way.
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I've driven through Barstow many times and honestly I found the place appealing. 10,000 times better than LA. I've always thought it was a place I could live. As for the crime, not a bonus, but not a dealbreaker either. Cost of living offsets crime.
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I've been there several times to visit cousins that once lived there.
To me it wasn't bad. A little windy and dusty but I liked it.
Being from Chicago , and seeing true dumps like Philly , Baltimore , Newark , Detroit , etc. , Barstow isn't near that level of suckiness.
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I grew up in Barstow. My parents and grandparents ran the A&C Cafe, Katz, and the Beacon Bowl Coffee shop. It was a really nice place back then, but I guess it has deteriorated.
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I used to go to katz also there was a pool hall next door i believe i bowled at the beacon bowl i lived out on 58 also in dagget there was a cafe called the chili bowl on 58 just over the bridge i had a buddy that lived in the bottoms i worked at the marine base from 1974 to 1978 FJB
@@jamesheath5825I was born and raised in Barstow. I remember the Chile Bowl and Loyds Cafe was down the road
I lost my wedding ring down one of the pockets of the pool table in Katz bar in 1974 FJB
@@chuckyjules8488 i used to go to the chilli bowl also and there was a little bar down the road can't remember the i also used to go to the gray stone out by the base i worked at yermo base for 5 years FJB
Been to Barstow many times, but never really INTO Barstow. Usually just roughly the midway point for anyone travelling between LA and Las Vegas, and most will just stop on Lenwood Avenue and eat at one of the two dozen or so eateries (all chains like Jersey Mike's, Starbucks, In-N-Out, McDonald's, etc.) and also gas up at any of the multiple (way overpriced) gas stations.
Back in the 90s, the outlet mall was a big draw, since those things were relatively uncommon then, but now it just happens to be a smallish town in the desert at the intersection of two major Interstates.
I stayed in the WalMart parking lot for 2 nights at the beginning of this year. Went to the laundry by the 99 cent store during the day.
I've been through there a number of times, never had a problem, although there were plenty of sketchy people at the WM during the night.
I think if you like the desert it would be a good place to live. The arra is not just flat desert. It was/is a mining area with rolling hills and some decent peaks near by.
If l was to live there it would be out of town.
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Not just Barstow, but any dessert town, just is not the way I would want to live. Once, while in California, I visited dessert community near Big Lake, and the “scenery” was so depressing for a person used to greenery. On the other hand, the coastline is absolutely gorgeous and I envy people fortunate enough to live along the coast.
Thanks for the input
Barstow is that one city I only know of passing through on the way to Vegas..
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Live in So. Cal. and hard to believe, very few homeless I seen, no blue plastic tents, no fun gals working the streets, residential tracts look pretty good. Better than LA County from my views.
I agree with you 👍
I remember driving through Barstool on I-15 when it was just a couple of motels and truck stop gas stations. Always remember sand blowing under the restroom door on one of my bathroom breaks.
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Did anyone notice the streets and side streets of Barstow look relatively orderly and clean. You don't see piles of trash all over the place. Nor did I see homeless encampments, which surprised me but then again the 120 degree summer might have something to do with it. This means the residents of Barstow as a group still take pride and dignity in their community.
Say what you will about the small police force in Barstow. But it can call upon other resources outside of Barstow if it has to. In a hypothetical apocalypse where the local law enforcement fades away, the local gangs would fight it out for supremacy. A strongman leader would arise in the victorious gang. Barstow would become one of those fictional apocalyptic towns where residents are ruled under the iron fist of the local strongman and his gang of vicious, repugnant, avaricious henchmen. So be glad that Barstow has a functioning police department.
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My father joined his brothers to open their business'. That was 1947. My fathers restaurant and gas station was what you saw first on your way to Las Vegas via Route 66. Barstow was where people headed for jobs. You had the railroad, the Marine Supply Depot and Fort Irwin. A lot of people saw the writing on the wall when they built the freeway that completely by passed the town. We left un 1962. One uncle moved his family to northern California. My uncle Dee and his family stayed. When he died i went back to Barstow for his funeral. I didn't recognize anything. Everything was run down or torn down. Everyone my brother and I knew had moved away by the time they were old enough. I think we all thought there was no future. Its too bad orhers felt thats the only place they belonged.
WOW California weather must be great for ppl to wear jackets and jeans in a desert 😂
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Don't know if its changed but the AM/PM gas station just off the interstate always seemed to have the cheapest gas in socal.
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So glad i grew up on the Mendocino coast
Lucky you!
Barstow has very little crime, no homeless tents, clean little quiet town !
That's what I heard too about this town.
Now Barstow is scary.
Creepy little town.
Barstow, Calif. is the Pits, lived there for two years, never was so glad to leave it.
Lucky you! 👍
We have spent a fair amount of time there. The overall feel is drab, dull and uninspiring. Most all of the people we have observed seem to have the same distant gaze and unemotional look, something like being bored and despondent.
It’s located relatively near some great areas to explore in a jeep and thats the only reason we go there.
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Thanks for sharing the information. Sound scary to live there or even to visit.
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I was disappointed. All that driving around and never crossed over the bridge from west main towards highway 58 to see the massive train yard and Harvey House. And typical true outsider to not mention the birthplace of Del Taco. Which is much better in Barstow than anyplace else.
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I lived in Barstow from like 94-97, went to Thompson elementary school and barstow middle school, it looked nothing like this, only thing I remember there was a Kmart shopping center and on the left side was food 4 less and I think a dmv on the same plaza. Looks like it population doubled and more fast food chains moved in as well.
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The captions are going way too fast in this video. I couldn't use this in my class.
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As we travel thru on our annual trips to Utah was always called Bar Stool....
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Thanks for posting this video. I'm planning to be in California next week and thinking of doing a daytrip into Barstow which is about an hour drive away from where I'm staying. Was a little concerned about the crime issue you mentioned. Hopefully I won't be affected if I just visit for a few hours during the daytime.
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Why would you chose to go to Barstow??
There is nothing to see but depression.
Why ?
@markme4 Exactly! Maybe stop for gas on the way to anywhere else.
I use to go there every weekend for work for about two years. I kinda miss it, also they have the cleanest Walmart I ever been to.
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I was there in 1989 training on the military base
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Just looked at current home listings and I’d approximate the median ask to $275k
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My ex wife moved there in 1986 and never came back to Albany , New York. We were married at the time . Almost 40 years later and she re married . I guess the desert was calling her.
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At $825/mo rent, I'd be down. It's about halfway between L.A. and L.V.
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the local 711 is the best hangout spot
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No, outside in New Berry springs is nice no gangs quiet🎉
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"We were somewhere around Barstow when the drugs begun to take hold......"
Wow 😱
I always past it when I drive to Vegas
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Great! Now a video of living in Needles, Ca
Great idea 👍
The armpit of California. The state is so expensive, for many this is the last stop before moving out of state.
That’s right 👍
Barstow HAS nightlife, when the TRUCKER SPEED hits town.
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Just passing through.
Stop to get gas and maybe a bite.
I didn’t know that it was that bad down there.
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N to the O, HELL NO I wouldn't move there if they paid me. Love the comforts of living in a big city even if it's full of crime here in Chicago. At least we have a lake to go to and unwind a bit.
It’s a good stopping point on the way from Las Vegas to LA
@@4KTravelChannel stopping at any shithole is a good stopping point when driving from one shithole to another shithole... All three of those pathetic places deserve exactly what they are voting for.
Such a big lake to get dumped in🤭
Ill rather live in TJ......least they a night life with good tacos.
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I go riding out there a lot they got good trails and hills
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There are some decent accommodations in the Mohave ,but none of theses towns in the Mohave are jewels in the the desert. Driving professionally I have stoped at many places in that desert and drove away wondering why somebody would settle there especially if they had a family.
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Doesn’t look too bad compared to city of San Bernardino.
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Never would I ever want to live there especially when you have kids to raise. I'm sure part of the crime is simply they just have nothing else better to do but to terrorize people
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I’d live in Barstow in a heartbeat, or anywhere in Southern California. I’ve been to Barstow and many of the desert towns, LA, and San Diego. It’s an incredible state with a far better quality of life than the frozen tundra socialist shithole I’m currently forced to live in. I will absolutely move there someday soon.
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As bad as it is in Barstow, it doesn't look as bad are Oakland or San Francisco! I don't see the homeless all over downtown. The neighborhoods look pretty well kept. The street look well maintained. And I don't see graffiti all over the walls downtown.
If the Brightline West trains made a station here between Southern California and Las Vegas, I would move to Barstow. Then, I could work and play in Vegas and live in Barstow.
Best thing about it is raising Cane's
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Something is definitely cooking up in Barstow... but I don't know what.
The population is 28,873 humans 873 white and 28,000 Mexicans with 200 blacks.
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If I wanted to read, I would have picked up a book.
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I am fascinated with life in small obscure towns like this.
Can be a little boring I think.
Me too!
Cheap!
@pudster4115 same here. I really enjoy exporing small towns.
the funny thing is Barstow is not "obscure" at all. Its the biggest stop between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The fact that it has not developed at all is so weird, seems like a place that should grow just from its location alone.
I went to Los Angeles with my girlfriend this summer as my last trip as a student from Japan. I was fascinated by many things, such as the culture, language, and lifestyle, which were completely different from those in Japan, but the most impressive thing was Barstow.
After sightseeing in Los Angeles, we found a desert town on the way to Las Vegas and decided to stay there and go to Las Vegas the next day. On the way to Barstow, we saw some amazing locations that we would never have seen in Japan, and we had to make a detour, so by the time we arrived in Barstow, it was nighttime. Early the next morning, I decided to drive a little further to see the sunrise, and the view of Barstow from the hilltop was a wonderful sight that I will never forget.
The city of Los Angeles and the night view of Las Vegas were wonderful, but for some reason, it was the sunrise I saw in Barstow that I remember the most.
If I ever go to the United States again, I would like to visit the desert city of Barstow again！
Wow that was an awesome experience 👍
Those may be the kindest, most eloquent words ever written about poor, bedraggled Barstow.
If you come back go somewhere else aside from California. That's the last place in America most of us would recommend you go. Los Angeles is a trash pile.
No one has ever said anything like that about Barstow.
"I'm not goin back to Barstow"
Looks like a place you can never escape from.
Impossible to build any wealth out there.
You are absolutely right 👍
It's Hotel California! You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave! How effin prophetic is that!@@4KTravelChannel
Cartels are growing illegal marijuana all over out there. Guys with AR15s all over near Newberry Springs
If you work at the marine corps depot or FT Irwin and live here you will have more money than you know what to do with.
But, you live in Barstow.
Don’t live in a desert
I was born in Los Angeles but when I was one year old my parents moved to Barstow. That was in 1947. I lived there until I was 22 years old in 1970. I am a baby boomer and Barstow was growing like crazy when I was a kid. They were building houses everywhere and schools too. Everyone knew everyone else in high school was a blast. I am sad to see the condition that it is currently in. I wouldn’t move back there, but, I wouldn’t change a thing about growing up there.
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Best Del Taco
@@terryturner3050haha that’s the original one right? They put the whole tomato on some of the food I think
Just another dirty ca oven
@@SubjectDredd Yermo was the first, it's a burger joint today. Barstow is same owner as Yermo met the man and his wife hope there ok today. Moved 4 years ago never live there again.
Let's not forget the world's best Del Tacos
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One of the very few positives!
In 1980 I was working for the state in the California Conservation Corps and got stationed to a camp in Barstow. It was a huge shock as I drove my bike into town the first time and made my way to a re-purposed elementary school on rimrock rd, that was then a state work camp. Up to then, I was lucky enough to have been stationed at a few fire camps located in the most beautiful areas of Ca. The camp in Barstow seemed like being in hell, compared to those. But, after some time there, I got used to the never ending sounds of trains, the winds, extreme temps and dust. Me and my crews did some interesting projects at some unique sites. Like building the rock wall around the cemetery at Calico Ghost Town, trail work at Afton Canyon, etc. Barstow wasn't so bad after all, as I remember a lot of fun with unrestricted riding, desert parties with the locals, and the wacky water park on I-15...
Great memories 👍
My family moved here last year in 2022. This place is so bleek that it is what you make it. Meaning if you are looking outside of yourself, your family or your home for happiness then you will be disappointed to the point of s$&@“-?: the people are weird and there is no culture. I’m an artist so I feel compelled to leave this place (ASAP) a little better than when I arrived (not by choice but circumstances).
Yes you can move if it doesn't work for you. It's a small town.
You summed it up perfectly well. I just moved here six months ago and absolutely hate this place. There's ZERO jobs! If it wasn't for making pennies online I wouldn't be able to feed my elderly parents. We only moved here because it was literally all we could afford in the state... it was "too good to be true" but now I just wait and pray that I can one day leave after my parents pass away.
I used to enjoy going to Barstow back in the seventies for the Barstow to Vegas motorcycle desert races. Barstow was a lot busier back then.
It’s a good stopping point between LA and Las Vegas
I was stationed at Fort Irwin in 1967. Barstow seemed smaller then, bu not as run down. Seemed like a nice quiet little town with not much to do. Fort Irwin was 35 miles from Barstow, or, as we used to say, 35 miles from nowhere.
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I was an Air Traffic Controller in the Army, stationed at Fort Ord from 1977 - 79.
We came out to Daggett airport for 2 field exercises, Braveshield XVI and XVII. It was for about 2 weeks each time. Slept in GP medium tents. The helicopters were based there, and flew to Fort Irwin to play in the games, and came back to Daggett in the early evening. We worked in our portable control tower to run the airport.
For the first one (XVI), I had the "privilege" of being in the advanced party of about a dozen guys who got to come a week early to set up ALL the tents for the entire 7th Aviation battalion. For all the troops living quarters, mess hall, aid station, supply storage, headquarters, etc. It was burning hot. We worked in the blazing sun the first day. It almost killed us. The Captain in charge had a meeting with everyone, and we got to vote on how to proceed. We decided to start working at first light until around 11:00 AM, and then rest in the shade of the hanger on our cots until around 4 PM, then work to sundown. That worked out a lot better.
The best part was being able to go to the Marine Corp logistics base in Barstow to eat in their mess hall. So much better than Army mess halls.
Our tents were kind of off by ourselves, away from the main "tent city", because we needed a good view of the runways, and to also be located next to the FAA Flight Service Station. We were able to head off into Barstow on fast food runs, and went to the local high school to see a fireworks show on July 4th. So, we got to sneak off to do things most of the other soldiers couldn't.
Another time, we also spent a couple of weeks at Fort Irwin to support another field exercise. This time in actual barracks. Had a pretty good time there.
We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs begun to take hold
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Excellent Hunter S Thompson reference.
Well done.
Was stationed at Fort Irwin back in the early '90s. The town was much busier then, McDonald's and the mall was crowded and the new outlet mall in Lenwood would be PACKED on weekends, especially the Levi's and Hanes stores. Had a larger selection of restaurants also. You could go dancing at Shakers or Ruby's but not any more. Now it's like a shell of what it once was. Sad.
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I live in BARSTOW and thanks to the "little or no nightlife" we aren't ranked in the "top 5" of dangerous CA cities.
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Out of curiousity, what is your occupation? The city's main sustenance seems like it'd be travelers to and from Vegas.
@@GoodCharms The “higher” paying jobs in Barstow include working at Ft Irwin/Nebo annex/BNSF rail yard, working for the city via police dept/firefighter etc.
Moved out June 14, 1971, won't ever move back. Much worse now.
I totaly agree
Nobody talks about the good things barstow does like the christmas toy for cop they do every christmas eve. The police, firefighters, businesswoman and men, all come together and go down nearly every street with thousands of toys for kids who dont get a chance to experience a good christmas
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I ride road guard in the toy drive and my wife gives out toys from the truck bed. I won’t use names but that retired officer had kept this going for many many years now.
i grew up there. my dad was a high-ranking officer at the base there, so when i was little i was kind of feared/respected because i was "so-and-so's kid", but when my parents divorced, i was the 'kid living with a single mom' which in the 60s, was a Very Bad thing. As soon as i graduated from John F. Kennedy high school, i was outta there, and never looked back. The only things i miss the smell of mesquite after a rainshower, and the constant steady wind - you could fly a kite any day of t he year.
Great memories 👍
I lived in Barstow in '92...my brother was stationed at Ft. Irwin not too far away. There was gang activity back then with the Main Street Crips and the Bishop Bloods. I remember the Peace Treaty party that did turn out so well. I moved to Baker, Ca after that.
Lucky you! 👍
That's about when I escaped Barstow as a freshman at BHS..and yes I remember that peace treaty shit show..lol.. been in Glenville GA, close to Fort Stewart , ever since. Much better😂
The house I grew up in was on Sunrise rd with the church of scientology in the back yard..crazy place
Although it was not filmed I deployed last year with that National guard unit during the war with Russia and Ukraine to Poland on the border of Russia, you forgot to show the ARMY AND USMC have bases out there and original del taco.
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It’s horrible.
It's a small town with little employment opportunities
@@4KTravelChannel I grew up there and was responding to the title/question lol ♥️
I live in Barstow and it’s not half as bad as this video makes it seem 🤷🏻♂️
Back in the day there were gangs but now a days I can’t even name the gangs out here. There not big if there is any
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I feel like they could have added some parks or something to break some of the monotony. I have passed by and driven in barstow and never got a good impression of it
Park maintenance requires money I think.
A 99c store that size says it all
That’s a great store )
I live in Cincinnati and drove across the country to Cali by myself in 2011. Barstow was the first town I stopped in. Pretty sure I stayed the night at the Quality Inn. Not gonna say which one... but there was a large group of biker club members who were obviously patiently waiting for someone on both sides of the outside lobby entry door. Having just arrived on a whim from a long ways away, I figured they weren't waiting for me and proceeded to check in. All went normal from there and that's my whole side of the story, but I've always wondered what the rest of the story was. Just a few days later I went through a bad dust storm on I-10 near Picacho Peak, AZ. It looked like an apocalyptic scene on another planet and a bunch of people lost their lives that day. Instead of going back toward Cali, I opted to go back to my familiar Ohio home. That was definitely the biggest mistake I ever made in my life. 😐😂
Oh wow!
I live 10 miles from Pichaco Peak. My coworkers two kids, aged 14 & 16, died in a car crash in I-10 when two Semis pit their car because of the zero visibility of the Haboob (Sandstorm). No matter where you are, our life must go on.
Good thing you are keeping which quality in you write about a secret probably avoided a crises 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
I move from Sacramento to Barstow in 2013 ( 13 yrs now ) and I notice that your description is totally wrong. Though there crime here but not what you said. In Main street lot of hotel side by side if it dangerous nobody will not stay there. Population is declining another wrong information from you in 2013 when I move here population is around 22,000 but now is 23,812. Fr 13 years I live here I never encounter any gang here if there is maybe from neighboring city. .. but the only thing I can say is Barstow is good for retired people..low cost of living.
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I love Barstow I lived there in the 60s and 70s it was a great place to be a kid
Indeed, used to be a great place
Because there is nothing to do in this town except eat, sleep, and bake!
You can also have a beer in a bar
@@4KTravelChannel 🍻 😚👌
And get robbed
I grew up in Barstow. I graduated from Barstow High in 2001. I moved away a few years later & after many years in Indiana, I reluctantly moved back to Barstow. It had gotten much worse from when I left! Like 3 of my favorite restaurants to go to were gone. During the time I live there for the 2nd time, Sizzlers closed, Churches Chicken closed & Big K Mart closed. Plus there was either a murder happened within the city limits or a murder wanted from some other state was found living in Barstow for like the 1st 5 years that I lived there. Sadly, EVERY TIME Barstow takes a step forward, it ends up taking like 3 steps back in a few years. I finally moved away again( after almost 9 years of living there). I moved to a town in Arizona. I’m sad to say I wouldn’t move back to Barstow even if I was GIVEN my dream home on my dream property!
Sadly, Barstow has gone down hill( & sadly, seems to KEEP going down hill)!
There ARE good things about Barstow( such as the interesting museums & the great hiking)……………
Plus, there’s a church for pretty much ANY religion in Barstow.
Sadly, I don’t think the good things outweigh the bad about it.
There are A LOT of crazy people there( mainly because of the drugs…………..SOME do have mental health issues which is sad they don’t have enough places to help those kinds of people. There isn’t even a mental hospital there! Heck even the local hospital doesn’t have a psych ward! It’s more of a glorified band aid station)!
I’m glad that I got out & I’d NEVER move back(MIGHT go back to visit, but, NEVER to live there)!
DEFINITELY needs to become better for me to move back( which I sadly HIGHLY DOUBT will happen)!
Well, this happened to 1000s of small towns, especially in the desert where employment opportunities are minimal.
I hear Barstow Mall closed down a few years ago and then reopened as office space. Lake Dolores Water Park a.k.a. Rock a Hula Park closed down too. That was years ago.
@@midcenturymodern9330 as far as I know, Barstow Mall is still open. All of the other places in the parking lot of Barstow Mall rent from Barstow Mall. Yes, Lake Deloris closed years ago because of lack of funds to keep it open. Same thing with the indoor swimming pool in Barstow. Bun Boy is also gone. Along with Churches Chicken, Sizzlers, Coco’s, Carrow’s, Big Kmart, RideAid, & the bowling alley. Oh, & the El Rancho Motel has burned down.
Well at least it's closer to Vegas 😅
@@magneto1764 yes, it is closer to Vegas.
But, the city I moved to(Bullhead City, Arizona)is even closer to Vegas.
Interesting to have viewed what you drove. However there are a lot of residential areas and a few parks I would like to have seen. There was once a lot of greenery in yards, the older areas just south of main street had old growth trees, elm for the most part but the area was full of shade. The area south of the old Barstow High on Buena Vista Ave had nice yards and landscaping too, same for the old western residential areas of Flora Ave, Buena Vista, Nancy street all looked better than what I saw in this video. And Foglesong Park in the old western residential area, near what was the middle school and the public pool was a very old and attractive park, had little league ball fields and abundant space with lots of trees for family outings. This video makes the place look like the day after doomsday for cryin' out loud...shame it is so. That used to be a busy and growing town, always survived on the travelers dollar, Vegas travelers depended on the gasoline and car repair facilities, eateries and lodging. The Military contributed big, the USMC logistics supply base at Nebo and the Army training center at Fort Irwin. Railroad always has always been a major cog in the economy there. I just can't get over how run down the entire area looks. I started life there in 1949, moved away in 1973 after finishing college. Last time there was 1991. Never was night life there except us kids cruised main street for kicks, but we always complained of boredom because there was nothing to do. Truth is depends on what your interests be, there is lots of wide open land to explore, rock hunt, dirt bike, off road vehicles.
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Lived there and dagget from 1974 thru 1978 FJB
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I remember a guy named David Heath when I was going to school in Barstow…any relation?
@@chuckyjules8488 no
Sadly it appears that much of America is failing ... 😖
There are few businesses in Barstow, that's why it is what it is...
@@4KTravelChannel 👍 Thanks for doing this video.
I was stationed at Fort Irwin for 2 years when I was in the Army, 1990-1992. Couldn’t stand my boss (total jerk) so I’d “escape” to Barstow when I had the opportunity. I was lucky to meet a lass who was working as a civilian at Irwin and had a place in Barstow. That certainly made things more pleasurable. Thoroughly enjoyed traveling the off road trails in the desert with my 4x4. Saw thousands of desert tortoises, and lots of snakes and lizards. The Chuckwalla’s, or desert iguanas, were interesting creatures. And of course there plenty of coyotes but you tended to hear them more often than see them. Barstow wasn’t too bad then, but not really a place where I’d choose to live. It was a bit too hot and remote for me.
Good memories 👍
No thank yee,I’ll stay right here where I’m at in SWEET HOME ALABAMA,where I’m happy as a monkey in a coconut tree🤣🤣🤣🤣🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️
For the life of me, I can’t imagine why anyone would choose to live in these dismal places.
Only because of lower cost of living.
You have to understand they still have it better living here than most of people in Los Angeles and in Mexico. These are mostly Hispanic native people who knows how to cherish and appreciate what they have and make good of their lives. This is far way better than living in Israel and Gaza.
I think most people live there for financial reasons. Also not everyone likes the hustle and bustle of city life and the traffic speaks for itself. I myself plan to retire and move up to Big Bear
its cheap and its halfway between LA and LV. For some people that is what they are looking for.
for us, it was living in town or on the military base. i guess the housing was better in town?
Hell no!!! I lived in Blythe from 01-08 & wouldn't live in another desert city if you paid me. They are about the same except Blythe has 2 prisons & they're closing CVSP!!!! Blythe the city might go under!!!
Wow!
💜👍Wow I love Barstow, my beautiful city, And I hate LA, to many homeless, to expensive. Dirty, super nasty ❤️💝💛💙💚🥰😘💜😘💝💛💙🩷🤎
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😮😮 Great channel and videos
Let’s people see it’s a big world out there to explore!!
Thank you! And you are right about that 👍
They have a Tommy's, for chiliburgers on the way to and from Vegas, mechanical help if your ride acts up, and they're not Baker.
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It must be great if you work for the railroads there -- BNSF or UP.
I think so
@@kuckoo9036 I understand that BNSF recently announced that they would be investing some $1.5 BILLION to turn their Barstow operation into a major inland distribution center. They already have a major yard there. That's quite a big injection of money, and that will also bring in a lot of new jobs, leading to demand for new housing, medical facilities, etc.
In the 70s it was Santa Fe RR
Thanks for the tour I go thru Barstow when I take the wife to Nevada either Las Vegas or Laughlin, but living in Los Angeles I avoid the 15 and I take Highway 66 from Victorville so you showed me a lot that I never knew existed but yet you didn’t show the famous Harvey house hotel and train station if I remember correctly, the Del taco restaurants in Barstow served good food for fast food place that is thank you once again as for living in Barstow, it’s too hot and too windy for this old man, but I sure would like it just because of the railroad activity
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the original del taco restaurant (or a sign indicating so) is visible at 11:08. Fun Fact: Barstow residents grew up with the original Del Taco #1, and when Taco bell put two restaurants at either end of Main Street, they survived for just a few years before going out of business. Why would you go to Taco Bell when there was a Del Taco Macho Beef Burrito in your future???
Robert Peterson , founder of Hot Rod Magazine and the Peterson publishing empire grew up in Barstow.
California desert towns have a very distinct flavor of depression to them. Driving that stretch between Bakersfield and Barstow during Summer is always a harrowing experience. It’s all so sad and empty, and so unimaginably hot I can’t even put into words just how hot it is. You break down in the wrong area out there, you’re as good as dead.
Good point 👍
Yeah, those are hardscrabble towns. For me, the weirdest desert town in California is Trona. It's very isolated and smells odd. The movie "A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night" was shot there.
People who know the desert bring extra water and if youre used to the heat all you need is water and some 50 sun screen
Yea I think ur driving in the outskirts of Bakersfield, Cause Bakersfield is the 9th Most Populated Cities in CA
@@EdDunkleDrove through Trona about 20 years ago on my way to Death Valley. I'll tell you - I was never so creeped out in my life as the handful of minutes it took to drive through that little hamlet. It really had that "The Hills Have Eyes" vibe to it.
I was born there in 1901, and have never left,, being single, it’s a great place to pick up the ladies..
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