There are lots of negatives and positives for living in Bakersfield, but having a local state university is definitely a plus! I have lived here for 30 years and the university longer than that!The people who live here are another positive. When you consider the over all cost of a 4 year program ie., tuition, books, transportation and possibly living on-site then compare it to other more expensive cities within a 2-3 hour drive from here.. CSU, Bakersfield is a pretty good deal and a logical choice; especially for those students who don't want to be far from home, but also for those who want the comfortable and small town feel in a fairly large city with all the amenities of larger metropolitan areas.