California City : California

California City, incorporated in 1965, is located in the Northern Antelope Valley of Kern County. It's a master planned community with two parks, a community center, a senior center, tennis courts, a sports center, and a pool.The community is also home to the National Desert Tortoise Reserve. Cerro Coso College is located here, as well as a PGA golf course. An interesting fact is that it is the 3rd largest city in land-area in the state. It was all planned in the late 60's. The hope was that the US was to build the SST and an intercontinental airport was to be built in Palmdale around 1970. This never happened of course so the "boom" never occurred. Hyundai built a $60 million testing facility in the area a few years ago. It is in the desert near the town of Mojave. Photos courtesy of Craig Thompson.

There's at least one active adult community in California City.
Zillow reports the median home value was $146,400 in mid-2018.

The climate in CalCity is fantastic. Although a couple months in summers are hot, they are not as hot as the lower deserts of Calif. or Ariz.  It is not a "senior community" per se and has a new high school and middle school. But it is a great little town with just a short drive from everything you could need. In May of 2011 Green West Real Estate Development, LLC purchased 20,000 acres with plans to rebuild the city in the near future.

The planned city vibe is not for everyone.  Only a clinic for health care. But we feel the benefits out-weigh the negatives. Like many Calif. communities it was hit hard with the economic woes of Calif in general and there are some repo homes and also some older house that are boarded up and need to be removed. But the City is working on these problems.