One Of America's Best-Rated Counties To Retire Is A California Charmer With A Vibrant City And Endless Outdoor Adventures

Kern County is one XL-sized slab of the Golden State. It rolls from the heart of the Central Valley to cover the southern tail end of the Sierra Nevada, encompassing big cities and wild reserves as it goes. It's a place where you can be hopping cafes in the buzzy heart of Bakersfield by morning and hiking amid the towering hardwoods of the Sequoia National Forest by afternoon. Oh, and here's another kicker: This here county has just been named the absolute best place to retire to in the American West.

Yep, in a study by the personal finance and investment website The Motley Fool, Kern County trumped all other spots from Colorado westward, emerging as the pick of the bunch for retirees on account of good metrics for things like healthcare provisions, crime rates, and climate. And that's not it, either. Other publications have highlighted how specific Kern County towns can prove a whole lot more affordable for retirees than the famous cities on the Cali coast, while Bakersfield, the biggest city in Kern, has been lauded as one of the cheapest spots in the state.

The other good thing to remember as you consider upping sticks and moving to Kern County is that it's a pretty easy-to-get-to corner of California. Fast highway links mean you can get in from key cities on the coast in just a few hours — Los Angeles is under 2 hours' drive to the south, while San Francisco is 4.5 hours' drive up Interstate 5. The huge international and domestic flight hub of Los Angeles International (LAX) is also just a touch over 2 hours from Kern.

There's one clear urban hub of Kern County: Bakersfield. At the time of writing, it has a population that's eight times higher than the next biggest town in the county. It also sits close to the geographic heart of the county, with busy Interstate 5 whizzing north to south just to the west of it. More than that, it's seen as a surprisingly affordable and pleasant place to retire in California, offering — according to the online rental marketplace Apartments.com — a cost of living that's nearly 50% cheaper than San Francisco!

With those extra dollars in the bank, you'll be free to enjoy all that Bakersfield has to offer. Hungry? Get ready for a surprising hit of Basque Country cooking, which is served up at the highly-rated Wool Growers Restaurant in the form of garlic chicken, filet mignon, and oxtail stew. Feeling cultural? Trace the roots of the Bakersfield Sound, the toe-tapping music that earned the city the nickname "the country music capital of the West," by hitting the theaters and honky-tonks of downtown.

Of course, Bakersfield is by no means the only dose of urban living. Digging deeper into why Kern County is prime retirement territory, the folks over at The Motley Fool specifically highlight the charms of Kernville, a one-time gold rush settlement with historic buildings and a striking setting between peaks and roaring rivers. It's not just them, either. Others agree it's fast becoming one of the state's top mountain escapes thanks to its epic whitewater rafting. Census data shows the median age of Kernville residents is over 65, meaning a ready-made community of older folks awaits to boot.

A retirement spent in Kern County won't just be filled with hearty Basque cuisine and Bakersfield music joints. This part of California spills across the Sierra Nevada, into portions of the Mojave Desert, and through the Central Valley, and that means adventure is never too far away. In fact, there are something like nine state and national parks within a day trip of Bakersfield!

One of the most iconic places to get your taste of nature here is the Sequoia National Forest, all 1.1 million acres of it. Well, actually, only the southernmost portion of that vast reserve is situated in Kern County. Access it via State Highway 178, a scenic (if sometimes dangerous) route that weaves through a tight canyon packed with dusty ridges and forests. Around 40 miles into the drive, you'll be surrounded by the stunning mountain scenery of Lake Isabella, the gateway to some fine hiking paths. They include the 2.9-mile jaunt up Isabella Peak for lake views, and the longer Unal Trail, a romp through the Greenhorn Mountains that affords sweeping panoramas across the Sierra Nevada.

You could keep pushing on past Lake Isabella to conquer the sea of sagebrush that covers the Walker Pass. That's a welcome to the high-desert part of Kern County, where places like Red Rock Canyon State Park offer fossil viewing, and the start of the much-vaunted road trip on U.S. Highway 395 past hot springs and dramatic mountain scenery, going deeper into Eastern California.