I have always understood too that the high desert is always the "first to crash and the last to grow" when it comes to iffy economies, and I assume Bakersfield is considered high desert?

I've encountered them all in one desert oil town area.

I think you are right you will have a hard time finding a cash flow location in Southern California, unless you want to go manage mobile homes in the desert.

In 2010 when I first started doing higher volume flips I was buying just about everything in the lower price points of the high desert.

Just curious if any one had any experience investing in the Palm Desert area or surrounding regions.

Its generally very dry here (Denver is a near-desert) so that could take longer in other places. 

This question comes up cause a close friend of mine have driven by this what seems to be beautiful deserted home in a nice sub division where I live in New England.  

The place was not empty, but appears deserted.

I don't remember which plane that was, but I do remember making an emergency landing in the desert near Prim Nevada and vowing not to charter private airplanes unless absolutely necessary.

Buying in the desert areas would require us to get a PM, so we wouldn't get the advantage of being local and being able to self-manage the rentals, so we figured it made more sense to buy out of state.