Tag: California

Moving to Lancaster, CA? Everything You Need Is In This All-Inclusive Guide

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Are you moving to Lancaster, CA? Then this blog is just what you need to make your move a success. Lancaster, CA is one of the best places to live in the US. It’s located just north of Los Angeles, nestled in the western Mojave desert’s Antelope Valley. 

Recently. The growing city recently claimed a spot on the Top 100 Places to Live. Livability awarded Lancaster a spot due to its thriving economy, a community rich in culture and diversity, and dedication to environmental protection. In addition, this growing city is one of the more affordable places the golden state offers, and the sun is always shining.

In case you haven’t heard, Race Communications is excited to bring our network and high-speed fiber internet to Lancaster in the fall of 2022. In celebration of this, we are bringing you a guide to moving to Lancaster. Here are some helpful tips and everything you need to know about moving to Lancaster. By the end of this blog, you’ll feel like a local! 

Moving to Lancaster, CA Poppy Field

Population

Lancaster is currently home to a population of 160K residents (give or take). 

Weather

Lancaster is in the Mojave desert. The hot season ranging from June to September is hot and arid, with daily temps rising well into the 90s. Winter lasts from late November to March, with mild daytime temperature in the 60-70s, dropping at night into the 30s. 

Cost of Living 

Compared to most cities in California, Lancaster is a relatively affordable place to live but still only 73 miles outside of LA. The median household income is $55,237, and the median home price is $385,400. This price may seem high to some moving from other areas but keep in mind that California has a median home price of $834,000, so it’s much lower than the state average!

Moving to Lancaster, CA Sustainability

Sustainability Practices

The city has been working towards a more sustainable future since 1994 when the City Council adopted the Blue Skies Program and a resolution to use alternative fuels whenever possible. Ever since these programs came into place, the city has continued to develop environmentally friendly practices. 

To date, 22% of the city’s fleet of cars and pickups run on alternative fuel. Lancaster also practices water conservation by implementing xeriscaping and other ordinances to combat water wasting and encourage minimum water use. The city has won many awards for its efforts, including the prestigious World Energy Global Award.

moving to Lancaster, CA school districts

Lancaster, CA School Districts 

There are three major school districts in the city: the Lancaster School District, Eastside Union School District, and Antelope Valley High School District. Each district provides outstanding educational opportunities. 

The Lancaster School District spans 82.5 square miles, most of which lies within the city of Lancaster. The district is home to more than 15,000 students from preschool to 12th grade. Their mission is to provide a relevant, high-quality education within an inclusive and culturally respectful environment that prepares all students for personal and professional success. 

Eastside Union School District is Antelope Valley’s older school district. The district goes by the vision “Everyone contributes, every student achieves.” This school district is much smaller than other districts consisting of four elementary schools, one middle school, and one transitional learning center. However, the district is growing and excited about its future. 

Antelope Valley High School District is unique because it only consists of high schools. The district is made of eight traditional and three alternative high schools, plus SOAR, the early college high school on the Antelope Valley College Campus. The district also has online learning programs. There are 23,000 students in this district from Palmdale and Lancaster. Antelope Valley’s vision is to make sure every student who graduates will be prepared to pursue college and any career they aspire to. 

Moving to Lancaster, CA The BLVD

Things to Do 

There are many activities and places to see right in Lancaster. Let’s explore a few of our favorites below. 

The Famous California Poppy Festival

Lancaster is well known for the California Poppy Festival, which is set to return after two years with an even bigger event lasting three days to celebrate the vibrant state flower. The festival will boast live entertainment, amusement park rides, and activities for the whole family. 

Saddleback Butte State Park

If you’re a nature enthusiast, this next destination is for you. Saddleback Butte State Park is located in the high-desert just fifteen miles east of Lancaster.. In the state park, you’ll find Joshua Trees, desert plants, and animals surrounding the Saddleback Butte. In addition, the state part provides areas for hiking, camping, and 360-degree views of Antelope Valley and the Mojave Desert. 

The Lancaster Museum of Art and History 

Head to the Lancaster Museum of Art and History if you appreciate art. The museum holds a collection of over 10,000 artworks and artifacts, many of which celebrate the history of Southern California. MOAH also produces community-oriented programming that engages diverse audiences. Additionally, check out the Lancaster Performing Arts Center provides world-class entertainment to the city’s residents and is the largest performing arts center in Antelope Valley.

Hit the BLVD

The BLVD Cultural District has been the heart of culture in Antelope Valley since the 1800s. Packed with colorful murals and rich history, the district is home to innovative green initiatives, including electric vehicle charging stations and solar waste compactors. This bustling district is also home to a growing number of events, including weekly farmers’ markets and concerts. In addition, there are many locally-owned businesses and exciting restaurants to experience on the BLVD! 

Close Proximity to Major SoCal Cities

While Lancaster has a lot to keep you entertained, the city is also close in proximity to many other urban hubs. For example, Los Angeles is only 2 hours away, and San Diego is about 3 hours away. If you want to head to the ocean, Santa Monica Beach is the closest. Need a family getaway? Disneyland is just 2.5 hours away! 

Final Thoughts

Lancaster is a great place to live. It’s a thriving city full of things to do, great local culture, and is close to other major destinations in California!

If you are moving to the city and in need of reliable and fast internet, inquire now to join our waitlist! We’d love to help take your internet services to the next level. Contact our specialists at 877-722-3833 or send us an inquiry to be the first to know when Race is available in your part of town!

Thinking about breaking out your shovel?

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Calling 811 can save you some trouble!

Race Communications recently experienced a major interruption in service throughout California due to a cut fiber line. Cut fiber lines tend to occur during this time of year as this glorious warm weather is a great motivator when it comes to getting home-improvement projects done!

Whether you’re finally getting around to fixing up the patio or you’re adding a new and improved garage or shed, calling 811 should be your very first step! You never know what may be lurking underground.

Water, gas, and electricity are just some of the utilities that may be underground on your property – not to mention your precious fiber lines for internet and phone services. Surely you wouldn’t want to disrupt your service (or your neighbor’s service)! In order to avoid a major headache in the form of a burst water pipe or electrical outage, be sure to call 811 at least two business days before you plan to dig. 

The 811 call center will then ensure that all public utilities are notified about the upcoming dig on your property. You may be asked to mark the area you plan to dig with white paint or white flags, which can be found at many hardware stores.

Then, each organization, either by themselves or via a hired third-party, will mark the area of each utility. Each type of utility has a different color so that you will know what is where. Not sure what the colors are? Here’s a quick recap:

The designated color for drinking water is blue; sewer is green, and gas, oil and steam are all marked yellow. Red is the color for electrical utilities and orange signifies communications – like internet, telephone and TV.

When you call 811, they will also mark for public utilities which are the ones that use the public right of way (or easement) to your house. You’ll need to keep an extra eye out for these as these lines could be responsible for providing service to entire neighborhoods.

So again, don’t break out that shovel before you make the call to 811! Be prepared that the representative will ask you some questions in order to process your request, including your address and nearby cross streets, city, county, the type and scope of the digging project, and a contact number. Now, what are you waiting for? Better get started on that “honey-do” list!

Rancho Santa Fe is live!

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Race Communications completed the first in-home installation on the RSF Connect network. The installation was completed on July 17th, less than one year after HP Communications began construction. The excitement was palpable as the first speed test showed speeds of over 950Mbps!

bader
Field Manager, Chris Bader, pictured here completed the first in-home installation. Speed tests showed consistent download and upload speeds of 950+Mbps.

Race representatives are actively reaching out to homeowners who have inquired that live in Jacaranda – the first zone to go live. Representatives will schedule site surveys and installations daily from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. We ask homeowners to please be patient as construction continues in other zones.

Race rides in the parade:
Race employees participated at the recent Rancho Santa Fe 4th of July activities with a decorated Race truck and passing out Race swag to the crowd! Following the parade, Race employees had an informational booth where they answered questions from members of the Covenant and gave away more Race swag. It was a beautiful day, and the team enjoyed seeing children and adults alike, throwing Race frisbees and balls around while enjoying the sun and live music!

 

Cyber-security: How to keep your children safe!

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The Internet is a great resource for you and your family. At the touch of a button, you have access to a world of knowledge and entertainment. Sadly, the internet is also a dangerous place to hang out – particularly for children. Nearly 60% of teens have received an email or instant message from a stranger – half of them have replied. With summer approaching, the potential for children to wind up on dangerous sites increases since kids have more free time and that usually means more screen time.

So what can you do? Just to get started, let’s list some things you can do almost immediately to help keep your kids safe while they’re online.

It won’t take a lot of time to try these suggestions, and while we’ll talk later on about setting up parental controls through your Race router, the following steps can give you some peace of mind until you can do so.

    1. Place computers in a common area of the house:
      Don’t allow kids to have a computer in their room. You’d be surprised by how much the mere presence of a parent who may or may not be looking over a child’s shoulder while they use the computer can keep a child in line. They have no way of knowing if your eyes are good enough to see across the room, now do they? Make sure the computer’s screen is visible from other parts of the room and isn’t turned toward a wall.
    2. Set reasonable time and usage limits:
      Set rules about what your child can and can’t do when on the internet. Set time limits on their computer use. If they say they’re researching homework, maybe you don’t include that in the time limits – but make sure they’re using it for homework.
    3. Discuss the dangers of the web with your child:
      Sit down and discuss the dangers of the internet. Talk openly and honestly about what’s out there and the kind of stuff they want to avoid. Forewarned is forearmed.
    4. Teach them to protect their privacy
      While they won’t fully understand the consequences of revealing personal information online, you should still make sure your children know:
      * Never to give their name, phone number, e-mail address, password, postal address, school, or picture without your permission
      * Not to open e-mail from people they don’t know
      * Not to respond to hurtful or disturbing messages
      * Not to get together with anyone they “meet” online.
    5. Keep the youngsters out of online chat rooms, and do your best to reinforce the old rule, “never talk to strangers.”:
      Chat rooms are a popular place for sex offenders to meet their prey. If possible, keep your kids out of chat rooms altogether. Make sure your child knows that no matter how nice an online “friend” may seem to be, they are still a stranger, and may not be who they appear to be. ​
    6. Know Passwords:
      Be upfront with your children that you will need to have their passwords for all of their devices and for all of their social media sites. Once you have the passwords, check these sites regularly to see what your child is seeing and posting.
    7. NEVER let your child upload or download photos without your permission:
      Online predators will often send photos supposedly of themselves or request photos of the child.

Turn your ISP into your ally
Before buying any safety product, experts recommend that you work with what you’ve got, starting with your Internet service provider – hopefully that is us at Race Communications!

Your Gigafy Me router includes free parental controls that can limit children’s access to websites and communication features (e-mail, instant messaging, chat) by the time of day and other variables. If you don’t have a router rental through Race, give us a call to have that added or if you have any questions about these features.

Race Communications wins BroadbandNow Awards!

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BroadbandNow recently announced their 2019 Service Provider Awards Program. This program is the culmination of a massive, cross-disciplinary effort to highlight excellence among internet service providers across the United States.

As the only consumer resource investing in data aggregation and validation for independent, regional ISPs, the website is rolling out this awards program in order to recognize providers of all sizes that offer excellent service to consumers across the nation.

We are thrilled to announce that Race was ranked in two separate categories from BroadbandNow and our ‘Gigafy Me’ package was recognized as one of the Top 10 Most Affordable Broadband Plans Nationwide AND as one of the Top 10 Most Affordable Gig Internet Plans Nationwide!

We pride ourselves on providing fast, reliable internet at an affordable cost, and we are so proud of the team behind our network. We want to thank them for all their hard work. We also want to recognize our customers for choosing us, a local provider for their home entertainment needs.

We want to encourage our customers to leave us a review with Broadbandnow (be sure to click on the customer review tab). With your help, Race could be recognized in additional categories!