RogerN wrote:

I've found some positions I'm trying for within 5 or 6 hour drive that pay
in the $120k range, I'm thinking I'd want $150K to relocate to Bakersfield,
but I don't know the cost of living there.

You are likely to find Bakersfield CA an attractively inexpensive place
to live. Other attractions might be harder to identify.

bob prohaska
a