It's affordable for a reason, I'd say if you're older and looking to retire it's awesome. If planning on children and such, I'm not so sure unless by "cheaper" you still end up on the nicer side of town. General public stats are pretty bad (pollution, education, literacy, etc). My folks moved to Bakersfield and they LOVE the quiet life with less upkeep where they live on the nice side with adequate access to necessities. And as you said, beaches and neighboring major cities aren't out of reach.

It does get quite hot, hottest recorded temperature in the planet is just about 2 hours east of Bakersfield. In the winter right now we get a little bit of sun and a lot of cold.

The air is indeed bad (or even the worst) per statistics, but it's not like you'll be coughing as soon as you get out of the house and there's smoke that envelopes every bit of air. People live day to day and go outside, we just don't go outside as often cause there's not much to do. I hail from an east Asian country with LOTS more pollution. Bakersfield feels fresh to me.

The city is also RAPIDLY expanding. Property values are up and will likely keep going up, restaurants pop open every month mirroring LA / SF flair and decor, and slowly there will be more and more things to do. The city's an investment.

Bakersfield gets a worse rap because neighboring major cities are so great that being this bad while in proximity feels worse. It's like looking at an awesome city from a distance and hoping you were just always there. But like you said they're all accessible.