I spent my childhood in the High Desert. So... to echo your GA buddies... It's the desert. Good luck. Grew up w/ some kids who's dads were officers posted at Edwards AFB during Desert Storm. It's not a bad place, just not as exciting as the city. There are a few High Desert residents on the forum, so I'll leave the local activities to them.
Not sure what sort of suggestions you're asking for, but here are some things to check out on your weekends:
Idyllwild is nice if you're into the outdoorsy thing... some fun roads that way too.
Angeles Crest Highway... if I'm not mistaken, Motortrend does a lot of their road testing/filming out there, for good reason.
If you're into skiing/snowboarding, you're only a few hours away from Mammoth. There are local resorts (Snow Summit & Big Bear). My friends have nicknamed them Snow Hill and Little Bear.
Before winter, take a trip up the 395 and check out Sequoia/Kings Canyon and take another trip for Yosemite/Stanislaus. In addition to being national parks, there are fantastic driving roads in both areas.
Also, since I mentioned some 3 hr drives, might as well suggest going south to Temecula for some wine tasting and the drive up to Palomar observatory... not in that order.
Welcome to SoCal, if you decide to check out to the coastal areas "down below" chime in on the forum.
Edit: I just realized I'm completely non-responsive to your question. Best of luck, I got no real answers for you
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