Kingman AZ? Is it really that horrible? (Phoenix: appointed, fit in)

[Baja Boomer]

Originally Posted by blue578

Honolulu is the tourist attraction town. I lived in Hawaii for nearly 2 years, long ago. It is beautiful. I never lived in Honolulu, that is just for the tourists.For me the sunsets, the waterfalls, the spirit that is in the air, is awesome.

Honolulu is NOT just for tourists. The majority of residents in Hawaii live, work, shop and play there. The main tourist area is Waikiki, which is only about 640 acres or so within the city limits.

Honolulu is a remarkable city with some very beautiful suburbs, lots of cultural pursuits, parks, history, GREAT food and a melange of cultures that makes it very interesting. Please don't conflate it with Waikiki, which is a whole 'nother thing.

I lived there for many years, and it's a wonderful place-- if you can afford it. As cities go, I'd choose Honolulu over any other city I've ever known, and I've known a lot of them.

And yes it's true that Hawaii is beautiful, with clean air that smells of ginger, plumeria and ocean, soft light and a very special spirit that is awesome. I can't listen to Hawaiian music or watch hula in my self-imposed exile; it makes me cry.

Here is a picture showing Honolulu with Waikiki in the foreground, within the red outlines. Within the yellow outlines is Fort DeRussy. As you can see, Honolulu is a pretty big city, spread out with many suburbs/neighborhoods. There are more to the right of this photo, spreading up into the hills. Downtown is outside this photo, to the left.



Here is downtown Honolulu.



And here is another view, showing real neighborhoods.



PS: I just happen to be in Kingman at this moment, and while it's certainly no Honolulu, I think it's a fine little place.

[rambrush]

Originally Posted by kdog

Actually, it's not called a mall. It's called Tuscany Village. My bad. I took another look today, and there's a fair amount of parking in front. There's more on the left side, and possibly in back as well.

So far there's a Salon, Chiropractor and Grill restaurant moving in.

I had to run out to Lazy Y U today and on the way back in cut through Southern and sure don't recall a city park at pawnee and Southern then came on down and checked out the new place you indicated. Sure will bring a change to that area for sure.

[kdog]

Yeah, that park is just a few months old. The kids like it.

PM me next time you're gonna be in the hood and I'll buy you a coffee.

[blue578]

Thank you for the updated photos. As I said I lived there long ago.when the area in red was about all there was on Wakiki Beach. Some high rise Hotels along a strip of the Beach. thank you for the update. I also lived on Maui and Kawai. (sp?) I lived on the islands before the developers came in. So, I am right in my memories, but not in present time!! When I lived in Hawaii it was full of sugar cane fields, flowers, guavas trees, rode the waves,
including pounders! banana trees, rivers, waterfalls, menehunes,warm oceans, and a one lane highway and tropical forests, seven sacred falls, wild horses, Mt Haleakela. I liked how you described the scent of the air. I remember picking the flowers and making leis. If there is any place on earth similar to it now, that is affordable let me know. signed: a haole...who misses the Islands...

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by SummersEve

I am trying to find out info on Kingman and it sounds pretty bad from the posts. Is the crime horrible? Meth drugs all over? Is it ugly? People unfriendly?What types of stores? Where does everyone go to shop?

I had heard from a friend it is an up and coming city for those who don't want to live in Las Vegas, but the posts sound pretty bad.

Thanks!

i planted a grove of trees in kingman. they are still there. the trees are beautiful.
in kingman people have more space. the people that live there need a lot of personal space. for you and me a 150 x75 lot is ok for people in kingman, jack murphy stadium is just about right. but as to ugly no its not kingman that would be san diego, but they are not really ugly because they all wear hawaiian shirts.
stephen s
san diego ca

[tkfan]

Originally Posted by kdog

Actually, it's not called a mall. It's called Tuscany Village. My bad. I took another look today, and there's a fair amount of parking in front. There's more on the left side, and possibly in back as well.

So far there's a Salon, Chiropractor and Grill restaurant moving in.

I heard tonight that the restaurant will be called Lombardo's Sicilian Grill (or something very close to that). It is owned by the guy that owns the Hot Rod Cafe and the pizza place. Described to me as a small Olive Garden.

[Tiffany76]

My Husband i are looking to relocate. He is origanaly from Califorina and I from Small town Idaho. We are now living in Spokane Washington. We are both in our 30's and have five son's who hate the cold and the city as well. I grewup in a small town where we had to drive almost an hour for clothing or buy a car. For me small town living would be a sinch. I guess what i was wondering is Kingman a good place to raise Kid's?
I know there are not job's galore and that is fine. Also I was wondering, a lot of people are living in small towns to avoid big city problems. I just wonder if there would be an issue of us starting a business there? We do not want to disrespect the town or the people. It sound's like a very beautiful place. Iam parctial to the name as well, as it is our last name. Go figure!

[rambrush]

Welcome aboard!

As someone who grew up in the tri-cities through the 50's80's I know small towns as well.
Of course up there we had the columbia,snake and yakima rivers in our backyard.
If your kids love the outdoors they should not have problems here.

So many places to explore and experience adventures. If they are like some teen agers and want to hang out at the local movie theater or Zip's drive in they might be in trouble here.

Starting a business can be a challenge, I've seen some great places close because there was not traffic to keep the doors open.

As for cold, nothing can compare to the storms I have experienced in Spokane, Sandpoint or Boners Ferry. Even Snoqualamie pass sits at a low 3000' elevation and gets heavy snowfall.

Kingman at least here at my place is at 3600' elevation High Desert and seldoms snows and when it does it melts pretty quick without the Chinook winds to assist. I should advise that the North Winds can be a bit chilly at times, but like all things dress correct and you can spend the day enjoying life outdoors.

Originally Posted by Tiffany76

My Husband i are looking to relocate. He is origanaly from Califorina and I from Small town Idaho. We are now living in Spokane Washington. We are both in our 30's and have five son's who hate the cold and the city as well. I grewup in a small town where we had to drive almost an hour for clothing or buy a car. For me small town living would be a sinch. I guess what i was wondering is Kingman a good place to raise Kid's?
I know there are not job's galore and that is fine. Also I was wondering, a lot of people are living in small towns to avoid big city problems. I just wonder if there would be an issue of us starting a business there? We do not want to disrespect the town or the people. It sound's like a very beautiful place. Iam parctial to the name as well, as it is our last name. Go figure!

[starr2be2]

I live 40 mins away and it's probably best that way. It is an okay city but not somewhere I would want to live. I'll admit they have a lot of places to eat and they do have movie theaters and a few other things to do but I have heard about many drug problems there. There is quite a bit of traffic there and it takes awhile to get from one place to the other. MY roommate also has a few family members there and he tells me stories about crime and drugs that go on up there. But it does kinda matter which part of the city you're in even though its not that big. If you like Kingman I would suggest living in Golden Valley and working in Kingman or go there when you need to or work in Bullhead City or just move to Bullhead City or even Laughlin, Nv. Golden Valley has nothing but a few places to shop and eat and get gas but you do have the luxury of being in the middle of Kingman and Bullhead/Laughlin so many job opportunities depending if you can travel 15-20 mins to work everyday. Working at the casinos in Laughlin is you best bet because not many jobs down here higher full-time much anymore and you can insurance and such. The riverside has a Kids Castle if you work and have kids 3mo - 12yr you can drop them off there while you're at work but there is drug problems between employees and stuff. But the rest of the casinos are grea to work for except for the Aquarius because they keep hiring, then layin-off a bunch of people. Edgewater is the best my grandpa works there and my mom use to. Good pay, good insurance for low cost, friendly people.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by starr2be2

I live 40 mins away and it's probably best that way. It is an okay city but not somewhere I would want to live. I'll admit they have a lot of places to eat and they do have movie theaters and a few other things to do but I have heard about many drug problems there. There is quite a bit of traffic there and it takes awhile to get from one place to the other. MY roommate also has a few family members there and he tells me stories about crime and drugs that go on up there. But it does kinda matter which part of the city you're in even though its not that big. If you like Kingman I would suggest living in Golden Valley and working in Kingman or go there when you need to or work in Bullhead City or just move to Bullhead City or even Laughlin, Nv. Golden Valley has nothing but a few places to shop and eat and get gas but you do have the luxury of being in the middle of Kingman and Bullhead/Laughlin so many job opportunities depending if you can travel 15-20 mins to work everyday. Working at the casinos in Laughlin is you best bet because not many jobs down here higher full-time much anymore and you can insurance and such. The riverside has a Kids Castle if you work and have kids 3mo - 12yr you can drop them off there while you're at work but there is drug problems between employees and stuff. But the rest of the casinos are grea to work for except for the Aquarius because they keep hiring, then layin-off a bunch of people. Edgewater is the best my grandpa works there and my mom use to. Good pay, good insurance for low cost, friendly people.

I nominate this for the most inaccurate, useless post ever posted in City-Forum, and that's saying a lot.

"I've heard, blah, blah, blah. "My roomate's family's milkman said, blah, blah, blah."

First of all, if you think there are traffic problems in Kingman then it is clear you or whoever gave you that information has never ventured more than two blocks away from the freeway interchange, because that's the ONLY place you will ever find any traffic in Kingman. And even then, it's not the kind of gridlock that you will find anywhere else. I drive my kids during rush hour across town all the time for various activities and it takes 10 minutes to get anywhere. In fact, that's one of the things we like best about Kingman -- NO TRAFFIC.

Secondly, you suggest living in Golden Valley rather than Kingman? GV has very little in the way of services, it is an unincorporated area. GV is generally populated by people who can't afford to live in Kingman.

Drugs? Give me a break. Find ONE city on this website where people don't complain about drug problems. And I still don't understand it. Where do these people hang out where drugs are a problem? I don't live with, nor associate with druggies. They have no effect on me. I've lived in many areas in the US and can tell you that Kingman does not have an excessive drug or crime problem.

Even your positive comments about Kingman are misleading. There are not "Movie Theaters", there's only one. And the restaurant situation is not particularly good here, which makes it odd to hear someone praise it. There are actually a few new ones in town, but I seriously doubt you even know about them.

I see this is your first post here. As it appears you've spent ZERO time in Kingman, I'm wondering why you bothered to register just to post this kind of misleading information. Why don't you create your own post about Bullhead/Laughlin, as that appears to be somewhere you know something about.