Kingman AZ? Is it really that horrible? (Phoenix, Tucson: rental homes, day care)

[kdog]

Originally Posted by azkylady

lol now thats funny, its hot as blue blazes, if you like triple digits and hot oven air, then its perfect alright.

Where do you live, AZ? Like the 'Bear says, it beats the humidity of the east. Yeah, low 100's, dry heat and a breeze, I'm loving it. Try Bullhead or Havasu if you want hot. Holy cow, drove out to a shop in Bullhead the other day and couldn't believe it. Now that's hot.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by kdog

Where do you live, AZ? Like the 'Bear says, it beats the humidity of the east. Yeah, low 100's, dry heat and a breeze, I'm loving it. Try Bullhead or Havasu if you want hot. Holy cow, drove out to a shop in Bullhead the other day and couldn't believe it. Now that's hot.

Tell me about it!!

River summers; to be polite, SUCK!

On the other side of the coin; the Kingman winters can be a bit chilly......bit, nothing like back east.

Best way to describe Kingman temps, summer and winter: envision Atlanta, Ga-------minus the humdity

[RonAZAK]

Why on Earth would anybody want to move to Kingman? Unless you're retired or independently wealthy I'd steer clear. There's nothing there but a dying town.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by RonAZAK

Why on Earth would anybody want to move to Kingman? Unless you're retired or independently wealthy I'd steer clear. There's nothing there but a dying town.

I disagree about the 'dying' part-----Kingman's population is growing.

I will agree about the crappy wages and the lack of amenities a la Flagstaff or Prescott; the latter two communities each have the same population base as Kingman.

[rambrush]

Originally Posted by RonAZAK

Why on Earth would anybody want to move to Kingman? Unless you're retired or independently wealthy I'd steer clear. There's nothing there but a dying town.

There is great paying jobs you just have to be procative and locate them.

Retire? not yet but we have 20 or so acres in Montana w/ 1/2 mile running creek and beaver ponds, that will be summer and Kingman in the winter when we retire.

So unless you actually live in Kingman I suggest you only speak about what you know and not what you suspect is the case.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by rambrush

There is great paying jobs you just have to be procative and locate them.

Retire? not yet but we have 20 or so acres in Montana w/ 1/2 mile running creek and beaver ponds, that will be summer and Kingman in the winter when we retire.

So unless you actually live in Kingman I suggest you only speak about what you know and not what you suspect is the case.

As you know; I lived in BHC for almost 2 years prior to returning to the Phx area (hindsight being 20/20; moving was a good move due to my being able to have my hernia surgery here covered by insurance).

I had a two job offers in the Kingman area doing automotive brake/suspension work. Both jobs I passed on due to the 20-40% lower wages being offered for the same exact work vs. the River communities/Phoenix metro area. Try $18 per flatrate hour (Kingman) vs. $25-30 FRH (Ft Mohave/Phx). Odd I know

And too what dissuaded me from accepting the second Kingman job offer was my inability to find a small apt/trailer rental for less than, say $500 a month that would accept my two cats.

There was no way I was going to commute 50 miles each way (my apt in BHC allowed cats)

Now; if a job that paid comparably to either my present Phx job and/or my Ft Mohave job were to pop up in Kingman--------all the bets would be off, shall we say

[kdog]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

I will agree about the crappy wages and the lack of amenities a la Flagstaff or Prescott; the latter two communities each have the same population base as Kingman.

Sorry, 'Bear. Gotta disagree with you on this one.

Here's are the facts according to the city-data database.
City/Population/Mean-income/Av-house-price/house-to-income-ratio

Kingman/27,000/$38K/$144K/3.7x
Flagstaff/58,000/$40K/$241K/6x
Prescott 41,000/$41K/$225K/5.4x

The first thing to note is that Kingman has nowhere near the population of Flag or Prescott.

Secondly, the average wages in all three cities are actually very close. But the real surprise is average housing costs. In Flag or Prescott, homes are 6x income. In Kingman, homes are 3.7x. According to this data, you are wealthier in Kingman than in either of the other two cities.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Most of the laborers in this town that I meet own their own homes! Where else in the country do you see that? Now I'm not talking about transient flakes. I'm talking about hard-working blue collar families that are living the American dream.

There's a huge migration of folks coming here from southern California. These are young, dual income families who come here because they simply cannot afford a home in LA. They come here and buy their dream homes and raise their children. We sit around each other's pools at night while our kids play and we talk about how good life is in Kingman.

So, that's the Kingman I see. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. You have to be self-sufficient in your ability to have an income, to make your own fun, and be willing to travel a bit if you want to go shopping in a big mall. If you can't handle that, you won't like Kingman and will probably be posting in this forum about how horrible life is here. Good, stay away.

PS: Bear, that last part wasn't directed at you, but rather at folks like that joker who called Kingman "dying".

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by kdog

Sorry, 'Bear. Gotta disagree with you on this one.

Here's are the facts according to the city-data database.
City/Population/Mean-income/Av-house-price/house-to-income-ratio

Kingman/27,000/$38K/$144K/3.7x
Flagstaff/58,000/$40K/$241K/6x
Prescott 41,000/$41K/$225K/5.4x

The first thing to note is that Kingman has nowhere near the population of Flag or Prescott.

Secondly, the average wages in all three cities are actually very close. But the real surprise is average housing costs. In Flag or Prescott, homes are 6x income. In Kingman, homes are 3.7x. According to this data, you are wealthier in Kingman than in either of the other two cities.

This doesn't surprise me at all. Most of the laborers in this town that I meet own their own homes! Where else in the country do you see that? Now I'm not talking about transient flakes. I'm talking about hard-working blue collar families that are living the American dream.

There's a huge migration of folks coming here from southern California. These are young, dual income families who come here because they simply cannot afford a home in LA. They come here and buy their dream homes and raise their children. We sit around each other's pools at night while our kids play and we talk about how good life is in Kingman.

So, that's the Kingman I see. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. You have to be self-sufficient in your ability to have an income, to make your own fun, and be willing to travel a bit if you want to go shopping in a big mall. If you can't handle that, you won't like Kingman and will probably be posting in this forum about how horrible life is here. Good, stay away.

PS: Bear, that last part wasn't directed at you, but rather at folks like that joker who called Kingman "dying".

Correct that the city of Kingman has the population that you described; I was referring to all of the areas that had 'Kingman' as their name.........which would still apply due to the latters' proximity to town.

3 years ago housing there was dirt cheap.........prices have effectively doubled since then-------although with the impending recession home prices will likely drop a lot.

As for wages; I still stand by my personal observations.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

Correct that the city of Kingman has the population that you described; I was referring to all of the areas that had 'Kingman' as their name.........which would still apply due to the latters' proximity to town.

3 years ago housing there was dirt cheap.........prices have effectively doubled since then-------although with the impending recession home prices will likely drop a lot.

As for wages; I still stand by my personal observations.

Well, if you're going to add in outlying areas, that would probably make Flagstaff and Prescott larger as well.

I don't doubt your personal observation on the wage thing. Each industry is different. Just pointing out that the overall data shows that Kingman is holding its own pretty well with respect to household income.

Cheers,
kdog

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by kdog

Well, if you're going to add in outlying areas, that would probably make Flagstaff and Prescott larger as well.

I don't doubt your personal observation on the wage thing. Each industry is different. Just pointing out that the overall data shows that Kingman is holding its own pretty well with respect to household income.

Cheers,
kdog

Butler is 'outlying' yet many people lump it with Kingman proper.