Life in Lake Havasu City (housing, rental, income)

[Ben_Hooper]

I'm thinking of moving to LHC, i know its hot, dry and i've heard a few bad things about the place but it seems very attracting to me. I come from a place with a maritime climate, Winters are around 30/48F and summers 59/75 with a lot of rain! I would like a change, hot and dry seems to appeal to me at the moment, i'll also buy boat for the river and surrounding lakes, which would be great, Summer days doing watersports!

Can anyone tell me what LHC is actually like and the surrounding towns A.S.A.P.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Ben_Hooper

I'm thinking of moving to LHC, i know its hot, dry and i've heard a few bad things about the place but it seems very attracting to me. I come from a place with a maritime climate, Winters are around 30/48F and summers 59/75 with a lot of rain! I would like a change, hot and dry seems to appeal to me at the moment, i'll also buy boat for the river and surrounding lakes, which would be great, Summer days doing watersports!

Can anyone tell me what LHC is actually like and the surrounding towns A.S.A.P.

Truth?

15-20 years ago I would have wholeheartedly recommended LHC; today, with so many drunk idiots in the water, you would be very wise in visiting the place before making a commitment---------summer and winter to get a feel.

LHC is pretty admittedly.......again, spend the $$ and visit for a week each in the summer and the winter.

[gregandvicky]

I lived there for 6 years. The schools are horrible and the drunk and crazy California crowd take over town from Friday through Sunday. We made it a point not to go to the lake, grocery store or gas stations on weekends. Also housing prices are realy high now.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by gregandvicky

I lived there for 6 years. The schools are horrible and the drunk and crazy California crowd take over town from Friday through Sunday. We made it a point not to go to the lake, grocery store or gas stations on weekends. Also housing prices are realy high now.

Bingo!

When I was in LHC the first time back in 2000; the place had a definite 'aloha' vibe about it-------inexpensive rentals, friendly people, an eclectic vibe as well as reasonable wages at where I was working.

I left for a while due to family reasons.

Fast forward to 2002 and the whole ambience changed--------dog eat dog attitude, housing prices tripled; etc.

[christyca]

I lived there from 1992-2004 and I was happy to leave.Everything started changing for the worse.I could never get used to the extreme heat in the summer.Being on the lake during hot weather felt like a pee pool lol.I however always felt safe there.

I also moved to get away from an ex-husband that I would run into everyday since it is still a small town

Visit Havasu first

[SmokemanGRP]

We bought a residential lot in LHC in 1990 for $25k as an investment but the housing market, as did California at the time, slumped so we just held on to it. We lived in CA at the time. The LHC housing market seems to reflect the CA market but with a few months lag. In 2000 we decided to build a house on the lot as a weekend getaway because building prices were very cheap compared to CA. In 2004 we retired, sold our CA house and moved to LHC and have lived there since. Today, that lot would be worth $120k.

LHC has two distinct atmospheres which I think adds to its uniqueness. In the winter, many snowbirds arrive for 3 – 5 months. They all seem to be very friendly but they drive slow which irritates many locals. In the summer, especially on weekends, the Californians come to town to use the lake. Many have huge, fast, loud boats and yes, they do consume large amounts of alcohol. The younger scenery at Spring Break is superb. If we don’t have a slip for our boat we only go out on Monday – Thursday because the launch ramps get crowded. If we have a slip we go out any day of the week.

LHC is a nice sized town of 50,000. We have a Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Walgreens, many restaurants, auto dealers, a Dillard’s (scheduled to open in the spring of ’08), Home Depot & Lowe’s, a hospital & plenty of doctors. Just about everything except a Costco and Best Buy.

The summer temps can be brutal. The heat feels great in May and into June. By July you start thinking twice about it and by August you’re thinking enough is enough. But then by October you forget all about the heat because the temps are great. We rarely get rain and probably have one of the highest number of sunny days in the country. It does get windy (10 – 15 mph) more than I like for boating.

There are very few high paying jobs. There are several boat manufacturers and many service jobs. Don’t move here thinking you’ll find a six figure income.

If anyone wants more info feel free to send an email.

[CamaroGuy]

I have not visited Lake Havasu since 2000 but I always enjoyed it. Is the London Arms pub still in the English village?

[SmokemanGRP]

Originally Posted by CamaroGuy

I have not visited Lake Havasu since 2000 but I always enjoyed it. Is the London Arms pub still in the English village?

No, it’s sad to report that the entire north end of the English Village has fallen into such disrepair that no businesses are left and it is an eye sore. Our former mayor wanted to buy that area for big bucks but voters luckily voted against it. The current owner has plans to rebuild with commercial businesses on the ground floor and possible professional offices or residential on a second floor but nothing has happened yet.

[Havasu]

Its super hot and expensive dont move there way to many people are there
pick somewhere else. Oh did i say its HOT

[CamaroGuy]

Originally Posted by SmokemanGRP

No, it’s sad to report that the entire north end of the English Village has fallen into such disrepair that no businesses are left and it is an eye sore. Our former mayor wanted to buy that area for big bucks but voters luckily voted against it. The current owner has plans to rebuild with commercial businesses on the ground floor and possible professional offices or residential on a second floor but nothing has happened yet.

That's pathetic!:-( I so LOVED that pub. Hopefully you'll get some investers to restore that part of the village to what it was.

I may be going to Havasu in a month or two. How's the Blackforest German restaurant?