Why Move From San Diego to Kingman (Phoenix, Flagstaff: jobs, health)

[rambrush]

Nope no earthquakes (just tremmors spl from other parts)
The wind and dust could be a concern for asthma
As for flooding...I live in a higher section of town, during the monsoons the water run off races past our house and heads to the wash. So yes evaluate where you buy because some places in my area take on a bit of water as it runs past mine. So look at the lay of the land and make decisons on if the place you like sits in a low spot.
Keep in mind this does not happen often but it does happen.

[Trisher]

Originally Posted by rambrush

Nope no earthquakes (just tremmors spl from other parts)
The wind and dust could be a concern for asthma
As for flooding...I live in a higher section of town, during the monsoons the water run off races past our house and heads to the wash. So yes evaluate where you buy because some places in my area take on a bit of water as it runs past mine. So look at the lay of the land and make decisons on if the place you like sits in a low spot.
Keep in mind this does not happen often but it does happen.

Here we have so much pollen it's outrageous, and forest fires so often the smoke about kills me. My asthma isn't huge, but bothersome in this climate. Amazingly, dust and animal dander don't seem to aggravate it, so that's the easy part. I've been in areas where there were earthquakes and don't care for the feeling - tremors don't scare me, tho.

Thanks for the advice about the flooding. We'll certainly keep that in mind. I wish we could win a lottery or something - we'd be there next week! Oh well, such is life, I must be patient!

We haven't decided on buying yet...typically we've always preferred to rent cause there's less hassle with property taxes and insurance, plus repair bills. (Again, WV taxes us to death, including property) But haven't ruled that out either - owning our own place might be nice for a change. If we should decide to rent - what's that market like?

We're really longing for the move, don't know if we'll manage to wait the two years or not, but realistically, we should stick to our plan, I guess. Thanks again for the advice!

[clortho1]

I stayed in Kingman for about a week while on a little vacation, and it definitely is your small town feel.. I didn't care for it, since I'm not used to isolation and all desert terrain around you.. two old men were fighting almost to the death at the K-Mart! I was so shocked.. and the people were very outspoken.. very nice.. but it sure was different.

[Trisher]

Thanks for the help Rambush - have a question for you. If we do decide to rent - are there areas we need to stay away from? We've already got our savings going and are doing some cd's to pad our bank account, still not sure which way we're going - buying or renting, just checking the options. There's a lot we want to accomplish so we can make the move less encumbered, but are working tirelessly - hoping for closer to one year than two.

Appreciate your advice!

[Tinmountain]

Trisher - We bought here three years ago when the property prices were low. Then the next year, there was the "boom" and everything went up greatly. We thought we'd sell and move on, but decided to stay since we have no mortgage. I came from SoCalifornia, so it was really nice to have a place with no debt but low taxes. We have quite a large number of horses and our expenses are finally low enough to see daylight with them.
YESTERDAY we went to planning and zoning to get our building permit. We are building a very modest home of less than 1000 square feet. We are completely "green" meaning that we are off the grid by choice, i.e. not hooked up to power companies, use propane gas for our refrigerator and heat, use either solar or a generator for power and have our water trucked in weekly. Our house is to be built out of recycled building materials and railroad ties that are over a hundred years old. I was an architect/designer/engineer in California, so I DO know what I am doing. But not registered in the state of Arizona. The building fees were still reasonable, but will change as of SEPTEMBER 1, 2007 and at that time they will jump ASTRONOMICALLY, rivalling Riverside and Orange County a few years back. Then there is the matter of the septic permit, which I thought since we are doing a composting toilet and greywater reclaimation system, all engineered by the manufacturer, I thought it would be a piece of cake...NOT TRUE!!!!! It requires permits that cost MORE than conventional systems, is required to be engineered by an Arizona engineer and will take nearly two months for approval. All that BEFORE the building permit is issued. You can however apply and pay the lower fees, but afte JULY 1, 2007 and SEPTEMBER 1, 2007 the costs to build will be going thru the roof. On top of that, the property improvements are assessed by the county for taxes at an inflated rate of $100+ per square foot for ANYTHING under ROOF, including a covered porch or HORSE SHELTER!!! They probably will include DOG HOUSES on their next rate increase... All this and then there will be MANDATORY building inspections that have additional FEES like Orange and Riverside counties do. The county is raising all their fees, including animal control, etc. but they have a informal hiring freeze, so I don't know who is going to do all the mandated inspections. The Sheriffs Department has a horrible response time due to downsizing. The Board of Supervisors are putting all their efforts for development into Lake Havasu City where some of the members have very large land holdings, so go figure...Until some of these "Good Ol Boys" either pass away or find somewhere else to screw over, this county is in a bad flux. The largest building suppliers have laid off their employees and are pulling up stakes. Contractors are looking for the next green pasture. There are tons of rentals and lease to own schemes, but beware of the fine print. All you people who have deposits on property in Golden Valley, ie Rhodes, read the fine print...also did you know that all of Golden Valley is a wash? FEMA is doing some revamping and they are reclassifying things such as washes, flood planes and the like, probably all sponsored by the insurance companies that didn't pay up claims...Go into Planning and Zoning, and look tto the right on the wall and you will see TONS of literature about flooding and the like...it's because of all the interest in Golden Valley and all the development that MAY go on...and they will definitely exclude flooding from any insutrance policies, I guarantee that. So Rhodes buys up junk land in flood planes and takes your money to buy more junk land in more bad areas, ad nauseum. Then they will end up renting to unsusecting people who are relocating for innocent reasons. In short, Kingman/Mohave county is the modern day toilet bowl of the country. High rent, high fees and taxes, no services (oh except maybe prisons and jails) and unless you work in fast food or a convenience store or WalMart, no meaningful employment. OK so there is the problems and issues according to how I see it...the solution?? FIRST bring in a good clean industry, get some people in the Board of Supervisors and P&Z that know how to carry a community through positive growth, and then build realistically priced homes. I was in San Jose when it had 100,000 for a population, and personally saw it grow to well over a million with the guidance of some very intelligent people, namely Norm Mineta. I knew him personally. OK you SoCalifornians...remember Temecula?? Remember when it was Rancho California? Gosh I wish I had gotten that degree in Urban Studies instead of design.

[Trump]

Tinmountain - Not to take issue with most of your post but Rancho California is a separate community outside of Temecula. Temecula existed long before Rancho California came about.

[rambrush]

As posted go to Mohave county flood control office off of Route 66 across the road from City of Kingman complex. they have flood plain maps and such in there.
Rentals come take a look but you might want to avoid a area that has names that start with Bird names.

[Trisher]

Hi again Rambush - you seem to be voice of reason! Thanks for the advice - bird names, hmmm? Okay.....

I'm getting a lot of confusing posts on crime rate - that's the one thing that's made us pause so far. Only pause, tho. I searched our denominations web to find a church in Kingman and have found 3 actually. So I've decided I'm just going to call and make contact with a couple of the pastors and get their personal view of the area and crime - and am hoping a church member will become something of a "pen pal" to us over the next year or so and be a link to when we do make the move. Unless it's really as bad as some say, I think we're pretty stuck on Kingman. It's just in the area of AZ we want to be, so I'm hoping crime isn't THAT bad. Thanks for being that voice of reason!

[Tinmountain]

Actually Trump, Rancho California was a tract housing development and not actually a community with a zip code, I would try to search for it on the net and all you would find is Temecula....I lived there.... Next...

[Tinmountain]

Temecula was incorporated in 1989, it was a big sheep ranch before that. My question to Trisher is what makes you think that the crime rate isn't so bad?? It all depends which crime you are looking at. They are trying to get federal funding to build a prison within 75 miles of LV, NV. Which would put the prison roughly at the edge of Golden Valley...Hmmmm. My sugestion is to carry a BIG gun...LOL(If you go to Birdland....)