Let's look at the positive side of Kingman/Bullhead CIty??!? (Phoenix: foreclosures, low crime)

[Tinmountain]

The way some people talk about Kingman and Bullhead City, you'd think you were in Hell's Kitchen or something!! I moved to a piece of property about 20 miles east of Kingman 3 years ago, and while it didn't have all the amenities that SoCA had or SF bay area (my home) we are making the best of it.

Yes, there is a drug problem in Mohave County but look at how BORING is has become for youth and the lack of jobs and industry. I married a Kingmanite and YES the politics have made the area what it is, but "it takes a village"...I can't find the village!!

Society on a whole has gone downhill. Support systems have deteriorated. The cost of housing and the GREED of developers (has anyone read RHODES fine print/disclaimer on their advertising??) has made home ownership unattainable. The whole system is a mess. The California housing boom bubble has burst this past six months. Foreclosures are spiking next year. Does anyone know of an area that is NOT affected by this misalignment??

If employers became more accountable for their employees and families were supportive, and voters took a closer look at who they are voting for, maybe, just maybe we'd see an improvement in ten or twenty years...LOL

But in the meantime, take a look at who OWNS the casinos in Laughlin. And next time you put a PENNY in any casino, remember you are supporting a) your OWN addiction and b) foreign investors (ASIAN)

I worked at Betty Ford Rehab Center in Rancho Mirage and learned that addictions cannot be stopped (only substituted)...so investors are taking advantage of the situation. Can you blame them??? Pass the donuts please...

How do WE cope?? We look forward to the day we LEAVE the area. We mind our business. We don't get involved in anyone's drama. We have a "fun day" each week where we go to Las Vegas for lunch and look at "nice things", we are physically active out of doors with our horses. Hmmmmm...we go to Laughlin and Bullhead City every once in awhile. We drink at home, but no drugs at all at our ranch. In the meantime we are existing on one income because we have been robbed by our own employees and choose to NOT have anyone else on the property

We have problems finding and retaining caretaker/ranch help because the area has become a repository for theives, drug pushers, homeless transients, vagabonds, etc. mainly because of the weather and poor economy. Anywhere you have casinos and truck stops (they're all here) you have vultures...hey I think I just saw one fly overhead!!

[kawgpz550]

You are completely right! Everything you sadi was pretty right on. If you're coming here from southern California, you shouldn't have any problem here. California is somewhat impersonal etc. You just learn to not socialize with very many people and trust NO ONE. If you are coming from the midwest where everyone waves while going down the road, hand shakes and hat tips...this is not the place for you. You will be walked on, bent over and rammed. I actually live in Bullhead and it is a little worse here than the Kingman area, but not too much difference. We also own a business and now rely on one income and do EVERYTHING OURSELVES because we also had an employee that was stealing from us.
There are upsides to the area. There's no snow or icey roads to worry about, beautiful mountains, river and lake etc. But socially, unless you are an older retiree and/or snowbird, life will be hard here. If you stay in church rather than the casinos, the quality of life is much better. I've been here 19 years and have seen a lot. A lot that so many people know nothing about because this is a tourist area.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

[RCL]

Wow, these are interesting posts. You make me really think twice about moving to the Kingman area. Exactly what you have mentioned are the reasons why I left California. I was not too thrilled to get here to Southern Utah and find it has become and extension of LA. The locals do not like Californians now because of it and frankly I don't blame them. I'm trying to get as FAR away from California and Californians as possible and their conspicuous consumption, while they tout environmental "values" but drive a Hummer or an Escalade that's half the size of a 2 bedroom house, etc. etc. etc.

I am not going to go on because I'll just get to feeling bad. I wish California would fall off into the Pacific and take most of those 30+ million people with it (just leave the handful of good people who are left)!

[Tinmountain]

We live in an area that the post office SWEARS has very few inhabitants, so few that we have to drive 6 miles to get our mail. In the meantime, our "inhabited area" called Cedar Hills has in actuality HUNDREDS of homes. It's that place that Stockton Hills Realty advertises on the side of the freeway "40 ACRE RANCHES"... uhhhhh...there are no more parcels available except resales...at $12-15,000 an acre... anyway...
So my neighbor who built a styrofoam 5000 square foot home comes down thru MY property on Christmas Day with his wife on their QUADS argues that since we don't have our property fenced he can cross it whenever he wishes. Now mind you, he only comes to stay in his monstrosity on holidays. Otherwise the house and its property is a gypsy camp for his "workers" who also are theives and druggies. On top of that he is CHANGING the NAME OF OUR ROAD!!! There will be a Board of Supervisors hearing on the request on January 10 and 10 am. You darn right we will be there in protest!! How does he think he can do that???? He wants to name it Desert Oasis Drive. He already named another road Friendship Pass Road. This man has delusions of something!!!!!!
Welcome to Kingman????? I have never seen such a place...comments are Welcome!!

[AZJoe]

I have friends who live in Kingman and love it there. I do understand the agrivation of progress. If that is what you want to call it. I am looking to get out of California as it has become a dumping ground for the welfare seekers, and has turned our desert into a slum. My wife and I have lived here for over 37 years. We have watched what the city fathers have done. This is why we won't liv in a city. Pay for some dead beat society leach ain't happening with us. We are going to look in Arizona, and we are going to start in Kingman and go from there. I would like to see some positive output from some of you folks there. AZJoe

[JustPassinThru]

Hi there, AZJoe

Was your neighbor there in AV but decided to cash out while the market was good for sellers. I miss it some, except for the traffic.

Here in Kingman home prices should remain flat for a few more months. You could get in before the next spike. About 50% of everything here was an improvement over the greater L.A. area; clean air, light traffic, nice people (note that I didn't say "friendly"), great weather, lower housing costs, close to lakes, mountains, the Colorado river, Las Vegas, Laughlin.

The downside depends on who you are, where you came from, what you're looking for. I was in a service industry and was amazed at the un-professionalism of most workers that I came in contact with. People made appointments and just never showed up, including realtors, if you can believe that. Wages are much lower here, and we did a lot of buying out of town in Lake Havasu City because of poor selection or poor service here. But, things are changing. The city is growing up, for better or worse depending on where you sit. More jobs and services are on the horizon. And I've gotten used to the small-town ways which are now my ways.
Best of luck wherever you go.

[ArizonaBear]

As per my post on another 'Kingman' thread; it seems if you stay in the incorporated part of Kingman, it is tolerable whereas the same named county enclaves, by and large, suck.

[SummersEve]

Is Kingman dangerous? From the posts it sounds horrible and when I look online they say low crime, friendly,etc.

Is the drug problem still horrible? Are their home invasions like in Phoenix?

Thanks