Advice...moving to Yuma, Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson: 2009, apartments, to rent)

[rckc333]

Hello,
My husband and I just found out we are moving to Yuma, Arizona (he is a marine). I have been reading a lot of the posts and they seem pretty negative. Can anyone give me some good advice on this area? What neighborhoods are good to live in, where are good places to go, eat, shop, etc. Also what about Mexico? Are there any places there nearby you recommend? Also, I am a nurse, what hospitals would you recommend working in? We are both from KY originally, so we are both used to all 4 seasons...it will be different in AZ I am sure! We are excited and optimistic about our move. Thanks. Anything you can tell me would be wonderful! Thanks!

[bootprint]

welcome to az.

lets see...

housing, live in the county areas if possible, less city noise, etc. make sure you look at the house when a flight pattern is full (nothing like F-18Ds at takeoff !!!) take a GOOD look at neighborhood before choosing. a lot of yuma has gone down hill due to illegal immigration. look for nice yards and lack of graffiti. my suggestion, RENT FIRST, recon the area and then get a house. BTW, hope you're rich. housing prices are artificially inflated due to the influx of california refugees moving in.

schools in yuma are a joke. good private schools in area and a brand new public high school that's probably the cleanest and least screwed up.

1 word: home school.

AWC is a pretty typical JuCo. with occasianal extension courses for 4 year degrees. any post grad you're planning better be by mail.

avoid mexico trips with your hubby. he will be directed to NOT go into mexico as marines have been targeted there by criminals and corrupt police alike, besides, you have to have a passport to get back into CONUS anymore. nothing but blinding poverty, bad food and contempt for Amercia there. for deep immersion into the spanish language, you only need to go shopping. try a rosetta stone course to survive the hired-help's lack of comprehension.

there is only one hospital, YRMC is so-so, i've seen worse. my mother contracted MRSA from staff that do not wash their hands. many in yuma go to PHX for scheduled surgery. Yuma is a backward, back water community, the docs that end up here are here for a reason. there are many nursing homes in the area if you're into geriatric care. two air ambulance companies if you're a flight nurse.

MCAS-Yuma is a great base. I have high regard for the Marines there. yuma is also home to US Army Proving Grounds, my father works there.

weather. it's hot. no way to dress it up. it's usually a "dry" heat except in august. winter is very mild, shirt sleeve weather. no rain, snow etc, it's a desert with 360 flying days a year. it's like iraq, without the view.

you are 3 hrs from PHX and san diego. you'll appreciate that.

lots of 4 wheeling in desert, hunting dove and mule deer. water skiing, swimming and river-type sports in summer. winter is 4 wheeling and quad riding in the dunes, just 10 miles from yuma. "stargate" was filmed there. hiking, prospecting, old mines, etc in desert to explore. desert can be very beautiful.

local chow- "da boyz" pizza in the foothills is good. "tacos mi rancho" (2 stores!!) is good mexican food and typical of the sonoran region, if you're used to tex-mex or taco bueno, it'll be different. unfortunatly, most local restaurants are a thing of the past. many chain-type places abound. "brownies" is good for breakfast, greasy spoon fare. "Mr. G's" and "Chili-pepper" great for lunch. both mexican food. "Chretin's" used to be the best mex in yuma, sadly, new location, new prices, new crappy food.

new "outdoor" mall, pretty neat until summer hits, then you can fry an egg on the pavement. 60 miles away is a nice indoor mall (el centro, ca. is a dirtier version of yuma)

yuma is very blue collar. yuma has grown too fast for it's own good, city govt is inept and has an agenda. a lot of good-ol-boyism in county and city govt. despite this, yuma was the fastest growing city in the US in 2004.

yuma has an "art center" that is usually closed or just empty. there is no theater company. no opera or philharmonic. you will need a tour guide, find a friend to show you around. i survived there 40 years. went to the schools, worked in the heat, gained some common sense and moved to a small town with 4 seasons.

good luck, make the best of it. some of yuma is enjoyable and most people are hospitable in the western way ( like the south, but different).

semper fi to your hubby

[rckc333]

Thank you for your response, I will be sure to keep your advice in mind!!!

[jaada]

well i am sorry you have to move here, you will be too. especially if your use to 4 seasons. its so nasty hot here from april to november. i just hate it.and humid too in july and august. the snowbirds are a whole other subject, winters are nice as far as the weather goes, but it doesnt last long enough. there is only one hospital here and its awful, check out the other threads about yuma. the college is a good one, however they tend to lose every piece of paper work i have ever put in there, and they dont tell you until you get deregistered from classes. however its worth the hassle to go there,and nau is good too. i agree with the above poster, homeschool your kids, i did. there isnt any night life here unless you go to mexico,and there isnt much to do. snowbirds are the bread and butter of this town and things really slow down in the summers some places even close down.

[bluebelt1234]

Originally Posted by jaada

well i am sorry you have to move here, you will be too. especially if your use to 4 seasons. its so nasty hot here from april to november. i just hate it.and humid too in july and august. the snowbirds are a whole other subject, winters are nice as far as the weather goes, but it doesnt last long enough. there is only one hospital here and its awful, check out the other threads about yuma. the college is a good one, however they tend to lose every piece of paper work i have ever put in there, and they dont tell you until you get deregistered from classes. however its worth the hassle to go there,and nau is good too. i agree with the above poster, homeschool your kids, i did. there isnt any night life here unless you go to mexico,and there isnt much to do. snowbirds are the bread and butter of this town and things really slow down in the summers some places even close down.

I am also sorry you have to move here. It is an incredibly boring place if you are under 50. The activities available in Yuma are geared toward snowbirds. It is an incredibly boring place for singles. The air quality here is terrible. Don't believe anything you have read about the air being "good" here. I know a ton of people who have developed asthma here, myself included. They use a lot of pesticides on the fields. The healthcare system is bad. If you develop an illness that might be serious I highly recommend going to Phoenix or Tucson to find a doctor. I went to a doctor here in Yuma about my severe asthma. I had an attack in the office and the doctor said it was just a panic attack and told me not to use my inhaler. I now drive at least once a month to go to the doctor in Phoenix.

As far as schools go, I teach at a school in the Foothills and it is not a bad school. Sometimes our class sizes are huge though. I taught a class two years ago that had 30 first graders!!! If you stay involved as a parent, then your kids will do okay in school. Many of the schools in Yuma get a bad reputation because so many parents aren't involved and their child's education suffers because of it. There are many children living in terribly difficult situations here in Yuma because of the close proximity to the Mexican border.

[MarkBall2]

Well, first time poster on here, so here goes...........

Health Care. There are good MD's, & MD's that still think they are GOD - you being a nurse know the type. The do no wrong, will not listen to obvious questions, will not heed suggestions, will do everything they want to do & ignore your obvious illness.

Locally trained nurses? Well let's just say AZ Nursing schools leave a bit to be desired. I had run in's with nurses in nursing homes where the nurses didn't even know how to ask a dying resident if they wanted CPR initiated.......... Nurses that will not do anything that is not in their best interests, nurses that think "It's not my job to do this (help a resident up off the floor)" or have the attitude of constant defensiveness.

Sunshine? Well we have about 350 days of sunshine. Around the first of April it reaches 100 degrees. It is still over 100 degrees in mid November. Winters suck to drive here, as the population goes from about 125,000 permenent residents here to over 350,000. The snowbirds overwhelm everything here. Price's of fuel are outrageous, even though we have a fuel pipeline running right through town. Prices of everything are more expensive than anywhere else.

Food costs are higher, a loaf of bread cost's over $3.50 a loaf at Walmart. Fry's is a major grocer chain - the stores are dirty, smell musty & dirty, some even have sewer smells in them. Housing costs are out of this world. Most run the same if not a bit higher than the Phoenix housing costs. 3 bedroom houses to rent consistently run over a grand a month, apartments are approaching a grand a month. All houses have block walls on the property lines.

Home School is the way to go. We've had school closings just this last week from bomb threats, kids bringing guns to school, gang shootings & other stuff.

Yuma is the end of nowhere. 3 hours to Phoenix, Lake Havasu or San Diego. Nothing much between the two places either. 'Cept lots of desert. Driving about town, leave plenty of time to get through traffic - like 30 minutes at least.

Mexico is close by at Algedones MX. Lots of dentists there & optomitrists. Better affordable prices to get the kids teeth fixed & most dentists are gentle/competent & US trained. You will need a passport to cross the border come June 1, 2009. Picture ID & birth certificate is ok until then.

Be aware most Mexican food in this area is pretty bland. This area doesn't make very spicy food when compared to Tex-Mex food. Get a burrito from one of the roach coaches & it's dried roast beef with no flavor. The tortilla actually has more flavor if you like eating flour have at it.

I've been here 2 years & looking to move to Kentucky for a job. I love the weather here, but the attitudes leave a bit to be desired.

[Old Surrender]

The best parts of Yuma is its proximity to Mexico and that it's on the Interstate heading to San Diego. Vegas is a few hours north, too.

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by rckc333

Hello,
My husband and I just found out we are moving to Yuma, Arizona (he is a marine). I have been reading a lot of the posts and they seem pretty negative. Can anyone give me some good advice on this area? What neighborhoods are good to live in, where are good places to go, eat, shop, etc. Also what about Mexico? Are there any places there nearby you recommend? Also, I am a nurse, what hospitals would you recommend working in? We are both from KY originally, so we are both used to all 4 seasons...it will be different in AZ I am sure! We are excited and optimistic about our move. Thanks. Anything you can tell me would be wonderful! Thanks!

All I can says is that I'm sorry to hear this. Yeah, it'll be dry as hell, boring as hell, and sure as the sky is bright, hot as hell. Let me just tell you it's december 15, 2008 at 10pm and the current temp is 59F.
Average Weather for Yuma, AZ - Temperature and Precipitation That ain't no winter...you can imagine what the summer is like. No clouds EVEr my friend, so I hope you got a good set of shades.

It's not a place people choose to go, okay. Just try and live through it the best you can and get out as soon as you can. Get a humidfier for you will need this year round, or risk the dry nasal caivty issue every morning with occasional nose bleeds. It ain't pretty I'm just telling you. Be careful for sun scorpions (if you ain't from here, it'll be the scariest thing you'll ever see) and real scorpions (real scorpions are dangeours, esp for babies) in general, expesially if you rent a house. I'm just telling you. We also got black widows, so make sure you don't stack antying in the corner of a wall...like the patio or something. Good thing is that they stay outside, unlike scorpions.

IF you do get scorpions issues pull your bed away from the wall, and keep your shoes on a shoe rack. They're nocturnal making things matters worse.

WE HAVE A WIDE VARIETY OF REPTILES THAT CHANGES WEEKLY



I'm not trying to sugarcoat it for you...i'm an arizona native, so I know what I'm taling about.

[drb85650]

and on the positive side, once you get off the interstate and into town, it's not bad, lots of greenery, a main drag with every fast food/buffet/restaurant you can think of, lots of fresh produce grown locally.
Just get your housing sprayed monthly, don't lay flat stuff like plywood, cardboard etc...on the ground(scorpions like to gather under it). I've lived in Arizona 20+ years and have seen a handful of scorpions. And black widows do come inside, btw.
If you have a atv or buggie, the dunes are on the west end of town and a blast. You can be in San diego for lunch, sit on the beach for a couple of hours and drive home by dark.
The snowbirds will drive you nuts at a aggravating 35mph. But, they are your parents someday, and you too. Relax, wave at 'em. Irritates the dickens out of them.
Yuma,like anywhere, has it's positive side IF you want to find it. Not too many years ago they found a WWII bomber that had crashed, never found, and it was located near the interstate! There's a great race track there if your hubby enjoys racing. Lots of western history, the old prison(haunted), miles of open area.
And there is a collection going on for mikec34 to leave this horrid horrid state, wanta contribute?

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by drb85650

and on the positive side, once you get off the interstate and into town, it's not bad, lots of greenery, a main drag with every fast food/buffet/restaurant you can think of, lots of fresh produce grown locally.
Just get your housing sprayed monthly, don't lay flat stuff like plywood, cardboard etc...on the ground(scorpions like to gather under it). I've lived in Arizona 20+ years and have seen a handful of scorpions. And black widows do come inside, btw.
If you have a atv or buggie, the dunes are on the west end of town and a blast. You can be in San diego for lunch, sit on the beach for a couple of hours and drive home by dark.
The snowbirds will drive you nuts at a aggravating 35mph. But, they are your parents someday, and you too. Relax, wave at 'em. Irritates the dickens out of them.
Yuma,like anywhere, has it's positive side IF you want to find it. Not too many years ago they found a WWII bomber that had crashed, never found, and it was located near the interstate! There's a great race track there if your hubby enjoys racing. Lots of western history, the old prison(haunted), miles of open area.
And there is a collection going on for mikec34 to leave this horrid horrid state, wanta contribute?

Ha...Hey, atleast I admit I don't like it without fearing if that offends people (being PC). I will leave eventually, but it is my HOME state (unlike many residents here) still. There are many nice places in the state, but Yuma is not one of them. This is my opinion.