Arizona - Say it ain't so! (Kingman, Golden Valley: house, buy, scorpions)

[Motorcycle Girl]

While shoveling snow for the third time in two days, my husband and I agreed that we need to be where it's warm, dry and friendly! So we started looking at Arizona, and thought what better than to get opinions from residents!
As I read through many pages on this forum, I became increasingly uneasy. What with: road rage, illegal alien gangs, Valley Fever (what area encompasses the "Valley"?), poisonous "critters" and oh, let's not forget the Africanized bees - Yikes! What a "buzz-kill"! (OK..pun intended!)
Say it ain't so!
We are just looking for a town, not big city, where we can find a house under $200,000, on a couple of acres so the 3 dogs can run around, where you don't have to "pack heat" to go grocery shopping AND where we can ride our motorcycles without, hopefully, getting run off the road! Any ideas would be MUCH appreciated!!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Motorcycle Girl

While shoveling snow for the third time in two days, my husband and I agreed that we need to be where it's warm, dry and friendly! So we started looking at Arizona, and thought what better than to get opinions from residents!
As I read through many pages on this forum, I became increasingly uneasy. What with: road rage, illegal alien gangs, Valley Fever (what area encompasses the "Valley"?), poisonous "critters" and oh, let's not forget the Africanized bees - Yikes! What a "buzz-kill"! (OK..pun intended!)
Say it ain't so!
We are just looking for a town, not big city, where we can find a house under $200,000, on a couple of acres so the 3 dogs can run around, where you don't have to "pack heat" to go grocery shopping AND where we can ride our motorcycles without, hopefully, getting run off the road! Any ideas would be MUCH appreciated!!

The problem is there is not a lot of private land out west and a couple acres can set you back if its anywhere near jobs, amenities, or water. Take away the two acre requirement and you get a lot more options.

[kdog]

You can definitely get what you want for that price in northern AZ, say in Golden Valley, which is outside of Kingman. No gangs, and no traffic to speak of, so not much in the way of road rage. Of course, one does not get away from critters in AZ, but some of us consider them a bonus.

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by kdog

You can definitely get what you want for that price in northern AZ, say in Golden Valley, which is outside of Kingman. No gangs, and no traffic to speak of, so not much in the way of road rage. Of course, one does not get away from critters in AZ, but some of us consider them a bonus.

Yeah... if there's anything gangbangers hate, its having snakes or scorpions in their "baggies"!

[kdog]

Originally Posted by ZonyPony

Yeah... if there's anything gangbangers hate, its having snakes or scorpions in their "baggies"!

Or tarantulas, or Javalina in their baggies!

[ZonyPony]

Originally Posted by kdog

Or tarantulas, or Javalina in their baggies!

[Motorcycle Girl]

Thanks for your replies....

I did not even consider going that far north (Golden Valley, Kingman) thinking you would get a lot of snow there...but one of the statistic sites I just went on says the average is about 3 inches. Is that right?

What about Property taxes in that area? Say on a house that's 1500 square feet? Would you know if either of those areas are in a flood zone?

Thanks in advance!

Funny about the "baggies"...the images that come to mind.....

[observer53]

Kingman area doesn't get much snow at all. It's north, yes, but it is not the high elevation that you have in the rest of northern AZ to the east. I would not think that flooding is a problem in that area either. Someone who lives up there can tell you about property taxes.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by observer53

Kingman area doesn't get much snow at all. It's north, yes, but it is not the high elevation that you have in the rest of northern AZ to the east.

True story. This is our third winter in Kingman, and we saw our first snow here this winter. It snowed about 4" one day back before Christmas. I don't think Golden Valley gets any snow at all, because it's 1,000' lower than Kingman.

Regarding flooding, just don't buy property in a wash, and you'll be fine. Don't laugh, I hear people have done it thinking they got an awesome deal.

Property taxes are ridiculously low in Mojave County. It's hard to believe you'll find lower taxes anywhere. We're paying 1/10th the taxes we were paying in NY.

Golden Valley isn't really my cup of tea, mind you. We have kids, and so we feel we're better off living in the Kingman city limits. We have stricter building codes, more shopping, more schools, and of course because the lots are smaller, more neighbors. Parts of Golden Valley don't have water service, so they have water delivery, or haul their own. There are trade-offs if you want cheap land.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by kdog

True story. This is our third winter in Kingman, and we saw our first snow here this winter. It snowed about 4" one day back before Christmas. I don't think Golden Valley gets any snow at all, because it's 1,000' lower than Kingman.

Regarding flooding, just don't buy property in a wash, and you'll be fine. Don't laugh, I hear people have done it thinking they got an awesome deal.

Property taxes are ridiculously low in Mojave County. It's hard to believe you'll find lower taxes anywhere. We're paying 1/10th the taxes we were paying in NY.

Golden Valley isn't really my cup of tea, mind you. We have kids, and so we feel we're better off living in the Kingman city limits. We have stricter building codes, more shopping, more schools, and of course because the lots are smaller, more neighbors. Parts of Golden Valley don't have water service, so they have water delivery, or haul their own. There are trade-offs if you want cheap land.

As kdog stated.

And; to add to his post..........some county areas alongside the city of Kingman also have 'Kingman' addresses. Some of those enclaves are nice (Camelback) but others (Birdland) are sketchy.