considering moving to Kingman (rent, health insurance, house)

[Judy & Randy]

I've already read some of the locked messages here about Kingman and I have travelled thru it many times.

I'm wondering about it's wind. Some make it sound like it's all the time, yet I don't ever recall it being an issue when there. Can someone here tell me more about it ? Is it just certain times a year or what ?

[kdog]

Spring and fall are the worst. We probably get windy a few days a week. Winter can have a day or two of wind during the week as well. There's very little wind in the summer.

[Judy & Randy]

Originally Posted by kdog

Spring and fall are the worst. We probably get windy a few days a week. Winter can have a day or two of wind during the week as well. There's very little wind in the summer.

Thanks, I usually go thru there in May.

[witchchick]

I moved to Kingman, and moving out tomorrow. I may have stayed but lost my job with the state. Some things I have noticed: First off the winters are cold, cold, cold. So make sure you have enough sweaters and jackets because it is definately cold. There is nothing to do other than hiking in the mountains, going 100 miles to gamble in Las Vegas, or Laughlin. You may want to consider driving to Lake Havasu, an oasis in the middle of the desert that caters to young people partying and playing loud, loud, music. The lakes and waters in Arizona have no smell at all! They don't even smell like fish or anything, just a "nothing" smell. I heard in the summertime, the lakes get an odd smell. Not a smell you can even describe. Now if you have every smelled fresh water lakes back east, you know what I mean. Windy?Yes it is windy a lot in Kingman starting in November and lasting until now.
My biggest complaint is this; If you need any type of mental health treatment, forget it. There aren't any facilities for people who have health insurance. If you are on public assistance, you can get in to Mohave mental health because they only service people without money and health insurance.
I can't believe they don't even have a mall. And they only recently re-opened a theatre that was closed for a long time, and who knows how long it will stay reopened? If you have any relatives visiting from out of state, be prepared to drive far to pick them up. Most likely they will fly into Las Vegas. The people in Kingman are nice to you but I find them too, too nice, not normal nice. If you are nice back, that's OK,,,but try to stand up to being ripped off and they will turn on you in a heartbeat.
There is hardly any traffic here which some people may like. Rent is very cheap I guess because nobody wants to live here. I did find a very good auto mechanic who was honest. The sun shines almost every day, that's for sure.
Like I mentioned, my biggest complaint is if you are taking any type of medications for depression or anything, you won't find anybody here to treat you. Most psychiatrists here are not taking any new patients. BUT, if you are on public assistance, you may be able to be seen at the community mental health agency here. But forget it if you have normal health insurance from work.
The medical care here is very mediocre. I don't know if they have enough qualified doctors. Also I find a lot of people here on disability income. For what, I don't know? They look healthy enough to me to work???
I say run while you can......

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by witchchick

I moved to Kingman, and moving out tomorrow. I may have stayed but lost my job with the state. Some things I have noticed: First off the winters are cold, cold, cold. So make sure you have enough sweaters and jackets because it is definately cold. There is nothing to do other than hiking in the mountains, going 100 miles to gamble in Las Vegas, or Laughlin. You may want to consider driving to Lake Havasu, an oasis in the middle of the desert that caters to young people partying and playing loud, loud, music. The lakes and waters in Arizona have no smell at all! They don't even smell like fish or anything, just a "nothing" smell. I heard in the summertime, the lakes get an odd smell. Not a smell you can even describe. Now if you have every smelled fresh water lakes back east, you know what I mean. Windy?Yes it is windy a lot in Kingman starting in November and lasting until now.
My biggest complaint is this; If you need any type of mental health treatment, forget it. There aren't any facilities for people who have health insurance. If you are on public assistance, you can get in to Mohave mental health because they only service people without money and health insurance.
I can't believe they don't even have a mall. And they only recently re-opened a theatre that was closed for a long time, and who knows how long it will stay reopened? If you have any relatives visiting from out of state, be prepared to drive far to pick them up. Most likely they will fly into Las Vegas. The people in Kingman are nice to you but I find them too, too nice, not normal nice. If you are nice back, that's OK,,,but try to stand up to being ripped off and they will turn on you in a heartbeat.
There is hardly any traffic here which some people may like. Rent is very cheap I guess because nobody wants to live here. I did find a very good auto mechanic who was honest. The sun shines almost every day, that's for sure.
Like I mentioned, my biggest complaint is if you are taking any type of medications for depression or anything, you won't find anybody here to treat you. Most psychiatrists here are not taking any new patients. BUT, if you are on public assistance, you may be able to be seen at the community mental health agency here. But forget it if you have normal health insurance from work.
The medical care here is very mediocre. I don't know if they have enough qualified doctors. Also I find a lot of people here on disability income. For what, I don't know? They look healthy enough to me to work???
I say run while you can......

Interesting.

I have heard the opposite about the health care in the Kingman area.

Remember that have lived on and off in Mohave County for a good part of the 2000's so I am somewhat familiar with the area.

Whereabouts do you hail from?

I am from the Wash DC area and that place is so hyper competitive that it makes SoCal look tame.

[kdog]

I wasn't going to bother responding to that nonsense by somebody who clearly registered here just to blow off steam. But suffice to say, when somebody rants about "the people" in a good size town, as if they're some kind of monolithic entity, the entire credibility of the post goes out the window.

[chrokee69]

I have been in Kingman quite a bit in my 53 years to know that it is a good place to live. It is like our economy at this present time things here where i live now are closing up and may not reopen. It is all over. But the post really hit a nerve with me and if you lost your job with the state then look for something else or move out, to which it sounds like your planning to do. Trade me for my property here in Missouri and you will see how the state and people treat you. And you think that you got it bad.

[Judy & Randy]

Well, right now we're just waiting for our house deal to close. I have national medical insurance and they told me they have over 40 Dr.s listed in Kingman. Apparently the laid off State worker expects different things than we do. If I wanted to live in a metropolis I would, but we hate cities. Kingman has more franchise stores than where we are right now. We're looking forward to living the high desert life tho I'll miss a lot of trees and grass. Won't need my lawn mower any more. Being a nomad most my life, change is good. We ride motorcycles all over this USA, so anything we want can be found that way.

[kdog]

Hey Judy and Randy, congratulations and welcome to Kingman!

For trees, head up into the Hualapai Mountain park. It's a great escape from the summer heat and usually at least 15 degrees cooler than down in the city. If you like to hike, the views from the peaks in the park will blow your socks off.

Nice to see some serious bikers moving into town as well. I've traveled extensively across the US myself and am an IBA member. Best of luck with your move.

[omegaprix]

There are pros and cons to every city and it depends on what you are looking for and what is important to you. Kingman is perfect for some people and not for others, just like Los Angeles is perfect for some people and not others. Things I like:
Sunshine nearly every day, incredible lightening storms in the summer, awe inspiring scenery, Vegas is one of my favorite towns that I wouldn't want to live in but love to visit (and I don't gamble), great antique shopping, fabulous historic homes, a community college, nice parks, a community pool, affordable homes, respectable shopping (although I'd love a Lowes)
Areas for improvement: K-12 schools (not for lack of trying but Arizona is terribly underfunded state), hit or miss resturants (sometimes I think it depends on who shows up that day), limited hours of operation (the town rolls up the rug at 8:00 p.m) and since it's the county seat - it does have more than it's fair share of people on public services. Oh, and I do think it's got more police officers per capita than any other place I've live and not really in a good way - they scare me more than the criminals.