Relocating to El Centro

[Losfrisco]

Originally Posted by the city

Google says there is everything but a Print and Office Ship Center (Kinko's). There seems to be a FedEx Express Ship Center and FedEx Freight.

Yeah, I know we have FedEx shipping stuff here, I need FedEx Office, totally different thing. I'm going back to LA tomorrow anyway, I"ll just wait.

[aquilifergroup]

Originally Posted by RobotWizard

So my wife and I are in our early 30s and from Minnesota. I have a good job offer in El Centro and I need some serious advice as this would be a big move. I know it's hot. I know there are earthquakes. I know the unemployment is high. I know it is predominantly Hispanic (I speak some Spanish). What else do I need to know? What is it like to live there? What's the culture/attitude of the area? I'd be most interested in hearing what others around our age would say.

My wife is a teacher and from what I've heard it's not a great time to be a teacher in California. However, she's getting a little burnt out and has been wanting to do something else anyway. I know some of the high unemployment in the Imperial Valley has to do with the seasonal nature of ag jobs. Will my wife have a really hard time finding a job or is the employment situation for skilled professional workers in better shape?

Okay, I work between San Diego and El Centro. When house prices were ludicrously high I bought a house in El Centro. I never lived there because my job took me to the coast in San Diego. The two hour commute from El Centro to San diego is exceedingly tiring and gets old very quickly. I know a few people who lived in San Diego who moved to El Centro because they could afford the houses there. Most of them moved back to San Diego after about five years. Some of the complaints were: cultural i.e it is a mostly hispanic place with the Spanish being spoken everywhere you go. But mostly the complaints had to do with the heat. It gets up to 110 degrees during the day for five months out of the year. That means that your children aren't going out during the day, neither are you. They stay home indoors. people become nocturnal during this time. Activities start at about 8 p.m. when the sun goes down, the temperature is still about 100 degrees. For the remaining half of the year the temperature is bearable, hell its excellent.
The other objection is the lack of activities for you and or your children. This one, I will leave up to you to decide how important it is to you. I know people who stayed home all the time who would have been happy to stay in El Centro if it weren't for the heat. Who are you going to be working for?

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Can hit Puerto Penasco without too, too much difficulty from there. Gotta check that out at least once. LOL!

[Sao05]

Did you end up going? My husband and I are in the same boat! I'd love to contact you!

[moved]

Zombie thread!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

RE: Puerto Penasco - since 2011 the place has continued to boom. It is unrecognizable vs 30 years ago, with high rise hotels along the beach. Of course, the down side is, some dude with an RV can't just drive down there and set up at will, at least not right by the actual point.

[sacreole]

I understand that Puerto Penasco has an international airport with scheduled flights. It's become the "Arizona Riviera" of sorts.