Anyone out there in Blythe CA? (Cabazon: crimes, motels, employment)
San Bernardino and Riverside CountiesThe Inland Empire
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We spent the night in Blythe when we moved back to Palm Desert from San Antonio, TX. We drove all that way, only stopping to pee and get food and gas, but honestly, I was so excited to get back to Palm Desert that I would have driven the additional hour and a half. After all, we just got done driving like 600 miles! But hubby (in the other car) insisted he couldn't drive anymore. So we crashed (not literally) in Blythe for the night. Great place to sleep - but I wouldn't want to live there.
We spent the night in Blythe when we moved back to Palm Desert from San Antonio, TX. We drove all that way, only stopping to pee and get food and gas, but honestly, I was so excited to get back to Palm Desert that I would have driven the additional hour and a half. After all, we just got done driving like 600 miles! But hubby (in the other car) insisted he couldn't drive anymore. So we crashed (not literally) in Blythe for the night. Great place to sleep - but I wouldn't want to live there.
Blythe has some of the nicest people ever. They make you feel very welcome. Don't depend on a place to entertain you, entertain yourself, there is always something to do no matter what. Use your imagination, I am sure there are places to feed the ducks, parks to take kids etc. There are lots of stores and places to eat. Blythe is a pretty place with no hussle and bussle, you don't have to wait in traffic or any lines of any kind, and if you do it is not for long. Don't go to visit Quartzsite AZ which is not too far (20 miles) from there, the people are rude, hateful, obnoxious, lazy drunks (that don't want to get off their drinking binge in the back tent to help you) and their brains are fried. Also make sure you do not park in the town (Quartzsite), even on the side of a road for longer than 15 minutes or they will call the police on you and try to get you in trouble. This town is pretty much a no zone for anyone other that year round Quartzsiters. This does not go for the people who visit in RV's, they are nice and the people of Quartzsite only want visitors money and then want them to hit the high road and quick. There are speed traps all over and will try to get you for anything. Aside from this (the business owners) and the revenue making, believe it or not the police in Q are some of the nicest and smartest people. Yuma, which is pretty far from Blythe is a rat race, it is so big there they have 3 or 4 Walmarts there. Some of the people there are snakes and seem a bit prejudice if you are not Mexican. Lots of traffic if you don't mind sitting in it. Anyway that is my take for now and Blythe has 2 thumbs up vote from me.
Last edited by im here 2 say; 09-08-2010 at 08:02 PM..
I came across this old thread and wanted to revivie it since there are actually people who have either lived, worked or grew up in Blythe, vs. other threads where the perspective is essentially that of people making a pit stop between PHX and LA.
I live in the Imperial Valley, about an hour and a half to the southwest. It is a very similar region to Blythe and has many parallels, but my location is what takes me to Blythe for work: prisons, court and other legal type assignments. Since I am an hour and a half away, I am offered these day jobs over people from more distant LA/IE/Coachella. For some reason, very few people from the the later, which is closer and an easier freeway drive, rarely accept assignments in Blythe. Maybe it is stigma, but a lot of times I work with attorneys or reporters from Orange County or San Diego who make it seem like they are on an assignemnt to hell, I suppose for some it is.
Well, enough of the background info. Some of these posts were very well written and I have to say, not much has aparetly changed since these posters grew up in Blythe. The town isn't as small as it may seem when driving by the freeway, it is probably 2 miles long and a little over a mile wide, at least regarding "developed" parts of the town.
Blythe was bypassed by the 10 freeway many years ago, so that affected the main street-Hobson Way and Broadway. Downtown Blythe, which is really only a few blocks, is mostly shuttered. You can see this on Youtube...but don't think that video shows an accuarte image of what the rest of the town is like. Aside from the tiny downtown core, the remaing strips along the major roads are filled with motels, hotels, restaurants, stores...not to say this is a commercial mecca, but there is something to be said for being a subregional center for such an isolated area, right along the interstate.
Blythe isn't so small that you will go without anything. There is a K-Mart (almost a relic of the past) and no Wal Mart-that is on the Arizona side. An environmental group blocked the Blythe location so they built it on the otherside of the river. Anyways, you will find what you need if you end up relocating or staying in Blythe however, options are limited as they would be in any small town. A lot of the locals work in the service industry, hospital, county governemnt, the prisons or agriculture. The city is older and it's age shows, but at the same time it is clean and quiet and slow paced, so it doesn't have the feeling of being run down IMO. It is kind of like visiting your grandparents' house in that regard. There are a handful of new small subdivisions around the edges of town as well.
I like the greenery and large trees that are all over the community. It really is unexpected in a desert community but as others mentioned, your car will be a monument to the greenery and associated bugs when you get home. They will literally cake your car. I also second the Black Widow spider comment, they are everywhere...so watch out.
Radio is interesting, you get some PHX stations, others from Mexicali, a few from Yuma, one from El Centro....and the TV is just as diverse with stations from LA, Yuma and PHX.
Blythe does have some parallels to undesireable, poor areas in the desert. You will in fact see homeless people, beggars and transients....especially near the fast food and gas stations at the interstate exits. I suppose that is to be expected...and the cleanliness and quality of even these chains is pretty dismal in Blythe, but again, I think that is because the higher ups don't come to the area as often as they would if their stores were in closer, more populated areas and travelers probably don't complain to corporate as much since they are just passing through. So it is understandable why some people have a negative impression of the community based on a pit stop, but that isn't necessarily what it would be like living there, unless you planned to work and frequent fast food establsihment often.
Essentially, if you like small town living in the irrigated (green) desert and are OK with being an hour and a half from the next population center with amenities (Coachella Valley), Blythe is certainly a viable option. For those that want to live in California on the cheap or retire to the desert....(and can secure a job) or just enjoy solitude and a slow pace of life, the Palo Verde Valley is a very rewarding place and no where bad as some people make it out to seem. It all is a matter of perspective and Blythe is a slice of unpretentious, old California, good and bad included.
Is there any industry in Blythe? I want a smaller town to live in and I travel out of town and state for work too............So a specific location is not pertinent. But safe and fairly inexpensive is
Is there any industry in Blythe? I want a smaller town to live in and I travel out of town and state for work too............So a specific location is not pertinent. But safe and fairly inexpensive is
There's a state prison housing about 2,500 inmates. Someone/thing has to service and supply it, not to mention the prison jobs themselves.
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