Is Palm Springs a nice place to raise a young family? (Palm Desert: ski resort, home)

[amongwildflowers]

Hope anyone of you can help...I am a 40 year old married woman with a 6 and a 4 year old who currently live on the Hudson River in NY across from West Point. My husband has the opportunity in the next few short months to transfer pretty much wherever we want (how lucky are we)...having been a gypsy my whole life, I've been exposed to some pretty nice places as far as living is concerned, fav's include Park City, Utah, Woodstock, Vermont, spent last 9 years in the Eastern PA where I met my husband and started our family. Having been an IBM child, I moved every 3 years to many different places in the northeast...so kind of been there done that. Am searching for a new and different place that offers a great place for my kids and my husband and I...safe first of all, and beautiful with lots of cool stuff around. Would love to be near a Ski Resort as I was an avid rider before moving to PA, but not necessarily want the cold temps anymore..and want to expose my kids to that now that they are of that age...also want a beautiful modern/green eco-friendly kind of home...we can afford something in the $400's...so I'm hoping we can get something pretty nice with a pool...would also love to be within driving distance to the beach...I'm an avid gardener as well, love wildflowers and planting...and a not so crazy place overloaded with people but with all the amenities...am in the process of checking out Palm Springs, CA area, Scottsdale area of AZ, possibly Taos area of New Mexico Provo, Utah...am just afraid of the temps a bit (how hot it gets) I mean SLC was a desert, but not like where you guys are...I'm thinking we can handle it as long as we have a pool...anyway, any insight would be super helpful...you can only search for so long on the web and besides physically going to all the places, hearing it from you all who live there is the next best thing...so thanks in advance for any help. Take care, Michelle PS I am in the process of trying to plan a vacation to check one or 2 areas out for mid-summer...

[tilegirl]

Palm Springs is HOT. Very hot. You must plan your day in May-Oct to be out and home by 10 am.
The City does not pay for the repairs or upkeep of roads or utilities. The roads are some of the worst in the country. The whole town is looking pretty tired and grimey. Unless you live in the million $ neighborhoods. The City takes care of those streets very nicely. There is nothing for kids to do here.

[tilegirl]

Take a look at Sedona, Az.

[Twinkle Toes]

I disagree with Tilegirl. I've lived in the desert for 15+ years and don't find it to be at all the way Tilegirl describes it. I am not "out of the home and in by 10am", nor are most of the residents who live in the desert. Yes, it gets hot here, but like any other environment, you adapt.

OP, you should check out Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, and Indian Wells.

People from all over the world come to this area. Why? If it's as bleak as Tilegirl makes it out to be, why would ANYONE want to come here? Please do your research on our area and come to your own conclusions, but take the negative with a grain of salt.

[Gandalara]

I agree with TT.

But - you say you want a ski resort, the beach, gardening, and you're scared of the heat ... you should really think long and hard about considering the Palm Springs area. It would be quite a drive for skiing and the beach. Gardening is a whole different thing in the desert - but we do get wildflowers! Briefly

Maybe your family would like to take up rock climbing at Joshua? Hiking up above the tramway? Or dune-buggies? (Wheee!)

[PSGal444]

Beware, Palm Springs is primarily gay now. You will run into scantally clad men in the grocery stores and if you happen to be around town during easter (White Party), you will need to shield your child's eyes in order to prevent them from seeing things extremely inappropriate. I was born in this town and although there is a lot more to do now than 20 years ago, it is still not a kid-friendly town. The summers are unbearable! I hear people say "but it's a dry heat", but let me tell you, when it is 115 degrees out, which it usually gets to by mid-july, and the back of your knees sweat just sitting in your car with your a/c on full blast, it is hot! The drug use among teenagers is rampant here (whether they admit it or not). Stay towards the east end of the valley like Palm Desert and La Quinta.

[cl723]

I agree with what the others are saying. Palm desert, La quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells are the nicest areas. The heat gets pretty bad but it`s like a trade off with a cold winter. You need to keep your windows cracked in this kind of heat. Oh ya and your pool will feel like more of a sauna in the summer, lol. You may end up not minding the heat but I could barely just go to dinner at 4pm in 117 degrees. One thing that I do like about that area is they always make sure it looks good along Hwy 111. In the winter they have tons of flowers. Unfortunately, the city that I live in now doesn`t do anything to make it look nice.

[SportyandMisty]

Check out Henderson, NV (a suburb of Las Vegas). Skiing is 45 mins away (Mt. Charleston) or 6 hrs by car to Park City. Kid friendly, lots to do, lots of entertainment, and of course no state income tax.

[nightcrawler]

all that heat sounds like a sheer paradise to me, expecially here in NY our weather sucks sucks sucks sucks,,,,,di i say sucks.

Listen to Twinkle, she rocks !!!!!

[cl723]

Twinkle is not the only one who knows about the heat there. Sounds like you`ve never been in that kind of heat for a long period of time(or maybe not at all). It gets old... Just like a snowy, cold winter gets old.