Thinking of relocating to Kingman, AZ (Phoenix, Yuma: apartments, daycare, houses)

[RommelDawg]

I am considering relocating to Kingman, AZ. While I have read that Kingman gets cold in the winter months, how cold does it get compared to the Midwest?

Also, is there a gym in Kingman? What about a movie theater and shopping areas?

Should I expect to see scorpions or large spiders (i.e. black widows)? I am not fond of such creatures (to put it mildly).

[M_Martillo]

It suprises me to see how often questions about weather, home prices, job data etc come up in the forum. How did you find the forum if you didn't browse to city-data?????
The page for Kingman, AZ shows the weather info over the year.
Now compared to Rice Lake, WI Kingman does not even get cold. As you can see from the data page it just get's cold enough to freeze but never goes anywhere near zero. Most places in Illinois can easily go 15 below and for weeks or months.
Now if you are comparing Kingman to Phoenix you could say it gets real cold. Then also you could compare the data of Kingman and Bullhead city and it tracks almost exactly 10 degrees cooler year round but that doesn't show how long it stays warm over any single day, which is the real difference. It seems much colder in Kingman during the winter than in Bullhead because the warm period during the day is much shorter due to the altitude.
Coming from Illinois I can't imaging that you will feel cold in Kingman.
It does get very, very hot in the summer but not deadly hot like in Yuma.
There are Scorpions, Black Widows, Brown Recluse, Tarantulas and HUGE Centipedes in Kingman as there are all over AZ. These can be a problem in older houses and apartments. Also there are MEGA cockroaches and then there are the Javalina which will come raiding the trash at night. They are dangerous and the STINK! Do not confront them and when hiking, stay away from groups of them.

[kdog]

Welcome Rommel, from one Dawg to another.

Does Kingman get as cold as the midwest? Gosh no, nothing like that. Winter nights will often go down into the mid-twenties, but days are typically 40's or even 50's. Wind though makes that feel much colder. But basically a windbreaker and sweater and a thin hat and light gloves will keep you warm enough to spend the day outdoors, even on the coldest days.

Gyms, there are several. The biggest is the Wellness Center which is affiliated with and located at the hospital for some reason. It's newish, huge and well equipped with an Olympic size pool, all the rooms full of equipment you would expect and even daycare for kids while you workout. There are also a couple of power-lifting gyms in town, and some specialty exercise places.

There's only one older movie theater with two screens. There's no large mall, but there are several strip malls with some major chains like Walmart, Staples, Home Depot, etc. There's not an overabundance of specialty stores here, and in general Kingman is shopping-challenged to some degree. Ditto with restaurants.

You probably will never see a scorpion in Kingman. I've lived here 5 years and have only seen one. You don't seem to know your spiders very well, as black widows are tiny, not large. Tarantulas are HUGE, and you will see them around town. They are a joy to watch and will never bother you. Tarantula Hawks do scare me and you will see them around occasionally (google them if you're interested.) You can run across rattlesnakes if you venture out into the deserts in the warmer months. Keep away from them when they rattle at you and you will be fine.

In general, if one wants to live in a nice quiet and beautiful desert town with an excellent climate, but is willing to put up with some shortcomings as compared to larger cities, I find Kingman to be almost ideal.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by M_Martillo

It suprises me to see how often questions about weather, home prices, job data etc come up in the forum. How did you find the forum if you didn't browse to city-data?????
The page for Kingman, AZ shows the weather info over the year.
Now compared to Rice Lake, WI Kingman does not even get cold. As you can see from the data page it just get's cold enough to freeze but never goes anywhere near zero. Most places in Illinois can easily go 15 below and for weeks or months.
Now if you are comparing Kingman to Phoenix you could say it gets real cold. Then also you could compare the data of Kingman and Bullhead city and it tracks almost exactly 10 degrees cooler year round but that doesn't show how long it stays warm over any single day, which is the real difference. It seems much colder in Kingman during the winter than in Bullhead because the warm period during the day is much shorter due to the altitude.
Coming from Illinois I can't imaging that you will feel cold in Kingman.
It does get very, very hot in the summer but not deadly hot like in Yuma.
There are Scorpions, Black Widows, Brown Recluse, Tarantulas and HUGE Centipedes in Kingman as there are all over AZ. These can be a problem in older houses and apartments. Also there are MEGA cockroaches and then there are the Javalina which will come raiding the trash at night. They are dangerous and the STINK! Do not confront them and when hiking, stay away from groups of them.

Welcome to you as well! Good post!

[RommelDawg]

Kdog- Thank you for your response. I have read a lot of your posts on here about Kingman, trying to get an idea for the flavor of the area. I have only visited AZ once, and it was a long time ago. I enjoy the outdoors, being a distance runner, so I would love to be somewhere warmer. Thanks for the info. on the spiders. I seriously would go into cardiac arrest if I were to see a black widow in my home. As for a tarantula, I am assuming, perhaps wrongly, that they rarely come indoors. I think I would not be bothered by viewing one of those from afar. I just would not want one crawling on me! I could probably grow accustomed to scorpions. Snakes do not bother me in the least. I just have a serious fear of spiders, so perhaps AZ is not for me. I once read an article which said that the brown recluse is in nearly every home in IL, but thankfully, I have never encountered one. Is the probability of actually seeing a black widow or a funnel spider or an AZ brown spider remote or are you accustomed to encountering these spiders in your home/garage/cars?

[kdog]

Rommel, not to worry. AZ is certainly no worse for those pesky arachnids than any other state, probably even better. I've seen way more spiders in both CA and NY than here in AZ.

[rambrush]

Looks like Kdog has this topic well in hand..

[BillieHiser]

Originally Posted by rambrush

Looks like Kdog has this topic well in hand..

...as usual! Good job kdog!

Like he said, its great here! Come on down, you'll love it.

[kscmidt76]

We moved here in january i like it uf you are afraid of spiders speay your Windows with tea tree oil, peppermint oil or vinegar spiders do not like these snell as for shopping i go ti bukkhead city and las vegas every three months.however red and black ants are my problem right now

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by RommelDawg

I once read an article which said that the brown recluse is in nearly every home in IL, but thankfully, I have never encountered one. Is the probability of actually seeing a black widow or a funnel spider or an AZ brown spider remote or are you accustomed to encountering these spiders in your home/garage/cars?

I know this original post is ancient, but I had to laugh. Brown recluses (Loxoceles reclusa) in every home in IL?? What??? Their range is only into extreme southern IL at best, and theyre even rare down there. You have to get into Missouri if you want to see them in decent numbers.

Seeing black widows in AZ is common, but theyre not in numbers people think they are. Just watch where you put your hands and youll be ok.