Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City, or Kingman?

[Cyber Surfer]

Originally Posted by Packard fan

Bullhead: cheap, some shopping, some places look "tropical" like as in lots of trees, close to Vegas and has some real nice areas, the river, NO winters

Havasu: more money, a bit better shopping, the lake, nicer looking but no trees, closer to Phoenix than Bullhead and NO winters.

Kingman: parts are decent, housing about the same price as Bullhead or Havasu, it seems most of the bad parts of that "city" are actually "county" like Birdland, cooler summers, close to Vegas, downtown Kingman's being fixed up and it seems to have a "Hipster" scene with indie breweries and so on.

I wish one of these cities would hurry up and get a small tech scene going. I know so many budding programmers, including myself who are dying for work but it feels like that's not going to happen. The lack of well paying work on Mohave County is just sad, as much as people say they like the look of it, nothing seems to be done to encourage people to stay.

[1janiedough]

Hey everyone, my fiance and I are seriously considering a move from Orange County to LHC and are wondering if you guys have any recent opinions. Most of the replies are quite old, with some 2017's thrown in.

Btw, I grew up in Tucson, so a desert rat at heart, but have not lived in Az since 1991...ready to get out of SoCal though after 27 years.

[keninaz]

I have to agree with others on Kingman.
LH is nice but the kids during spring break make it a mess and the lake gets very heavy usage. We visited the area once considering moving there. The heat at 0900 in the morning with the humidity is quite harsh at times. And the older we get the worse it seems.
Not much medical there either and the tourists keep the prices high for eating in restaurants and such. They do have some good ones too.
My neighbor in Prescott Valley lived there a couple of years and he said because of the water you also have the humidity to deal with doing away with one of the better reasons to live in AZ, a dry climate.
Kingman is a pretty short drive to LH too if you want to use the lake.
The only other thing I can tell you is that the city was forced by the feds to install sewer systems vs. septic systems and the result was a higher tax bill for property owners.

[wldgrdnr]

Originally Posted by Packard fan

Bullhead: cheap, some shopping, some places look "tropical" like as in lots of trees, close to Vegas and has some real nice areas, the river, NO winters

Havasu: more money, a bit better shopping, the lake, nicer looking but no trees, closer to Phoenix than Bullhead and NO winters.

Kingman: parts are decent, housing about the same price as Bullhead or Havasu, it seems most of the bad parts of that "city" are actually "county" like Birdland, cooler summers, close to Vegas, downtown Kingman's being fixed up and it seems to have a "Hipster" scene with indie breweries and so on.

Hi Packard-I remember your name from years ago.

I am still trying to figure out where to settle for the rest of my life. I have a home in WA and one in AZ (south of Phoenix about 45 min)

We've been doing the 6 mos here, 6 mos there for 10 years...and finally have had enough of the back and forth. We hate to leave our WA residence, on an island, with views of water...BUT I cannot change the weather!

Although we love AZ in winter, our 2nd home is in a neighborhood where houses are 6 feet away...in WA we have 2 acres. I need to find a "medium". 2 acres too much but don't like to be crammed in 6 feet from neighbors.

My 1st choice was Prescott...lots of things to like except the rehab facility issue (with folks who flunk out and hang around) NOW I am seeing housing prices getting out of my comfort zone (maybe).

We can go anywhere in US to retire...but going (back) to East Coast not desirable for many reasons. I would love East coast food and SW dry warmth :-)

We have a very dear friend in Kingman, but really don't know much about the town. We just stop in 2 x's a year to see him...usually off the highway and back on...have not seen anything there.

I cannot handle 100 or + ---doing 90 in summer will be pushing it but doable...

Like the sound of Havasu, Laughlin, Bullhead etc but each has drawbacks...

Havisu @ 120 degrees is a deal breaker. Anything over 90 is not good unless that is an occasional thing. I cannot do 100 for 3 mos. and I want to have a garden...high temps will have tomatoes cooking on the vine :-( .

Hubby does not want Flagstaff as he is from TX and hates cold and snow (and I hate that he has yet to figure out that snow on shoes, when worn in the house, melts and becomes water LOL)

I really like the sound of Prescott--more like what I am used to--trees, scenery, shopping etc...


Are there areas around Prescott that are not in 500K range other than Prescott Valley?


I am retired military so a VA Hosp there sounds good although I don't usually use VA for healthcare a plan "B" is always nice. I just don't want to put 500K into our final home. We could do it if push came to shove but it would put a dent in our back up and travel funds.

About 400K give or take sounds better. Years ago I researched and the # of rehabs turned me off--at the time there were issues with those who did not finish rehab and were hanging out in Prescott. Prescott Valley sounds OK re housing prices, but nothing really attractive about acres of dust and no decent view.

What is really important to me is (weather) healthcare and restaurants/shopping. I have heart issues, back issues, hubby has skin cancer issues...so we cannot be an hour drive to specialists. Prefer 15-25 min or so.

We don't like fast food...we are laid back homebodies who don't go out too much but prefer good restaurants. Decent grocery shopping is a must. A few decent restaurants preferable.

So it is looking like comes down to Kingman or Prescott ??????

Is there someplace (like MY "shangri-la") that I have missed?

We can go anywhere...I was looking at southern NV for tax purposes but not sure that fits either.

Ruled out TX, CA and OK...Does not seem to be much (size of towns) southern CO either...

We just want 1 home again...in a warm, dry climate...that doesn't bake you in summer...

YOU seem knowledgeable about the areas...

Can you tell me the "down and dirty" about areas that might fit the bill?

I know it is tough with "too hot for me, too cold for him" LOL but I am also sure there are towns I don't know of...

One of the things that worries me about AZ is the "hard right" leanings...I am more left, hubby more right, but basically we are "middle of the road" folks...it is hard to make friends with folks if you don't have core values in common...so that is a concern.

For 3 years I have been trying to figure this all out...now I am at push coming to shove and we must make a decision...


BTW GOOD internet is a MUST...hubby going to work part time in retirement and I am genealogy junkie :-)


We will be in AZ this winter...but I don't want to waste time looking at places that are not even options.


Thanks


J

[gemstone1]

"I am retired military so a VA Hosp there :...the Prescott VA is not much than a CBOC clinic....you would be assigned to the PHX VA for most but routine care....and perhaps you recall the bad press the PHX VA got and deserved.

Sierra Vista, south of Tucson, (4000' elevation) has mild weather, 60-90 minutes from Tucson (excellent VA hospital), but SV also has a good hospital/specialists, decent shopping. Very minimal snow, some humidity during the monsoon season.

Show Low, 6000', much more snow, lots of pines, wonderful summer weather, good trout fishing, good hospital., decent shopping.

Regards
Gemstone1

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by wldgrdnr

Hi Packard-I remember your name from years ago.

I am still trying to figure out where to settle for the rest of my life. I have a home in WA and one in AZ (south of Phoenix about 45 min)

We've been doing the 6 mos here, 6 mos there for 10 years...and finally have had enough of the back and forth. We hate to leave our WA residence, on an island, with views of water...BUT I cannot change the weather!

Although we love AZ in winter, our 2nd home is in a neighborhood where houses are 6 feet away...in WA we have 2 acres. I need to find a "medium". 2 acres too much but don't like to be crammed in 6 feet from neighbors.

My 1st choice was Prescott...lots of things to like except the rehab facility issue (with folks who flunk out and hang around) NOW I am seeing housing prices getting out of my comfort zone (maybe).

We can go anywhere in US to retire...but going (back) to East Coast not desirable for many reasons. I would love East coast food and SW dry warmth :-)

We have a very dear friend in Kingman, but really don't know much about the town. We just stop in 2 x's a year to see him...usually off the highway and back on...have not seen anything there.

I cannot handle 100 or + ---doing 90 in summer will be pushing it but doable...

Like the sound of Havasu, Laughlin, Bullhead etc but each has drawbacks...

Havisu @ 120 degrees is a deal breaker. Anything over 90 is not good unless that is an occasional thing. I cannot do 100 for 3 mos. and I want to have a garden...high temps will have tomatoes cooking on the vine :-( .

Hubby does not want Flagstaff as he is from TX and hates cold and snow (and I hate that he has yet to figure out that snow on shoes, when worn in the house, melts and becomes water LOL)

I really like the sound of Prescott--more like what I am used to--trees, scenery, shopping etc...


Are there areas around Prescott that are not in 500K range other than Prescott Valley?


I am retired military so a VA Hosp there sounds good although I don't usually use VA for healthcare a plan "B" is always nice. I just don't want to put 500K into our final home. We could do it if push came to shove but it would put a dent in our back up and travel funds.

About 400K give or take sounds better. Years ago I researched and the # of rehabs turned me off--at the time there were issues with those who did not finish rehab and were hanging out in Prescott. Prescott Valley sounds OK re housing prices, but nothing really attractive about acres of dust and no decent view.

What is really important to me is (weather) healthcare and restaurants/shopping. I have heart issues, back issues, hubby has skin cancer issues...so we cannot be an hour drive to specialists. Prefer 15-25 min or so.

We don't like fast food...we are laid back homebodies who don't go out too much but prefer good restaurants. Decent grocery shopping is a must. A few decent restaurants preferable.

So it is looking like comes down to Kingman or Prescott ??????

Is there someplace (like MY "shangri-la") that I have missed?

We can go anywhere...I was looking at southern NV for tax purposes but not sure that fits either.

Ruled out TX, CA and OK...Does not seem to be much (size of towns) southern CO either...

We just want 1 home again...in a warm, dry climate...that doesn't bake you in summer...

YOU seem knowledgeable about the areas...

Can you tell me the "down and dirty" about areas that might fit the bill?

I know it is tough with "too hot for me, too cold for him" LOL but I am also sure there are towns I don't know of...

One of the things that worries me about AZ is the "hard right" leanings...I am more left, hubby more right, but basically we are "middle of the road" folks...it is hard to make friends with folks if you don't have core values in common...so that is a concern.

For 3 years I have been trying to figure this all out...now I am at push coming to shove and we must make a decision...


BTW GOOD internet is a MUST...hubby going to work part time in retirement and I am genealogy junkie :-)


We will be in AZ this winter...but I don't want to waste time looking at places that are not even options.


Thanks


J

Packard Fan hasn't posted since 2017.