Kingman, why are home prices so low? (living in, best)

[kdog]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

People who are headed to Las Vegas (but didn't quite make it) will be stranded in Kingman or Barstow, and people who lost their asses in Las Vegas will also be stranded in Kingman or Barstow.

What does that even mean? You're thinking the town is full of stranded travelers?


The only problem I see with these, "junction towns", is people who take an exit for gas, maybe spend the night and thinking they've seen the town. Wrong. All you've seen is an exit. There are lots of nice neighborhoods and parks. Some sketchy areas too to be sure. But show me one town that doesn't have its good and bad areas.

[bigdogmom13]

Originally Posted by kdog

What does that even mean? You're thinking the town is full of stranded travelers?


The only problem I see with these, "junction towns", is people who take an exit for gas, maybe spend the night and thinking they've seen the town. Wrong. All you've seen is an exit. There are lots of nice neighborhoods and parks. Some sketchy areas too to be sure. But show me one town that doesn't have its good and bad areas.

You're right, kdog. We took a drive from LV to Kingman a couple of years ago to scope Kingman out as a potential retirement location. There were some very nice neighborhoods and parks. Not enough shopping choices for me, though, so it's off our list.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by bigdogmom13

You're right, kdog. We took a drive from LV to Kingman a couple of years ago to scope Kingman out as a potential retirement location. There were some very nice neighborhoods and parks. Not enough shopping choices for me, though, so it's off our list.

Hey, they got a Trader Joe's, just 90 miles away in Henderson!

[elvira310]

Originally Posted by kdog

Hey, they got a Trader Joe's, just 90 miles away in Henderson!

That's a big selling point for me!

A family member and I may be moving in a year or two (the timeline is up in the air right now). Kingman is currently at the top of our list, mainly for its location and for the affordable housing. We think we will be in the $150,000 to $200,000 range.

I wonder if some of the disagreement about Kingman's qualities are related to age and maturity? If you're young, college age, and want to "see the world," then Kingman would probably grate on your nerves. If you've seen more of the world (like living in L.A. for most of your life, like I have) then Kingman might sound pretty good.

Right now I live in a nondescript midwestern town and I am as disgruntled about it as some here are about Kingman. But I always say that it isn't like the midwestern town is that bad for everybody, but it is for me. If it's not a good fit, it's not a good fit. If it is a good fit, then all the people naysaying won't (and shouldn't) change that.

One of the things that keep me thinking that Kingman could work out is that even though it has its seedy side and it's a "small town," it's still better than where I am now. It's also better (or at least no worse) than my old neighborhood in L.A. Seedy neighborhood in humid midwestern town with nasty winters or seedy neighborhood in desert town with beautiful scenery and proximity to L.A., Las Vegas, etc? I'll take the desert town!

As for the "small town," as long as it's got a few good grocery stores (Safeway or Vons, plus a few others, right?), some good fast food and decent restaurants (which it appears it does—In and Out, right? ) then it's good to go for me. I hear the hospital is okay (connected with Mayo Clinic) and it doesn't sound dinky. Because there are a lot of retirees in Kingman, I guess the medical amenities are okay? And if necessary, a commute to see a specialist in a bigger city is maybe an hourish away (which we have already done in the town we're at now) plus you don't have to pucker up in the winter, worrying that some ice storm will keep you from safely getting to your destination.

I guess the proof is in the pudding and we'll find out when we manage to visit. The weather sounds much more to our liking (even the colder winters are not as cold as where we are now) and it's so much closer to family than where we are now.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by elvira310

That's a big selling point for me!

A family member and I may be moving in a year or two (the timeline is up in the air right now). Kingman is currently at the top of our list, mainly for its location and for the affordable housing. We think we will be in the $150,000 to $200,000 range.

I wonder if some of the disagreement about Kingman's qualities are related to age and maturity? If you're young, college age, and want to "see the world," then Kingman would probably grate on your nerves. If you've seen more of the world (like living in L.A. for most of your life, like I have) then Kingman might sound pretty good.

Right now I live in a nondescript midwestern town and I am as disgruntled about it as some here are about Kingman. But I always say that it isn't like the midwestern town is that bad for everybody, but it is for me. If it's not a good fit, it's not a good fit. If it is a good fit, then all the people naysaying won't (and shouldn't) change that.

One of the things that keep me thinking that Kingman could work out is that even though it has its seedy side and it's a "small town," it's still better than where I am now. It's also better (or at least no worse) than my old neighborhood in L.A. Seedy neighborhood in humid midwestern town with nasty winters or seedy neighborhood in desert town with beautiful scenery and proximity to L.A., Las Vegas, etc? I'll take the desert town!

As for the "small town," as long as it's got a few good grocery stores (Safeway or Vons, plus a few others, right?), some good fast food and decent restaurants (which it appears it does—In and Out, right? ) then it's good to go for me. I hear the hospital is okay (connected with Mayo Clinic) and it doesn't sound dinky. Because there are a lot of retirees in Kingman, I guess the medical amenities are okay? And if necessary, a commute to see a specialist in a bigger city is maybe an hourish away (which we have already done in the town we're at now) plus you don't have to pucker up in the winter, worrying that some ice storm will keep you from safely getting to your destination.

I guess the proof is in the pudding and we'll find out when we manage to visit. The weather sounds much more to our liking (even the colder winters are not as cold as where we are now) and it's so much closer to family than where we are now.

Yo, Elvira -- did you move to Kingman? And...?

[elvira310]

Originally Posted by kdog

Yo, Elvira -- did you move to Kingman? And...?

I WISH! I want to go so bad! But it's looking like if we move, it will be sometime in the Summer of 2020 or perhaps later. I doubt it will be before then.

I follow some Kingman-centric pages and groups on Facebook and that's giving me a little bit of a view of how it is there. I haven't been put off by it so far! (Yes, I'm aware of how the winter hit and saw the video clips on Facebook—it's still no worse than where I am now!)

Edit: I re-read this thread because it's been a long time. Facebook tells me that Kingman has a new arts center which sounds very promising and holds some events that would be of interest for me. This is just making Kingman more attractive!

The midwestern town I am in now has perhaps access to more events such as this, but for perhaps a quarter (or maybe a third) of the year the yukky weather causes many events that I'd like to attend to be canceled. That's one of my biggest beefs about places with cold, snowy winters. You just get through them. You exist, waiting for winter to be over so "life" can begin again. At least that's how it is for me. In Kingman, maybe it's smaller but it looks like probably 90% of the time the weather isn't going to actually get anything canceled. That is a big selling point.

[happygrrrl]

Originally Posted by mtnbkr5

Kingman is Arizona's version of Barstow.

Say it isn’t so!

What I really want to know is:

1. How is the off-roading? Is there any? Are there any dedicated 4WD trails? Old mining roads? BLM land? 4WD clubs?

2. Are people friendly? If you talk to them, do they talk back, or run in the other direction? Is there the slightest possibility of friendship?

These are the things that I’m missing in the currently cold-and-snowy PNW.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by happygrrrl

Say it isn’t so!

What I really want to know is:

1. How is the off-roading? Is there any? Are there any dedicated 4WD trails? Old mining roads? BLM land? 4WD clubs?

2. Are people friendly? If you talk to them, do they talk back, or run in the other direction? Is there the slightest possibility of friendship?

These are the things that I’m missing in the currently cold-and-snowy PNW.

Oh lordy. You can't be serious.

Kingman is off-roading mecca. Take any paved road in town until the pavement ends and just keep driving. Seriously. There are wide-open and rolling hill deserts and mountains in all directions. Once you're out of the city, almost all the land is BLM land and criss-crossed by almost uncountable numbers of jeep trails. You can go scores if not hundreds of miles in all most any direction in the dirt. Most of these are the old mining roads. There are approximately 2500 abandoned mines in Mohave County and all of these mines have roads to them. Well, not really roads so much as unmaintained trails full of rocks and brush growing up in the middle of them. You can easily find yourself on trails that look like no one else has seen in many years. In my five years there, I made it a hobby to explore as many of these areas I could. The more I explored, the more I realized that I was barely scratching the surface. You will never explore the whole area. It's just too dang big.

You must never have read my posts either, because I've always bragged about the friends we made in Kingman, many of who we're still in touch with after being gone for almost 10 years now. If you have any common interests at all with anyone in town, you will have your new best friend. Most people are very approachable. For 4x4 friends, check out the Hualapai Wheelers. They have rides every weekend, with pot-luck picnics and other assorted events. When I bought my Rubicon, it was stock. Met a local dude who was a master mechanic that decided he was going to help me redo my suspension. He brought over his air tools and we put in a full Curry suspension. No charge, he was just stoked about my project. Turns out he was a Geocacher and his passion was exploring the hills as well, and we spent many hour together exploring. I helped him build a cabin in Montana, then shortly after it was done he passed away due to a sudden heart attack.

Anyway, sorry for the digression. The answer is YES to both copious off-roading and down-to-earth approachable people.


Here's a picture of my Jeep (look carefully) in the Black Mountains outside of Kingman. That's the Colorado River in the upper-right-hand corner.

[alyric2]

We have also have made friends here too. My husband volunteers/drives for the DAV. Have gotten to know some of the other volunteers. Also I was invited to join a bunco club. Fun time 1x per. month. We have also met people through our church. kdog how do you post photos? When I try it asks for a url of my image?

[kdog]

Originally Posted by alyric2

We have also have made friends here too. My husband volunteers/drives for the DAV. Have gotten to know some of the other volunteers. Also I was invited to join a bunco club. Fun time 1x per. month. We have also met people through our church. kdog how do you post photos? When I try it asks for a url of my image?

Cool! Volunteering is one of the best ways to meet the best people in town. My wife volunteered at one of the churches to help feed the needy, and met some of the best people in town.

To use the inline picture function (by pressing the little mountain icon) you first have to have your photo hosted on a photo site. If you don't have that, you can still upload your photo to City data. Make sure you are in the Advanced posting mode, and scroll down until you see the Attach Files area. Press the Manage Attachments button and upload your picture. You need to keep it under a certain size though. I'd recommend around somewhere around 1000 to 1600 pixels across.