Verde Valley/Cottonwood vs. Kingman Rainfall/Vegetation?

[wldgrdnr]

I have a friend who lives in Kingman and have visited twice. I don't know much about what restaurants etc are there, but I was not impressed with Kingman at all...it is way out in the boonies, and I have not seen the town itself as he lives just above the town, in the hills, but it seems pretty "dumpy" to me. I would not consider living there based on what I have seen. It is out in the middle of nowhere and the job market is awful from what my friend has experienced looking for work.

I don't live there, have just been there for a few hours, but I am also looking for N Arizona town to move to, and Kingman doesn't make my list at all.

I'd advise visiting and especially checking on the job market.

Originally Posted by Gretchen B

Arizona Bound, since I live over in the Prescott area (about 1/2 hr from Cottonwood) I'm afraid I'm not going to be a big help when it comes to streets, etc, in reference to the Verde River. However, I do know that the Verde can and does flood. So much depends on the amount of spring runoff from the mountains. We had a really wet winter in 2006 (I think, or maybe it was 2005) . . . anyway there were evacuations along the Verde in certain parts of Cottonwood. I believe that was considered to be 100-yr flood levels, but still scary.

One thing you might want to do is contact Yavapai County Flood Control and get a map showing the floodplain areas in Cottonwood. They're really nice and helpful there. Once you have a map that shows areas prone to flooding you can look for property close by but not so close that you'd risk getting flooded, or have to buy flood insurance, which can be expensive.

There are some bug and scorpion threads on the AZ forum, so you might want to check those out. We have a couple of resident Bug & Reptile experts on the C-D forum and they could probably tell you about what attracts scorpions. Unless you're at a higher elevation, scorpions are pretty much everywhere in AZ. The trade-off is that we don't have much in the way of flies, gnats, and mosquitos, so sitting on a patio in the evenings is really nice.

Scorpions favorite food is Crickets...so control Crickets and you usually can control the scorpions...we had them really bad in San Tan Valley AZ after they plowed under some vacant land, but also found we has a cricket infestation in the walls of our house previously...good pest control, esp putting dust in the walls through your electrical sockets will help a lot...

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by wldgrdnr

I have a friend who lives in Kingman and have visited twice. I don't know much about what restaurants etc are there, but I was not impressed with Kingman at all...it is way out in the boonies, and I have not seen the town itself as he lives just above the town, in the hills, but it seems pretty "dumpy" to me. I would not consider living there based on what I have seen. It is out in the middle of nowhere and the job market is awful from what my friend has experienced looking for work.

I don't live there, have just been there for a few hours, but I am also looking for N Arizona town to move to, and Kingman doesn't make my list at all.

I'd advise visiting and especially checking on the job market.

This thread has been dormant for over two yeras, and the o/p hasn't returned to City-Data for nearly three years, so your comments will not reach him.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by wldgrdnr

I have a friend who lives in Kingman and have visited twice. I don't know much about what restaurants etc are there, but I was not impressed with Kingman at all...it is way out in the boonies, and I have not seen the town itself as he lives just above the town, in the hills, but it seems pretty "dumpy" to me. I would not consider living there based on what I have seen. It is out in the middle of nowhere and the job market is awful from what my friend has experienced looking for work.

I don't live there, have just been there for a few hours, but I am also looking for N Arizona town to move to, and Kingman doesn't make my list at all.

I'd advise visiting and especially checking on the job market.

In your own words, you haven't actually seen the town and yet you call it dumpy. Isn't that kind of ignorant then?

There are some VERY nice neighborhoods in Kingman. Have you seen Camelback, Hualapai Shadows, Rancho San Antonio, the Golf Course area, Southern Vista, Fripps Ranch, and Lazy YU just to name a few?

As far as the job market, again, you're extrapolating a trend from a single datapoint. What exactly is your friend's occupation that he can't find a job in Kingman? Funny, everyone in my neighborhood (a very nice one, I might add) was gainfully employed as were most people in town we know, and we knew a LOT of people during the five years we lived there.

As far as being "WAY" out in the middle of nowhere, it's on I40, one of the few major east-to-west interstates, it's also on Highway 93, the ONLY road between Las Vegas and Phoenix, and it's also on historic Rt. 66. So I guess "way out there" is kind of relative.

Our family enjoyed our time there and we still have a lot of friends who live in nice homes, have good jobs, and raise their kids there. Maybe you ought to learn more about a place before you feel the need to trash it next time.

[magnum0417]

First real town I visited in AZ was Kingman in 1988. I was going to Grand Canyon from Vegas and naturally took the route through Kingman. Had never been to AZ until that trip in a rental car from Vegas. At the time, I had a poor impression of Kingman. Nothing but motel strips and seedy fast food joints in a town of 10000 people or so. I am amazed with how much development has taken place since then and it doesn't even look recognizable anymore. A lot of the migration is Californians setting up businesses with the far more favorable taxes for entrepreneurs here.

I think the Verde Valley (along the river) is one of the less desirable spots in the state to live full time. Don't beat the heat at 3000 feet and don't have the Saguaros of PHX or the Joshua Trees of Kingman to add some variety. Mingus Mt is a neat backdrop but the towns at the valley floor remind me of Winslow and Holbrook. Haven't grown or evolved as Prescott and Kingman has the past 20 plus years.To me, I would choose Prescott Valley any day over Verde Valley. 5000 beats 3000 feet. Kingman tends to get more precipitation from the "uplift" of Pacific storms crossing the Mohave too. The Verde Valley is on the "dryside" of Mingus and seems much dustier overall.