Life in Yucca Valley area? (Palm Springs, Coachella: crime, month to, college)

[SuzyStumpjumper]

Hi!
My BF and I are planning on leaving Philadelphia. (yay!) I work from home/teach a few college courses and he has a videography business. We want to move somewhere more relaxed, natural beauty, a few fun/artsy/intellectual folks would be great, too. I realllly wanna get away from the gruff/in your face Philly ppl around us (there are exceptions, of course), the bizarre racial tension and litter everywhere.
Ideally spend less than/around 200k on a 3bd home, a few acres with nice mountain views would be great! We are 32 and 33 yo, not into the bar scene, looking to start a family, like trying new things.

Questions about Yucca Valley area:
1. Are utilities very expensive? (AC?)
2. Coming from Philly, it's hard to believe crime there would compare. Does the crime affect a lot of ppl, or just ppl involved in drugs/etc?
3. Is it "straight up desert," or more like Albuquerque/Santa Fe? Can I garden there, or just xeriscaping?
4. Weather.com isn't helping me w/ this one: How long does it stay "really hot" in the summer?
5. What are the people like? We are big readers/love going outdoors/into indie films/learning about anything and everything. Sometimes we shop at Whole Foods, if that gives you an idea, haha. I know it's hard to generalize the ppl of an entire area.
6. earthquake/wildfire issues...

Any other areas within commuting distance for occasional LA film work that might be worth checking out? (That aren't insanely expensive... i know, maybe impossible)

Any other considerations/expenses/advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Gandalara]

4. Weather.com isn't helping me w/ this one: How long does it stay "really hot" in the summer?

Use wunderground . com
Scroll down to History.
You'll see a link that says "July Calendar View"
Once there, you can go month to month, year to year, etc.
Here's the first 10 days of July.
It doesn't cool off at night

[nightlysparrow]

If you want any culture, consider Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley instead. Yucca Valley is high desert (Palm Springs is low desert). YV is pretty low-rent desert rat. More Wal-Mart territory than Whole Foods. Joshua Tree National Park is pretty, but it's a park. Wildfires, no, too sparse. But earthquakes, well YV and CV are both on the San Andreas Fault. YV used to have a meth problem, maybe it still does (?)

Article illustrating the area:

Desert, Anywhere: The Problem with Yucca Valley | East CA | SoCal Focus | KCET

[Adamson865]

Wow - that was the most cranky, nasty article I've read in years. From his tagline "natural history writer and environmental journalist" and that it was on a public broadcasting website, you know this guy has an axe to grind. I know quite a few people who've chosen Yucca Valley, Landers, etc., to get away from the high costs of Palm Springs and the CV.

[SuzyStumpjumper]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated!!!

And yeah, I had seen that article... probably should be taken with a grain of salt, but still considered. I had heard about the meth issue... not sure it's worth a plane ticket to check it out quite yet.

[Dub D]

I've lived off and on in Joshua Tree for about a year now. It's boring up here. There is an insane amount of churches so if that's your thing, you'll meet people REAL quick. Weather wise, its hot. Solid 100 degrees during the summer.

Things move slow up here. Definitely got the good ol boy vibe. If there could be a country vibe in Southern California, its here. Alot of western style clothing and style. I don't mind it much. People are generally nice up here just as long as you're nice back. Definitely desert not mountain style living.

You could easily by a 3 bedroom for 120k. However, for kids...its pretty boring.

[Gabriel A. Pettinicchio]

Yucca Valley, CA
Local Climate Data
MonMin FMax FPrecip In.Jan36591.58Feb38601.61Mar42681.10Apr46730.32May 53820.15Jun61900.05Jul68950.48Aug68960.68Sep62900. 60Oct50780.27Nov40660.37Dec36571.00Ann50768.23