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We are looking to move and LHC is one of our options. Would like some info on the stuff that's harder to find.
Taxes: state rate, property rate, cars, etc. Is there city or county tax?
Crime: any areas to watch out for?
Utilities: I asume AC runs year round. What is avg. electricity cost for 1200 sq ft home? Do you even have heat in your houses?
Weather: Do you have humidity or is it a dry heat? Do you get used to not having grass in your lawn and gravel instead? I worry about that, but in Oregon, we have like 6 months of drizzly rain, depressing, cold weather and I hope the sunny skies will be a picker upper!
Critters: Is there a rattlesnake, scorpion, etc. problem? Anything to worry about in the lake?
Attitude: Is the area more Repub or Democrat? Is there a high or low welfare population? I just want to be around people who take more responsibility for themselves instead of letting the government take care of them so they can suck off the system! All it does is ruin the area. Oregon will be a state of retirees and welfare before you know it, and they are running people out because of lack of funding for cops, libraries, road maintenence, etc just so meth heads, lazy (not the truly disabled deserving people-there is a HUGE difference) welfare sucking slugs can live better than hard working people! Please don't defend them. I live here, I see it happening. I don't want to hear about any of it any more.
We see that there are lots of things to do in the area. That is a plus. I am an X-ray tech so work should be easy for me. My husband is an herbicde sprayer for the county public works with a CDL license, so we are looking to see what kind of job he can find.
xray-
since no one has anything, I'll give you my .02. I lived in Havasu from '73 till '90, and my wife was there even earlier. I loved it back then. There was alot of open land between houses. No traffic lights. 2 small markets. A lot of the roads were still dirt. We bought our first house in '74 for $24k. I don't know about current tax, crime, or political sway. The main issue with Havasu is surviving the summer heat. When I lived there, I didn't mind the heat. Even rode a bicycle all year . Not everyone is that crazy and will stay inside when it's 110-125+. I think the heat is the main hurdle to enjoying the area. Utilities will be pretty high in the summer because of a/c. If the temps are around 100 you can usually get by with evaporative(swamp) cooling, if you have one. These run at about a third of the cost of a/c. Our a/c bill during the summer was around 200. Our house was relatively new with great insulation and around 1400 sq ft. We had friends with bills that 2 or 3 times as much because they had older, bigger houses. I am not sure about costs now so my figures may be irrelevant. We could turn our water heater off during the summer because the ground would heat the water. We would turn on cold for hot and the water coming out of the water heater was cooler!
Bugs can be an issue. Pests control businesses do a pretty good business. We've had scorpions, centapedes, black widows, ticks, ants, crickets, mosquitos, and even lizards and a snake INSIDE our house at one time or another. Outside was another story. Coyotes, skunks, donkeys, and all the former mentioned critters. I don't think the donkeys are around anymore as the BLM came in and rounded 'em up and hauled 'em out . Although it might sound bad, the pests were not that troublesome. Just part of living in the desert.
We moved to San Diego, got used to perfect temps year round, and now live in CO. When we go to Havasu we think we were nuts to put up with the extreme summer temps. If you like the desert enough to put with the heat, Havasu is a beautiful area. And the majority of the year has great weather.
Thanks for the input. It's a scary feeling to think about moving away from your only home for the last 35 years to go to a new place and try to figure out if you are going to be able to deal with it or not. We plan to visit before we move anyplace.
I've lived here for the last 15 years. I will try to answer some of your questions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xray chick
We are looking to move and LHC is one of our options. Would like some info on the stuff that's harder to find.
Taxes: state rate, property rate, cars, etc. Is there city or county tax?
Yes, we have a state tax. I believe the retail tax is about 7-8%. There is a city tax (on eating out, motels, etc). Car Lisc fees are not too bad. Property taxes are not too bad either (much lower than Oregon).
Crime: any areas to watch out for?
Yes, I'd avoid the north end of town to settle in. The southern section seems nicer.
Utilities: I asume AC runs year round. What is avg. electricity cost for 1200 sq ft home? Do you even have heat in your houses?
No, AC is not needed year round. Most folks run swamp coolers until early July. After the 4th July - the monsoon season kicks in and you have to use AC until mid sept. You also need heating at times during the winter. It never gets freezing but too cold for no heating... The elect rates are not as bad as S.Calif but not as cheap as Oregon.
Weather: Do you have humidity or is it a dry heat? Do you get used to not having grass in your lawn and gravel instead? I worry about that, but in Oregon, we have like 6 months of drizzly rain, depressing, cold weather and I hope the sunny skies will be a picker upper!
Yes, we have a spell in summer that it gets somewhat humid here. We call it monsoon season. It's not as bad as the humidity back east - however any humidity over 25% is considered nasty here.
Critters: Is there a rattlesnake, scorpion, etc. problem? Anything to worry about in the lake?
Critters? Yes indeed. Unless your property abuts to a wash or undeveloped area you will probably not see something you've listed. You will see coyotes trotting down the street more than you would like. The Lake? Every weekend the lake is full of drunken Californians. Be afraid - very afraid.
Attitude: Is the area more Repub or Democrat? Is there a high or low welfare population? I just want to be around people who take more responsibility for themselves instead of letting the government take care of them so they can suck off the system! All it does is ruin the area. Oregon will be a state of retirees and welfare before you know it, and they are running people out because of lack of funding for cops, libraries, road maintenence, etc just so meth heads, lazy (not the truly disabled deserving people-there is a HUGE difference) welfare sucking slugs can live better than hard working people! Please don't defend them. I live here, I see it happening. I don't want to hear about any of it any more.
Like most of rural AZ - Havasu is Republican. About welfare leeches: Most of 'em are up in the Bullhead City / Kingman area. Havasu is well enforced by the local cops. Yeah, we do have some riff-raff but it is not as bad as elsewhere. Havasu is also expensive to live at. Property values shot thru the roof several years back. Don't expect to pick up a real estate bargain here!
If you want to get a taste for some of the local forums goto the Havasu Herald Website and go to the discussion section...
Good luck in your quest for nirvana here. BTW, I'm going to retire to oregon...
We see that there are lots of things to do in the area. That is a plus. I am an X-ray tech so work should be easy for me. My husband is an herbicde sprayer for the county public works with a CDL license, so we are looking to see what kind of job he can find.
Havasu is STILL a nice place to live.
Please check the AZ state website or search Lake Havasu Economic Profile, which will give you all the information about taxes etc. I have a 1200 square foot house and live here year round. It is not the best insulated and I pay 144 per month for electricity on budget billing.
There is quite a bit of economic development but the real development in the county is Bullhead City, stay away from there. I have seen on my property~
coyote (once), chipmunk (sometimes) snake-non-poisonous (once) quail (often).
By the Lake there are small lizards but I have yet to see a scorpion in over 7 years.
Since the building was random and fill in, there are no really bad places to live.
Take vacation in July or August to survive the heat. The Haulapai Mountains are only an hour away, and cool, take a picnic to escape the 110's +. Take a long weekend and go to Flagstaff~about a 3.5 hour drive.
The worst thing about Havasu is trying to make a living, which is why I work in Bullhead. Also check out the chamber website. It will give you a mini picture tour of the locale.
And yes it is a dry heat. So far, this year we had a touch of rain once.
I would not equate political affiliation with responsibility.
I will say that Havasu does have the most "responsible" and "semi-cultural" attitude in the county.
There are still many seniors and over 100 organizations to join. Except for the small influx of illegals that construction companies import,(the city is now authorized the police to detain illegals) people here care, volunteer and enjoy
their city. Also there is an art guild, chorus, symphony, theater....not big city league but something.
I lived in Havasu for about 10 years [granted, I was younger, but still], I still go there on a regular basis to visit my family while I'm out at college, so maybe I can help you with your questions.
Crime: Little to none. Havasu is a very safe town to live. Though I don't recommend it, I would leave my car outside unlocked with the keys in it often. [What can I say? I was 16 and dumb.] I've heard of robberies, like maybe TWICE when I lived there.
Utilities: You only use AC in the hottest months: June through September. If you have a swamp cooler as well, you can narrow that time down even further. However, I do not recommend using a swamp all the way through the summer, after a certain temperature outside, it really just doesn't help anymore, and makes you feel like a suffocating amphibian.
Weather: DRY. VERY HOT and DRY. Havasu is arguably the hottest place in the state. The hottest I've ever seen it get was 127, which was record-breaking if memory serves me right. Normal summers go from 100 to 115 normally. You'll probably enjoy Havasu more if you have a pool.
My family had grass in our yard, but we recently got rid of it after 5-6 years of having it. You can maintain grass, but it takes so much water [and the water rates in Havasu recently increased] that it really isn't practical.
Critters: Something interesting to consider is the newness of your home when it comes to critters. When my family moved to Havasu, we built a house and at first there were scorpions in the house ALL THE TIME, and we even had a snake once [a harmless snake]. Over the years, the amount of pests has decreased dramatically. I tend to think that the reason we had so many in the first place is because we probably destroyed some of their habitat and so naturally they came inside. :P
I've never seen a rattlesnake in Havasu, although I know they exist: I've seen them as roadkill. Scorpions are more common. I've been stung by scorpions twice, they really aren't any more poisonous or painful than a bee sting.
Something else to consider is COYOTES. They really aren't a threat unless you have a cat or dog. Coyotes have been known to eat cats and lure out dogs [and be attacked by the pack]. Often you will hear them yipping and howling—that means they got something.
There are also raccoons in Havasu. I've seen them around a few times, although this is pretty rare.
Attitude: The political attitude is generally more conservative.
The general population of Havasu is middle to upper middle class [although there's bound to be a bit of everything no matter where you go].
I would not equate political affiliation with responsibility.
I will say that Havasu does have the most "responsible" and "semi-cultural" attitude in the county.
There are still many seniors and over 100 organizations to join. Except for the small influx of illegals that construction companies import,(the city is now authorized the police to detain illegals) people here care, volunteer and enjoy
their city. Also there is an art guild, chorus, symphony, theater....not big city league but something.
My wife and I are thinking of moving to Lake Havasu City and one of my criteria is music and art. Since you mentioned something along those lines, would you go into more detail please? I live in central Florida and my passion is playing in bands. Do you know if there are any community bands or orchestras in the area? A semi-professional group like maybe a Big Band, jazz band or anything? Is the Symphony a professional group or community and is it based in town? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
My wife and I are thinking of moving to Lake Havasu City and one of my criteria is music and art. Since you mentioned something along those lines, would you go into more detail please? I live in central Florida and my passion is playing in bands. Do you know if there are any community bands or orchestras in the area? A semi-professional group like maybe a Big Band, jazz band or anything? Is the Symphony a professional group or community and is it based in town? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Sage
There is an allied arts council in Havasu. Each fall/winter they publish all the upcoming concerts, theater productions, art exhibits, special performers.
There are two or three choral groups, a concert group and a small community symphony group. Many of the "performers" are retirees who were involved in music (professors, performers, conductors). For a small town in the middle of the desert, it is surprisingly rich in the fine arts.
There is also an annual film festival, weekend jazz festival and concerts sponsored throught the community college.
If there isn't a group you like, form your own. There are so many retirees in this town, there are always folks looking for a group to join.
Most of the action occurs from Oct.- March when the snowbirds descend.
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. Not everyone is that crazy and will stay inside when it's 110-125+. I think the heat is the main hurdle to enjoying the area. Utilities will be pretty high in the summer because of a/c. If the temps are around 100 you can usually get by with evaporative(swamp) cooling, if you have one. These run at about a third of the cost of a/c. Our a/c bill during the summer was around 200. Our house was relatively new with great insulation and around 1400 sq ft. We had friends with bills that 2 or 3 times as much because they had older, bigger houses. I am not sure about costs now so my figures may be irrelevant. We could turn our water heater off during the summer because the ground would heat the water. We would turn on cold for hot and the water coming out of the water heater was cooler!
. Although it might sound bad, the pests were not that troublesome. Just part of living in the desert.
havasu info...
IF you can take the heat
