Yuma, AZ.

[Idaho45guy]

Lots of older folks here and I was just wondering how many are either retired to Yuma, or winter down there.

My folks retired a few years ago and bought a place in the Foothills section. They love it! They leave North Idaho in October, and come back in late May.

My girlfriend and I just got back from a week long visit and had a great time. It seems like Nirvana for retired folks, especially conservatives.

We did something fun every single day and were surrounded by senior citizens that seemed to be having a great time.

I definitely want to get a winter home down there someday.

[fcvan]

For several decades, my folks (now both 80) would visit Quartzite, Laughlin, and Yuma in their RV. There are thriving communities of folks who 'rendesvous' every year as though they were fur trappers. Some years ago, Dad ran into an old friend who had moved from CA to NC, and they had lost track. Dad's friend was retired but making and selling custom knives back in NC, and went to AZ every winter as well. Back in the mid 1960s, they were on an archery and later trap and skeet teams in our small town. Good memories for them and me as well. I went to the range with my brothers every weekend from the time I was 4 or 5. Small worlds get smaller

[wildwilly]

About 3-3.5 months, the weather is in the 100s, which usually discourages the timid from settling down there. Although AZ is turning purple, Yuma is most likely going to remain conservative leaning. After all, it's economy is supported by several government agencies; i.e., MCAS, Yuma Proving Grounds, Border Patrol, & Union Pacific. Very 2ndA. I'm an hour west from YMA.

[pcolapaddler]

I have family that winters in Yuma. We have visited each of the last several years.

Friendly locals and good community of snow birds. I've been told that there are fewer choosing to do the permanent snow bird thing. Sort of a generational thing.


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[jonp]

Lots of older folks here and I was just wondering how many are either retired to Yuma, or winter down there.

My folks retired a few years ago and bought a place in the Foothills section. They love it! They leave North Idaho in October, and come back in late May.

My girlfriend and I just got back from a week long visit and had a great time. It seems like Nirvana for retired folks, especially conservatives.

We did something fun every single day and were surrounded by senior citizens that seemed to be having a great time.

I definitely want to get a winter home down there someday.

Wife's parents retired several years ago and do a similar thing although with an RV. Spend summers in the North East and around September sometime they head out down the East Coast and around the Gulf staying at Military Base Camping Spots whenever possible and ending up in Southern AZ. Sometime around April they head back up the East side of the Rockies and across the plains to a big RV thing in Indiana I think it is then back home for the summer. Wife and I are considering a similar thing in a few years as after running the numbers it looks quite a bit cheaper than maintaining 2 houses, one north and one south. Maybe if we find a place we like we will buy an acre or so and use that as our winter residence.

[4rdwhln]

My father was retired with 6 years active in Africa and 20 in the Air Force reserves. He loved it in Yuma. He has since passed. Twice while talking to him on the phone Illegals ran thru his yard with the Border patrol right behind them. He had three favorite golf courses and said the hardware store was within Biking distance. They Drove back to Montana for years and then Bought a place in Dewy. They went to Dewy to beat the heat in the summer. Sure is some beautiful country down there.

[hithard]

My in laws are there too...

Not conservative, thank goodness their daughter is though.

Older doesn't always mean wiser.

[Idaho45guy]

My parent's house is pretty nice and they fixed up the yard to be pretty fancy. Its like staying at a resort...

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[Cole440]

Nice place. Like others have said, it is typically a winter destination as far as I can tell. I have family in Prescott and friends in Yuma...

[Pressman]

Going south for the winter is not all it's cracked up to be.
Two times I tried wintering in Texas and two times the furnace quit, pipes froze and flooded the house.
So, I am setting here tonight listening to the wind howl, -25 wind chill and thinking I need to get 5 inches of new snow scooped out of the drive.
But, the heat is still on.
Ken

[Idaho45guy]

Going south for the winter is not all it's cracked up to be.
Two times I tried wintering in Texas and two times the furnace quit, pipes froze and flooded the house.
So, I am setting here tonight listening to the wind howl, -25 wind chill and thinking I need to get 5 inches of new snow scooped out of the drive.
But, the heat is still on.
Ken

My dad has an app on his phone that alerts him if the temperature in the Idaho house drops below a certain threshold. My brother lives a few houses away and I live 15 miles away. He also has moisture sensors as well. They've been wintering in Yuma for about 9 years with no issues. You just need to be prepared.

[Muddydogs]

Going south for the winter is not all it's cracked up to be.
Two times I tried wintering in Texas and two times the furnace quit, pipes froze and flooded the house.
So, I am setting here tonight listening to the wind howl, -25 wind chill and thinking I need to get 5 inches of new snow scooped out of the drive.
But, the heat is still on.
Ken

Why wouldn't you just shut off the water, drain the hot water tank and drain the house water lines? My folks do this every year and don't have any issues.

[jonp]

Why wouldn't you just shut off the water, drain the hot water tank and drain the house water lines? My folks do this every year and don't have any issues.

Wife's parents have radiant heat and a 12k generator I think it is plenty big enough to run the entire system. They have it hitched to a 100gal propane tank with an instant on switch when the power goes off and auto shutoff when the power comes back on although most might not be able to have that type of back-up.

When I lived up north and was gone for a week at a time I drained the water and shut off the tank every time. Didn't once and that was the time the power went out. Pipes in the bathroom froze and burst. I ended up taking out the entire bathroom and that was my introduction to pex.

[glaciers]

J
Going south for the winter is not all it's cracked up to be.
Two times I tried wintering in Texas and two times the furnace quit, pipes froze and flooded the house.
So, I am setting here tonight listening to the wind howl, -25 wind chill and thinking I need to get 5 inches of new snow scooped out of the drive.
But, the heat is still on.
Ken

Same problem here in Fairbanks Ken. It's a problem. I Have sensors for temperature, water and a power failure. We just left Yuma Tuesday and currently are sitting in a State Park north of Tucson. But, its been between-5 and -40 at or house now for a month. Also we have a 12 KW diesel genset, my neighbor would have to come over and pre heat the genset before starting.
We are rebuilding a cabin down the drive, should be done this summer. Small with running water, which is designed to be drained down when we let it freeze up for the winter.
There's to much damage that can happen to a house when it freezes "hard " even if it's drained down and winterize. Besides heating oil at $2.90 a gallon being sucked up and us having a fixed income. So we've decided to sell the big house and shop, and dooowwwnnn size. 2600 sq ft to 600 sq ft. Won,t miss the up keep or expenses on the big house. We will leave for about five months and come back in late March.
We have friends in Yuma, Apache Jct, Tucson and other places here. I won't miss the cold winters and the dark.. Currently sunrise is 10:15 and sunsets at 3:45. That's 5 1/2 hours, a gain of 2 hours from December20th. Being a snow bird when you live in "cold" country like Ken and I do makes it tough to stay, and quite tough to leave.

[pmer]

Water issues can be trouble even if you're home like hoses for clothes washer. We had one that was slow leaking and didn't catch it right away.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

It is hot enough in Yuma in August to boil your brains right out of your scull. Same goes for Tucson. My buddy and I played golf in Tuscon the middle of September and it was 115 degrees. The collage kids who worked at the country club where we played were all born an raised there and all planned to leave right after graduation. Prescott is a little better. My wife and I spent three days there in '95 just before Labor Day and it was 105 degrees. Sierra Vista is also cooler but the landscape is pretty depressing.

[jonp]

It is hot enough in Yuma in August to boil your brains right out of your scull. Same goes for Tucson. My buddy and I played golf in Tuscon the middle of September and it was 115 degrees. The collage kids who worked at the country club where we played were all born an raised there and all planned to leave right after graduation. Prescott is a little better. My wife and I spent three days there in '95 just before Labor Day and it was 105 degrees. Sierra Vista is also cooler but the landscape is pretty depressing.

Spent a few years going to College in Flagstaff. The weather there is really nice. Much rather be there or in Payson or Prescott than in the valley. Summer below the rim is brutal.

[leadman]

I live in Phoenix and winters are nice, but it will hit 100 in April and go thru until September at least.

[megasupermagnum]

I played in the El Toro bowl against Arizona Western when I was in college. My grandparents came to watch, and liked Yuma so much, they now own a place in Yuma. One of these years I'll get down there to hunt. It looks like there is a winter Javelina season about the time I want to go.

[nicholst55]

I worked at Yuma Proving Ground for a bit over four years from 2012-2016. Yuma is a decent town, that doubles in population every winter. Most everything a person needs is there, with a few exceptions. You mentioned fishing in your other post - Martinez Lake, Squaw Lake, and the Colorado River are your go-to locations, all a short drive. The fish are mainly bass. Hunting in the area is for deer, javelina, coyotes, elk, and desert bighorn sheep. For shooting, you have the Adair Range complex with everything from an archery range to a 1,000 yard rifle range. It sounds grander than it is, but it's free, and open 7-days a week. The local hospital has a bad rep, but it's mostly based on events from many years ago AFAIK. I had some emergency care performed and had a knee replaced there, and I have no huge complaints. Lots of medical care available in Yuma - all of the specialists are located there. Also, Mexico is right there, and lots of people do dental tourism there. I had a tooth capped for $175 by a US-trained dentist. There are three Wal-Mart super centers in town, and a Sam's Club. The big gun shop in town is Sprague's, which is very well stocked. Prices are rather high, but it is what it is. Yeah, it's hot nine months of the year. You can wear shorts and a t-shirt on Christmas, though, and you don't have to shovel sunshine.

[Idaho45guy]

I did a Jeep trip out to the Fortuna mine and had a blast. Hundreds of old abandoned mines in the area. I love exploring in the desert, though the desert around the Prescott area is prettier and has more interesting geology. Still, we were able to go out and find an old mine site and find discarded cans and tobacco tins from 100 years ago.

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[Idaho45guy]

One mine we found was sealed off, but not before someone with a sense of humor set up a display...

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[9.3X62AL]

Proximity to Yuma and Quartzsite keeps life in Kalifornistan tolerable. We go to--shop at--and stay in Yuma at least once a month, all year long. Marie and I are both desert rats, and don't mind the heat at all. Heat drives the snowbirds back to the Rust Belt, where they belong.

[Idaho45guy]

Proximity to Yuma and Quartzsite keeps life in Kalifornistan tolerable. We go to--shop at--and stay in Yuma at least once a month, all year long. Marie and I are both desert rats, and don't mind the heat at all. Heat drives the snowbirds back to the Rust Belt, where they belong.

Why do you hate other older people that are retired? I didn't realize that there was something wrong with other conservatives who chose to winter in Yuma.

[megasupermagnum]

Why do you hate other older people that are retired? I didn't realize that there was something wrong with other conservatives who chose to winter in Yuma.

It's a give and take. In the summer, all those southern hippies triple our states population to fish our lakes. Now that winter is here, I can fish alone without those desert rats. [smilie=s:

[Idaho45guy]

I guess it's similar to college students and my hatred of them. I grew up in a small college town that triples in size during the school year. During the summer, when most of them are back home, traffic is better, no lines at every business, less crime, etc. I imagine the sheer number of folks that swell Yuma in the winter can be pretty negative on those things; except for crime, I would hope.

[nicholst55]

I guess it's similar to college students and my hatred of them. I grew up in a small college town that triples in size during the school year. During the summer, when most of them are back home, traffic is better, no lines at every business, less crime, etc. I imagine the sheer number of folks that swell Yuma in the winter can be pretty negative on those things; except for crime, I would hope.

Traffic, congestion, and some with attitudes. Still, they bring a lot of money into the area, and I'm sure that many small businesses would fold up without that revenue.