Yuma, Arizona

Life in Yuma, Arizona, explained by people who’ve lived in Yuma:

*Response format = Answer (Your name, How long you’ve lived in Yuma)

Yuma Favorites

What’s your favorite thing about living in Yuma?

Tie, friendly people, lower cost of living compared to California, small home lots – almost no backyards. (Jim, 10 months)
Small town feel. (Ashley, 3 years)
Slow pace. (Miki, 3 years)
The people. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Small businesses. (Vanna, 4 years)
The small town feel. (Anonymous, 5 years)
Warmth. (Cathy, 6 years)
Clean and calm city. (Teresita, 6 years)
History. (Kristie, 11 years)
The central location to everything. (Shirley, 13 years)
Nothing. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
The Colorado River. (Jessica, 17 years)
The community. (Joseph, 20 years)
A lot of things to do without the the big city hassle. (Debra, 21 years)
Small community. (Karen, 23 years)
Lacks the rat race of a big city. (Christopher, 36 years)

Yuma Least Favorites

What’s your least favorite thing about living in Yuma?

Scenery is very drab. Needs more color. (Jim, 10 months)
Employment issues. (Ashley, 3 years)
Heat of summer. (Miki, 3 years)
The length of summer. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Small town. (Vanna, 4 years)
The lack of accurate and timely news and event announcements. (Anonymous, 5 years)
Medical care. (Cathy, 6 years)
Professional resources are limited. (Teresita, 6 years)
Super hot. (Kristie, 11 years)
Tourists. (Shirley, 13 years)
The expensive cost of all places that are supposed to be fun. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
The winter visitors. (Jessica, 17 years)
Snow birds. (Joseph, 20 years)
Traffic during the winter. (Debra, 21 years)
Not much to do at reasonable prices for families. (Karen, 23 years)
Lack of large scare entertainment. (Christopher, 36 years)

Yuma Things To Do

What are fun things to do in Yuma?

Off-roading, sand dunes, camping, river, fishing. (Jim, 10 months)
Festivals. (Ashley, 3 years)
Hang with friends at unique local restaurants. (Miki, 3 years)
River, train, prison, renaissance fair, camel farm, parks, balloon fest, midnight at the oasis. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Walking along or swimming in the Colorado River. (Vanna, 4 years)
Creative activities like art and art walks. Festivals in downtown. (Anonymous, 5 years)
Great Y, Colorado River, downtown, Algodones, casinos. (Cathy, 6 years)
Wait for specific events, like the fair, civic center yearly activities and being out in the parks. (Teresita, 6 years)
Sightseeing, swimming, rodeo, fair, baseball, air show. (Kristie, 11 years)
Anything you want to do. (Shirley, 13 years)
Bowling, swimming and The Golden Cue. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
Boating, fishing, off-roading. (Jessica, 17 years)
Sports, river, ski, fish, hike, events. (Joseph, 20 years)
Z fun factory, casinos, river float, running the wetlands, balloon festival, block parties, wine tasting at the cellar. (Debra, 21 years)
Hike, paint classes, park. (Karen, 23 years)
Sand dunes, river, shooting guns. (Christopher, 36 years)

Yuma’s Reputation

What’s Yuma known for?

Hot weather and winter lettuce. (Jim, 10 months)
Snowbirds. (Ashley, 3 years)
Heat. (Miki, 3 years)
Agriculture. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Winter visitors. (Vanna, 4 years)
Heat. (Cathy, 6 years)
Yuma Air show, lettuce season and hot weather. (Teresita, 6 years)
Yuma territorial prison. (Kristie, 11 years)
Being hot. (Dave, 13 years)
Hot weather. (Shirley, 13 years)
THE HOT WEATHER and meth heads. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
The amount of sunshine it gets and lettuce. (Jessica, 17 years)
Farming. (Joseph, 20 years)
Lettuce, cheap gas. (Debra, 21 years)
Being hot. (Karen, 23 years)
Heat, sunshine and lettuce. (Christopher, 36 years)

Yuma Crime

What’s the crime like in Yuma? (hot spot areas, etc.)

A little higher than the national average, but less than most areas in California. Not that bad really, feel safe. (Jim, 10 months)
In town, very high. (Ashley, 3 years)
Gwenyth-ham/Kennedy Park area is going down fast. (Miki, 3 years)
Drugs are big, I guess there are a couple of areas to avoid, but otherwise seems pretty safe. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Unsure but I know there are those areas. (Vanna, 4 years)
It doesn’t seem to effect our neighborhood. However there does seem to be a lot of drug crime ( robbery, burglary, gun violence) in older areas of city. (Anonymous, 5 years)
It exists, that’s what I know. (Cathy, 6 years)
I would not know specific areas. (Teresita, 6 years)
Theft is high, major crime is minimum. (Kristie, 11 years)
Pretty bad. (Dave, 13 years)
Low compared to other areas. (Shirley, 13 years)
Terrible. There are either car crashes, burning buildings or shootings everyday in Yuma. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
Every town has its bad people. (Jessica, 17 years)
It has good and bad spots. Our area by AWC we have never had a crime in 20 years. (Joseph, 20 years)
I feel it’s lower than most towns. (Debra, 21 years)
On par for its size. (Christopher, 36 years)

Yuma Advice

Any advice for people moving to Yuma?

Enjoy the things in Yuma and realize Yuma is a good hub for numerous other areas such as San Diego, LA, Phoenix, Vegas and Mexico. (Jim, 10 months)
Don’t be too educated or you won’t find a job. (Ashley, 3 years)
Beware your summer APS bill, it’s a shocker the first time. (Miki, 3 years)
Be willing to explore and network. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Be prepared for businesses to come and go. Foothills do not have a lot of services or businesses. As of now, there is no park. (Vanna, 4 years)
Remember Summer is like Winter up north. Relax and tolerate the extreme heat because the weather is absolutely great 9 months if the year. No more shoveling snow or lawn to mow! (Anonymous, 5 years)
Pick your neighborhood carefully. Perhaps rent first while checking out Yuma. Study school districts. (Cathy, 6 years)
Get to know other people and be active in your community. (Teresita, 6 years)
It takes two years to get used to the weather, move into a development. (Kristie, 11 years)
Don’t. (Dave, 13 years)
Don’t, just stay inside. (Shirley, 13 years)
Be careful who you make friends with & make sure you’re rich because Yuma is expensive. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
Be prepared for the heat. (Jessica, 17 years)
Drink water, get out and do things. (Joseph, 20 years)
Be ready to be hot, but there’s air conditioning everywhere. (Debra, 21 years)
It’s a dry heat. (Christopher, 36 years)

Yuma Stories

Share an experience you’ve had in Yuma (fun, crazy, dangerous, etc.).

A fun experience is riding out in the dunes. Some of the best dunes in the world are only minutes away. (Jim, 10 months)
I started a line of paying for the car behind me at Jack in the Box and the next day someone happened to pay for me at Starbucks. People here are just nice. (Miki, 3 years)
I kind of enjoy watching the natives “freeze” in winter where the temps are mostly in the 60s and 70s. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Being the only ones in the river at 8 am on a Sunday morning. (Vanna, 4 years)
Midnight at the Oasis tribute concerts are so much fun. (Anonymous, 5 years)
Kayaking the Colorado. (Cathy, 6 years)
Joining the Yuma Heat Swim team has been really good for my daughters and my family. (Teresita, 6 years)
Get involved in community happenings, they are always a good time. (Kristie, 11 years)
The Sand Dunes. (Shirley, 13 years)
My most memorable experience in Yuma was having my son. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
Xmas Light Parade, fair, lots of community events. (Joseph, 20 years)

Yuma’s Future

How do you think Yuma will change over the next 10 years?

Steady growth, but still very seasonal in farming and military. (Jim, 10 months)
Grow. (Ashley, 3 years)
More people, more congestion, fewer resources for the needy. (Miki, 3 years)
More stuff will be built in the foothills. (Jen, 3.5 years)
Foothills will expand. (Vanna, 4 years)
Growth will continue. (Cathy, 6 years)
Hopefully more employment opportunities and better medical services. There is a high need for specialist and affordable care. (Teresita, 6 years)
Bigger. (Kristie, 11 years)
More tourists. (Shirley, 13 years)
It will get worse overtime that’s my fear of crime and drugs. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
I think it will grow into a huge city. It’s already grown so much in the last 10 years. (Jessica, 17 years)
It’s growing more food and places to do things. Like Yuma Air opens in June. (Joseph, 20 years)
It will get bigger and more people will move here from California and other cold places. (Debra, 21 years)
Grow if businesses come here. (Karen, 23 years)
Just a increase in population and maybe a Red Robin. (Christopher, 36 years)

Yuma Facts

Any other interesting facts about Yuma?

Interestingly, I see a lot of boats and watercraft here. A handful of small lakes and the Colorado River are nearby. (Jim, 10 months)
Winter salads. (Ashley, 3 years)
It’s a gathering place for older Canadians from October through April so you can’t get into some of your favorite places to eat, but that’s offset by zero waiting in the summer. (Miki, 3 years)
Cost of living is reasonable. (Jen, 3.5 years)
The library district has innovative programming. (Vanna, 4 years)
Downtown has a lot of history. (Teresita, 6 years)
Its a bigger city with a small town feel. (Kristie, 11 years)
Great history. (Shirley, 13 years)
It’s hot, it’s a small town, very helpful for moms/families in need. (Elizabeth, 16 years)
We get like .2% of rain a year. (Joseph, 20 years)
Nick Pappageorgio is from Yuma. (Christopher, 36 years)