Well it was decided last week that the wife and me will be moving to Yuma, Arizona in August. We have been there plenty of times through our travels(and yes during the summer) and she was offered a job as a kindergarten teacher in the Yuma School District One. We figured now is the time to make a go for it before kids come into the picture. Now the question is what is the local hot rod scene like in Yuma and the El Centro area? Any events coming up that I should know about? What are some hot rod friendly areas of town to live and what are some areas to stay away from? Any cool places to check out? Finally no more rain!
Well welcome to Hell.... Um Yuma. I actually like it here. My best friend and his wife both work for District One, and are both teachers. Small world. There are a few shops, and clubs in town. The Ghouls put on a real good show once a year. We have MATO but that is more of gold chainer thing with some of our kind mixed in. I have several homeboys in the Foothills (East Side of Yuma) with cars, but mostly everyone is spread out. Feel free to PM me with questions.
Priority number one was to get her started in her career as a teacher and as there is zero opportunity here for somebody out of grad school. As for me I currently work as a machinist/fabricator but have worked in auto body and restoration work in the past. As of now I have not found a job down there yet. I am looking at the possibility of working independently doing restorations, light collision work, building motorcycles, pin striping, or whatever it may be to pay the bills. Thanks guys!
Right on. If that doesn't work out The owner of Sutton Auto Body is an old friend. I could take you down there to meet him. He does collisions as well as high end rods. Just throwing that out there.
If you need anything or a helping hand when you get here give me a shout. You are welcome to my garage, tools, trailer...... Anything for a HAMBer. Just let me know.
The Ghouls put on a good show in November usually benifiting a good cause. Nice bunch of guys. Missed the last one, but I'm planning on making it this year. Good Luck in Yuma!
Hey, I PMed you. I live in the foothills. My mom has worked in a few of the elementary schools here as well. Yuma is ok. I like it fairly well. I don't know many people here, but feel free to let me know if you need something. There are some cool cars here. Some clubs too, although since I'm not too social I don't know too much about them. I can probably clue you in to more about the area etc. Feel free to PM me sometime.
...and miss the fact that 7-9 months out of the year everyone up here is afraid to take their rides out of the garage because it might get rained on and that there is a car show/swapmeet "season" instead of year round car guy fun to be had everywhere else.
Around here it usually starts raining on the 4th of July. Until then, it's on fire....I guess that's not so much of a problem in Yuma.
I moved from Kingman,Az to redmond ,Wa spent one year and moved back. I was asked why the move back? I said I can drive my roadster 360 days a year. They asked what I do the other 5 days , "I'm usually out of town" You will like AZ. Welcome. If you get to kingman burgers and beer on me.
Interesting, My nephew moved from Yuma to Seattle and you're going the other way. Funny how things like that work out. That's why the highways go both directions I guess! Good living, cruising and luck on the new job and "it's a dry heat" (We toured the southwest states in a Black van on our honeymoon, in the middle of August and been to Tucson in a July.) It rains too much in the home of the duck races anyway.
Two doors northa hell for sure. I'm in Tucson and anytime youre in town lemme know. One of the first things youre gonna learn is the proper position of the steering wheel when you park. Turn it 180 degrees. Take a cooler shopping. Get an oven thermometer and clip it to the passenger visor and look at it when you come outta work. Mine has been sayin 170, at 3:30pm. Its a great place to live. When it rains, it really rains. Then 20 minutes later its sunny and nice.
Thats funny. I just moved down from Seattle almost two years ago to propose to my now wife. We actually went through Mexico, Yuma, the Grand Canyon and Nevada on the second leg of our honeymoon in August also. The first leg was a little cooler in temperature going down the California coast with the surfboards and witnessing Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Thanks again for the Welcomes guys!
Good luck on the move - I think you are making a good choice. My wife and I have been vacationing in Arizona every year for the last 24 years. We love it, and have seriously considered pulling up stakes after I retire. Arizona isn't perfect (what state is?), but the people seem friendlier, the streets are cleaner, and the roads are better than we have here in California. Lots of car-nut activities, too. And yes, we love the heat. We always visit at the end of August, which is traditionally the warmest time of the year in Scottsdale. We consider our vacations to be 'thermal-therapy', an antidote for the miserable gloomy (foggy from June through August) summer conditions we have to endure in the San Francisco bay area. PS Just realized that I am no longer a FNG - woo-hoo! Graduated to Newbie.
After 55 years of Arizona summers, From May to mid November, each one gets harder to take. Had to get cooling for my garage....
You have no idea how tired I am of bare metal parts that I am work on flash rust over night with all the moisture in the air here in my moist garage.
I was born in Yuma, I still have a bunch of family there that I try to visit. Wish I could get out there more often. I love Yuma, but I don't live there. I will probably retire to Yuma or somewhere in Northern AZ but that's not for another 30 years. Check out the Cloud Museum, before it's gone. http://www.cloudmuseum.com
Quite awhile ago I used to work a whole bunch for weeks on end on the East coast. I remember an add that used to play almost every half hour on T.V. for a sunshade... "In the heat of summer, the interior of you car or truck can reach nearly 90 degrees"... laughed 'till my balls hurt everytime it played! Might want to mention a pair of gloves so you can touch the steering wheel too! Seriously though, Yuma is a kinda cool little town that doesn't get the respect That it should in our state. There are some cool little bars downtown, some good restaurants about, some excellent Mexican food joints too. The downtown is kinda fun and the significant history is there, too. ( Hell, most people in Arizona don't know that it was a river boat town at one time!) There are a couple of good wrecking yards in the area as well. Almost exactly half way between Phoenix and San Deigo make it super accessable to lots of events in the west. You'll either hate it, or love it - quickly!
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