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General Essay on the Yuman Condition, part 1

Recently I was commenting on someone else's blog when the subject of Yuma AZ came up. It is a snowbird magnet, as are Sun City and Green Valley. I rented a lot there during three winters. It was interesting to me to rethink Yuma because so many issues about retirement and relocation seem to coalesce there. 

Yuma is famous with retirees and snowbirds primarily because it is the warmest place in the southwest, although not as warm as south Texas or Florida. And there are practical advantages, such as low cost dentistas and farmacias right across the border in Algodones, one of the few border towns that won't frighten middle class gringos. Years ago Yuma was considered a bargain: you could buy a gravel lot and plunk down an RV for a few months, or you could even build a normal house, although living in Yuma for twelve months per year is a perverse idea.

On the negative side, Yuma is desperately congested in the winter. Just going to the grocery store can be a nightmare unless you time it right. It's a game of demolition derby in the parking lots, as seniors back out without the ability of twisting their necks to look. The most memorable nightmare for me was the laundromat. Yuma is surrounded by ugly land, which is rare in the state of Arizona. It has its fair share of windy, dusty days. By the first of March the hot sun already drove me out of town. By then most visitors are completely sick of the stereotypical "soooo, what part of Livingston Texas are you from?" conversations that you've had hundreds of times over the winter.

But back to the benefits of Yuma, which in fact go way beyond the merely utilitarian. A newcomer might not appreciate them at first. Neighbors will hang out together in the Foothills. It's actually warm enough in the evening to party outdoors. There is an ambiance there that you'd better have fun and enjoy life while you still can.

The shrinkage of North America in the winter causes RVers to concentrate in the Yuma area. Even without definite schedules, a traveler can drop-in at Yuma and count on bumping into people he knows. Even die-hard proponents of the Constant Travel Syndrome might be surprised how much they end up appreciating a break from feeling odd or isolated.

I stopped going to Yuma several winters ago, after I finally learned that a warm winter was unhealthy for me psychologically. I needed to "suffer" cold a little bit in the winter so that I yearned for summer again. Otherwise I would obsess over the dry heat in the summer.

Perhaps the real root of my grudge against Yuma is that you get sucked into going there because other RVers are. Then you find out that it's not about RVing -- its about being old, digging in, turning in the keys, the slippery slope. Yuma is the favorite town of RV Yoostabees. Since that eventuality is no longer laughably distant to a baby boomer RVer like me, a certain amount of resentment is understandable.

Comments

I guess this explains why I LOVE summer.
Indeed, you are an example of a fellow whose healthy appetite for summer is whipped up by a long cold winter.