Getting settled in Lake Havasu!

Well we've been here for a few weeks now and getting settled in our new life.  After an epic road trip with stops at Mesa Verde National Park, Four Corners monument, and Las Vegas, we headed to Lake Havasu City with only one appointment to see a rental house.  This house was very close to Austin's school, so at the time it was our best prospect.  While on the road, we got calls from two other realtors, one was for a condo and the other was a rental we applied for that was now showing up on Zillow as off market but the renters backed out that morning.  Thank goodness we got that last call! The house by the school was tiny and overpriced, the condo was nice but also more than we wanted to spend in rent, and the last house was just the right size and price!  Our stuff was in storage, so we called the moving company with the new address and they were able to set up delivery on our move-in date!

In the meantime, we stayed in hotels, which was miserable, but Austin and Amilia started school up again, so it wasn't too bad.  Austin is adjusting to the new school.  They have a standard student t-shirt that they have to wear which I think is great.  He likes his teacher and I like that the homework isn't as intense.  This gifted classroom is 3rd/4th combined, so he will also have her next year.  They had to re-test him to qualify in Arizona as they require a 97th percentile in one area of the Cognitive Abilities Test (he had a 96 which qualified him in Colorado).  I was nervous about it, so started to look into the charter schools here, but we got the results back just the other day and he got a 98!  So as of now, we will continue there next year and I have Amilia registered for full-day kindergarten at the same school.  Amilia started at the preschool here, two days a week.  It is a day care as well, so I can drop off/pick up any time during their open hours which makes it very nice.  She loves it and is really coming out of her shell!  I joined the local mega gym, which is pricey, but awesome.  The desk workers greet you by name and the group classes are amazing.

Things to do:  so obviously there is a lake, which is nice, but it's not really recommended to swim close to the shore.  We need to make friends with someone with a boat!  For now, we can go to the park by the lake and at least walk down to the water and put our feet in.  The library is nice and has good programs for kids.  Both McD's and Burger King have indoor play places and there is also a cute indoor waterpark.  There are a few other parks we've been to that are okay.  There is a nice movie theatre and outdoor "mall" with a playground and splash pad on the outskirts of town.  Walmart is the nicest store in town, no Target or warehouse stores.  The closest Costco is Las Vegas and the closest Sam's Club is Bullhead City which is across the river from Laughlin, NV.  We drove there the other night to shop.  Reminded me of my childhood when we would drive 100 miles to do our main shopping!  Bullhead City also has a Target and Kohls and is just over an hour's drive, so that is nice.

There are no sidewalks or street lights in the residential areas, so that limits what we can do outside in our neighborhood.  We haven't seen too many people on our street.  We met the people across the street, they are snowbirds and I heard the house next to us is a vacation home.

 This grocery store is awesome!  They have covered parking, a food court, Starbucks, and a play area you can drop your kids off while you shop!  

 Desert sunsets are pretty spectacular!

These quails are all over the place. 

I'm still trying to figure out how to get around this town.  There are just a few main roads that run north/south but the rest are horseshoe shaped so they intersect with the north/south roads at two locations and then the residential streets zig zag all over the place.  It is very confusing and I have to take a really weird route to drive Austin to school, but I don't hit a single stop light on the way.  According to Ryan's co-workers, the snowbirds that come in the fall drive the population close to 100,000 and then when they all leave around March/April, it goes down to around 50,000 full-time residents.  The houses here are so unique.  There are some condo complexes and apartments closer to the lake, but up the hill from the lake is all single family homes or duplexes.  There is only one neighborhood of track houses we've seen, so everything else is custom.  It is standard for the houses to have "boat-deep" garages and RV parking on the side.  Many houses have multiple garages or those tall RV size garages.  There are quite a few Adobe/Southwest style houses and plenty of mega mansions and plenty of unusual houses.  Here are some photos I've collected from my favorite houses I've seen around town.

 Yes, this house has 4 RV sized garages!

 This Adobe is so cute!  Sign said it just sold. Comes with a ladder!

 This mansion also has a matching detached double RV garage.  I think it is beautiful!  I can imagine Zeus up on Mount Olympus living in something like this.

 There was a special on diamond shaped glass at Home Depot.

 I forgot to mention that many houses have steep driveways because they wanted to build up high for the views.  Our driveway is pretty steep too but we got nothing on this one!

We drive by Superman every morning on our route to school!

So that's our life so far!  Ryan loves his job, he's learning so much and making great connections, so it will be interesting to see where he takes us next! In the meantime, we will try to make the most of our time here and enjoy the lower living expenses!