Yuma is nothing like the artsy and vibrant cities I'd had my heart set on, It has been harder than I thought it would be to live far away from family and friends, especially in a place that no one wants to visit. (We DO have a guest room, though!) Despite these drawbacks, we have made a home that we love here in the desert. Here are the 10 things I love most about where we live.
10. Hidden Charms
I come from a town that does NOT have a charming main street. (cough Layton cough worst main street ever cough). Yuma's downtown area is small, but is has a surprising number of boutiques, art studios, bookstores, and antique shops. Oh, and an old wedding chapel.
9. The Colorado River
The only thing separating our town from the Golden State is the mighty Colorado. We like taking our tubes down the river and admiring the Ocean to Ocean bridge.
8. Temple Trips
Our nearest temple is the San Diego temple, which is almost three hours away. This has turned out to be a blessing, I think. We have to plan ahead and sacrifice other outings to make it to the temple, and the drive there and back makes for more quality time together. Plus...it's the San Diego temple. The temple that all other temples aspire to be. We also have three gorgeous temples in the Phoenix area, which is about the same distance away.
7. Dog Friendliness
It was SO easy for us to find a pet-friendly apartment when we moved here. In fact, I don't know of any housing here that doesn't allow pets. Plus, we have a great big fantastic dog park in Yuma and Charlie loves it. The local pools even have Woof Splash days where you can bring your dog swimming. Our dog doesn't like swimming, but I've heard stories. She does like the Original Dog Beach, which is in San Diego, one of the most dog-friendly cities in the US of A.
6. Community
Yuma is big on community events and there is something going on every weekend. We've got Quincenera Expos, Jazz nights, outdoor movies, and a parade every five seconds. We're still trying to figure out why.
5. Mexican Food
We try out a new restaurant every Friday, and we still haven't hit them all. Plus, the food FESTIVALS. This town has major taco festivals, tamale festivals, and most importantly, Yuma Lettuce Days. (Did you know that Yuma is the Lettuce capital of the world? Next time you eat a salad in the winter, thank a Yuman.)
4. Mexico Itself
We live ten miles from the border. This means that sometimes my colleagues and I can take a trip to Mexico for churros after work. It also means that, if we want, we can get incredibly cheap dental work done.
3. Proximity to the Ocean
I have wanted to live next to the ocean my whole life. I hope we move even closer someday, but we'rve made a lot of progress compared to Logan, Utah. We've spent almost as many weekends in California as we have in Arizona.
2. Educator Life
We love our jobs. We feel purposeful and needed. I teach the greatest group of kids, and I love that Neil landed in education as well, because now it feels like we are working towards the same goals. I love that Neil has learned all the educator jargon and that he cares so much about doing what's best for the students here.
1. Endless Summer
My number one favorite thing about where we live is that we have not had to scrape ice off of our cars for a solid year. Yuma is the sunniest habitable place on earth. Seriously! We have 364 days of sun a year. People back at home are like, "Don't you miss the seasons?" and I'm like "Sort of, but I'm about to jump into the pool, so can we talk about this later?"
Arizona is our adventure for now. For our next trick, we'd love to live in Seattle. Or London. Or New Zealand. I don't sit still for long, and I love that Neil is willing to dream big with me.
Yesterday I said to him, "Neil, I want to teach at the United Nations International School."
And he said, "That's in New York City."
And I said, "We could move there."
And he said, "That's true. We could."
The world has too much to offer to stay in one place forever, but the first stop on our journey has turned out to be a winner. So if you're ever craving some decent carne asada or you want to visit a camel farm, hit us up!
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