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Oatman, Arizona
A Touristy Desert Outpost, Sun-Drenched Oatman is Popular with Old Hippies and People Who Want to Live Off the Grid
Along U.S. Route 66 (which is no longer part of the U.S. Highway System) in northwestern Arizona, tiny, very rustic Oatman (population about 95) sits in rugged terrain 2,710 feet above sea level. It is a former rough and tumble gold mining town that during its early-20th century heyday was home to 10,000 people. Along with nearby Goldroad, it produced more gold than nearly any other area in Arizona. Fortunes changed when the mines closed during WWII and Oatman became just another ghost town. Then in the 1970s, gambling hotspot Laughlin, Nevada, 30 miles away by road and 15 miles away as the crow flies, started promoting Oatman as a side trip.
Today, Oatman, combined with its Route 66 location, oozes frontier character and is busy much of the year, attracting vacationers who want to see a historic, albeit touristy, piece of the West. The cost of living is below the national average. The crime rate is below the national average, too, and residents lean to the right politically.
Oatman is really not much more than a collection of trinket shops, antique stores, saloons, restaurants and a post office on either side of the main road, and the town looks just as it did 100 years ago, in good ways and bad. The haunted, 1902 Oatman Hotel is an adobe structure where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned in 1939. Its back wall is covered in dollar bills, and it houses Oatman's most popular restaurant.
Most other buildings are wood, and many have well-worn wooden boardwalks with wagon-wheel decorations. Many structures are a little dilapidated with peeling paint, which only adds to Oatman's primitive ambiance.
Non-tourist amenities are few; most supplies and services are found in neighboring towns (although there is an Oatman fire department). Mohave Valley, about 17 miles away along a narrow, twisty road, has a grocery store and gas stations, and Fort Mohave, about 18 miles away, has banks, groceries, discount stores and other retailers. Bullhead City, 20 miles away, has even more services, shopping and amenities.
Oatman does not really have neighborhoods. Residences, many of them mobile homes or modest ranch-style homes, are scattered in the desert. Most are on septic systems and have propane tanks. Some homeowners have wells, while others depend on purchased bottled water. Oatman is a close-knit community, and it has been growing. Residents tend to be hardy souls and are a mix of retired hippies, conservative thinkers and people who live off the grid.
(The sticker on the little burro's head says not to feed him).
This desert outpost relies entirely on tourism. Wild West shootouts by costumed actors regularly occur in the middle of Route 66 as tourists gather around, and most shopkeepers dress in Old West garb. The town is proud of its Route 66 locale, and highway souvenirs are particularly popular. Favorite events include bed races, the Sidewalk Egg Fry Contest, Gold Camp Days, the International Burro Bisket Toss and the Book Fair and Bake Sale.
Perhaps, though, Oatman's biggest draw is its wild burros, a dozen of which can be found wandering around town at any given time. They are managed by the Bureau of Land Management and are mostly friendly. Another 1,500 or so live in the surrounding hills, and big horn sheep and lizards are never far away, either.
There is no senior center, public library or public transportation. Western Arizona Regional Medical Center (140 beds) is the closest hospital and is in Bullhead City. It is accredited by the Joint Commission and is award-winning for joint replacement. The nearest VA outpatient clinic is in Kingman, about 30 miles to the east along a very rugged road that has nearly been reclaimed by the desert. Las Vegas, 125 miles away, has a VA hospital.
Even with its elevation mitigating the heat somewhat, summer temperatures reach the low-100s. Winter temperatures are in the 40s, 50s and 60s. On average, the area receives 7 inches of rain and a dusting of snow each year. The sun shines nearly 300 days a year, and on the comfort index, a combination of temperature and humidity, Oatman is above the national average.
Recommended as a Retirement Spot? Probably not | Is Arizona Tax-Friendly for Retirement? Yes
People do retire in Oatman and enjoy its close knit community and rustic way of life. Yet, for most people, Oatman's few amenities, lack of a hospital, non existent senior services, constant tourists and twisty roads in and out probably do not make it the best place for retirement.
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