More events and people likely heading east

After reading the editorial comments by Arturo Bojorquez (The Mex Factor: Moving to Yuma) in Friday’s edition, I found it interesting to note that in the Oct. 11 edition it was noted that the new head football coach at Calexico High actually is from Yuma and still lives there and has been commuting to CHS for the past four years.

Having worked with the high schools in Yuma and knowing staff members there, I know that Arizona has traditionally paid lower teaching salaries than California and the Valley and has no state teacher- based retirement plan, with the trade- off being, of course, that the cost of living, especially housing and local and state taxes, has always been lower as well.

In the new Calexico coach you have Exhibit A for what Bojorquez was presenting and the “commute” as he pointed out is probably less than an hour for the coach, which by Valley standards seems long, but I’m not sure that it is not that much longer than from commuting from Calexico to Brawley.

When I was the IT director at Brawley Union High School District, I had a tech who commuted first from Mexicali, which resulted in many days of his being “late” to work even with the “pass,” who then moved to Calexico ( at least during the week) and still had days when “traffic” made him tardy.

Further, it’s not necessarily the “time” involved but the “drive” itself, which most days I’m assuming is just rolling down the freeway.

For example, I currently live mostly in the San Jose area, where in bumper-to-bumper traffic to commute to my daughter’s house, which is 7.5 miles from my condo, can take anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes, and it is a tedious, nerve- racking drive at that.

Speaking of San Jose, I was “fortunate” enough to purchase a 1,100 square foot condo in an airy, well- situated area for about $400,000 in 2013 that now will sell for $750,000 and probably not be on the market very long at that.

Unfortunately, my 2,900-squarefoot custom-built home in Brawley with a three- car garage in the “best” neighborhood sold for less than that, illustrating that prices are still “better,” if not ‘ good’, in the Valley, assuming of course to Arturo’s point that the average wage is equal, which they are definitely not.

Also to Bojorquez’s point, I still own a 1,200-square-foot house in Brawley, which shocked me recently when I had it appraised and it came in at about $200,000. So he is absolutely correct on property values rising in the Valley, and I’m assuming in the current pandemic wages are not keeping pace.

I obviously enjoyed the column, as usual, and thought that Bojorquez made a great case for considering the Yuma area and more proof was in the aforementioned Oct 11 edition which featured a story about 300 people being at the crowning of the Brawley Cattle Call Queen … in Yuma. I look for more events/people heading east!