Review of Palm Desert, California

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Very unhealthy place to live!!

- 7/24/2016
I made the mistake of moving here after a short vacation to be closer to family. Biggest mistake of my life! This is not the place to live if health is important to you. A pulmonary doctor here has said this is the worst air in California because of the dust and particulate matter in the air. For at least 4 months of the year you are stuck inside with the air conditioner running. It doesn't cool down enough at night to turn the air conditioning off so if you want fresh air in your house you must keep it running with the windows open. Indoor air quality is known to be less healthy than outdoor air. Then just as it's getting nice outside after your long summer house arrest - they start scalping the grass on the golf courses - an allergy nightmare. The wind picks up almost every evening - coating everything with dust and palm fronds making a mess in your pool and patio. Several times a year the air smells like rotten eggs from the Salton Sea that is dying a few miles south of the valley. This too is very unhealthy for your lungs. The I-10 freeway is a major route for semi trucks so people living in neighborhoods near the freeway get a nice dose of rubber particulates in their lungs as well. Unless you golf, there are hardly any lush areas to be outside. The parks and little zoo are not very attractive. All there is to do is shop, go to the casinos, movies, and dinners out. Lots of businesses close for the summer and the locals are very irritable from being housebound. The winter snowbirds hit town and traffic gets bad - and besides most of the Canadians who are very nice - most of the rest are snobby entitled jerks. They go first at the 4 way stops, cut ahead in line, and abuse the clerks in the stores. You're never met such miserable people who complain about every little thing. If you try to make a living - they want to pay you what they made 30 years ago when they were working - very rude and cheap. There is no sense of community even with the full time people who stay to themselves. It's very hard to get people motivated to do anything because they are tired from their allergies or are people fatigued from all the rude people at work. The power system is old and power outages are a regular occurrence. The recent gas leak in Porter Ranch has created even more of a shortage. The last warning we had was the day it was 126 degrees outside (that's not an exaggeration) and mailman and gardeners still were forced to work outside in it. The crime is ridiculous. I've been broken into 3 times and had police at my door looking for fugitives. Each of these living in gated neighborhoods. The health and dental care I've received have been subpar as well. Even the cell service is spotty. A short stay in Feb and March won't take too big of a toll on your health but I highly recommend not staying longer than that for the health of your lungs especially.

JJ | Palm Desert, CA