There’s a whole lot of nothing around Blythe. In it there’s a lot of shops and stuff–it’s a tourist attraction-like place–one that I’ve been through and stopped in many times–but it’s in the middle of nowhere, really. But think of it this way…with that many people coming through (a major roadway runs through it–hence the touristy value of it–a whole lot of truck drivers too) whatever job you’ll have will probably see a lot of business.
Actually, I thought you were a medical doctor at a prison? If the job in Blythe is anything doctor-y, I have a feeling you’ll probably be having a lot of relaxed, slow days. : p
The only good thing about working there is you’ll be on the Arizona border, too…so you can come down to Phoenix and meet us all down here for a dopefest sometime!
I can’t speak to Calipatria, but Blythe is a stop between the West Coast and Arizona and is literally five miles from the ass-end of nowhere – and I used to live in West Texas, so that’s saying something.
Since Calipatria and Blythe are prison towns, I’m guessing that they’re the backbone of the economy.
I think Blythe is close to some mountains. But like people have said, it’s really out in the middle of nowhere. Like…no other cities or towns around for many, many, many miles.
If you like small town life, it’s for you. But you like having a shopping mall or theatre to go to every once in awhile, stay away, heh. I’m sure Blythe has those things too, but it’s a small town.
And yeah, you’d probably have to move there…or else drive who knows how many miles to and from work each day.
Define “close.” If you mean “within 500 miles,” then yes. Otherwise… Qad, stay in WI until they offer you more money to move to someplace livable. Maybe Chino will need a doctor soon.
Never “been” there, but drove thru. What a shit-hole!
If you want to stay in the California Penal System, but don’t want to live in Blythe, or a similar sandpit, try seeing what they will offer you in Susanville, up north. Cute little prison town, but in the nice mountains and close to fun stuff. From what I hear, a dollar goes pretty far up there. I’ve seen some pretty nice spreads on the outskirts of town.
Good grief, no! No on both of them. Not only no, but gawd no!
I’d wait for openings in these places:
Soledad has three prisons and is a little inland on Highway 101 between Santa Cruz and Monterey. Beaches, Pinnacles National Monument, rivers, the ocean close by.
Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City is maximum security and houses our worst prisoners. Gorgeous setting, surrounded by forest and the Pacific, close to the California-Oregon border, remote.
Susanville (High Desert State Prison or California Correctional Center: former is high security, latter is medium security). It’s a little too remote for me, but beautiful scenery. About 4,000 ft elevation.
There’s always northern Nevada. Carson City has a state pen, mountains, high desert, and no California regulations or state taxes. Of course, you also get Nevada social standards instead of California ones. And brothels!
[grudgingly]Susanville’s nice, too… I’d probably rather live there than Carson, I guess… stupid California.[/grudgingly]
I visited Blythe, California, years ago. We’d started that morning in Las Cruces & headed west on I10. The sun began setting as we came through Phoenix–so the saguaros in the far western suburbs cast long shadows. After dark, the lights of the traffic indicated we were headed toward a pretty big mountain. Some optical trick made it seem impossibly steep. I’m a flatlander. A Houstonian. I do not do mountains. So it was probably good that I couldn’t see what I was driving through.
We got to Blythe & decided to find a motel. It was pretty basic but had a restaurant. Which served cheeseburgers with green chiles; we’d been in the Green Chile Belt since a few miles east of El Paso. And martinis–since we just had to walk back across the parking lot, they were welcome. (From the customers, I got the impression that this unassuming almost-dive was one of Blythe’s Fine Dining Establishments.)
We got up early. One last stop after packing the car–& the commode overflowed. We informed the nice Indian guy & headed to LA.
Much later, I read Larry McMurtry’s Some Came Running–the story of a retired screenwriter who finds his long-lost daughter. He recounts how he’d created the TV series that made him wealthy, after leaving a failed marriage & new baby back in Houston. He’d headed to Hollywood with high hopes but found nothing but hard times. Successive moves took him to less prestigious neighborhoods & eventually out of LA. He got the idea that made his fortune at the last possible minute, staying at the last outpost remaining before he headed back to Texas as a total failure:
Haha, me too. I am constantly fantasizing about leaving Wisconsin for someplace warmer after I’m done with school this fall. I like it here, but the winters are starting to really get to me.
Bah! You want San Quentin, the most valuable prison in the world! For an average of ( currently ) just ~$2,000,000 you can buy yourself a nice, average two bedroom home in adjoining Tiburon for an easy commute! Or a 20-30% of that if you don’t mind living 15 minutes away in San Rafael :).