Schools are so so, look for housing on the far west side of El Centro. I live in Yuma, AZ but work at state prison west of El Centro. I lived there from 1992 to 2006 (when I met my wife in Yuma). Summer suck but you're only an hour & half from lower river. El Centro has most of the amenities of a larger city (Costco, Walmart, Target, Lowes, etc). The spanish issue isn't that bad. Its worse when you go to Calexico (right on the border). Mexicali is 15 mins away, but I don't go there anymore because of the cartel issues. But I'm way overcautious about that, I have several officers I work with that live over there with no problems. 99% of business in El Centro are English speaking, there are few that cater to the border crossers from Mexicali. As for schools, Sunflower Elementary is excellant, I can't remember the middle schools name on the west side, but its decent too and Southwest High School is very nice. Its about 16 years old and fairly modern design. Housing is a little high for a desert area, but there are nice houses on the west side of town. There were a lot of people from San Diego area that moved east during the housing boom and bought large houses in El Centro (2000-4500 sqft) which drove prices up. Pricing is anywhere from low 100's to low 250's depending on location and size. I can refer you to a great agent that can help you find what you're looking for.
http://www.randy-realty.com/ if you click on his listings on the top left of his website you will find a really nice house for $220. In the winter time, everyone goes to Glamis, but I always went to Superstition area (traditional style desert trails) I never got into the dunes thing. We always go to Picacho State Recreation area (on Cali/Arizona border) and there are great trails and cool stuff to see out there (abandoned gold mine). Anyway, if you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to call me 760-234-6776.
Sam
