Arizona

[FreeSpiritCat]

I thought there should be a thread on Arizona. There is a thread on Tucson, but most of us live in Arizona. And most of us know a lot of its history. So I didn't want to start a thread on Phoenix or Maricopa County but Arizona in general. I do love Tucson and an option where I might live again. But there is a lot more to Arizona, and my dream town is Flagstaff. There is a lot in Arizona that deserves discussion. There is so much here and is a tourist destination. And there are a lot of cities that pique my interest, like Flagstaff, Bisbee, Payson, Sedona, and Show Low. Prescott I guess. Show Low sounds interest because of the amount of places to fish.

Anyway, I like YouTube. I become more attached to channels over time, and this one is one Geography. I like his assessment on the Caribbean. This one is on Arizona and I believe is really good.

[Carcassdragger]

I'm starting to think about retirement and considering some places in AZ. Yuma is my hometown but am forced to live in Ca. now. I love to visit Tucson but it's too big for me. Anybody know anything about Cottonwood? I'm thinking Kingman or Yuma might be good too.

[scumdevils86]

Kingman and Yuma would be hard passes for me. Just depends on what resources, food, outdoor activities etc you value having around and the weather you like the most.

[UAEebs86]

I'm starting to think about retirement and considering some places in AZ. Yuma is my hometown but am forced to live in Ca. now. I love to visit Tucson but it's too big for me. Anybody know anything about Cottonwood? I'm thinking Kingman or Yuma might be good too.

catgrad97 lives in Cottonwood I believe. dovecanyoncat is in Sedona.

We've thought of Prescott for retirement but I don't think I can live in a deep red city/county anymore.

Sierra Vista has nice weather but it's very military oriented. Bisbee maybe?

[azgreg]

If you like wine look into Seligman.

[scumdevils86]

If I could live anywhere else in AZ it'd probably be Flagstaff. Prescott if it wasn't so Trumpy.

[Merkin]

In Prescott they loves guns and they love Jesus.

Yuma would be about my last choice for AZ. Super hot and dusty in the middle of nowhere. Pretty ugly town too, at least driving through it on the 8.

JMJ spent many years in Yuma, so he would be a good resource.

I was thinking about Willcox to retire to for many years, small town, not as hot in the summer, and close enough to Tucson for medical and other trips. But decided I can't give up this fantastic California weather. I can barbecue outdoors all year round and for the most part am never stuck inside like you are in extreme hot weather or extreme cold weather environments.

Also my medical plan (Blue Shield HMO) does not cross state borders, so if I did move out of California would have to pick another more expensive plan.

[scumdevils86]

Willcox can get cold too with snow. Usually in the 50s for a few months and freezing at night.

[Merkin]

Willcox can get cold too with snow. Usually in the 50s for a few months and freezing at night.

That is bearable for me, a little dusting of snow that melts off in the day would be OK. Willcox averages 2" a year.

Flagstaff gets 81 inches a year, which is way beyond my limit, although it is a really nice town and wouldn't be all that bad living there.

Cost of living in Flagstaff is pretty high too, which is a concern for retirees. Nearby Williams has a much lower cost of living.

[ASUHATER!]

Yeah Flagstaff is expensive as hell for Arizona.

[azgreg]

One of the areas we're looking at is Wickenburg. Nice rolling hills and it's a straight shot down the 60 to some of the best medical facilities for seniors in the country.

[scumdevils86]

Wickenburg is straight up hills have eyes/Trumpy/fucked my cousin vibes.

[dovecanyoncat]

Cottonwood is cool in the Oldtown Main Street area. The overall feel of Cottonwood at large is definitely Red and Trumpy (as is the entire Yavapai county) but the local wineries/food/aging hippie/artist vibe is here to stay on Main Street. Jerome is fun as well as it has that nutzoid element one finds in Bisbee. The Verde Valley climate is 10 degrees cooler than Tucson and windier IMO. Juniper pollen can be an issue for some folks. We love Sedona for its views but its getting pretty congested.

[scumdevils86]

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed that tiny little main street area of Cottonwood last year.

[dovecanyoncat]

Prescott has desirable elements that are overshadowed by its Trumpiness. The landscape (if not the vegetation) is cool: surrounded by mountains and territorial vistas; has interesting granite boulder environs; has plenty of room; you get a lot of house for your $ compared to Sedona; has a charming old town center; surely has some funk/hipster/epicurean culture to be found if you put the time into it. It always feels good to drive up into the Ponderosa above Jerome and to drop into the basin that holds Prescott. But overall it just has too much redneck fuck you yearning to spread its wings. I'm used to it, having grown up and worked in it all my life, but these days I have a real short fuse. All IMO.

[Carcassdragger]

Laughing at the comments here about places that would be cool if not for the Trump vibe. Being from Yuma I sure get this. Surprising how many of my Trump friends have gone over the edge and won't even return my calls any more. Guess I spoke up too much.

[CopaCat]

Try Pine, Arizona. Small, quaint, close enough to Payson for most things you need. Gets Snow but not nearly as bad as Flag, a little more than Payson. Not the place for you if you like a-lot of social stuff though. It's Outdoors, small Restaurants, and a tiny Grocery Store. Not much else. Great area though.

Also Heber ain't bad climatologically but it's the same shit as Pine, small.

[ASUHATER!]

Yeah Heber is great for the climate but just is nothing there to do really. Got to drive 35 minutes to Show Low or an hour to Payson to even go to a real grocery store.

[CopaCat]

Yeah Heber is great for the climate but just is nothing there to do really. Got to drive 35 minutes to Show Low or an hour to Payson to even go to a real grocery store.

Yeah Heber is actually a bad spot unless you love the Outdoors. Pine is better just due to only being about 15 miles from the outskirts of Payson. Also there is a mix of Trumpers and Yuppies there. Kind of a weird community. Some decent places to eat there too.

[Merkin]

Yeah Heber is great for the climate but just is nothing there to do really. Got to drive 35 minutes to Show Low or an hour to Payson to even go to a real grocery store.

Yeah Heber is actually a bad spot unless you love the Outdoors. Pine is better just due to only being about 15 miles from the outskirts of Payson. Also there is a mix of Trumpers and Yuppies there. Kind of a weird community. Some decent places to eat there too.

I'll say!

Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Coconino, AZ (72.3 miles , pop. 74,488).
Nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Scottsdale, AZ (95.2 miles , pop. 202,705).
Nearest city with pop. 1,000,000+: Phoenix, AZ (106.1 miles , pop. 1,321,045).

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/city/Heber-Ov ... izona.html


Weather does seem nice in Heber though.

[scumdevils86]

Our parents owned a house in Heber for 20 years but sold it when they got divorced. Wish they still had it though. I loved summers up there as a kid. Hiking, shooting (not for me anymore), fishing, playing games and baseball outside, grilling, just being outside on the porch and having those daily thunderstorms build up over the Mogollon... Was lovely stuff for a kid.

[UAEebs86]

Laughing at the comments here about places that would be cool if not for the Trump vibe. Being from Yuma I sure get this. Surprising how many of my Trump friends have gone over the edge and won't even return my calls any more. Guess I spoke up too much.

LOL, I hear ya. I don't say much to the RWNJs. I just slowly cut those friends out of my life. My relatives I have to tolerate.

My wife and I are about 5 - 7 years out from at least partially retiring. 4 years ago I thought I would like to live in a smaller town with decent weather within a short driving distance of a decent size city. (Like Prescott maybe, we kind of had that when we lived in Vail, AZ).

Now after seeing what the Trump cult did to the rural areas, I think if we stay in this country we'll always live in a city. The only smaller towns i think I could handle are college towns.

I also don't want to live in a retirement community ever, or at least until we have to go into assisted living. My mom and stepdad live in one and it's like 97% white people. The only non-white people are the staff in their facility. My wife is Hispanic but I think this white boy is even more opposed. Just can't live somewhere everybody is white and batshit crazy from watching Fox News.

[Carcassdragger]

Yeah. My wife is Mexican and we have a little vacation house in an area overrun with Trumpies, confederate flags and all white people, like me. Its not a good vibe for us. Some of the folks are good people, but the ignorance is sometimes astounding.

[Chicat]

Southern Arizona is amazing. I miss it so much.

[ASUHATER!]

The land here really is like nothing else. Arizona and Tucson isn't perfect but there's almost nowhere else I'd rather live.