Moving to Arizona

[Dangerous Dave]

Originally Posted by WORK2FISH

The winter in Sedona can be as bad as the midwest. Payson is a place you might consider. It's about 1.5 hours from Phoenix and its a fairly large town with a small town feel. Temps are about 10 degrees cooler. Gets a bit of snow in the winter. Beautiful pine trees everywhere.

Payson/Strawberry are very nice. Blue Ridge is one of my favorite spots in the state.

[motormaker]

Originally Posted by WORK2FISH

The winter in Sedona can be as bad as the midwest. Payson is a place you might consider. It's about 1.5 hours from Phoenix and its a fairly large town with a small town feel. Temps are about 10 degrees cooler. Gets a bit of snow in the winter. Beautiful pine trees everywhere.

Guess I don't understand the " winter can be as bad in Sedona as the midwest" statement.

That's not been my experiance,

[Dangerous Dave]

Originally Posted by motormaker

Guess I don't understand the " winter can be as bad in Sedona as the midwest" statement.

That's not been my experiance,

I've been in Sedona pretty much every month of the year. January, December, July, etc.

Never seen snow drifts meeting the roofline of any of the houses like I did in the Midwest.

Where can I get a snowblower fixed in Sedona?

[ssundown]

Thanks for all the info. You all have been great. Right now I am trying to land a job that will pay for relocation. I'm thinking it will be somewhere in Tempe, Gilbert or Chandler. How is this area and is it as hot as Phoenix? I'd like to go somewhere where it doesn't get over 100. I have heard the Prescott area doesn't get as hot. Is this true?
Thanks for all your help. Will keep you updated on my situation. Thanks again.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by ssundown

Thanks for all the info. You all have been great. Right now I am trying to land a job that will pay for relocation. I'm thinking it will be somewhere in Tempe, Gilbert or Chandler. How is this area and is it as hot as Phoenix? I'd like to go somewhere where it doesn't get over 100. I have heard the Prescott area doesn't get as hot. Is this true?
Thanks for all your help. Will keep you updated on my situation. Thanks again.

YEs, Tempe, Gilbert and Chandler are all the same temp as Phoenix (they are all right next to each other). You need to go up in elevation for any temp relief. Yes, Prescott is much cooler, but also much further away. You will have temps above 100 if you are looking in the Phx metro area.

[ssundown]

Thanks. I thought they were far enough away from Phoenix to be a little cooler. I didn't know they were considered part of Phoenix metro area. I guess I will have to see where they can get me a job, and go from there. LOL

[RetiredAZTeacher]

Hi. I'm an Arizona native currently living in Prescott, but previously lived in Cottonwood for 35 years.

I'll echo the painter problem. Our neighbor's son is a painter and has a had time "keeping busy" in Prescott. Both Prescott and the Cottonwood area have a LOT of senior citizens which means a HUGE need for medical care. Actually, a lot of Arizona is senior citizens (baby boomers) which a large need for medical so you should be able to find a job without too much trouble, no matter which town you choose.

Prescott is a bit pricey in housing costs...Prescott Valley (15 miles east of Prescott) is much more reasonable in housing costs (from what I read).

Sedona has high housing costs because it is so very beautiful so lots of people want to live there. Cottonwood (21 miles west of Sedona) is much more reasonable and has a large hospital and lots of auxiliary medical buildings, too. I always thought Cottonwood was a nice place to live...close to Jerome (historical ghost mining town) and Sedona.

Look at the City-Data site for the Prescott and Sedona areas for finding out average temps/ housing costs/ crime, etc. Lots of info there, too!

Good luck.

[esselcue]

Chino Valley, near Prescott, is rural, good schools and still moderately priced. Housing and building is down everywhere so a house painter might struggle a bit but Yavapai Regional in Prescott (and Prescott Valley) is begging for qualified nurses.

[ssundown]

I will check out Chino Valley, thanks. What is the weather like in the winter? Wouldn't mind some snow,hate icy roads. We just had 9 inches of snow today!! Can't wait to get away from it all. It is just so hard to decide which part of your beautiful state to live in. Am going to try and get there this summer to check out a few places. Thanks again.