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Old 02-01-2008, 12:13 PM
 
643 posts, read 2,045,021 times
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I know, I know - what a stupid question. It's Arizona, of course it's hot.

Here's the story:

We just got married and when the Mr.'s family found out we were planning a move back out west (to the chilly mountains of CO), they lost their heads over it and, feeling particularly generous, I agreed that we could move to Arizona to be closer to them. I made a promise, I have to keep it.

The bulk of his family is spread between Tuscan (which is a smidgen too close to Mexico for me, if we have to split hairs) and Phoenix (which is a tiny L.A. I hear) so we'd maybe like something within drive-able distance to both or one or the other. But in the mountains. With snow. And not too hot.

Now, don't get me wrong, I KNOW it's hot. I grew up in Southern CA and we always visited AZ, NM, and TX, but there's those mountains, right? And some parts get snow -- so there's got to be SOMEPLACE in AZ that I can move and not hate every minute of it, right?

...Right?
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Old 02-01-2008, 12:19 PM
 
Location: NH
115 posts, read 429,360 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JillBoBill View Post
I know, I know - what a stupid question. It's Arizona, of course it's hot.

Here's the story:

We just got married and when the Mr.'s family found out we were planning a move back out west (to the chilly mountains of CO), they lost their heads over it and, feeling particularly generous, I agreed that we could move to Arizona to be closer to them. I made a promise, I have to keep it.

The bulk of his family is spread between Tuscan (which is a smidgen too close to Mexico for me, if we have to split hairs) and Phoenix (which is a tiny L.A. I hear) so we'd maybe like something within drive-able distance to both or one or the other. But in the mountains. With snow. And not too hot.

Now, don't get me wrong, I KNOW it's hot. I grew up in Southern CA and we always visited AZ, NM, and TX, but there's those mountains, right? And some parts get snow -- so there's got to be SOMEPLACE in AZ that I can move and not hate every minute of it, right?

...Right?
I'm considering a move from Vermont to Arizona and found that Flagstaff was perfect in terms of getting 4 seasons. I've been there once before and its a nice town but I probably won't live there because its too small and not enough jobs outside of tourism.....so it looks like it maybe Phoenix for me to live and work and Flagstaff whenever I want to be reminded of the cold of Vermont
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Old 02-01-2008, 12:23 PM
 
Location: Montana
2,203 posts, read 9,287,788 times
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Some places with milder 4-season weather are: Payson, Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff. Kingman isn't quite as hot, either. Flagstaff is going to be about like Colorado - they get a lot of snow there. Show Low would be on the snowy, colder side too.

There's also some towns in SE Arizona. I'm not really familiar with that area, but I think Bisbee and Sierra Vista are a couple in that area that have milder weather.
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Old 02-01-2008, 12:32 PM
 
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Bisbee is a mile high, seldom gets much higher than the low 90's. Payson is nice and is fairly close enough to Phoenix.
Sierra Vista is cooler, may get in the high 90's for about a month or so. Nice monsoon season there, dittos for Bisbee.
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Old 02-01-2008, 02:00 PM
 
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Actually, Phoenix is worse than L.A. At least L.A. has character. Phoenix is one of the worst places I've ever been in my life, second only to probably El Paso, TX.

I was born and raised in Southern California (on the beach, in Ventura), and lived there until just a few years ago. We moved to Kingman, which as far as weather goes, is pretty tolerable. Summer temps do seem to hover between 105-115 for a few months. If your home has adequate cooling though, and the A/C in your cars work fine, it's not a big deal. Every store/restaurant, etc. have their coolers on high, so it's totally comfortable to shop or dine out.

Other things can be more of a challenge. We went to the Phoenix Zoo in January one year, and could only stay for an hour because it was 100 degrees! If you want to travel, I wouldn't personally suggest getting out on those long desert highways in the Summer. Just incase. I mean, if you have car trouble, it can become a life or death situation quickly out in that heat.

You learn fast to function in the desert heat...taking water everywhere becomes second nature, timing the kids' playtime outdoors to coincide with the cooler parts of the day, etc.

Flagstaff is mountainous (it's like being in Northern California), but they get a ton of snow in the Winter, and at times, the highway in and out is completely shut down. There's a little town, I think called Williams, West of Flagstaff. It's REALLY tiny though, but it is kind of a cute historic town. Maybe you'd be interested in checking there?

Kingman has the Hualapai Mts., it's about a 20 minute drive up into a forest-like area...pine trees and all. That's where we head off to any time the heat is too much to take.

However, Kingman has it's setbacks.

Being somebody who also moved to Arizona from a lifetime in Southern California, I would SERIOUSLY consider your choice before making the move. The nice thing about Kingman, is that it is easy to get to lots of places from there, while still living "out in the boonies"....Vegas is an hour and a half away, L.A. is only about 5 hours away, and Disneyland is only 4 hours away.

Be realistic though, Arizona is like an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PLANET than California, despite the fact that they are neighboring states.

Best of luck to you!
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Old 02-01-2008, 03:00 PM
 
643 posts, read 2,045,021 times
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Wow, guys! Thanks for your quick responses!


And it might be worth noting that I've lived in NYC and North Carolina (which is a hell-hole, excuse my French. I don't know how anybody lives here their whole life) since leaving CA, so I know the whole rest of the country isn't as nice as CA can be.

I'll look into these cities you've suggested - most of which I've already considered. I just wanted a second-third-fourth opinion.

How about driving distances? Realistically, how long would it take to drive from, say, Tuscan to Payson?

Thanks guys!
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Old 02-01-2008, 03:45 PM
 
Location: Out there somewhere...a traveling man.
44,541 posts, read 61,201,075 times
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Right now its 60 degrees, sunny, and scenic weather where the rest of the country is inundated with super bad weather. People are running around in shorts and enjoying the Super Bowl experience.
It's Tucson to Payson and the average drive time would be 4-6 hours depending on day and time. It's approximately 200 miles between cities.
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Old 02-01-2008, 03:53 PM
 
172 posts, read 249,885 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pippi333 View Post
Other things can be more of a challenge. We went to the Phoenix Zoo in January one year, and could only stay for an hour because it was 100 degrees!
It's never been 100 degrees in January in Phoenix.
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Old 02-01-2008, 04:06 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
1,222 posts, read 5,002,443 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick754 View Post
It's never been 100 degrees in January in Phoenix.
I was wondering about that. I'm in Tucson, not Phoenix and I know it's a little cooler here. But, I've been surprised at how cold it's been in the winter. My hubby was afraid that there wouldn't be distinguishable seasons. There may not be leaves changing, but there's definitely more than one season.
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Old 02-01-2008, 04:13 PM
 
1,180 posts, read 2,355,989 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JillBoBill View Post
Wow, guys! Thanks for your quick responses!

How about driving distances? Realistically, how long would it take to drive from, say, Tuscan to Payson?

Thanks guys!
Tuscon to Payson is about 3.5-4 hours. From Tucson, places to cool off would be the Catalina mtns. and Bisbee. I think you can do Bisbee in 1.5 hours, depending on traffic and where you are in Tucson. Old Bisbee is high desert, and it's kind of a quirky little old mining town. The temps in the summers are very tolerable.

Payson is a longer drive because it's north of PHX. You'd take the 10 to PHX, which I think is about 2 hrs, but don't hold me to it, and then you'd get off on the 87 and it's still about 1-1.5 hours. If you were to do it on Friday afternoon after work, expect traffic delays. PHX is worse than San Diego for traffic. It's grown so fast since the '60's that they've been struggling just to keep up on building new roads.
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