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Old 09-27-2018, 08:28 PM
 
2,181 posts, read 1,370,907 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coast 2 Coast View Post
Thanks. That's exactly the point of this thread. Where to visit.

I was in AZ this month I suggest you visit flagstaff, it is at the footsteps of mountains, green & in the forest, yet close enough to the (high) desert. It has 4 seasons and is dry. Outdoors adventures are at your door.
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Old 09-27-2018, 09:24 PM
 
56 posts, read 79,142 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Trails View Post
Hello All,


Prescott is a great place to retire except for one thing. It appears to not have the healthcare support a retiree/medicare dependent person would find viable.


Phoenix, on the other hand, has a wonderful care environment with Mayo Clinic and other health providers in the area.


Can any Prescott residents speak to this glaring omission?

I live in the Prescott area and retired. No issues getting healthcare services, especially specialists. I have had two cancers and the follow up services here have been great.
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Old 09-28-2018, 01:29 AM
 
Location: Phoenix
3,211 posts, read 2,224,801 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coast 2 Coast View Post
My family and I currently live in Durham, NC. After 10 years of living together in Los Angeles and the birth of our daughter, we made the move to Durham so my wife could be closer to her family. In theory at least. Her parents live outside of Lexington KY, so I wouldn't exactly call that close, although they do visit fairly often. I think she was under the impression they would move to the triangle area, but after 5 years of living here, it's become pretty clear that they aren't moving anytime soon. In fact, I'd say never.

I was reluctant to move here to begin with, but I didn't want to be selfish, as we moved around the LA area quite a bit when we rented there. It was her turn to choose and after much resistance, I finally gave in. Here we are 5 years later and I think I hate this place even more. The weather is unbearable in the summer and the culture here just isn't my thing. My wife is more indifferent towards Durham, so she's finally agreed to move. For the past 5 years I have travelled back and forth to LA for work, and have slowly built my career to the point where I can work remotely. Ideally I would relocate us back to the west coast, but SOCal is completely off the table at this point. We got priced out and are now trying to figure out a place to relocate to. This time however, my wife's parents want to come along for the ride. She is expecting our second child in the spring and spending more time with family is only growing in importance.

Sorry for the long winded backstory, but after spending time researching on these boards, I've come to realize it helps people answer more effectively.

So far on our list : AZ, CO, ID, UT, OR

There are a lot of things we need to consider in choosing a new place to live. My wife's top priority is to be near her mother. My mother in law's top priority seems to be a place she can enjoy the four seasons, have a hobby garden, and have space and scenic beauty. This one is tough and seems to be at odds with my preferences. Although I think there's going to be some wiggle room here. I'm considering Colorado as well and while it seems great as a "4 seasons" place, I'm not sure that will be the reality. She and my wife better like snow ! How "green" or un-desert like the place is to satisfy their preferences seems to be something I can't get a handle on.

At odds with the above is my list : I like dry climates. I like open spaces. Access to trails is important. I HATE mosquitoes. I'm an outdoor kind of guy and I can tell you that I have never spent so much time indoors in my entire life as I have here in NC. Muggy and buggy is not my thing. Being able to sit in my backyard without being eaten alive would be heaven. I'd love to look at Tucson, but I don't think that appeals to my wife and MIL. Too bad. I like the desert.

Wondering if there is some compromise somewhere.

So, the question is what areas should we check out ? Flagstaff is the first that comes to mind. I have only passed through, so don't know much about it other than some research I've done.

Prescott could be on my list, but seems more of a retirement destination ? That would be relatively ok with me, but I've got a little one and another is on the way. Not sure how family friendly it is or isn't. As far as geography, it seems fairly similar to parts of Colorado to me. I'm wondering if my MIL's aversion to AZ in preference to CO is based strictly on perception.

On to some more needs/priorities ...

Housing budget : 5-600k

We don't want to be downtown but we don't want to be 3 hours from some amenities either (decent restaurants, stores )

Good schools : I know, I know ... Who doesn't want good schools for their kids ? But, well there it is.

It's a tough list to be sure.



Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks !

I think you've gotten some good suggestions already but I would add Sierra Vista, Boise and Medford, Or to the list.


Sierra Vista, 4633', has in my opinion the best climate in the USA outside of Cali & Hawaii. I don't think it's desert but it's surely on the dry side. Biggest negative to me is that it's a bit small and remote.


Boise to me checks all the boxes but it's still a bit on the dry side and you get more winter than I would prefer but not bad...otherwise, great smaller city.


Medford has an excellent 4 seasons climate and gets noticeably more sun and less rain than Portland and Seattle but enough to have a lushish environment. It's also on the small side and a bit remote.
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Old 09-28-2018, 12:45 PM
 
84 posts, read 87,346 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sorel36 View Post
I was in AZ this month I suggest you visit flagstaff, it is at the footsteps of mountains, green & in the forest, yet close enough to the (high) desert. It has 4 seasons and is dry. Outdoors adventures are at your door.
Yeah, definitely checking out Flagstaff. Thanks !
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Old 09-28-2018, 12:49 PM
 
84 posts, read 87,346 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by American Expat View Post
I think you've gotten some good suggestions already but I would add Sierra Vista, Boise and Medford, Or to the list.


Sierra Vista, 4633', has in my opinion the best climate in the USA outside of Cali & Hawaii. I don't think it's desert but it's surely on the dry side. Biggest negative to me is that it's a bit small and remote.


Boise to me checks all the boxes but it's still a bit on the dry side and you get more winter than I would prefer but not bad...otherwise, great smaller city.


Medford has an excellent 4 seasons climate and gets noticeably more sun and less rain than Portland and Seattle but enough to have a lushish environment. It's also on the small side and a bit remote.

I was looking at the weather averages in Sierra Vista and yeah, it looks fantastic there.

Thanks for the recommendations !
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Old 09-29-2018, 08:15 AM
 
Location: Prescott Valley, AZ
3,062 posts, read 6,664,379 times
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Lived in Sierra Vista a couple of times and until 2008 when we moved.
We relocated to get away from the winds and the illegals and drug traffic along the border. We were located in the non existent town of Hereford which borders SV.
And moving to the Prescott area resulted in a cooler climate for us too.
First came to SV with Army duty in 1967 but it sure has changed a lot.
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Old 09-30-2018, 03:11 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
29,894 posts, read 18,733,701 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keninaz View Post
Lived in Sierra Vista a couple of times and until 2008 when we moved.
We relocated to get away from the winds and the illegals and drug traffic along the border. We were located in the non existent town of Hereford which borders SV.
And moving to the Prescott area resulted in a cooler climate for us too.
First came to SV with Army duty in 1967 but it sure has changed a lot.
How much windier is SV than Prescott?

When I look at the crime statistics, SV and Prescott are pretty close with SV being slightly higher crime but not by much....so how does the illegals and drug traffic affect life in SV?
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Old 10-01-2018, 07:24 AM
 
Location: Edgewater, FL
69 posts, read 53,517 times
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It doesn't. SV is crawling with LEOs & Border Patrol. Unless you're a part of that world, I doubt it has any noticeable effect on your life.
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Old 10-01-2018, 02:06 PM
 
Location: Telecommutes from Northern AZ
1,204 posts, read 1,960,466 times
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I lived in Prescott for five years telecommuting. The infrastructure there is good (about once a year I would have problems with CableOne, but it would get sorted out. If you have a 4g phone as a backup you should be golden).

Prescott has always been a haven for retirees, but in the last couple of years the scales have really tipped in favor of it becoming an almost exclusive retiree community. Most of the jobs left in the area include a very limited number of teaching jobs for the two small universities, a tiny few manufacturing jobs, government jobs, and service jobs. If you lost your telecommuting job you most likely would be moving.

There are a lot of good things about Prescott (scenery, get a little decorative Winter snow but nothing really bad, shopping is good for a smallish-medium sized area, lots of hiking trails, a few lakes to visit, mellow vibe, lots of cool day trips to great Northern AZ locations, big city/airport close by). There are lots of meh things too (demographics skewed, some meth heads in PV, schools are meh, restaurants are meh, medical is meh, things close early, if you are like me and like to work at a coffee shop there are some choices but most close early if you are a night owl).

Flagstaff I don't live in but it is "town" for me so I'm there about once a week to run errands and get supplies. Flagstaff has a better demographic mix (mainly because of NAU students keeping the percentage of retirees down). Flagstaff can get real snow and some parts of it are windy. Flag has prettier forest than Prescott. Flag is and feels a lot smaller than Prescott and has less shopping options though more and better choices for restaurants. Flagstaff is more expensive than Prescott for housing but with your budget you actually could get a nice place with pine/mountain views. Job situation is similar to Prescott, though there are a few startup-ish companies that I guess are making it in Flagstaff. It seems like there are more kids around in Flagstaff, when I take my son to parks there are usually lot's of other kids around.

I don't know man, if you are looking for a smaller town vibe Flagstaff would fit the bill. the other option you brought up, which I can't comment as much on, is Durango. I'd live in Durango in a heart beat, actually West of Durango. You've got the money to pull it off. I've only been there once but I loved it. Beautiful area, down town had a cool vibe, decent restaurants, all sorts of outdoors things to do, some cool river rafting and lakes, just Winters there are real and sometimes you can get blocked in depending on where you live from what I hear. Also depending on your ideology Arizona is one of the freeist states to live in as far as state government trying to regulate your life, Colorado is somewhere in the middle. One trade off.

Good luck.

Last edited by infocyde; 10-01-2018 at 02:21 PM..
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Old 10-03-2018, 07:10 AM
 
84 posts, read 87,346 times
Reputation: 74
Quote:
Originally Posted by infocyde View Post
I lived in Prescott for five years telecommuting. The infrastructure there is good (about once a year I would have problems with CableOne, but it would get sorted out. If you have a 4g phone as a backup you should be golden).

Prescott has always been a haven for retirees, but in the last couple of years the scales have really tipped in favor of it becoming an almost exclusive retiree community. Most of the jobs left in the area include a very limited number of teaching jobs for the two small universities, a tiny few manufacturing jobs, government jobs, and service jobs. If you lost your telecommuting job you most likely would be moving.

There are a lot of good things about Prescott (scenery, get a little decorative Winter snow but nothing really bad, shopping is good for a smallish-medium sized area, lots of hiking trails, a few lakes to visit, mellow vibe, lots of cool day trips to great Northern AZ locations, big city/airport close by). There are lots of meh things too (demographics skewed, some meth heads in PV, schools are meh, restaurants are meh, medical is meh, things close early, if you are like me and like to work at a coffee shop there are some choices but most close early if you are a night owl).

Flagstaff I don't live in but it is "town" for me so I'm there about once a week to run errands and get supplies. Flagstaff has a better demographic mix (mainly because of NAU students keeping the percentage of retirees down). Flagstaff can get real snow and some parts of it are windy. Flag has prettier forest than Prescott. Flag is and feels a lot smaller than Prescott and has less shopping options though more and better choices for restaurants. Flagstaff is more expensive than Prescott for housing but with your budget you actually could get a nice place with pine/mountain views. Job situation is similar to Prescott, though there are a few startup-ish companies that I guess are making it in Flagstaff. It seems like there are more kids around in Flagstaff, when I take my son to parks there are usually lot's of other kids around.

I don't know man, if you are looking for a smaller town vibe Flagstaff would fit the bill. the other option you brought up, which I can't comment as much on, is Durango. I'd live in Durango in a heart beat, actually West of Durango. You've got the money to pull it off. I've only been there once but I loved it. Beautiful area, down town had a cool vibe, decent restaurants, all sorts of outdoors things to do, some cool river rafting and lakes, just Winters there are real and sometimes you can get blocked in depending on where you live from what I hear. Also depending on your ideology Arizona is one of the freeist states to live in as far as state government trying to regulate your life, Colorado is somewhere in the middle. One trade off.

Good luck.
Great insight infocyde ! I appreciate it.

I'm definitely going to check out Flagstaff. I've only passed through on several occasions, but have always wanted to slow down and check it out.

Thanks again.
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