Want to move to Flagstaff--please read (Phoenix, Tucson: environment, for sale, jobs)

[hippichiclv]

Hi everyone,

I have read in other Flagstaff posts how horrible it is there as far as jobs and such, but we are a family who has different issues that needs some info. First of all, we live in Vegas now. My husband has two businesses here and 1 more getting ready to open. This town is a horrible town for children and we have two young ones that we are concerned about. The schools here are some of the worst in the country and we would like to go to a place with good public schools or we will have to spend about 7000 a year on private schools for them. I read how good the schools are in Flagstaff and I was wondering if anyone had info on that. Also, my husband would be commuting to Vegas 3 days a week to get work done in his businesses if we decide to move. Need a second opinion on that. I am originally from PA and I miss the small town atmosphere and I can't stand the weather here in Vegas. I miss cloudy days, rain, and snow. Is this something I can find in Flagstaff? We were looking at houses in Mountainaire and Katchina Village. Does anyone have info on them? I have lots of questions. Feel free to email me personally if you don't want to post on here, but with the housing market way down we were thinking we better jump on some of the deals out there. Also, we are not wasteful people. We are kinda hippie like and love to give back to the environment.

[frogandtoad]

You can start researching the schools at greatschools.net. From that, it looks like some of the schools are very good and some are not good at all, so you'd probably need to be sure you're in the right district.

You'd get rain, snow, cloudy days and a hippie vibe so that all sounds like it would match up.

I have visited Flag many times but don't live there, so can't tell you many detailed things about neighborhoods, etc. Have you looked into the flights from Flag? Can you fly directly to Vegas and is it an affordable option from that airport (I know many people drive to Phoenix when they need to fly b/c of possible weather interruptions in Flag, b/c there are of course many more flight options out of Phoenix, and I don't know whether it may be cheaper out of Phoenix as well. Many small airports are very expensive to fly into/out of.

Good luck--I think Flagstaff is a great town and a great place to raise a family.

[hippichiclv]

Thanks so much for the info. I have looked at greatschools.net and it is a little confusing to know who is right and who is wrong. I read in other posts that they have bad schools there and others say that they are really good. I guess it is all relative. I haven't researched flights too too much, but it could be an option if he didn't want to drive. I just want to thank you for getting back to me. I figured after the post was viewed a couple times someone would know something, but it took 44 reviews of the post to get something back!! Thanks again!

[humboldtrat]

I don't live in Flagstaff, but visit often. Flagstaff has an old historic downtown with an old train station (Amtrak does stop there). At about 7000 ft. elevation, Flagstaff does get snow in the winter. It doesn't get very hot in the summer. There is a ski area near the town - towards San Francisco Peak. I was last there in October and the fall colors were great - lots of aspens as well as pine trees growing in the area. Can't speak about the neighborhoods or schools.

[ab14asos]

My wife, child and I moved to Flagstaff this past October. We are trying to get away from the area. It really isn't the small beautiful and quiet mountain town that it used to be 10-15 years ago. The city of Flagstaff itself is trashy. The saying here is "Poverty with a view" and it describes the town very well. There is bad homeless problem in town. As far as neighborhoods go. Really nice neighborhoods are hard to come across in Flagstaff (unless you are willing to pay big money for a home). A majority of the homes throughout town are older. I'm not really sure if you and your husband are aware or not that Arizona schools and education rank as some of the worst in the nation.

The weather in beautiful in Flagstaff (this time of year anyways). It's in the upper 50s and low 60s for highs right now, with lows in the 20s. It does not get near as hot in Flagstaff as it does in Vegas. If you're missing cloudy days, Flagstaff is NOT the place to move to. It averages over 300 days a year of sunshine. Look at the attached link. Interesting United States Weather Facts and Extremes
It ranks Flagstaff as the 8th snowiest city in the nation for annual snowfall amount (average 99.9 inches). It is also ranks Flagstaff as the 6th sunniest city in the nation with annual percent of possible sunshine at 79%, so it would not be a good choice if you are looking for cloudy days. Sure, it's a bit more cloudy than Las Vegas but it rarely is cloudy here.

As for the comments regarding the ski resort. Flagstaff isn't a great place too move to for a ski resort. The resort is called Snowbowl. It sits just over 9,000 feet in elevation North of town. They have rarely had any good seasons in recent years (excluding this past season). Sunrise Park Resort in the White Mountains is probably the best place in Arizona to get a decent ski season. If skiing is what someone is looking for, Colorado would be a much better choice.

[Badland wonder]

There are varying opinions about the schools in Flagstaff, but in general, they are regular schools. Most likely as good as the schools in Vegas.
Kachina Village is a much better choice than Mountainaire. They have their own water company and it is a good one, complete with a wildlife wetlands. They also have paved their streets, which is a big plus.
If your husband can go to Vegas and stay for 3 days, then it would be fine, but commuting back and forth for 3 days would not be worth it. It is not a short commute and I-40 can be closed due to inclement weather.
You would definitely experience the seasonal changes. Lots of different weather experiences in the area. You can always drive 30 miles out of Flagstaff in any direction and have different weather. Flagstaff is at 7200 feet elevation.

[silvermountain]

Flag is beautiful, commuting would not be fun in the winter for sure. As for the schools Arizona schools rank worse than Nevada schools. For AZ Flag schools are good. There's a Montessori and a Waldorf school for the elementry age kids, but thats it in the private schools. It really doesn't snow or rain a whole lot there either. Its not a bad town at all, but I sure wouldn't move there for schools and snow and rain.

[slcajt]

First of all, good luck to you and your husband. I would not envy the commute, it would be one thing if it was a relatively straight shot, but since you have to deal with the elevation and going through Kingman and Laughlin, etc. It's not fun.

As far as the city goes, you said you were kinda "hippie people", you will love Flag. It is a progressive city that is very environmentally minded. It is one of the 'dark-sky' cities, were you can't have too much light from big-box stores at night, or from any other ambient light, it's great to see the stars at night.

To disagree with some previous posts, there really aren't that many homeless people. I have lived in Phoenix and Tucson, and it is crazy down there! As a resident of Vegas, this shouldn't affect you very much, you have WAY more than we could fit in town. Also, there are some great neighborhoods here, still very expensive, but great! You just need to find one that fits your needs. There are a lot of nice parks and lots of outdoor stuff to do, most within an hour and a half of Flag.

I have a two and a half year old and take her to the park all the time now. I also have one due in about a week, I would have no reservations about raising them here in Flag.

Now for the downsides...yes things are a little more expensive, gas (about .10-.20 cents higher than Phoenix), groceries, taxes, etc. Most of the residents rent or come in from the reservation, so there is a high percentage of poverty in Flag., that also means that thefts are very high. Violent crime is low, just check out the stats on this website.

Please feel free to ask any more questions you are wondering about, hope I helped.

[bstree]

I live in Flagstaff. I was a school teacher here for 10 years. I will not be sending my kids to ANY PS in Flagstaff. So there is that.
What else...
Hippie- oh yes.
Kid friendly - if you want amenities, no. If you want safe , outdoors, close community, yes.
Real expensive.
And that commute...I'd rather die. But the bridge over Hoover dam will open soon and take almost an hour out of the drive. ( and that drive does NOT go through laughlin.)

[Douglas Fuller]

Housing is expensive in Flagstaff! I am a Realtor. There are only 39 single family homes for sale under $300,000 within the city of Flagstaff as of 4/28/08 and 8 of those are pending taking back up offers. The neighborhoods and ages of homes in Flagstaff vary! There are newer homes and neighborhoods in Flagstaff as well as some older neighborhoods. I have lived in Flagstaff for 11 years and my son has attended great schools. I grew up in a big city, so I think Flagstaff is a great place to raise a family... much less crime and more of a feeling of a community. As for Kachina Village, I like the area... the homes have lots of character and wooded lots. There are some nice homes with great lots in Kachina under $300,000. I hope this info helps.