Help Me Decide on an Arizonan City or Shoot Me in the Head!

[BillyBaroo]

I like the area northwest of Tucson, including Oro Valley, Catalina and Marana. It's just a short drive to Phoenix from those areas.

[xwideopenskyx]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

I'm ready to face the Arizona firing squad and hope you will either help me decide on a good place for me to relocate to in Arizona, or just put me out of my misery.

I've lived in L.A. my entire life and worked 40 years as an electronic engineer. I had to live here because that's where my work is. I'm within 0-4 years of retiring, and no longer needing work I see no reason to live in the US's version of Gomorrah, or maybe it's Sodom. Really, okay, L.A. is an okay place to work, but I see no reason to remain here after my career is over.

I've been to AZ many times, I've camped in AZ countless times mostly around the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, the Mogollon rim. Arizona is one of the most spectacular states in America and has the single best, most unique attraction in the world: the Grand Canyon. No argument that Arizona is a very pretty state, and personally I love the desert.

Okay now the problem:

I'm trying to find the right place in Arizona for me. I'm a bit of a disposition to not like the cold. Also, I'm an amateur chef and I want a town with good supermarkets (like Trader Joe's), and I want to live in a pretty part of AZ. Here's the places I've visited with a mind to moving there, and please excuse my negatives. I mean no slight to any of these places, but I have to tell you what I didn't like so you can send me to a place that I might like.

Flagstaff: Too cold, I hate the idea of facing frequent snow in the winter. And, I'm not thrilled with the ambiance of Flag. That section of Flag where 17 crosses 40 and joins with 89 is the pits. I've driven around Flag and never found a part I like.

Sedona: Sort of nice but I'm kidding myself that I could afford to live here.

Prescott: Actually surprisingly nice and I almost liked it, maybe just slightly too small, but I was put off that I didn't see anything pretty about the surrounding countryside. Honestly Phoenix is prettier to me. Prescott was my "almost" good enough.

Kingman: Truck stop, too small, too hot (summer) probably too cold (winter).

Apache Junction: I thought I would like it from the Internet. Went there. Okay Superstition Mountain is great. But the city had the ambiance of Palmdale and Lancaster here in Los Angeles. Trailer trash land with sand. I probably missed the city center but the part I saw on my way to camping at Apache Lake decided me to forget about Apache Junction.

Winslow: Heh, I remember the Eagles' song "Take it Easy." Winslow is a crossroads in the desert. Who'd want to live there?

Tucson: I drove through once and don't really remember much because I didn't stop here. I visited Saguaro National Park (both sections) and loved it. I didn't go downtown, nor did I stay overnight. I went on to Chiricahua National Monument instead. I've heard that Tucson is very hot in summer, has a crime problem, and the city downtown is dirty and dusty, with a bad traffic problem. And a crime problem. (Are these true?)

Phoenix: I've visited PHX many times over the years, and I particularly like Scottsdale (who wouldn't?). I'm continually attracted to the city and I love the geography, those mesas freak me out! But time and time again the temperature puts me off. I just don't think I'd like it with mid-summer nighttime temperatures sometimes never going below 100. This appears to be a deal breaker.

Cave Creek and Carefree: Well I just like the idea of being on the north end. closer to my camping spots in northern AZ, UT and beyond. I've never been to CC and Carefree, except passing by on 17, but I doubt the temperatures would be much different than PHX.

Payson??? Seems like a small town, probably too small for me. Haven't seen Payson yet.

Did I forget any significant areas or locales?

---------------

Okay the above are my thoughts about where to live in AZ. I'm sure you can see that I've tried hard to give most of the towns and cities in AZ at least a visit and tried to see what was nice about these places.

This is just my OP and I'm sure I can focus it better in follow-ups. What I'd like from you my Arizona friends is to give me a healthy dose of reality and help me decide where in Arizona I would fit in. My biggest problem is that all the places are either too big, too small, too hot, too cold, or just not interesting enough. Honestly Prescott was my favorite but I just don't see the beauty of the lands around there. Much of AZ is prettier IMO than Prescott.

Thanks in advance for any help you may offer. Please tell me where I would be happy.

Regards,

Greg/Lovehound

Tucson area has already been mentioned (Oro Valley, Catalina Foothills) but I wanted to be more specific. Oro Valley area has what you need ....Trader Joe's also Sprouts and Wild Oats Market etc. Tucson area has great food and many good restaurants. You can shop in Oro Valley but you don't have to live there. If you want the views, peace and quiet, cooler weather than Phoenix, Tucson, Oro Valley then I would highly recommend Oracle. They do get a little bit of snow couple of times a year and it usually melts by noon.
For what you desire, it may be worth checking out when you visit Tucson.
Oracle won't break your piggy bank either. It's north of Oro Valley and the areas in between (Catalina and Saddlebrook) might be of interest to you also.

Good luck with your search.

[Lovehound]

Thanks for the advice. Tucson, Oro Valley, Catalina Foothills are on my list of places to visit. Oracle looks a bit too isolated for my preferences if the map is any indication. I bet Oro Valley and Catalina Foothills are more my preference.

By the way, thanks everybody! I guess you won't have to shoot me in the head. I had been ready to give up on Arizona not because I don't like Arizona--I really like it!!!--but because I didn't think I could find a part that I'd like to live in. What I had in the OP was "too hot, too cold, too big, too small, always too something."

I had been about ready to give up on relocation to Arizona. I just needed somebody to put me out of my misery so I'd go focus on other areas of the country, like New Mexico for example. Well now thanks to you all I've got several places to visit, perhaps this summer, and I'll plan on staying in each long enough that I can actually see the city and develop a feeling of what it would be like living there.

Thanks again! I've got my answer and it's yes, there are cities that are big enough but not too big, not too hot and not too cold, and maybe some of them will have the kind of atmosphere and ambiance that I like!

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Come on, Sierra, you need to get out more.

SPROUTS is great . . . much better than Wild Oats or Trader Joes.

Sure, Bummer. I've nothing better to do than go grocery shopping with a cooler in the trunk...

[foxe]

where u settle is up to -its either in the VALLEY or UPSTATE - you go up there and since its what we call rural - you'll be making trips to the VALLEY - ain't fun on those roads and if there is an accident - you are there all day - since its one road up and one road down. The Valley is hotter and getting hotter all the time - due to construction but you are near everything with the roads -even though there is gridlock. So I guess you have to ask yourself- if you are looking for views, leave the Valley if you are looking for Trader Joe's etc, its the Valley

[psulions2007]

You know, I used to think that Arizona weather consisted of two categories, with one subcategory: Flagstaff, or, Phoenix and Tucson (with areas along the Colorado River being a hotter, more deserty subcategory)

Now that I pretty much know everything I wanted to know and then some about Arizona, I've realized how varied it is! I'm starting to wish I could afford to live in one of the higher-elevation areas around Tucson and commute to UA....but with gas being insane, I know that's not possible .

Flagstaff and Sedona sound absolutely gorgeous (at least the scenery), and I can't wait to drive through there on my way to Tucson. So does Sierra Vista...if only that wasn't like an hour away from Tucson.

That plant climate zone map is great! Now I know where I need to go to get relief from the heat once in a while or get a nice taste of snow in winter. Thanks to the person who posted it!

[Lovehound]

Hello! My thread woke up after a nappy...

I'm thinking now of maybe what psulions said, higher elevation around Tucson. Myself, I don't need any commute because I'll be retired.

Phoenix is too hot in the summer for me, Flagstaff too cold in the winter. Prescott is still a viable candidate for my relocation. I'm planning on spending a few days in Tucson at some point, check it out. I think most of the rest of the cities in AZ are too small, because I want some of the big city benefits, Prescott getting a Trader Joe's being one of them.

I'm not that fond of scenery in Flagstaff, but part of that may be that I've seen so much pretty scenery that Flag pales in comparison. Actually, once you've seen the Grand Canyon you're spoiled for everything, forever! I've camped dozens of times around Grand Canyon and the Colorado River gorge above and it just blows my mind how pretty everything is.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by psulions2007

You know, I used to think that Arizona weather consisted of two categories, with one subcategory: Flagstaff, or, Phoenix and Tucson (with areas along the Colorado River being a hotter, more deserty subcategory)

Now that I pretty much know everything I wanted to know and then some about Arizona, I've realized how varied it is! I'm starting to wish I could afford to live in one of the higher-elevation areas around Tucson and commute to UA....but with gas being insane, I know that's not possible .

Flagstaff and Sedona sound absolutely gorgeous (at least the scenery), and I can't wait to drive through there on my way to Tucson. So does Sierra Vista...if only that wasn't like an hour away from Tucson.

That plant climate zone map is great! Now I know where I need to go to get relief from the heat once in a while or get a nice taste of snow in winter. Thanks to the person who posted it!

Mescal/J-6 area on I-10 about 10 minutes west of Benson is at 4,200 feet and has the same climate as Sierra Vista (Which is also at 4,300 feet). It's a bit closer to Tucson (45 min to downtown). Still a ways to commute though.

Ken