Nice family-town in AZ?

[Havasu]

I do not think you will find a town in arizona with a midwest feeling that is part of the reason people leave the midwest to never return. There may be a few towns here and there that may be kind of like a midwest town but I have yet to find one. Yes the weather back there gets old but here it is hot for 5-8 months out of the year and when I say hot thats 100 plus days for 6 months with nights not cooling off very much.So if you choose to live here you better like the heat unless your in a higher elevation.Lake Havasu is a town of about 50,000 and it gets hot we have a lake and alot of offroading areas check it out if you want a smaller town with a lake.
Home

Originally Posted by orchid1

Hi,

My family has often talked about relocating somewhere "warmer." We live in Chicago so you can understand why! We love the area (northern IL suburbs) but the cold weather gets really old.

Arizona has always looked nice but I know absolutely NOTHING about it, in terms of cities, populations, weather, etc.

Can anyone offer up any info on the best small towns in Arizona. Basically, a town with a population of approx (15-25,000), a nice downtown/city center with shops & restaurants, good schools (my husband works in school district), affordable housing for families as well as seniors (since our parents will probably follow us there), close enough to bigger cities (with theatres, museums, etc) and location nice for good day-trips, but far enough to have a smaller town feel.

Sounds like a lot to ask for, I'm sure! Just looking for a midwestern-town feel, I guess, in the middle of Arizona!

Any info you can offer would be very much appreciated.

Thanks so much!

-Orchid

[Arizona Bound]

Hi.. you may want to check out Kingman and the Verde Valley.
Kingman has population around 25K. Mild winters.. hot in the
summer, but not as hot as Phoenix or Tucson. Elevation is about
3500'. Kingman has all the usual needs like medical/stores/ect.
It's close to Vegas, the Colorado river.

Now Verde Valley has the main town of Cottonwood. I say "main"
town because that's where you'll find most of your needs like the
hospital/medical, grocery/ shopping. Other towns near by are
Clarkdale (right next door), Jerome (very small) and at 5000'.
Camp Verde and Cornville. Soon to be ex-prez Bush has a place
in Cornville.
Cottonwood and Clarkdale has a population total of about 16K.
Jerome about 400. Cornville about 3300 and Camp Verde about 11K.
Cottonwood elevation is about 3300-3400'. Can get down to freezing
during the winters. Hot in the summer but not so hot as Phoenix or
down at lower elevations. There are a few nice 55+ senior mobile parks
that your parents may like (Clarkdale-Cottonwood).
We have been to Kingman a few times and really like it. We have not been to
Cottonwood as of yet, but we are considering moving there. Both
area's of Kingman and Cottonwood appeal to my wife and I. Both
have everything that we would need as far as conveniences. But from
what I have gathered.. the Verde valley gets more rain than Kingman
and has the Verde river. Home prices (right now) seem very reasonable
for both towns. From what we found.. More seniors will be found in
Cottonwood than Kingman.. and some stay year round and some are
there for the winter. Now Bullhead city which is a half hour down the
mountain from Kingman is where you will find many seniors for the winter.
It sits along the Colorado river and is across from the Casino town of
Laughlin, nevada.
Just keep asking about what you need to know.... and you will find
a lot of really nice folks (locals) who will be more than happy to help you
get your answers!

[azdr0710]

Prescott, as others have said, may meet most of your "requirements"....it's bigger than 25K, though, but its downtown is legendary among Arizonans as midwestern-feeling and hometown-ish.....lots of Californians have moved there in recent years and home prices are high now as a result, though they've dropped in the current downturn.....Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Dewey/Humboldt are "suburbs" with better housing prices....frankly, as a long-time Arizonan, Prescott has become too-invaded by outsiders for me to still really like the town....but the downtown is almosr right out of Norman Rockwell.....

Verde Valley (Cottonwood, Camp Verde) is less expensive, warmer in the summer, and, honestly, has a bit of a redneck rep in the state....things may be changing there, though....

though smack-dab in the Phx area, Tempe, Chandler, and Glendale have OK to good downtowns, are not expensive, and are good "family towns".....don't know about the school systems, though......

Safford, being predominately Mormon, would be VERY family-oriented, but has a lot of other cultural backgrounds, too....probably too small and narrow for your needs....getting hit very hard now by a recent mine layoff round, too.....

Flag has a fantastic downtown and a healthy variety of residents....very expensive, but there's a reason.....

western states are not quite as sprinkled with 15-25K population towns as back east....fewer towns in general due to scarcity of water, fewer resources, newer populations, post-automobile development

[Zona Bob]

From Wikipedia:

Indicative of the variation in climate, Arizona is the state which has both the metropolitan area with the most days over 100 °F (37.8 °C) (Phoenix), and the metropolitan area in the lower 48 states with nearly the most days with a low temperature below freezing (Flagstaff).[10]

In my original post I mentioned 'hottest' and 'coldest' cities. Obviously, that should have read, 'most days with hottest', and, 'most days below freezing.' I did use the word, 'cities', plural. Not meant to mean 'one' city with both.

[adventuregurl]

Originally Posted by Arizona Bound

Soon to be ex-prez Bush has a place
in Cornville.

It is actually John Mcain who has a place up here, not Bush.

[Arizona Bound]

Originally Posted by adventuregurl

It is actually John Mcain who has a place up here, not Bush.

sorry.. you are right.. I knew that , but my wife hit me so hard
with her frypan the otherday.. it made me a bit loopie..
I'm fine now.. LOL!

[Pohoda Pokoj]

[quote=orchid1;6966276]Hi,

My family has often talked about relocating somewhere "warmer." We live in Chicago so you can understand why! We love the area (northern IL suburbs) but the cold weather gets really old.

Arizona has always looked nice but I know absolutely NOTHING about it, in terms of cities, populations, weather, etc.

Can anyone offer up any info on the best small towns in Arizona. Basically, a town with a population of approx (15-25,000), a nice downtown/city center with shops & restaurants, good schools (my husband works in school district), affordable housing for families as well as seniors (since our parents will probably follow us there), close enough to bigger cities (with theatres, museums, etc) and location nice for good day-trips, but far enough to have a smaller town feel.

Sounds like a lot to ask for, I'm sure! Just looking for a midwestern-town feel, I guess, in the middle of Arizona!

Any info you can offer would be very much appreciated.

Thanks so much!

I grew up in the Midwest and now live in Tucson. There is one community here called Winterhaven with homes similar to those in the Midwest. 300 days of sunshine with heat from March through October. You will have to get used to this like you did with the snow in Chicago. The heat is worse in Phoenix (an average of ten degrees hotter). Seems like northern AZ with access to Phoenix may suit you best based upon what have shared.

The people are definitely friendlier here but cultural diversity is lacking. The winter months are the best. I would personally perfer a flat in Chicago even if in Aurora for southern Arizona summers and a flat in Tucson for winters. This is what many "snowbirds" do.

The seasons change here not by the sign of leaves on the ground but by the sign of new license plates on the streets.

[observer53]

You should look at places like Prescott, Safford, Payson, Casa Grande, Kingman, Cottonwood. Some of those are bigger than what you are looking for, others are smaller. I don't think anything feels very midwestern, but there is a lot of variety here in terms of climate, topography, and demographics.