Arizona City by City (Phoenix, Tucson: ski resort, cheap apartments, leases)

[sablebaby]

I will focus on NE Phoenix, as that is where I grew up and still visit all the time.

I am talking the area in zip codes 85032, 85028, and north from there, also some of 85254 (scottsdale address, Phoenix services).


Weather: Like all of Phoenix, a two-season climate with a mild winter and a hot summer.

Schools: This is the Paradise Valley Unified School District (don't mistake this with the Town of Paradise Valley as that is in the Scottsdale school district). This a great school district, however look out for the poorer areas and their schools. There a few that are mainly hispanic speaking that don't perform too well. But, overall the schools are very good. Also, there are 4 high schools in this district.

Commute: The location provides relatively good commutes to most of the metropolitan area. The 51 Freeway is the major north-south route, however like all the other freeways it's pretty heavily congested. When it turns into the 101 up in the north it is very backed up a lot of the time.

Shopping: Lots of shopping in this area. There is the Paradise Valley Mall, Desert Ridge Marketplace, and lots of strip malls. Also, lots of organic type of grocery stores (more in this area than any other that I can find).

Air quality: Typical of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.

Economy: Typical of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, but with less dependence on real estate since the neighborhood is already built-out.

Crime: (Pretty much as others have stated) Generally low. There are a few apartment complexes and pockets that have some trouble, but most areas are safe. Still, property crime is everywhere, so locked doors and alarm systems are always prudent. (I had my car stolen at the PV Mall). This is the only area that my car has been broken into (couple of times) and stolen of all the places I have lived.

Housing prices: Higher than average, largely because of the location. Generally, houses will cost anywhere from $250k - million +. But mostly, $300-600k. The Scottsdale area is VERY nice in my opinion. Great established neighborhoods.

Culture: This area is generally residential, with lots of strip malls in between.

Recreation: There is climbing the Squaw Peak. But other than that I really think there isn't much around. Not many parks within the developments. However there is the Roadrunner Park, with tennis, outdoor public pool, ducks, etc. Decent place to picnic, plus they also have a Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings (but I don't think there's much produce there, mostly crafts).


Overall, I really like this area. There are pockets of "up and coming" older areas, but generally the area is safe and family friendly. The homes were built from the 70's to 90's, with many newer ones in the northern areas (Desert Ridge, and over to the west from there).

A head's up for newcomers: there is an area unofficially called "the square" that is all low income hispanic area. It spans from 32nd st to Cave Creek, and Greenway to Bell. It's a small area, but you will notice police in there a lot just patrolling. I hear plans to make this area nicer, but that will be many years from now.

[BriansPerspective]

Here is some info on Dewey (Dewey-Humboldt)

Town website: www.dewey-humboldt.net
City-Data website: http://www.city-data.com/city/Dewey-...t-Arizona.html

Dewey and Humboldt incorporated in 2004 into the town of Dewey-Humboldt. They incorporated to manage their growth and to keep from being annexed by Prescott Valley, which is more commercially focused.

Weather: About 1 or 2 degrees warmer than Prescott. 80's-90's in the summer, 60's-70's in spring and fall, 40's-50's in the winter. The night cools down below freezing in the winter, but warms up as soon as the sun comes out. I've played golf in sleeveless shirts on warm days in December and January. Occasional light snow in the winter that melts the same day.

Schools: Part of the Humboldt Unified School District. See www.humboldtunified.com for more info.

Commute: Dewey borders Hwy 69 and Hwy 169. The drive to Prescott takes about 30 minutes. To Prescott Valley about 15 minutes. To Anthem (north of Phoenix) about 45 minutes. To Sedona about 60 minutes.

Air quality: Great.

Economy: Very little economy in Dewey. This is mostly rural, retirement, horse country. The residents actively vote down zoning changes that would allow commerce to come in. There is a developer who owns the land adjacent to Hwy 69 and Hwy 169 who has been trying to get a housing and commercial rezoning plan through, but has been rejected once. A new plan is in the works and the outcome remains to be seen.

Good Neighborhoods: The neighborhoods are varied. Most of Dewey is zoned for large lots (i.e., 1 acre or more). Some areas are mostly site-built homes of varying ages and styles. Other areas have 50 year-old mobile homes next to beautiful site-built homes. Other areas are all manufactured homes. Every home is on some sort of well and septic. The two exceptions are Quailwood and the Prescott Country Club, neither of which are technically in the Dewey-Humbodlt city-limits. However, they both use the Dewey post office. Quailwood is a planned community with new stucco homes and is on Prescott Valley city water and sewer. Prescott Country Club is a golf course community and is on Prescott Valley city water and uses septic systems.

Culture: The culture is rural, cowboy, keep things how they are. Help your neighbor, but mind your own business.

[BriansPerspective]

Here is some info on Prescott Valley:

Town website: www.pvaz.net
City-Data website: http://www.city-data.com/city/Presco...y-Arizona.html

Prescott Valley is an up-and-coming city. The city mayor and town council are actively pursuing big business to bring high paying jobs to the area.

Weather: Similar to Prescott. 80's-90's in the summer, 60's-70's in spring and fall, 40's-50's in the winter. The night cools down below freezing in the winter, but warms up as soon as the sun comes out. Occasional light snow in the winter that melts the same day.

Schools: Part of the Humboldt Unified School District. See www.humboldtunified.com for more info.

Commute: Prescott Valley borders Hwy 69 to the south and Hwy 89A to the north. Prescott Valley is just east of Prescott. The drive to Prescott takes about 15 minutes. To Anthem (north of Phoenix) about 60 minutes. To Sedona about 60 minutes.

Air quality: Great.

Economy: Alive and growing. The mayor and town council are actively making Prescott Valley (PV) the commercial center of the "quad-city" area. They are making it attractive for businesses to relocate to Prescott Valley in order to bring higher paying jobs to the area. They have recently attracted Lockheed Martin to the area and Lockheed is already expanding into a second building. The other active player in the PV economy is the Fain Signature Group, which is the corporation founded by the original majority-land-owner of Prescott Valley. Fain is working with the Town Council and residents to build a well-planned downtown. The downtown is divided into a health district, a commercial district, a civics district, and an entertainment district. The health district has a brand new full-service hospital. The commericial district is currently adding Home Depot, Super Walmart, Sam's Club, and Kohls. The entertainment disctrict has a 14-screen theater, a variety of restaurants, and has recently added a stadium that features the AZ Sundogs hockey team as well as top name entertainers such as Willie Nelson, Chicago, and Heart. The civic district hosts the town services, police department, and library.

Good Neighborhoods: The neighborhoods vary from new upscale planned communities to custom built homes of varyied ages to manufactured home communities. There is a different area to suit anybody's taste. The nice planned communities are: Granville, Pronghorn, Quailwood, Stoneridge, and Viewpoint. To the north are acreage communities (2-10 acre minimums). In the center, are non-planned, custom built homes of varying ages and qualities.

Housing: Site-built: $200K-$400K. Many nice homes sell in the $230K-$300K range. Manufactured: $100K-$200K.

Culture: The culture is varied. Prescott Valley is primarily composed of everyday folks trying to make a living and put food on the table. The population crosses every demographic and lifestyle.

[Cyanna]

Originally Posted by Stumblina

Yeah . . . could someone please do Queen Creek?

Okay, I do not live in the Queen Creek area, nor do I know a whole lot about it, other than visits once in a while when I lived in Arizona. However, since I am researching the area due to an anticipated move there I have gathered information about the subdivisions, plus some added tidbits. There is confusion as to what constitutes the Town of Queen Creek in Maricopa County and the area of Queen Creek in Pinal County. Hopefully someone will find this post of some benefit.

SUBDIVISIONS:
This information was gathered from the site of Jennifer L Crutchfield

Arroyo de la Reina Homes –
Cross streets for Arroyo de la Reina are Hawes and Ocotillo. It is very close to Desert Mountain Park and Desert Mountain Elementary School.

Ash Creek Estates –
Ash Creek Estates is located East of Rittenhouse on Ocotillo Road in Queen Creek. It is just west of the Queen Creek High School. Also very close to the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center.

Bonanza Highlands –
Bonanza Highlands subdivision in located in the San Tan Mountains. Take Hunt Highway and get off at Gary Road (just east of San Tan Heights), then head south.

Cambria –
Cambria is located south of Ocotillo Road and East of Ironwood/Ganzel Road in Queen Creek, Arizona. Technically, this area is Pinal County.

Castlegate –
Castlegate is located east of Schnepf Road and south of Ocotillo in Queen Creek, Arizona. Technically, this is Pinal County. Close to The Links Golf Club at Queen Creek, 445 E Ocotillo Rd Queen Creek, Arizona

Circle Cross Ranch –
Circle Cross Ranch is located on Ironwood/Ganzel Road in Queen Creek, Arizona. Technically, this is considered Pinal County. Ironwood is currently being widened to 2 lanes north and 2 lanes south, so the commute to the 60 will easy once the new road is completed. Close to J.O. Combs Middle School. Very close to Schnepf Farms.

Circle G –
Circle G Ranches in Queen Creek is located at Hawes and just north of Chandler Heights Road.

Circle G Pegasus Airpark –
Circle G Pegasus Airpark is located on Ellsworth Road just south of Riggs Road in Queen Creek, Arizona. Acre plus lots with custom homes here. Some lots have access to the airpark runway and have private hangars.

Copper Basin –
Copper Basin is located North of Hunt Highway just a few miles east of Johnson Ranch. Copper Basin is the home to the new Copper Basin YMCA. All Copper Basin residents have free access to the swimming pools at the YMCA.

Cortina Homes –
Cortina is located on Power Road just North of Queen Creek Road in Queen Creek, Arizona. Just across the street is Power Ranch. Lots of great shopping close by: Albertson's, Frye's, Blockbuster Video, Rosati's Pizza, Panda Express, McDonald's, Walgreen's, etc. Home Depot is also on Power Road.

Crismon Heights Homes –
Located north of Ocotillo, just east of Crismon, across the street from Queen Creek High School. Close to the Queen Creek Performing Arts Center. Highland Homes calls this subdivison Quail Hollow.

Emperor Estates –
Emperor Estates is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are Hawes Road and North of Ocotillo Road. Walking distance to Desert Mountain Park and Desert Mountain Elementary school.

Encanto Real –
Encanto Real is a gated custom home subdivsion with 1 acre lots. This beautiful Queen Creek subdivision is located East of Ellsworth at Empire.

Goldmine Equestrian Estates –
Goldmine Equestrian Estates is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are Hunt Highway and Sossaman Road. Great views of the San Tan Mountains.

Indigo Trails –
Indigo Trails is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are Ocotillo and West of Rittenhouse Road. You could walk to the QC Cafe, Circle K, Rudy's Mexican/American Restaurant, etc. Within the community, residents can enjoy the community pool, walking trails, two playgrounds and over four acres of lush green areas.

Johnson Ranch –
Located off Hunt Highway in Pinal County, Johnson Ranch has a community pool, beautiful public gold course, and many other amenities. About 4000 homes have already been completed, with approximately 2000 left to be built. Commercial space is quickly filling in as well. Johnson Ranch boats a Frye's Supermarket, Walgreens, Circle K, Blockbuster Video, and more stores are soon to follow.

Las Praderas –
Las Praderas is just East of Ironwood and South of Ocotillo, in Queen Creek, Arizona. This is considered Pinal County.

Magic Ranch –
Magic Ranch is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. It is on Hunt Highway past the Johnson Ranch area. Technically, this area is Pinal County. Students attend the Florence Unified School District.

Magma Ranch –
Magma Ranch is a brand new 1300 acre subdivision in Pinal county, just southeast of Queen Creek. Bike paths, jogging trails, tot lots, basketball courts, common green areas, and community swimming pools. Children in the community will attend Florence Unified School District.

Montelena Estates –
Montelena Estates is located north of Chandler Heights between Ellsworth and Hawes Roads in Queen Creek, Arizona. This subdivision is next to the Desert Mountain Park and Desert Mountain Elementary School.

Morning Sun Farms -
is located North of Hunt Highway just West of the Johnson Ranch area. Technically, this area is considered Pinal County.

Orchard Ranch -
located on Ellsworth road, just south of Riggs Road in Queen Creek.

Pecan Creek –
is located south of Ocotillo Road and East of Ironwood in Queen Creek, Arizona. Ironwood is being widened to 2 lanes going north and 2 lanes going south.

Rancho Bella Vista –
is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are Hunt Highway and Bella Vista Road. Rancho Bella Vista is located across the street from Johnson Ranch. Lots of great commercial development is coming to this fast growing area. Frye's, Circle K, Blockbuster Video, Walgreen's, and Subway are some of the retail stores you will find in this neighborhood. Technically, this is considered Pinal County.

San Tan Heights –
is located south of Hunt Highway in Queen Creek, Arizona. Technically, this area is considered Pinal County. Great view of the San Tan Mountains surround the community.

Skyline Ranch -
is located on Hunt Highway in Queen Creek, Arizona. It is just East of the Johnson Ranch area. Skyline Ranch has scenic views of the surrounding San Tan, Goldmine and Superstition mountains.

Sossaman Estates -
is located East of Power Road and South of Queen Creek Road in Queen Creek, Arizona. Lots of great shopping is close by, including Albertsons, Safeway, Blockbuster Video, Rosati's Pizza, Panda Express, etc. This subdivision is across the street from Shea Homes' Trilogy. Power Road divides Gilbert from Queen Creek.

Taylor Ranch –
Lantana at Taylor Ranch is a new community located on Ironwood Road just north of Ocotillo in Queen Creek, Arizona. Children in Taylor Ranch will attend the J. O. Combs school district, Jack Harmon Elementary School, J. O. Combs Middle School, and Queen Creek High School.

Terra Ranch –
Terra Ranch is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are East of Hawes Road and North of Chandler Heights Road. Very close to Desert Mountain Park and Desert Mountain Elementary School.

The Links Estates –
The Links Estates is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are East of Ironwood and Ocotillo Road. This is a 55+ resort adjacent to The Links golf course.

Valley of the Sun Estates –
Valley of the Sun Estates is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. Technically, this area is considered Pinal County. South on Ironwood, West on Combs, South on Schnepf, continue on Skyline Dr, Left onto Camino Largo to enter Valley of the Sun Estates.

Vineyard Estates –
Vineyard Estates is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are Ocotillo Road and just East of Kenworthy. It is next door to Wayne Ranch. Pinal County is widening Ironwood Road to 2 lanes north and 2 lanes south, so the commute to the 60 will be much easier soon. Students attend the J.O. Combs School District.

Vinwood Estates –
The subdivision is located west of Ironwood at Chandler Heights Road. Nice horse property.

Wayne Ranch –
Wayne Ranch is located on Ocotillo Road, just East of Ironwood in Queen Creek, Arizona. Students here are in the J.O. Combs school district. Technically, this area is Pinal County.

Will Rogers Equestrian Ranch –
Will Rogers Equestrian Ranch is located in Queen Creek, Arizona. The cross streets are Ocotillo Road and just West of Ellsworth Road. Right next to Desert Mountain Park and Desert Mountain Elementary School. Will Rogers Equestrian Ranch is next to the Queen Creek Wash, which is a designated horse trail in Queen Creek. All custom homes with horse privileges. Will Rogers Equestrian Ranch has a volleyball court, basketball court, children’s playground, community pool, BBQ grill, and a ranch style clubhouse.

Frequently Called Numbers – Queen Creek. Includes numbers for utilities, town hall, etc…
http://www.wayneranch.com/frequently_called_numbers.php

Organic Farm Produce in Queen Creek:

Crème de la Moo
http://www.localharvest.org/member/M10320

Crooked Carrot Farm
http://www.crookedcarrot.com/

Desert Roots Farm
http://www.desertrootsfarm.com/

[MotleyCrew]

Peoria:

Weather: Similar to Surprise.

Schools: Rated fairly well overall and the reason we moved here. Sunrise Mountain High School and the new Liberty High are decent. There is a new High School in the development stage for Vistancia.

Commute: Horrible driving to the east side, roughly 2 hours in bad traffic to Tempe. An hour and a half in moderate traffic. 45 min with light traffic to airport. The 303 Loop is scheduled to be complete by 2011. That will go from the 10 freeway N. to the I-17 below Hwy 74.

Ecconomy: Slated for growth. Larger companies bringing new jobs will hopefully come to this side soon. A new Banner Health hospital is in preliminary stages of planning. Still, most of the employment in on the east side.

Health Facilities: Closest hospitals are Del Webb, Sun City, Arrowhead on 67th in Glendale.

Shopping: Glendale Arena on the border of Peoria/Glendale which has West Gate Phase I, a destination center with unique shops/ restaurants
On 83rd and Bell we have a large selection of restaurants, PF Chang, Cheesecake Factory, Elephant Bar etc. Arrowhead Mall is in Glendale which is a short drive. Within a 15 mile radius of Vistancia Village, there are approximately 200 restaurants and more being built now. There is a new Super Target and a Home Depot center recently opened on Happy Valley Rd and Lake Pleasant.


Housing: There are many nice developments being built in N. Peoria. West Wing, Vistancia Village, Trilogy (55+) in Vistancia, Centex Homes started grading for their new sub-division on Happy Valley Rd. Homes starting around $179,000 (Trend Town Homes) to mid to high $200K's for single family detached.

Recreation: There is Lake Pleasant a few miles up from Happy Valley Rd and Lake Pleasant for boating, camping and fishing. There is a sports complex where spring training is held for baseball fans. There is also a professional hockey stadium next to the university of Phoenix. Coming soon to that location, another stadium.

Crime: They recently posted a drop in crime. You can find crime stats online.


For more information on N. Peoria growth:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/0420gl-peocorner19-ON.html (broken link)

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by Jill Warner

Peoria:

Weather: Similar to Surprise.

Schools: Rated fairly well overall and the reason we moved here. Sunrise Mountain High School and the new Liberty High are decent. There is a new High School in the development stage for Vistancia.

Commute: Horrible driving to the east side, roughly 2 hours in bad traffic to Tempe. An hour and a half in moderate traffic. 45 min with light traffic to airport. The 303 Loop is scheduled to be complete by 2011. That will go from the 10 freeway N. to the I-17 below Hwy 74.

Ecconomy: Slated for growth. Larger companies bringing new jobs will hopefully come to this side soon. A new Banner Health hospital is in preliminary stages of planning. Still, most of the employment in on the east side.

Health Facilities: Closest hospitals are Del Webb, Sun City, Arrowhead on 67th in Glendale.

Shopping: Glendale Arena on the border of Peoria/Glendale which has West Gate Phase I, a destination center with unique shops/ restaurants
On 83rd and Bell we have a large selection of restaurants, PF Chang, Cheesecake Factory, Elephant Bar etc. Arrowhead Mall is in Glendale which is a short drive. Within a 15 mile radius of Vistancia Village, there are approximately 200 restaurants and more being built now. There is a new Super Target and a Home Depot center recently opened on Happy Valley Rd and Lake Pleasant.


Housing: There are many nice developments being built in N. Peoria. West Wing, Vistancia Village, Trilogy (55+) in Vistancia, Centex Homes started grading for their new sub-division on Happy Valley Rd. Homes starting around $179,000 (Trend Town Homes) to mid to high $200K's for single family detached.

Recreation: There is Lake Pleasant a few miles up from Happy Valley Rd and Lake Pleasant for boating, camping and fishing. There is a sports complex where spring training is held for baseball fans. There is also a professional hockey stadium next to the university of Phoenix. Coming soon to that location, another stadium.

Crime: They recently posted a drop in crime. You can find crime stats online.


For more information on N. Peoria growth:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/0420gl-peocorner19-ON.html (broken link)

It's good to point out that this is mostly the most northern areas of Peoria (particularly the Master Planned Community of Vistancia). There is a whole lot more of Peoria to see. For the most part much of Peoria is a little bit older, with all kinds of homes in the areas, new and older. I just went to Peoria's main library a couple of weeks ago. Interesting area. It's right near US-60 (Grand Ave) and typically any area around that road is a lot older and less appealing. However, the library (and city hall, and other city offices, 85th ave and Peoria) is quite nice (big new complex). The nieghborhood around there is older, mostly hispanic and lower income families, and as well as brand new subdivisions.

Anyone live in Peoria that's not in the northern parts?

[silverspinner]

Twin communities located at the altitude of 6500 feet on top of the Mogollon Rim, between Payson and Show Low in North Eastern Arizona.

Weather-- Definitely 4 seasons. This is April 23rd and we have snow. Not much. Summer is typically mountain. Warm (very seldom hot) during the day and light blankets at night.

Economy--Forest Service and school districts are the main employers. Mostly retirement and summer people from the valley.
We had a major forest fire a couple of years ago which almost demolished both Heber and Overgaard and did do a bad number on our beautiful forest. The communities have come back better than ever. Logging was very big until the Spotted Owl was discovered. Both sawmills closed and jobs were almost nil.

Schools--- There is a grade school, middle school, high school and a branch of Northland Pioneer College.

Commute--The towns are too small to have much shopping. The nearest chain supermarkets are in Show Low which is 32 miles. There are 2 "mom and pop" grocers which carry a fairly wide variety of groceries. There are small gift shops.

Restaurants--Well, they are increasing.

Air Quality-- Very good except when the forest service is doing prescribed burns. Then it is pretty smoky. We can see the stars!

Crime and Fire-Not too much. The fire dept and EMT squad are very good

Heber and Overgaard are about 5 miles apart. Heber was settled by Mormon pioneers and Overgaard had a saw mill. They were at the end of the road and no road went thru to anywhere until in the 1960s. This did not encourage growth. After Hwy 260 went thru and land in the Payson area became very scarce and very expensive, Heber/Overgaard were discovered big time. The price of land went from "blue collar" to high. Land for sale is also becoming hard to find.

The towns are family and people oriented. There are many festivals throughout the year. The 4th of July is BIG. There is a big parade, all kinds of things to do at the park, a picnic at the high school football field and a fireworks show that is known throughout the area. No one misses the 4th and it is a time for all the friends and relatives to visit.

There is a very nice area called the Mogollon Airpark. A private airport and the hangers are next to the homes. Most or all of the homes are log. These people do a lot for the communities. There is a golf course community.

[jco]

Just a reminder that we're not supposed to start discussions on this thread (see Ponderosa's post on the first page). We're just supposed to respond with information about our city! Ah, now I've broken the rules to say stop breaking the rules!

[missdjc]

Fountain Hills:

Weather: Similar to North Scottsdale.

Schools: Rated very high - high school won several awards recently. Good elementary schools also.

Commute: To get to Phoenix there are only two ways - down Shea to the 101 or down the the beeline highway to the 202 freeway in Mesa. It takes 40 minutes to get downtown in good traffic up to an hour commute.

Economy: This is a smaller community east of Scottsdale that has few jobs or industries. Most people commute to Scottsdale, Phx or Mesa for jobs. There are lots of service industries - restraunts, etc.

Health Facilities: Closest hospitals are Shea Healthcare in Scottsdale or down to Mesa.

Shopping: Has great boutique shopping, unique shops and restraunts. Does have a large Target but no mall. People go to Scottsdale Fashion Square or the Pavilions. There are quite a few restaurants - some chain restaurants and some wonderful non-chain restraunts.

Housing: Housing is generally very high. Most of the neighborhoods are all custom housing with the average housing over $600K. There are new building in the $1Million range and new condos in the $300K range. Best bet is to look at the resale value. Wonderful views of the famous fountain, the McDowell Mountains, Red Mountain and Four Peaks. Some great lots of land.

Recreation: There is Lake Saguaro a few miles northeast for boating and picnics and fishing. There is Fort McDowell casino for those who enjoy bingo and gambling. There are multiple walking trails. This is a small town - i.e. comunity theater. Most will go to Scottsdale or Phoenix for more.

Crime: Low Crime.

Beautiful city with small town feel next to large neighbors.

[MarkLH]

A couple of people asked for Flagstaff.

Weather: Because of the altitude (7000 ft) evenings are 20 to 30 degress cooler than daytime all year round. So if its 80 degrees on a July day, it will be about 50 overnight. If it's 55 on a February day, it might be 25 at night. The monsoon brings thundershowers in July and August, and there used to be 110 inches of snow in the winter, but not lately (seven years of drought condidions).

Schools: Good to very good.

Commute: Difficult to get around the downtown area at certain times of day.

Economy: Growing. Despite the fact that the powers that be in Phoenix don't encourage it, the university is growing thanks to very smart people there.

Who you bump into in the grocery store: Flagstaff has a lot of scientists. Foresters, geologists, astronomers, anthropologists.

Shopping: Downtown area, Flagstaff Mall, and S. Milton Street: Walmart, the usual stuff. Great used bookstores.

Housing: Housing prices in Flagstaff shot through the roof over the last three years and haven't really begun to come down. A 3-bedroom house in a nice neighborhood goes for $400,000.

Recreation: Grand Canyon is 90 minutes away. Skiing at the Snow Bowl.

Crime: Interstate 17 and I-40 are a crossroads for drug trafficking. Hardly a week goes by that the state police don't make a major bust in Flagstaff. The ones they don't bust might be staying in the cheaper motels in town, so be cautious.