Where is Arizona's nicest MILD climate? (Phoenix, Flagstaff: crime, homes, camp)

[cdjohnston163@aol.com]

Strawberry, Flagstaff
Have You Checked Out Big Bear Lake California? Go To Bigbearlake.com You'll Fall In Love All Four Seasons

[azloafer]

Originally Posted by cdjohnston163@aol.com

Strawberry, Flagstaff
Have You Checked Out Big Bear Lake California? Go To Bigbearlake.com You'll Fall In Love All Four Seasons

I am planning a trip (two separate trips) to New Mexico to first see Silver City and then Ruidoso. I have read a lot about them on the forum. California is too expensive for a couple on S.S. and a modest pension. I have to be realistic. Thanks anyway...

[deeptrance]

AZ Loafer, the more I see of this thread, the more you have me wanting to take a second look at Silver City myself! It's got a PERFECT climate in many ways, and has access to lots of beautiful places where you can escape humans. It's close to a major interstate, has a NM state college branch, and it's probably pretty cheap considering all its benefits.

I still think you should look at Ruidoso IF you want more of a winter, more trees, etc., but the Ruidoso area has some problems with being developed too quickly without enough planning and it's hemmed in by mountains so it can actually feel crowded in town even though it's not very big. It also gets totally inundated with weekend travellers from Albuquerque and El Paso almost any time of year, so that may or may not be annoying to you. The plus side to its thriving tourism is that it offers lots of recreation that caters to those folks, which you might like. But unless you're into golf, skiing, hiking or horses, it might be too much price to pay for amenities you don't need. And it's definitely a lot colder than Silver City.

[heaton]

Check out Springfield, MO. Low cost of living, low crime etc. There was alot that I liked. We are moving in three years. Can't wait to get of of Phoenix.

[deeptrance]

A conservative Christian friend of mine told me that Springfield, MO, is WAY too conservative Christian for me. I asked him about it because he lived there for a while and even HE found it to be a bit too conservative and fundamentalist for his tastes. Good for you if you fit in with that and want to be near Branson, but bad for me. I'd probably love the area as far as nature and climate goes, but culturally it's not me.

[heaton]

I'm not a church going person but when reading about springfield, Mo on this forum I didn't get that it was a bible pushing area. Yes it has many church going people, but that they didn't care if their neighbors didn't go to church. I do know that Jewish people felt very unwelcomed. I like that the cost of a home is 1/2 of what I'm paying for in Phoenix, crime is very - very low, and it's 93% white. Going to visit in June, will see what happens.

[MajorHart]

Hello. I'm trying to reply to the person from Phoenix who wants to move to st joseph. removed

We lived in Arizona 12 years and loved it. Both Tucson and Phoenix. The winters were very nice and you could go outside anytime. Downtown Phoenix has a major smog problem in the winter but it's not too bad in Mesa, and Apache Junction. And you can use a water cooler there.

We moved to St Joseph 8 years ago and my wife was born here and her father was getting very old. We like it here a lot except for the humidity and potential tornadoes each spring which has us headed for the basement. There's a lot to do here and the winters are not nearly as cold as they were when I grew up in Great Bend KS. Birdwatching is great here and in Arizona. Seeing the Bald Eagles as a regular winter visitor is really great.

If there's any other information I can give you - let me know.

John Hansen [cut]

[deeptrance]

Originally Posted by Pam Eaton

....I like that ...it's 93% white. Going to visit in June, will see what happens.

<---- You've offended purple people. See?

But seriously, while I defend your right to want to be surrounded by a particular racial group, it doesn't seem like a very kind thing to say on a forum that is inherently unbiased with respect to the things we can't change about ourselves, like race and sex. Hmmm.... then again, I posted somewhere that the demographics of Sebastopol, CA are attractive to me because there are so many more women than men in the 35-55 age range! Is that sexist?

[drposspin]

We currently live in ATL and are thinking of moving to Prescott. We just visited there and it appeared to have a pleasant feel. Please offer some suggestions re: rocks to look under during our research process.

[Ponderosa]

You know if I were retiring to AZ, I seriously consider Camp Verde/Clear Creek. I wouldn't have said that a few years ago but CV has done a lot over the last couple years to spruce up its downtown and build a bypass road. It has not been discovered yet and overrun by the Californians - but it is growing quickly. It is a small town spread out along the Verde River. Historically, it was the trail head of the Gen Crook trail where supplies were ported along the Mogollon Rim to Fort Apache in the White Mountains. It is right on I-17 and about 15 miles from the madness and the tacky development in Cottonwood, Verde Valley, but on the "good side" so that you would totally avoid all that WalMart, Chilis, Applebees etc. garbage unless you wanted it. It's only 3500 feet elev. so summers are going to be upper 90's but they get frequent afternoon showers and things would warm up quickly on winter days. Check it out.