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Flagstaff-Sedona Coconino County
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Old 12-12-2014, 09:24 AM
 
13 posts, read 33,943 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello everyone,

I have read through this site numerous times and found some good information. My wife and I have a little bit different situation and therefore I'm looking for unbiased and honest feedback. There is a very good chance that my wife and I will be moving to Flagstaff early next year for work. I have a very secure job with the federal government with a locked in wage of 95k per year. My wife teaches and performs ballet and has been doing it since age 6. We are both in our mid 30s. We don't have kids (unable to have them) so schools are not an issue. I'm pretty extroverted and my wife is kind of introverted. We side toward conservative and are Christians. We enjoy community, making friends and exploring new things. I personally enjoy kayak fishing, skiing, softball and just about anything in the mountains.

We currently live in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington DC and have been here for three years. We used to live in Albuquerque and Lubbock and did well there although Lubbock leaves much to be desired in terms of nature and stuff to do.

Based on all of this...how would we do living in Flagstaff? I have read a lot about crime on here and it brought me to actually call the police and they said there are some gangs and crime but that it's still a pretty safe area. Cost of living is a concern but we are living in the DC area and I'm originally from Long Island so im used to very high cost of living. How does Flagstaff cost of living compare to where we currently are? We rent a 2100 sq ft townhouse with a one car garage and upstairs deck for 1900/ month. Cost for one of these is 340-400k. Single family homes are 5-600k for something reasonable. We have state tax, toll roads, personal property tax for vehicles and other costs are high.

How tough would it be for us to make friends...even within the Church community? Is it really that tough to break through and build relationships?

Thanks so much for your help!
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Old 12-12-2014, 11:07 AM
 
3,391 posts, read 7,167,997 times
Reputation: 3832
There's absolutely nothing unique about your situation. Reading past threads in this forum will answer most of your questions. Are you assuming previous posts don't provide "unbiased and honest feedback?"

As for building relationships, if you found it tough to do so before, it will be the same in Flag. If not, then no problem. People are people.
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Old 12-12-2014, 11:24 AM
 
13 posts, read 33,943 times
Reputation: 10
Don't assume I found building relationships tough before! I have built a lot of good relationships. Plenty of them. I'm reading that it's tough to do so with locals in Flagstaff. Is that correct?
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Old 12-12-2014, 11:28 AM
 
3,391 posts, read 7,167,997 times
Reputation: 3832
I didn't assume anything, I was making a point. Flag's a university town with a "metro" population of over 130,000. There are lots of different types of people there. Plugging into a church, volunteering, or even meetups will help, as it does anywhere. I don't think this will be an issue for you.
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Old 12-12-2014, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,914 posts, read 43,456,095 times
Reputation: 10728
Quote:
Originally Posted by wxman1 View Post
Don't assume I found building relationships tough before! I have built a lot of good relationships. Plenty of them. I'm reading that it's tough to do so with locals in Flagstaff. Is that correct?

I wouldn't think so. Like pretty much everywhere, you have to put yourself out there, to some degree. Lots of ways to do that, through just meeting your neighbors, and through church, meetup and community groups, coworkers. volunteer opportunities (a great way to meet all sorts of folks, and acccomplish something for a good cause in the process) special interest classes and recreation activities. Lots of people in Flagstaff, like other parts of AZ, came from somewhere else.

Best of luck to you, hope you enjoy Flagstaff!
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Old 12-12-2014, 12:23 PM
 
13 posts, read 33,943 times
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how expensive is flagstaff compared to DC metro area?
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Old 12-12-2014, 03:29 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,914 posts, read 43,456,095 times
Reputation: 10728
Quote:
Originally Posted by wxman1 View Post
how expensive is flagstaff compared to DC metro area?
For those of us who've only visited but not lived in DC, you'd have to give us some sample info to compare. Generally, property taxes are less here than anywhere in the East. I was in Falls Church last month, and gasoline was noticeably higher than PHX, Flag tends to have more expensive gasoline than PHX, but not that much more. If you can give us some idea of what costs are there, we can compare better for you.
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Old 12-12-2014, 03:55 PM
 
Location: SoCal desert
8,091 posts, read 15,449,187 times
Reputation: 15038
Quote:
Originally Posted by wxman1 View Post
how expensive is flagstaff compared to DC metro area?
From CD's Flagstaff and Washington DC's pages:
Mar. 2012 cost of living index in Washington: 125.4 (high, U.S. average is 100)
Mar. 2012 cost of living index in Flagstaff: 97.9 (near average, U.S. average is 100)
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Old 12-12-2014, 08:22 PM
 
13 posts, read 33,943 times
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My rent for a 2100 sq ft townhouse is 1900/month.

Personal property tax on my car every six months is 160 dollars

Tolls cost me 35-50 per month

Water bills cost roughly 75-90 per month

Utilities: gas/electric roughly 100-150 per month

Auto/rent insurance for two cars and townhouse 190 per month

Food budget for two: 700 per month

Cell phones: 100-150 each per month

Gas is currently 2.79 for regular
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Old 12-12-2014, 08:23 PM
 
13 posts, read 33,943 times
Reputation: 10
My current base salary is 102k and I will gross at 115k

If Flagstaff worked out: my base would be 95k and gross maybe 99-100k
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