Flagstaff/Bend (Lowell: real estate, rentals, houses)

[coltoncity]

I am pretty sure I am going to take my daughter and I to Flagstaff but would like to ask you how many similarities between Flag and Bend there are?

We would be looking at high school and medical facilities. Specialists. Outdoor activities and groups for her to join.

I think Bend is just so much more calm and easy to get involved in? That the difference would be Flags median age & the University. Am I wrong about that?

Would like to take the leap to a different, diverse southwest just not sure if high school would be the right moment. I am deciding this week

Thanks everyone!

[skypros]

I really liked Flagstaff, There is lots to do there. I am sure that you will really like it also...

It is a very "artsy" town as there are allot of art festivals.

Flag is a college town.... this is what I did not like about it.... Allot of the college kids had a "attitude".

Flagstaff is not a low cost place to live however.

I do not know what your housing plans are.... But if you plan to rent, you had better do it SOON.... as once college is about to start (like now) the available rentals get really limited.

Just make sure you are not too close to the railroad.... as there are ALLOT of trains that go through there

[John Shaft]

I can't answer your questions directly, but the only time I have been in Flagstaff, I remember surveying it from a hilltop ridge and thinking, wow, this is like the twin city of Bend. (Of course with the college-town features thrown in.)

[FVWinters]

If it doesn't violate any terms of usage you might pose your question on the Arizona Forum.

I've been in Flagstaff a couple of times and found it to be a happening town. That's to say there are plenty of outdoor things to do. A resident can give more detail but if you visit the area I would recommend checking out:
1. Walnut Canyon, a collection of Precolumbian houses built on canyon walls and a pinnacle on a now dry streambed. Located east of Flag.
2. Elden Pueblo. Possibly the premier trading center of 11th century Arizona. Also on the east end of town.
3. Northern Arizona University. I hear their forestry department is top notch.
4. The Lowell Observatory. It was here that astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930.
5. Sunset Crater, about 20 miles north of town. Anyone who has seen the volcanic fields and cinder cones surrounding Bend would be right at home here.
6. Humphrey's Peak, possibly renamed San Francisco Peak. That's the big mountain looming north of town. At some 12000 feet, it is Arizona's biggest. Like Sunset Crater it is volcanic. Some gorgeous country in and around it.
7. Oak Creek Canyon. Take Alternate RTE 89 south towards Sedona through one of the most scenic drives in the state. You can bike it, too but there is no shoulder and there is a lot of traffic.
And there are a lot of other things to see and do in town and nearby..........

Unfortunately, I don't know a thing about their public schools. I also have no clue as to Flagstaff's approach to "diversity" though I suspect the university might have some influence in that quarter. I did look at some real estate flyers while there in May and the astronomical housing prices about made me faint.

[ctr88]

I've been to Flagstaff twice but not Bend. Personally I would much prefer Bend b/c it's proximity to Mount Bachelor and the Cascades, as I think that is a lot prettier and more alpine type country... lakes, etc.. than the Flagstaff area. You have a lot of high desert stuff in Northern AZ, which is nice, but to me not as nice. The Grand Canyon get's big touristy crowds. I was in Oak Creek Canyon in July and it's was so over-run with people that I thought it ruined it the experience. Although that canyon is unique and beautiful. Again I haven't been to Bend yet, but I'm assuming from what I've heard and looked at in pictures that it is a cooler town. I really didn't like the town of Flagstaff that much.