Small Town Life in AZ (Tucson, Sierra Vista: low crime, school districts, college)

[shorty32]

I am currently enrolled in my last semester of college and am looking to move. I have always been interested in Arizona. I am currently from a small town and really like the idea of a small town atmosphere. Anyone know of any good small towns within Arizona?

[saffordpastor]

How small do you want?

[saffordpastor]

And are you wanting access to larger towns nearby?

I would always recommend my hometown Safford. But here in SE AZ there is Duncan, Willcox, Benson, ..Go north, Alpine, Eager/Springerville, Nutrioso, Heber/Overguard, Show Low...

Kind of give us an idea what you are looking for, remote?, 100-1000, 1000-5000, 5000-10,000, 10,000 up, warm cool, altitude?, etc

[rambrush]

Can not forget Crown King, Young or Chloride for small towns.

[shorty32]

I would be fine with anything up to 5,000. Quick access to a larger city would also be nice. I am going into education so a solid school district is also within my interests.

[Scottay]

The problem with small towns is job availability unless you are ok with working at the local truck stop or grocery store. If money and income are a non issue then I would recommend Bisbee or Sierra Vista. Both are beautiful, quaint little towns with basically perfect weather year round (far enough south to be warm in the winter but high enough in elevation to not be an inferno in the summer). Both are approximately 1 hour southeast of Tucson.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by shorty32

I would be fine with anything up to 5,000. Quick access to a larger city would also be nice. I am going into education so a solid school district is also within my interests.

Benson had the #1 rated school district in the state this year, followed by #2 Vail (traditionally the 800 lb gorilla of school districts). Both are small towns, both are within an hour or less of Tucson. Benson is more of a proper "town" (ie with a "downtown" (such as it is)) than Vail is and thus has more in the way of shopping and services (though Vail is improving in that regard). Vail is closer to Tucson however.
Both have great weather, relatively low crime, and fabulous views.

Ken

[jamies]

Originally Posted by rambrush

Can not forget Crown King, Young or Chloride for small towns.

Cloride - ROFLMAO - yeah, that's a small town. I think you can see one end of the earth from there. Oh, no sorry I was wrong, it's the gates of h*ll.

[Maxwell1949]

Looking for a job in a small town in say northern Az working for the town county school or power company helps if your a Mormon ?

[R_Cowgirl]

OP - First you can look here - https://www.city-data.com/city/Arizona.html
If you click on the drop down menu, you can also find cities under 6,000 residents in Arizona.
Each one of the cities and towns you click on will give you demographics: types of businesses, politics, religions, average age, amenities like water and sewer, as well as amenities, etc.

Once you've looked at the different areas in the state, then come back to us and ask about specific towns and city areas. There are people from all over AZ on here who will be happy to give you feedback.