Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-08-2018, 09:20 AM
 
22 posts, read 22,886 times
Reputation: 16

Advertisements

We want to retire "out West". Currently we live in Atlanta. The past few years we have spent our summers in the many National Parks trying to chose a different area each time. Our wants and needs aren't lining up for us! I want a dry arid climate, a lake for a trimaran or kayak, small walkable downtown, and walk/bike trails . We need a decent medical center nearby that can accommodate our inevitable aging bodies.😂 Our home budget is around 600K.
Am I searching for the impossible? All advice is welcomed!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-08-2018, 10:31 AM
 
3 posts, read 3,112 times
Reputation: 18
You may want to check out the town of Cave Creek, north of Scottsdale. Small town, pretty funky vibe, and not far from Lake Pleasant (West) or Lake Bartlett (East).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2018, 11:00 AM
 
22 posts, read 22,886 times
Reputation: 16
Thanks for the suggestion. Looks nice. Do you know if there are lakes one can live on? The West appears be low on Lake Towns?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2018, 11:16 AM
 
4,690 posts, read 10,422,074 times
Reputation: 14887
As a Wyoming native now in Georgia... I don't get the 'lakes' thing. It's just not something that's found, or important, in the arid western states. That means it's up to the transplants to find and develop it, or the towns remain small, no walking/biking trails, etc... You have to understand that "going to the mall" back in the 80's for me was a 3 hour drive, one way. I don't remember Anyone having a boat of any sort, maybe a canoe here or there that were moved to the area from out of state (my folks brought one when they moved from Minnesota).

Point being, dry/arid and lake don't match up with much frequency. There are some exceptions.... do you care if it gets Cold? Flathead lake in Montana is stunning with several smaller towns around the perimeter. Same is true for Lake Granby in Colorado. And Lake Havasu in AZ is well know (but you'll have to find shelter during spring break).

If you split out the "live on a lake" thing and just put one within a few hours drive, you're going to open the door a lot wider to your Other wants. But first, define how cold you're willing to deal with to limit the area down.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2018, 11:37 AM
 
22 posts, read 22,886 times
Reputation: 16
Great suggestions. I'm learning pretty quickly that the lakes are hard to come by. I like to sail my trimaran which is basically a small kayak with a sail. Don't mind snow just want to be able to still get outdoors. Thinking arid/dry may be a bit too strong in original posts. Should have said 'low humidity'? The humidity, pollen, and molds in Georgia have caused havoc on my health.

Flexible about living on lake. Will look at Flathead and Granby. Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2018, 11:58 AM
 
3,608 posts, read 7,924,409 times
Reputation: 9185
> Do you know if there are lakes one can live on?

Phoenix has a fair number of fake lakes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2018, 12:15 PM
 
22 posts, read 22,886 times
Reputation: 16
Yes! See alot of fake lakes. Is there much concern about water shortages? Maybe we should head to Idaho and give up up on dry/arid? We just want to be near the Utah Five but not in Utah where taxes are so high. It is getting more and more difficult. We are flying out to Phoenix in July and will check put Cave Creek and maybe Flagstaff? My parameters are beginning to change ��
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2018, 04:09 PM
 
5,168 posts, read 3,088,896 times
Reputation: 11050
Lakes, fake or natural, in a dry area mean lots of wildlife and insects will gather there. Some of the critters will be interesting to look at but most will annoy the hell out of you, eat your garden, turn over trash cans, or feed off your blood come sunset. Appreciate the West for what Atlanta doesn't have -- long distance vistas, clear summer skies, and uncrowded roads.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2018, 07:51 PM
 
22 posts, read 22,886 times
Reputation: 16
Think I will have to work on that TimAZ. You make an excellent point. We have those nasty bloodsuckers in Georgia also, the sunsets just aren't as pretty while they feast.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-09-2018, 02:57 PM
 
1,551 posts, read 3,646,455 times
Reputation: 3131
Check out East Mesa. Far East Mesa. With your budget you could easily afford a nice home in Las Sendas or one of the other upscale communities in the area.
Lots of hiking and biking opportunities around here and the water related activities on this side of town are endless. The Salt River is minutes away and the 4 Salt River lakes are spectacular. Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake are a very short drive. Apache Lake is a bit tougher to get to because it's a dirt road but we'll worth the effort and Roosevelt lake is about an hour away via the 60 to globe.
Check it out before you give up on Arizona.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top