Finding a small town New England vibe in AZ? (Phoenix: transplants, living in)

[parkhyunjeong036]

Yeah try washington state

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

The OP didn’t mention “changing AZ” at all. This diatribe is unwarranted and unwelcoming.

I disagree. Ex-New Yorker's comments were appropriate and welcome.

Seeking familiar surroundings isn’t wrong in any way

Yeah, that always works.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

I disagree. Ex-New Yorker's comments were appropriate and welcome.





Yeah, that always works.

Disagree all you want but ranting about “changing AZ” and guns had nothing to do with anything the OP was asking about. That makes it condescending and therefore unwelcoming.

No one said anything about “always”. It seems a reread of the OP may be in order.

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

The OP didn’t mention “changing AZ” at all. This diatribe is unwarranted and unwelcoming. Seeking familiar surroundings isn’t wrong in any way and they can find AZ’s version in certain places. Not everywhere in the state is full of some sort of gun-obsessed, flag flying, cowboy types. It’s a diverse state, with something for just about anyone.

Most places outside Phoenix and Tucson are not really diverse. There are still a lot of NIMBYs, boomers and socially conservative people here.

[grmi66]

One of my friends spent seven years trying to find what you're looking for here in Arizona. Was making himself miserable trying to change his neighborhood and his social media was full of angry screeds about how backwards Arizona was. Moved to New England last year and couldn't be happier now. Just off the top of my head I know of at least a half dozen folks from Arizona who moved to New England because Arizona (the landscape and the culture) just wasn't for them.

I've tried moving away from Arizona at least four times and keep coming back because it's the best fit for me anywhere in the country.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

AZ has repeatedly been rated as one of the least religious states. The Mormons live in pockets and are easy to avoid, if one wishes to.

I just can't help but wonder why people are so darned determined to avoid people like me. You'd think I was a leper or something.

[Jimrob1]

OP I can relate to what your needs are, but there is no way you can even remotely duplicate New England in Arizona. I'm from Mass originally but lived much of my adult life in Calif and Oregon. Oregon has quite abit of what your looking for but its not Arizona. My suggestion is just accept the fact you would have to change your requirements somewhat. Or you would end up being miserable. Look for communities where there is a downtown and build from that. Say Mesa, Prescott, Flagstaff. As far as overly conservative yes that can be a problem for some people. I retired in Florida and I don't care for that aspect of life here at all but I can't change it so I deal with it. I toy with the idea myself of retiring in Arizona as I'm finding Arizona has some pluses Florida doesn't. It's more moderate and less prone to severe weather. Not to mention the outrageous cost of homeowners insurance or not being insurable, is starting to scare me living in Florida. Plus the outrageous crowded conditions down here are suffocating many of us. New England is unique in many ways and that's one of its greatest assets. I will always miss that hometown sense of place feel of New England. I certainly don't miss the high COL, weather or the pot hole infested roads

I think you will be find a location and since your family is in Arizona I'd say go for it. Just really sit down and research these communities and accept them for what they are. Otherwise I think your only other choice might be, see if your parents will consider moving to Mass for this stage of their life. That might be another practical solution to this situation. .

Whatever you decide I hope the decision becomes easier for you. You don't want to let it overwhelm you. Best of Luck. .

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I just can't help but wonder why people are so darned determined to avoid people like me. You'd think I was a leper or something.

I've noticed the bigotry aimed at Mormons as well, I'm sorry you're subjected to it. I'm not Mormon, but have several good friends who are. I honestly don't know where the bile comes from. Jealousy is the only thing I can think of. I don't know if people who say such things realize how bad it makes them look. I guess among their like minded friends it doesn't.

In another forum there's a poster who never has anything good to say about religious people. One summer she hired several Mormon college students to work in her business. Apparently they were ideal workers, infinitely better than the local folks she normally hires, and now she only hires kids from this school to work in the summer. But she still has nothing good to say about religious people. Go figure.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I just can't help but wonder why people are so darned determined to avoid people like me. You'd think I was a leper or something.

You’re smart enough to know that it’s not about the avoidance of any individuals. Most Mormons that I’ve met and dealt with have been very kind. The avoidance comes from wanting nothing to do with being hounded about converting, having children excluded from things, and having Mormon ideals being part of the legislature. It’s the same reason most wouldn’t feel comfortable in a country with Sharia Law, just on a more micro level. In fairness to the OP, Mormonism was never mentioned and someone else brought it up as a potential “concern”.

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by Suey123

We are contemplating a move from the east coast to AZ to be closer to family. (Parents in Sedona, rest of extended family in northern Phoenix.) This contemplation has gone on for several years, but is getting more urgent as the parents get older. Our biggest challenge is finding a place that we think we'd like to live.

We lived outside of Boston for years and loved it. Technically it was a suburb, but it really had the feel of a small town (population ca. 25,000) with diverse housing and a great little walkable downtown (town hall, theater, restaurants, bars, coffee shop, library, town square, etc.). It had a sense of community and history while still being open to outsiders (lots of people who came to Boston for college and stayed in the area). But it was still close to the advantages of Boston: museums, colleges, a liberal and educated population, lots of job opportunities, two major airports.

(We've also lived in a small town in the south and hated it: too religious, too conservative, too racist, too far from civilization, too closed to outsiders.)

I'd like to find some place in Arizona that has the atmosphere that we found in New England, but I don't know if it exists.

I don't want to live in a planned community or deal with an HOA. I want to be able to walk to a grocery store, library, restaurant, coffee shop, etc.... and would prefer that they not be a Walmart, Starbucks, other mega-chain that exists in every-other strip mall. I want decent schools (I have two kids in middle school). I'd like a single-family home and our budget is probably in the $400,000 range. We are white and non-religious and I'd love some diversity (without the racism and segregation that we saw in the south.)

I loved the vibe of Tucson -- specifically the area around the university -- but that's a pretty far trek from Sedona (and from the rest of the world). Flagstaff seems like a possibility, but the downtown area seems more targeted to tourists than locals and I don't know how open the town is to outsiders. Cottonwood and Jerome are cute, but WAY too small. My family has mentioned Prescott, but I'm not familiar with it at all. And all the cities around Phoenix seem like hellish sprawl nightmares. (Although I've heard that Mesa might have an actual downtown.)

Does what we are looking for exist in AZ?

I was born and raised pretty much in the area you are coming from. You might find some of the things that you mention, but I'm betting in total, you'll be disappointed.