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i am moving from kansas to arizona but dont know exactly where. all i know is that there are certain things that are very important to me in my decision... first and fore most is that its big enough for recreation but i certainly dont want to live in the big cities or the outskirts ie. suburbs. too much trafic there. i have kids and need good school. also if there is a college due to the fact that i am going back to school as well. i want low crime rate. as a mom i worry about things like that. also fair amount of job opportunities as well as reasonable cost of living.. if anyone has any ideas for locations please let me know...
PS i am moving away from snow so please help me in my search for somewhere with very little or no snow at all. thanks
i am moving from kansas to arizona but dont know exactly where. all i know is that there are certain things that are very important to me in my decision... first and fore most is that its big enough for recreation but i certainly dont want to live in the big cities or the outskirts ie. suburbs. too much trafic there. i have kids and need good school. also if there is a college due to the fact that i am going back to school as well. i want low crime rate. as a mom i worry about things like that. also fair amount of job opportunities as well as reasonable cost of living.. if anyone has any ideas for locations please let me know...
PS i am moving away from snow so please help me in my search for somewhere with very little or no snow at all. thanks
If you don't want cities or suburbs then cross AZ off your list. AZ is an URBAN state. Most of the land is public lands and the people are crowded on to what is not. Flagstaff might be OK for you since it has a university but it is cold and snows a lot is expensive and jobs are far and few between. Prescott area is somewhat (not much) more reasonable in cost of living, but jobs are scarce there too. Phoenix and to a lesser extent Tucson is where the jobs are and has the lowest cost of living in the state. You also get jobs, universities, and many of the best schools in the state and low crime if you live in the right places. Both places have traffic and are crowded though.
Hi Sydney - what part of Kansas are you from? My husband grew up in Hays and my folks still live in Goodland.
Currently I live in the Prescott area. Prescott proper is about 40,000 pop., but the "tri-city" area includes Prescott Valley (about 30,000 pop) and Chino Valley (about 10,000). The population growth in Arizona has been absolutely amazing! In Kansas/Nebraska it's unusual for rural towns to grow much over several decades. So different here - Prescott Valley was a town of about 3,000 in the early 1980's, and now it's 30,000+!
There is a good junior college in Prescott (Yavapai Community College). There is also a liberal arts college (Prescott College) and NCU (North Central University). NCU is new here and I don't know much about it. Flagstaff has NAU which is a great 4-yr college, but as Ponderosa stated, housing is very high up there.
I don't think you'd mind Flagstaff's winter compared with Kansas winters, but they do get quite a bit of snow some years. No ice storms, though, or tornadoes. Here in Prescott we're about 10-degrees warmer than Flagstaff so our snow is usually brief and melts almost immediately.
As far as housing - it's definitely sticker shock as compared with most towns in Kansas/Nebraska; however wages are quite a bit higher. Be sure to check out the job situation before you move. There are some good jobs to be had in the Prescott area, but they're not plentiful. Although housing is high in Prescott, it's quite a bit more reasonable in Prescott Valley and Chino Valley.
Oh, almost forgot to mention - very good schools in the Prescott area. I think Flagstaff has good schools, too. Also, as far as outdoor recreation, Arizona is GREAT! Practically out your door . . . plus within a 1-1/2 hour drive you can be in the desert or up in the mountains. We've really gotten spoiled since moving here!
Come for a visit and check out places like Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona (very pricey, but fun to visit), and Payson. You just might find the kind of town you're looking for.
Hi Sydney - what part of Kansas are you from? My husband grew up in Hays and my folks still live in Goodland.
Currently I live in the Prescott area. Prescott proper is about 40,000 pop., but the "tri-city" area includes Prescott Valley (about 30,000 pop) and Chino Valley (about 10,000). The population growth in Arizona has been absolutely amazing! In Kansas/Nebraska it's unusual for rural towns to grow much over several decades. So different here - Prescott Valley was a town of about 3,000 in the early 1980's, and now it's 30,000+!
There is a good junior college in Prescott (Yavapai Community College). There is also a liberal arts college (Prescott College) and NCU (North Central University). NCU is new here and I don't know much about it. Flagstaff has NAU which is a great 4-yr college, but as Ponderosa stated, housing is very high up there.
I don't think you'd mind Flagstaff's winter compared with Kansas winters, but they do get quite a bit of snow some years. No ice storms, though, or tornadoes. Here in Prescott we're about 10-degrees warmer than Flagstaff so our snow is usually brief and melts almost immediately.
As far as housing - it's definitely sticker shock as compared with most towns in Kansas/Nebraska; however wages are quite a bit higher. Be sure to check out the job situation before you move. There are some good jobs to be had in the Prescott area, but they're not plentiful. Although housing is high in Prescott, it's quite a bit more reasonable in Prescott Valley and Chino Valley.
Oh, almost forgot to mention - very good schools in the Prescott area. I think Flagstaff has good schools, too. Also, as far as outdoor recreation, Arizona is GREAT! Practically out your door . . . plus within a 1-1/2 hour drive you can be in the desert or up in the mountains. We've really gotten spoiled since moving here!
Come for a visit and check out places like Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona (very pricey, but fun to visit), and Payson. You just might find the kind of town you're looking for.
I have actually been considering casa grande but am unsure. i am moving from a little town called colby and am wanting something bigger but not as big as say the major cities in arizona. i have 2 kids that are coming up on school age and want to make sure their education is good and low crime rates. i dont want to have to worry that my kids are going to get stabbed or shot at school or be given drugs and stuff like that as they get older.
I have actually been considering casa grande but am unsure. i am moving from a little town called colby and am wanting something bigger but not as big as say the major cities in arizona. i have 2 kids that are coming up on school age and want to make sure their education is good and low crime rates. i dont want to have to worry that my kids are going to get stabbed or shot at school or be given drugs and stuff like that as they get older.
Colby? That is the town mentioned in John Denver's song "Matthew". Casa Grande is not Colby, I don't think. It is a suburb of Phoenix. There is some physical separation because of a reservation, but otherwise living there will present all the issues of living in Phoenix and maybe more because the commute, if you work, will be a challenge. CG certainly has safe areas and schools and your kids are not going to be stabbed etc there or really anywhere here or in the suburbs of most cities. Drugs are everywhere, even in Colby KS. You need to stay up to date and talk to your kids as they get older. That's a much better approach than trying to find someplace where drugs don't exist.
Kids in cities probably have more challenges and temptations than in little towns. But they also have the chance to grow up and get in a group that thinks like they do. There are cliques for goths, jocks, skaters, nerds, and on and on in a big high school. When I was a kid in a little bitty school you were pretty much in or out. They also can find jobs, husbands and wives in a a big and booming city like Phoenix and not have move away from "home"(though sometimes they still do).
I know Colby well. They were our big rival in school. The Cowboys vs the Eagles. Casa Grande used to be a farming community (cotton, mainly). Very hot down there on the desert, so be sure you visit during the summer. It's not like a Kansas heat wave where you'll have 100+ degree days for 2 or 3 days, and then it breaks. Places like Phoenix and Casa Grande will have 100-110 temps starting usually the first part of May and going into October, often without a day below 100. Sometimes it's still 100 down there as we're watching the weather on the 10:00 news. So the temps mean staying inside most of the summer, but of course winter temps are great. Some people adjust well, but it might be tough for your kids if they're used to doing alot of outdoor activities during the summer.
You'll probably want to check out the job situation there, too. Unfortunately I've only driven through Casa Grande a few times, so I really don't have anything but general info about the town/area. I think if you do a search of the threads on this forum you'll find several with info about Casa Grande.
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Listen to Gretchen and come visit FIRST! Casa Grande, and all the cities and towns in the valley areas get hot. Very hot. Lots of folks don't mind that, or even like it () but it is not for everyone. It severly limits summer time outdoor activities and makes for big AC bills
If you get a chance, drive through the Prescott, Chino Valley/Prescott Valley areas. They have moderate four-seasons and everything one can possibly need in the way of shopping, food, entertainment, etc. I never go to the Valley anymore except to Sky Harbor Airport when I need to fly somewhere. No need to.
Well, we do not have habubs up here. Sure it is hot, but it is much drier air than the more southern parts of AZ. I taught here and think the schools do quite well. Crime is low. City is clean. Not many jobs. 150 miles to PHX or Vegas. If we do not have it here, it is under an hour up the river to other larger chain stores. Last census, we had around 53,000 folks, spread rather evenly across age groups. Check out Lake Havasu City. We escaped California 7 years ago and are super glad of it.
i am moving from kansas to arizona but dont know exactly where. all i know is that there are certain things that are very important to me in my decision... first and fore most is that its big enough for recreation but i certainly dont want to live in the big cities or the outskirts ie. suburbs. too much trafic there. i have kids and need good school. also if there is a college due to the fact that i am going back to school as well. i want low crime rate. as a mom i worry about things like that. also fair amount of job opportunities as well as reasonable cost of living.. if anyone has any ideas for locations please let me know...
PS i am moving away from snow so please help me in my search for somewhere with very little or no snow at all. thanks
I have lived in both states, currently spend most of my time in Phoenix, but also travel to Wichita, Lenexa and Lawrence quite a bit.
For comparison purposes, Phoenix and its suburban sprawl would be similar to Kansas City/Johnson County KS, Tucson and its suburbs would be like Wichita and Flagstaff/Prescott would be similar to Topeka/Lawrence in terms of size, traffic , job opportunities and amenities.
Colby is a tiny remote town of about 6,000 on the western plains near Colorado. If you are looking for something similar with warmer weather I would suggest Sierra Vista, Lake Havasu, Cottonwood and Kingman as places to look.
Your criteria will make this very hard, you are not going to get all of that in one place. You will need to pick out the most important items and choose a location that comes close on your must have list.
No urban areas
No suburbs
Avoid heavy traffic
Need good schools
Nearby college or university
Low crime
Low cost
Good job opportunities - What type of jobs?
Little to no snow
If the little to no snow is very important, you can take just about anything north of Phoenix off your list. Prescott might work, but like other posters said it is not a low cost of living area and a good job will be very hard to find. Forget Flagstaff entirely, it is expensive and will be colder with more snow than where you live now.
The cities and suburbs are where you will find most of the available jobs as well as colleges and universities. But as you know, they will also have more traffic and higher crime rates. You can find cheap small towns with few jobs or educational opportunities but they do have low traffic and crime.
IMO, Casa Grande would be a terrible choice. You are on the fringe of the metro area, most likely commuting into a more populated area to work and dealing with all of the downsides of living in a fairly remote small town and a large sprawled out urban area at the same time. All cons and no pros to Casa Grande from my point of view.
Well, we do not have habubs up here. Sure it is hot, but it is much drier air than the more southern parts of AZ. I taught here and think the schools do quite well. Crime is low. City is clean. Not many jobs. 150 miles to PHX or Vegas. If we do not have it here, it is under an hour up the river to other larger chain stores. Last census, we had around 53,000 folks, spread rather evenly across age groups. Check out Lake Havasu City. We escaped California 7 years ago and are super glad of it.
Well, even though you necroposted a thread that was six years old, welcome to the site.
I escaped the CSSR almost 20 years ago and even hate to admit where I was born.
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Here in Prescott we're about 10-degrees warmer than Flagstaff so our snow is usually brief and melts almost immediately.
Casa Grande used to be a farming community (cotton, mainly). Very hot down there on the desert, so be sure you visit during the summer. It's not like a Kansas heat wave where you'll have 100+ degree days for 2 or 3 days, and then it breaks. Places like Phoenix and Casa Grande will have 100-110 temps starting usually the first part of May and going into October, often without a day below 100. Sometimes it's still 100 down there as we're watching the weather on the 10:00 news. So the temps mean staying inside most of the summer, but of course winter temps are great. Some people adjust well, but it might be tough for your kids if they're used to doing alot of outdoor activities during the summer. 
) but it is not for everyone. It severly limits summer time outdoor activities and makes for big AC bills 
