May move to Flagstaff (Phoenix, Sedona: house, job market, schools)

[aznewguy]

Good evening everybody,

I have been reading this forum up and down. So, let me ask the locals who post here and live in Flagstaff a question.

I have the opportunity to work with one of the large companies (NP) that are in Flagstaff, so career wouldn't be an issue. I would be moving to Flagstaff from PA. I visited Arizona years ago and really enjoyed it. Now, things are obviously different as I have the means to have a solid job.

Is Flagstaff a good place to live? What is the quality of life there? How are the locals towards people not from the area originally? How are the prospects for someone who is single and stable? I am about the median age that lives in Arizona (Mid 30's.)

I'm definitely leaning towards making the move. Knowing what you know, do you feel that I would regret it, or be glad I made it?

One of my coworkers almost pulled the trigger on the move, but the company wouldn't pay for all of the moving expenses. He actually regrets it a little bit not making the move.

Thank you for reading, and any replies.

[greenehaven]

Sounds like you should "Just Do It"

Originally Posted by aznewguy

One of my coworkers almost pulled the trigger on the move, but the company wouldn't pay for all of the moving expenses

NP wasn't in the top 100 AZ employers & unless it's a service company, an alternative employer should things happen, most likely would be a service job in your future if you stay.

good luck

[rational1]

You mean Nestle Purina?

Previous poster is correct that the job market here is small. Moving to Flagstaff and finding a stable job seems to be a major obstacle for others.

Depending on where you are in PA you will find housing comparable in price or maybe a bit higher. Flagstaff has outstanding outdoor activities. There is a large college-age population.

[stltech]

In my opinion, you will regret it. But to be fair and do a good comparison where do you live in PA?

[MonkeyClaw]

You will love it unless you absolutely hate the cold. Small college town, lots of things going on considering the size. You don't say what part of PA you live in or what sort of things you like. If you like the inner city of Philly or Pittsburgh, you won't find that. If you like music and artsy stuff, you'll be pretty happy. If you like outdoors, hiking, biking, even skiing then you'll like it.

We moved to Sedona from Philly and love it. Sedona is much sleepier but it is very different from Flag. If I was single and liked the cold, Flag would be a good place to live.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by rational1

You mean Nestle Purina?

Previous poster is correct that the job market here is small. Moving to Flagstaff and finding a stable job seems to be a major obstacle for others.

Depending on where you are in PA you will find housing comparable in price or maybe a bit higher. Flagstaff has outstanding outdoor activities. There is a large college-age population.

Nestle Purina has two manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Allentown and Mechanicsburg near Harrisburg, so they must live near one of those two metro areas. Flag is definitely smaller than both of those metroplexes (800,000 in the Lehigh Valley and 560,000 in the Capital Region).

It seems that the best jobs in Flagstaff are at the University and the Medical Center, like most small to medium sized college towns.

Having grown up in PA (Northeastern) and lived in the Harrisburg area for two years, you might like Flagstaff, although you might find it "small" after living there for awhile. Plus the snow amount averages for the year will be 3 times as what you are currently averaging in PA.

[infocyde]

Only thing I would worry about is falling into to a gap where you are a little old for the college crowd but way too young for the geezer squad. There is from my understanding (I'm not in Flagstaff but go there a few times a year and live nearby) there is a 30is professional class type of people there but that group is small in comparison to college kids and the growing retiree segment. Still Flagstaff puts you in range of beautiful Northern AZ with all the cool stuff to explore (hiking, camping, lakes, outdoorsy type stuff). If you are looking for a change, I'd say go for it. Just know like what others have said that if you lose your NP position in the future you might be scrambling. Even if you come out for a few years and then head back for another position at NP it would be an adventure for you. Pray about it. Flagstaff isn't Podunk but it is smaller than you are used to by a lot going on what an above poster posted about demographics. For big town stuff you are 1.5 hours from Phoenix which isn't too far away. You will get more snow than PA, and more wind, but it isn't as cold. Even on cold days the sun will be out a lot of the time so it will seem less cold than cloudy PA.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by aznewguy

Good evening everybody,

I have been reading this forum up and down. So, let me ask the locals who post here and live in Flagstaff a question.

I have the opportunity to work with one of the large companies (NP) that are in Flagstaff, so career wouldn't be an issue. I would be moving to Flagstaff from PA. I visited Arizona years ago and really enjoyed it. Now, things are obviously different as I have the means to have a solid job.

Is Flagstaff a good place to live? What is the quality of life there? How are the locals towards people not from the area originally? How are the prospects for someone who is single and stable? I am about the median age that lives in Arizona (Mid 30's.)

I'm definitely leaning towards making the move. Knowing what you know, do you feel that I would regret it, or be glad I made it?

One of my coworkers almost pulled the trigger on the move, but the company wouldn't pay for all of the moving expenses. He actually regrets it a little bit not making the move.

Thank you for reading, and any replies.

What is your budget for housing in Flagstaff?

[Jm619]

Originally Posted by aznewguy

Good evening everybody,

I have been reading this forum up and down. So, let me ask the locals who post here and live in Flagstaff a question.

I have the opportunity to work with one of the large companies (NP) that are in Flagstaff, so career wouldn't be an issue. I would be moving to Flagstaff from PA. I visited Arizona years ago and really enjoyed it. Now, things are obviously different as I have the means to have a solid job.

Is Flagstaff a good place to live? What is the quality of life there? How are the locals towards people not from the area originally? How are the prospects for someone who is single and stable? I am about the median age that lives in Arizona (Mid 30's.)

I'm definitely leaning towards making the move. Knowing what you know, do you feel that I would regret it, or be glad I made it?

One of my coworkers almost pulled the trigger on the move, but the company wouldn't pay for all of the moving expenses. He actually regrets it a little bit not making the move.

Thank you for reading, and any replies.

I wouldn't. Unless you like cold, wind and hardly any snow anymore plus there is no culture here, no good food, the politics are archaic (but getting better) and the people have much to desire. Not to mention the pay here sucks, the schools suck as well.

The only nice time is summer and the mountain biking is amazing, thats about it. Otherwise this is a very boring place. Very Podunk town, where people think they are in Aspen. People think they are hot **** and it's hard to make friends. Might be able to make friends at your work. Kind of sucks. Plus when you do make friends, they all tend to leave at some point. We have a fabulous house here but we are planning on getting out ASAP!!!! I'd move somewhere else, like CO. AZ is a strange place. Flagstaff is great to visit but that's it.

[Slater]

Well, my crowd is older and tend to fall into three categories: pro-gun, very pro-gun, and fanatically pro-gun . There's a few of us in Flagstaff.