Minimum Income Needed to Live in Flagstaff and Other Questions (Phoenix: fit in, real estate)

[corgiomma]

I'm thinking about moving to Flagstaff after living in Seoul, South Korea for the last 11 years. I'm wondering how much of an income a person would need to live there and be able to save a bit of money each year, say $5,000-$12,000 a year. To give you an idea about my current financial situation and my lifestyle, I don't have any debt, I'm single and only have myself and two dogs to pay for, I would just be looking to rent a small 1-bedroom apartment in an area that's walkable/affordable if possible, and I would probably want to be able to eat out about once a week.

Also, can anyone tell me what winters are like there? Are they long? How are the roads in the winter? Do I need to buy chains for my tires?

Lastly, are the local people welcoming to newcomers? I'm a little concerned because I'd be moving there after living overseas for 15 years, and I'd like to live in a place where it's easy to meet people.

Any and all insight to my many questions would be great! Thank you!^^

[infocyde]

That is a tough one to answer. And disclosure I don't actually live in Flagstaff, but it is the closest big town to me so I'm there for shopping, working in a coffee shop, doing errands, etc... at least once a week.

Coming from Seoul I think housing prices, assuming your rent a one bedroom apartment, might be even less than in Seoul, which if I remember correctly is pretty pricey. One bedroom place that accepts dogs I'd plan on spending about 1200 a month on, give or take. I think food prices and everything else is pretty comparable to say the rest of Arizona, just the cost of rent in Flagstaff is considerably higher than average for Arizona but may be in parity with prices in Seoul.

Winters can be windy with lots of snow on occasion. Someone else commented on another thread that Flagstaff has 200 nights where the temps drop below freezing. That being said Flagstaff is in the high desert (even though it doesn't look very desert-ee), so snow melts off the roads fairly fast. Most people say you can get by with a two wheel drive just fine though maybe a few days out of the year you might run into issues. As to chains, the local freeways (I-40 at least) has pull offs for people to put chains on, so sometimes during heavy snow if you are traveling in and out of Flagstaff you might need them, but I think it is rare and if you are in the city limits or near by you probably don't need them.

As the the friendliness of the town, I think that depends. Flagstaff is a college town, so there are a lot of transient young people coming and going. Then there are retirees, and locals who grew up there. Like most smaller Arizona towns there are not a ton of jobs outside of service industry and some light manufacturing. Flagstaff is no exception EXCEPT all the employment Northern Arizona University brings, which is significant. Being in your later 30ies and up socially might be kind of tough as you are too old for the college scene, not a local, and not a retiree. So your peer group that you would socialize with might be smaller. I find people in Flagstaff fairly friendly though, but depending on how out going you are it could be kind of rough finding a group to fit in with.

So I can't give you a baseline on what you would need to make to hit your saving parameters. I'd take whatever calculation you can find say about Phoenix and then add about 5 to 10K on that and I think that would be a good number.

There are a lot of positives to Flagstaff. It is beautiful (pines everywhere), lot's of hiking and camping. There is decent enough shopping so you don't feel like you are living in a small town, and it being a college town makes the area vibrant. There is also some decent medical facilities in Flagstaff, probably the best outside of Phoenix.

Other areas to check out that are smaller might be Payson, Show Low, Strawberry...depending on how you want to support yourself. Slightly larger would be Prescott. Jobs in all areas are tough.

As a general rule thumb it is good to visit a place and stay for awhile if you can before deciding to move. Best of luck.

[Bygeorge]

You should search city data for Flagstaff and not just the forums. The database will provide “official” data from various sources.

Coming from Seoul you will be accustomed to congestion. Also cold weather. The thing with Seoul is good public transportation which is not the case in Flagstaff. I cycle in Tucson but would not care to do so in Flagstaff.

Good luck finding an apt that will allow you two dogs that is also affordable. There is only so much building area in Flagstaff due to the government and reservation land surrounding it. That is one reason real estate is so high compared to other AZ locations.

Good luck.

[corgiomma]

Thank you all for giving such thoughtful and thorough feedback. I'm actually looking at a position with NAU, but as you said, finding affordable housing there doesn't seem easy, so I'm kinda wondering if I should start looking at Prescott or maybe Tuscon as possible places to live instead. Anyway, thank you all for your help!^^

[corydon]

The commute from Tucson to Flagstaff is nice like twice a year...... Even Prescott is a long drive.
I do not know what the prices are, but a few miles west of flag there are some apartments, right where the truck stop is.

[infocyde]

Yeah no go on commuting from Prescott or Tuscon especially, way way too far and on Winter days there would be issues. Maybe from the Verde Valley (like say Cottonwood) but again some Winter days the roads might be bad. I think if you look hard and are patient you can find a place. The farther out you go from downtown Flag/NAU the more affordable rents are going to be so I bet you are on the right track.

Good luck.

[Code Stemi]

Are there people that live in Flagstaff during the summer and Phoenix during the winter? I assume there are. I'm just curious how those people like that type of situation. Sounds ideal. Great weather almost year round if you did.

[corgiomma]

To clarify, I wasn't planning to commute to Flagstaff from Tuscon or Prescott.^^ I meant that I may look into moving to and working in those areas instead. ;-)

[infocyde]

I like Tuscon, but there are some very run down and high crime areas of Tuscon, so watch where you look for apartments. It is cheaper than Flagstaff, but at times close to as hot as Phoenix.

Prescott was an awesome place to live...still is for a lot of people. But if you are below 56 years old I might hesitate. Prescott is rapidly becoming a predominantly retiree community. The median age is at least 56 now.

Just a heads up on both areas.

[OneDawg]

Originally Posted by corgiomma

I'm thinking about moving to Flagstaff after living in Seoul, South Korea for the last 11 years. I'm wondering how much of an income a person would need to live there and be able to save a bit of money each year, say $5,000-$12,000 a year. To give you an idea about my current financial situation and my lifestyle, I don't have any debt, I'm single and only have myself and two dogs to pay for, I would just be looking to rent a small 1-bedroom apartment in an area that's walkable/affordable if possible, and I would probably want to be able to eat out about once a week.

Also, can anyone tell me what winters are like there? Are they long? How are the roads in the winter? Do I need to buy chains for my tires?

Lastly, are the local people welcoming to newcomers? I'm a little concerned because I'd be moving there after living overseas for 15 years, and I'd like to live in a place where it's easy to meet people.

Any and all insight to my many questions would be great! Thank you!^^

Get a job transfer or offer first. Then rent - don't buy anything except a vehicle.