Need to here from folks in Arizona, wife wants to more to your state

[bikerbeans]

Hi All,

In 2 1/2 years my daughter graduates high school and we can leave NW Ohio, IF WE WANT TOO! Wife wants to go now, to Arizona. She has a number of friends in AZ, plus our son spent a year in Phoenix while learning to fly an F16 for the guard, so she has visited many times. Did I mention she wants to move NOW?

I love to load, shoot and hunt, but I am on oxygen 24/7 and don't do heat or cold very well. I am retired, so a job isn't a concern, but being able to go outside and not die is a big deal to me. Can I make it in AZ? When I think of AZ, I think of illegals and cactus, I need folks to convince me it is a good move because I can't afford another divorce.

thanks

BB

[mikeym1a]

Years ago, I was stationed at Luke. Although hot, it was not unbearable. The evenings were positively balmy. The Air Force maintained a military retreat up near Flagstaff. I was sent up there for a week as a grounds keeper. I felt like I was in heaven. Of course, this was during the summer. Up in the tall pines, fresh breezes. The only way to find out it to go visit. I always wanted to go back. Good luck. mikey. :-D

[Artful]

Altitude has a lot to do with temps - Tucson, Yuma, Phoenix hot hot hot in summer months (and yes it's a dry heat so it does feel different)
go up to payson or Prescott and temp's fall back but winter's get colder too - Flagstaff mild summer but Cold winter times (fun if you like to ski)

Best of both worlds if like my retired friend has a cabin up above Prescott and a trailer down past Mayer - go up in summer and down for winter.

[300savage]

kingman has about the best climate year round in my opinion.
there are much better places both winter and summer, but year round it is hard to beat.
prescott valley or mayer are nice as well but can get cold as heck in the winter.
wickenburg is great in the winter, but hot in the summer. stay the heck away from the phoenix valley ,it gets boiling hot.
tuscon is a good climate, as is benson, nowhere really has a temperate climate, about everywhere has its hot and cold months.

[brtelec]

I moved here 4 years ago and I have lived all over. I can not imagine living anywhere else. I agree that altitude is important but I firmly believe that attitude is important also. Yeah it is hot as hell in the summer, but after living in Louisiana for 14 years, the only thing I notice when I walk outside is how dry it is. I love the lack of humidity. No Mosquitos. It is certainly gun mecca. Finally living on the outskirts of Phoenix has it's advantages, there is almost nothing I can not have or do whenever I feel like it, well except snow skiing or going to the ocean, but neither of those things are too far away. We love it here.

[starmac]

The cold at prescott is usually just a few days at a time, A few years ago it was the 3rd best town to retire in, and the property prices went way up over night. South of the 69 I17 junction is too hot for me, but I don't do heat very well.

[starmac]

Unless things have changed, license tags for a new vehicle is unreal. lol

[jmort]

"Unless things have changed, license tags for a new vehicle is unreal."

Bet it is lot less than California.

[starmac]

I would hate to see what Cali's is then. I have a friend that bought a new Western Star in Az, and they wouldn't even let him pay the tax on the price he paid for a brand new truck. They claimed it was worth several thousand more than new price. IIRC tags for a brand new pickup is in the 3000 range, dropping to half the second year.

[jmort]

For a $40,000.00 Pickup it is around $3500.00 for tax and registration

[marvelshooter]

For a $40,000.00 Pickup it is around $3500.00 for tax and registration
Could you possibly elaborate on this a little. We pay $25 a year for private non commercial plates no matter the value of the car or truck. We then pay an annual excise tax to the city or town the vehicle that is the owner's residence. It starts in the range you are speaking of the first year and then drops quickly falling to around $50 when the vehicle gets to about 10 years old. We also pay a one time 6.25% state sales tax on the purchase price of the vehicle.

[GRUMPA]

I live at 6K elevation just over an hours drive from Show Low AZ. If you go into my profile page and get into my home folder you'll notice what the area is like just a short drive from the big Pine trees. Everyone has a preference, so your tastes will be different then most everyone elses. Phoenix I moved out of in 05 to get to our other home which is here. Didn't like all the hussle and bussle of the city life and just love it up here.

Best thing I could advise is this.

If at all possible tour the state, there's so much diversity in AZ it isn't funny. What some absolutely like others don't. If your dependent on things like convenience and medications the major cities are the best bet. Weather??...There seemed to be 2 seasons in Phoenix, hot and hotter.

[rush1886]

Obviously weather is important to each of us in our own way. bikerbeans is worried about the heat, as would I be, in and around Phoenix.

Financial concerns are real too, as in vehicle taxes, real estate, etc.

How about political climates? I have thought personally about Flagstaff, and Prescot, but as a died in the wool Conservative, I sure wouldn't want to relocate into the middle of a Liberal enclave!

[GRUMPA]

Real Estate taxes vary considerably by county, that and what a person actually pays for there home. When we lived in Phoenix out property taxes were just under 1k. Now we pay just around $450 and that's with a double wide and it sits on 40 acres. But like I said it varies, our land is classified as rural, no power, no water, no phone lines....etc.

Our vehicles are older, a 97 and a 98 and yearly we pay just under $75 for both. We don't use them all that much either, the 97 is a F-150 and it has 67k on it.

Heat is a moot point, when we lived in Phoenix it would be over 100 at 11pm and here that's about the highest it's been. We use a swamp cooler only because we live on solar power and you have to be rather conservative with power after the sun goes down.

Properties vary here, land with utilities goes for a pretty penny depending on location. The political climate again varies to a point, but here in the sticks for the most part folks are relaxed and don't get all upset about much. Of course up around here it seems drinking is the national past time so I avoid those folks like the plague.

[marlin39a]

I'm in Paulden (Home of Gunsite), 35 miles north of Prescott. 125 miles to Phoenix. I ride my ATV right off my property and shoot anywhere I like. Winter nights get into mid teens, days mid 50's. Summer comes early, lasts into late October. I'm a Mass. transplant since 2000. I believe I've found paradise.

[jmort]

"Could you possibly elaborate on this a little."

That would be for the first year, and then after that it goes down based on the value of the vehicle, truck in my example. It also includes taxes. It would be around $800 second year and go down from there. So the numbers you used in post # 12 would be similar in application, but about half of what we pay. Trucks also pay an extra weight fee. After 10 years as you mentioned, it does go way down.

[bikerbeans]

Thanks for the information guys. I know I need to visit AZ, maybe I can arrange a hunting trip next fall and spend a week or two. My wife's friends are scattered around the state; Phoenix, Patagonia (always thought that was the tip of S. America) and Scottsdale area. I can deal with colder climate better than hot so guess I need to find the sweet spot where it ain't too hot but there is enough O2 in the atmosphere I don't turn completely blue.:bigsmyl2: I didn't find the thread about the AZ gathering next month and machine gun shoots and BBQ are two big pluses in my book for AZ.

BB

[ShooterAZ]

I live in Flagstaff. We are at 7000' elevation, so yes we get a winter here. Summer more than makes up for it though, we have not seen a 100 degree day since they started keeping records. The great thing about Arizona is that you can drive an hour or two, and either be in the warmth of the desert, or skiing the slopes. If you are oxygen, I don't think I would recommend high altitude living. I see healthy folks huffing and puffing when they come up from lower elevations and go hiking, etc.

For a happy medium I would suggest looking at Camp Verde, Cottonwood, Verde Valley area. Prescott/Prescott Valley is nice too, lots of retirement folks going there. Tucson is nice too, but still plenty hot in summer. Take a look at Globe. There are a lot of mid-elevation places, that are more moderate climes. 3500-4000' seems about right. Not too hot, not too cold...just right!

[gkainz]

Off topic but had to toss this in. We passed thru Flagstaff yesterday after overnighting in Holbrook. Colder than Denver and more snow on the ground.
I have to say that I-40 is the worst highway I've ever driven! More coffee ON my belly than IN my belly all the way to Kingman! What a rough ride! At least they were considerate to put up "ROUGH ROAD" warning signs. :(

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

tats ....

[bangerjim]

To stay out of the major heat stay above 3200'. Kingman is about 3300' altitude. But the higher you go the less oxygen, in your condition that might be a consideration. 6000' is 1/2 the O2 of sea level. Look at towns and cities that have altitudes between 3300' to 5300'. Only in July August is there high humidity during monsoon rains season. Lower elevations that farm are hot and humid. Arizona is great for shooting sports, hunting, and the RTKBA.
I know of 40 acres near Kingman. PM me for the contact if your interested.


O2 levels do NOT drop in half at 6K feet. People generally die if O2 goes below about 10% (18,000+ feet!). Normal is 20.9.

See this for a good guide for your altitude/breathing questions:

http://www.higherpeak.com/altitudechart.html

I am in excellent "breathing" health and had a bit of trouble on Pikes Peak last year! But that IS high!

Wife has had slight "altitude sickness" symptoms when on Scout and Church outings in the very high northern areas of AZ. (I think it was just to get out of the work!!!!!!)

Welcome to AZ if you decide to make the move! Lots of good people here. Have lived here for 30 years.......AND survived the summers!

bangerjim

[Echo]

I've lived here for nigh onto 40 years, driving a non-air-conditioned Corvair for the first several - and survived. Highest temp ever recorded here was 117*, and there's Good News, and Bad News. Good News - I wasn't here! Bad News - I was in Phoenix, where it was 122*! But that was about 20 years ago.
Lack of humidity means that there is no hothouse effect, so the temp drops precipitously when the sun goes down. Forty degree temp swings happen, and it could be Winter or Summer - 65* @dawn, and 105* @1500, or 25* @dawn, and 65* @1500. A wrap is needed most nights.
Warmer than PHX in Winter, cooler in summer, thanks to higher altitude. About 2500' where I live, on the East side.
VA hospital here, several other top-notch hospitals, UAz for sports, culture, and education, Az Theater Company for top-notch stage stuff, a couple of indoor shooting ranges, a couple of county ranges, a couple of private ranges, Pima Air & Space Museum (largest non-government A&S Museum in the world), an outstanding open-air zoo, golf all over, and skiing within a 2-hour drive to the top of 9400' Mt Lemmon. Kitt Peak National Observatory an hour west. Million-dollar homes for half that, and so on...
Fairly corrupt local government run by Dems - heavily Hispanic plurality, and Ward elections are city-wide, rather than by ward. We R's try, but the voting block is weighted against us. Gabby Giffords was our CongressPerson until plugged by a lunatic - her Chief-of-Staff is now our rep. He conveyed Nancy P.'s desires, so now it is more direct. I believe she is a sweet person, I know folks that attended school with her, and they say she's nice - but she worked for Nancy, rather than Tucson/Az. Her replacement does the same...

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I just have to put my two cents in. I have spent a lot of time in Arizona and I did not see the temps these people are describing. I played golf at in 1993 in early September IN Tucson and the temperature ranged from 110 to 115 every day. Every other hole had a huge water chest filled with ice. The only animals that would move where the roadrunners. Every other critter just laid under the bushes and looked at you and I think shaking their head. I lost over ten pounds the first day, all water of course. All the young people who worked there had grown up in the area and they couldn't wait until they graduated from collage and could move away from the oppressive heat. It is the kind of heat that claws at your eyes when you walk outside. I spent a week in Tucson in the early 60s and it was nice to drive a few miles out of town and hunt jack rabbits or Javelina. You can't do that now. The town has really spread out. My wife and I drove all over the state looking for a place to move in 1995 but the price for a home was more than we could sell our home in California for. I wouldn't live in Phoenix if you gave me the house. Not only is it hotter than the hinges of hell but they have smog and traffic. I know one man who moved to Prescott and he really liked it until they closed the shooting range and he had drive forty five miles to the nearest range. He has all but given up shooting. Many of the small towns are nice at first but you soon run out of things to do and they become very boring. Just remember, you can't go shooting everyday. I never met a transplant who wouldn't love to go back home. We spent a few days at the Apache Motel in Prescott in early September and the owner found out I was a pretty good handy man since I helped him repair a few things. He had moved there from the Black Hills and he couldn't wait to move back. He spent the rest of our time there trying to sell me the place. Jack O'Conner gave up on Arizona shortly after WWII because of the influx of people. If you are running short of breath, high temperature is the last thing you need. The parents of a friend of mine retired and moved to Kingman. He had a heart attack and they had to helicopter him to Phoenix so medical facilities are something you need to consider. The snow birds have the best of both worlds. They go there in the winter and back up north in the summer.These are just a few of my experiences in Arizona but I think I have angered enough people already.

[starmac]

Sounds like you can find the worst in a place. there is about any climate a guy wants in Az, just depending on where a guy winds up. I know plenty of people that have moved out of Az, and went back the first chance they got too. lol

[Blacksmith]

+1 on the Camp Verde, Cottonwood, Verde Valley area. My parents retired to Sedona not far away before it got discovered and expensive (4000' elevation) not to hot in the summer just an occasional sprinkle of snow in the winter. If you wanted to visit the snow and cold in the winter you drove to Flagstaff (6000') you want hot in summer you drove to Phoenix (2000'). I have visited from Nogalas in the south to The North Rim of the Grand Canyon in the north, lots to see in AZ. The key to the weather there is the elevation. My parents lived out the rest of their lives in AZ and were very happy.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

starmac, I don't get your point. I just stated the facts and not just as I saw them but the truth, if you don't understand, spend the time I have in the state and report back. Blacksmith, Sedona is full of outer space weirdos, Nogales is a drug infested border town, Cottonwood and Camp Verde are too small, which leaves you with noting to do but go shooting. As I said, you can't do that all the time. My wife and I took the train ride up Verde Canyon and then we went to the only restaurant in Cottonwood to eat before moving on. I opened the door and I could hardly see across the room for the cigarette smoke. I closed the door and drove to the next town. Blacksmith, you stated it perfectly, The secret is to follow the weather around the state but didn't I mention the snow birds. That is what they do only on a larger scale. Say what you will about California, we have the best climate in the world and you can't smoke in the restaurants. I make this my final word on the subject. Move to wherever you want, enjoy life and God bless.

[Blacksmith]

Only one restaurant in Cottonwood? When were you there? The weather in the Verde Valley area is nice all year no need to move around. Plenty to do there if you know where to look but it is not big city living, but some of us don't cotton to the big city. My parents were in Sedona before all the fruits and nuts trying to escape California moved there so I remember it when there was one grocery in town and you waited for the movie to get a new film to show. One of my favorite restaurants is located between Sedona and Cottonwood in Page Springs, you can't miss it it is the only restaurant in town.

[Artful]

My wife and I took the train ride up Verde Canyon and then we went to the only restaurant in Cottonwood to eat before moving on. I opened the door and I could hardly see across the room for the cigarette smoke. I closed the door and drove to the next town.
What year was this? I have had several good dining experiences in cottonwood, and smoking like that I haven't seen since I was in San Francisco in the 70's

And don't tell the shooters at the range it's closed
http://www.prescottsportsmensclub.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Prescott-Gun-Club/155075591324387

Unless it was closed for fire season - that happens here due to drought's.
Makes you wish they would just do what that news person wanted and put sprinklers
though out the forest, it would make life so much nicer.:roll:

[nvbirdman]

I think it's called a Hoodah. It's a dust storm that they have around Phoenix once or twice a year and it blacks out the sky. Maybe someone from Arizona can tell us about it.

[starmac]

I have never been a legal resident of Az, but have spent 6 months at a time their several times, and still visit friends their occasionally.
I suppose different people see things differently, I prefer to live in a state that supports what few rights people have left, including a restaurant owners right to allow or disallow smoking. Cottonwood and Camp Verde are nice towns, but actually larger than I prefer, so we are way off their too. I don't have any plans to live in Az, or even work there anymore, and there are places I don't like, and places I do. You can go back for a visit if you want to, the state decided they know more than the property owners there too.

[Artful]

I think it's called a Hoodah. It's a dust storm that they have around Phoenix once or twice a year and it blacks out the sky. Maybe someone from Arizona can tell us about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haboob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYnuzoH5oBA

Yep, wind storms (microbursts) do come even to the desert and they pick up the dust and move it around.
haboobs as they are known in Arabic are that they usually produce little damage, last a short time, don't reach incredible heights of altitude, and are numbered in the average range of two to three per summer season (June-Sept).
We also have Thunderstorms with rain/mud showers during this period - we call it the Monsoon Season.
http://arizonaexperience.org/sites/arizonaexperience.org/files/base_images/monsoon_monsoon-lightning.jpg
http://arizonaexperience.org/land/arizonas-monsoon-season

[300savage]

the natives usually just call them dust storms.
gopher slayer for the record i agree with starmac, your just looking for not only all the bad, your embellishing it.
and that those comments about az are coming from someone living in ca,, wow.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Black smith, the year was 1995 and if you can smoke in any restaurant what does it matter. By the way, of all the fruits and nuts I talked to in Sedona none were former residents of California. I don't believe you people read or understand what I was trying to say. If you want to live in a place where the heat in summer will fry the brains out of your gourd and melt the shoe polish on your shoes three months of the year, be my guest. Prescott is the one place I would move to but in 1995 it was already out of my price range, that is if you wanted a decent house. After we moved to where we now live, the price for houses in Arizona fell thru the basement but by then it was too late. I don't really care if you agree with me or not, I am tired of talking about. I see the world one way and perhaps you see it another. I just don't like hot or cold and strong wind. It could be 74f degrees everyday and it wouldn't bother me.

[Blacksmith]

starmac, I don't get your point. I just stated the facts and not just as I saw them but the truth, if you don't understand, spend the time I have in the state and report back. Blacksmith, Sedona is full of outer space weirdos, Nogales is a drug infested border town, Cottonwood and Camp Verde are too small, which leaves you with noting to do but go shooting. As I said, you can't do that all the time. My wife and I took the train ride up Verde Canyon and then we went to the only restaurant in Cottonwood to eat before moving on. I opened the door and I could hardly see across the room for the cigarette smoke. I closed the door and drove to the next town. Blacksmith, you stated it perfectly, The secret is to follow the weather around the state but didn't I mention the snow birds. That is what they do only on a larger scale. Say what you will about California, we have the best climate in the world and you can't smoke in the restaurants. I make this my final word on the subject. Move to wherever you want, enjoy life and God bless.


I don't believe you people read or understand what I was trying to say.

Maybe if you say what you mean.:kidding:

[bikerbeans]

Thanks everybody for your input on AZ. I will make a trip out to AZ next summer with my daughter to visit and see what the "dry" heat is all about. My wife has only been to AZ for vacations and all her friends put on the show for her. This has put a very positive spin on her opinion of AZ. I am trying to stay neutral about it until I spend some time in AZ.

The dust storm is pretty cool. When my son was in training he had to out run one of them so he could land at Luke. He lucked out and was the last plane that landed before they closed the runway and diverted the rest of the planes.

Oh one question, are there whitetail deer in AZ?

BB

[ShooterAZ]

There ARE Whitetails in AZ! Little tiny ones (Coues) in the south, and big ones in 6A & 8. Big Mulies all over, even in the desert.

[bikerbeans]

Tags over the counter for whitetails and muledeer or lottery? CF rifle is legal?

BB

[ShooterAZ]

The regs just changed this year, archery tags were always over the counter. Rifle tags by lottery. Not sure what changed for this year.

[brtelec]

3 kinds of deer, bear, elk, couple types of turkey, Javelina, mountain lion, desert big horn sheep and more coyotes than you can shake a stick at. There is plenty of things to hunt in Az.

[khmer6]

Certain units have OTC any antlered archery only. There's 3 seasins, not all units are open during those seasons. January, decmeber, august. There is also plenty of left over lottery tags each year. No shortage of game to hunt if you are willing

[smokeywolf]

We're planning on moving around the Summer of 2015. We started out looking at the Carson Valley in Nevada. I've always liked the look of the Western side of the valley on the West slope overlooking Minden. Then we started looking at Hill Country in Texas. For the past 6 months or so we've been leaning toward the Ozarks in Missouri; oldest son lives in the Kansas City area.
We've looked at Arizona, NM, WY, MT, WV and a couple of others.

We want to end up with a minimum of 40 acres, but not sure if we can be happy with anything less than 60. As far as AZ goes, I'd like to have pine trees, but this is a pretty place.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6685-N-Elk-Run-Rd-Hackberry-AZ-86411/55724791_zpid/

So-so high school 25 minutes away and a 2 year college in Kingman.

smokeywolf

[starmac]

Smokeywolf, when you make a break for the border, I wouldn't even slow down until you are well past that place. They may sneak across the border and grab you back.lol