Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-02-2010, 11:06 AM
 
Location: California
24 posts, read 77,222 times
Reputation: 15

Advertisements

Need advice from anyone who has an opinion or has made a similiar move. We are currently living in California, the Inland Empire, to be exact. My husband and I have been talking about a move for months...but can't seem to agree on where. We have three boys, ages 14, 6 and 2.
Good schools, good community and low crime are very important. A thriving economy would help, although I'm not sure if you will find that anywhere right now. We enjoy the outdoors...hiking, biking, sports. I have a horse and would like to have access to trails for riding. We don't really want to be in a subdivision...we would like to have a little bit of land and open spaces around us.
I don't mind a little snow...in fact that might be nice. Four seasons would be good.
But the most important thing is a place where we can raise our children and call home. Small town...probably better. Someplace where we can make new friends and not feel like outsiders from California.
Does this place exist and if so where is it?????
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-02-2010, 04:20 PM
 
Location: SoCal desert
8,091 posts, read 15,429,770 times
Reputation: 15038
Check out the White Mountains and the Rim Country in Arizona. Lots of small(er) towns. Some have pine trees, some don't. Definitely 4 seasons. And gorgeous.

Kingman AZ is also nice - but will be hotter, and for a longer time.

I still want to check our Safford, over on the east border.

I'm a fan of Arizona
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-02-2010, 04:25 PM
 
Location: Arizona
1,034 posts, read 4,391,794 times
Reputation: 1382
I can only give you info on AZ since I've never been to TX and am not a big fan of UT.

Based on your criteria, I'd recommend you check out the following cities:
Camp Verde/Cottonwood
Chino Valley
Payson
Prescott Valley
Sierra Vista
St. Johns
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-02-2010, 04:25 PM
 
220 posts, read 411,673 times
Reputation: 236
Check out Boerne, TX. Small town, great schools, and lots of land. But, I would think twice about moving anywhere unless you know for sure that it's better than where you live now. Also, moving away from extended family is not a good idea.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-02-2010, 04:35 PM
 
Location: Montana
2,203 posts, read 9,320,090 times
Reputation: 1130
From what you describe in your post, Prescott and the surrounding communities (Chino Valley, Prescott Valley, Dewey) all have areas with homes on 2-acre parcels or larger. There are lots of neat places to hike, bike, and ride, and most people think that Prescott is very friendly. Plus 4-season weather. Usually our winters are quite mild, but this year was colder and wetter than usual.

One tough question, though? Will you need jobs when you move? The job market here is very tight with very few openings except for medical. I think for the thriving economy, you probably need to look to Texas and Utah. From what I hear they have not been hit as hard as AZ.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-02-2010, 04:50 PM
 
5 posts, read 25,278 times
Reputation: 15
Default Az, ut, tx

We are from CA and living in St George UT for the past 7 years. My suggestion would be to read as many posts from the states U are considering moving to. You will find a whirl of info on them. The Saint George area has most of what you are looking for if you can deal with the dominate religion here. Please read the posts, they will help you.

Good Luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-05-2010, 10:59 AM
 
Location: California
24 posts, read 77,222 times
Reputation: 15
We will be needing jobs. My husband plans to go ahead of the family to try and find work before we all make the move. We have family in Las Vegas and California...so Arizona is a strong contender due the location. We do not want to be more than a 4-5 hour drive so visiting will still be possilbe. We originally were all for Texas...my husband loved it there, but it is so far away from the grandparents that we started to get a little nervous about that. Utah is lovely and has everything we want...but we are a little afraid of the religious aspect of it. I have nothing against LDS religion...I am just not...and have read things about it on here that make me a little hesitant. With that being said...Arizona seems like a great fit with everything we want. Prescott is just gorgeous...and Chino Valley...does anyone have any information on the schools in these areas and maybe anything regarding youth sports and recreation. Is this more of a retirement area?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-06-2010, 06:20 PM
 
Location: Safford, AZ MOVING to WY!
31 posts, read 76,007 times
Reputation: 15
No work in Safford or near by.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-06-2010, 10:48 PM
 
Location: Glendale, AZ
93 posts, read 305,476 times
Reputation: 20
Flagstaff, AZ would fit the bill except fot the occassional year (09-10) where there is a lot more than a little snow. May be colder winter than you're looking for too, but the sun is often shining so the temps can be deceiving.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-07-2010, 04:12 AM
 
Location: USA
3,966 posts, read 10,696,802 times
Reputation: 2228
Quote:
Originally Posted by redjan1225 View Post
I can only give you info on AZ since I've never been to TX and am not a big fan of UT.

Based on your criteria, I'd recommend you check out the following cities:
Camp Verde/Cottonwood
Chino Valley
Payson
Prescott Valley
Sierra Vista
St. Johns
Pinetop has an extremely good school, but you have to be extremely skilled to land a job there or know someone in town with connections. Or even start your own company It is a very small town, everyone will know each other, well almost.

California schools are overrated. Good luck to you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top