Thoughts on living in or moving to Arizona

[PredatorX]

For guys that moved into AZ or have lived there even what are your general thoughts on living in AZ?

I’ve have visited AZ 4-5 times and the big draw is having more reasonable access to mountains while keeping the warden happy with warm weather.

In the Midwest and other places it seems like we have more rural opportunities to live in where in AZ it seems more condensed with less rural sprawl.

Right now for fun outside of hunting I can get out and cut timber, do some tractor work on the side etc. In AZ that does seem more limited however I guess my hobbies could change more into hiking scouting and more serious backpack hunting.

It might be hard living right on top of others as we are looking at northern phoenix, Scottsdale etc. Anyone else make this kind of a lifestyle move?

Or any regrets moving to AZ?

 

[BadDogPSD]

Summers in the valley can be tough. Big city, lots of traffic. Crime rates are fairly high. Absolutely gorgeous starting in October through March/early April.
Edit to add- I'm an AZ native but have not lived there since 1993.

 

[ctafoya]

Been in AZ for a long time. I love AZ, but I hate the valley. Crime, traffic, pollution, noise, police helicopters, basically LA 2.0. Get two hours outside of the valley its great! I used to travel for work and have been everywhere. I'll never leave, even if I don't ever make it out of the valley. I grew up in middle of nowhere NM where my closest neighbor was literally a mile away. To this day I'm still not used to hearing my neighbors worthless dog bark or seeing people when I look out my window.

To many opportunities for fun to even count. Two hours north and you're in the mountains, 6 hours west your ocean fishing. The summers are no joke. I stay in an RV park in the summer up north, I can't deal with the heat anymore.

 

[CorbLand]

I love AZ and would like to move there one day. No way would I do it if I had to live down in the Valley.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

If you can stand it being 120 degrees everyday for 6 months, go for it. My buddy lives down in Mesa and I will not go there unless it's in the winter. I was forced to go down there for work a bunch of times (from WI) and couldn't believe how hot it was.

 

[ctafoya]

If you can stand it being 120 degrees everyday for 6 months, go for it. My buddy lives down in Mesa and I will not go there unless it's in the winter. I was forced to go down there for work a bunch of times (from WI) and couldn't believe how hot it was.

But its a "dry" heat!

 

[NRA4LIFE]

But its a "dry" heat!

Yeah, and I always said when it's -35 in WI it was a "dry cold" because it was too cold to snow.

 

[TheTone]

But its a "dry" heat!

I talked to someone in her 70’s the other day that grew up as a kid in phoenix. She said it was way easier to tolerate the heat before everyone had yards with sprinklers and air conditioning. Said it added a ton of humidity and made things seem way worse

I’ve traveled through quite a bit of AZ and phoenix would be way down my list of places I’d live there

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

30 years ago I almost moved to Payson. Liked it back then, not now. Way too many people and water is limited.

 

[timmymac24]

I spent 5 years in Scottsdale. One of the radio stations had a contest to predict the first day it would hit 100 degrees in March. I taught high school science and coached football. I was amazed that kids were tough enough to endure the heat and pads to play ball. Due to a heat stroke fatality our district wouldn't allow us to practice until the combined temp/heat was below 100 so we couldn't practice after school until around October. I survived it and my daughter now lives in PHX but the heat is crazy I prefer 4 seasons. Leave the 60 mile radius of the valley and there are great areas.

Side note when I flew there to visit my now wife in August of 1993 she picked me up at Sky Harbor Airport. I still remember when the sliding doors opened to go to the parking lot what the heat felt like. I said it felt like I was looking in the oven to check on my pizza. Hot as hell dry or not.

 

[PredatorX]

Great info guys. Someone really freaked me out with the LA 2.0 though.

Is the N side of the valley just as bad?

Is it true that when you get “off the grid” water becomes a problem (expensive)?

 

[RS_Non-Res]

I moved from upper Midwest to small southern city in AZ. Yea summer heat (like +100*F in March). My cousin applied for a job at one of the National Parks. Boss said can you handle the heat? Cousin says as long as it stays below 120 I'm OK (he spent time in the Persian sandbox). Boss said, Oh it doesn't get that hot. Lots of midday in the AC then go to the park after 10 pm with everybody else.

The culture is different in the small cities. I went from Nordic to Messican in 24 hrs. That was the toughest change for me.
Water scarcity is real...but then so is mosquito scarcity. Location specific though.
Tucson is not Phoenix.

 

[Maverick1]

@PredatorX - You might want to check into how long you have to wait to get a tag, even as a resident.....if that type of thing is important to you......

 

[fngTony]

Spent a week in Phoenix in ‘23 and learned a lot from a coworker that I was shadowing. How big of a city it is depends on your perception. Going from a rural area or small city it will feel massive. Coming from other big cities it’s kinda not that big. Yes it’s five million people in the greater area but feels less congested than Denver with 1.5 million less people. Phoenix makes Seattle feel like Chicago because of the difference in population density. I don’t think calling it LA 2.0 is entirely accurate, Orange County 2.0 would be a better comparison. Half of the area is modern cookie cutter suburbs and another 30% is older suburban development, the urban area isn’t a big part of it. Driving there has traffic but a decent freeway system and most major roads go for miles so you have options. San Antonio is half the population with the most awful road system I’ve seen.

Schools are often built right on a major road which is stupid. Water rights are interesting, if buying a home make sure you know exactly what’s what with your water especially if you’re not in a city water supply area.

I’m sure it’s hot half of the year and too hot for half of that. What you do for work and how much you travel for it plays a big part in tolerating it. You prepare for summer road emergencies kinda like you would for winter conditions in the Midwest, pack necessary items and don’t get stupid.

Scottsdale is nice if it’s in your budget, if not the Deer Valley area (north central around I17) is an older working class neighborhood. The suburbs in the SE sprawl are mostly nice with the older parts of Mesa being sketchy. The far western side is more elbow room between homes not as much hustle and bustle.

I get why the valley has a bad reputation but outside of that and Flaggstaff it’s extremely void of amenities or job opportunities. Seriously I’m talking mars desolate not forty five minutes through corn to the next town of three thousand people.

It’s a city that benefits from resort tourism, technology, car culture and related businesses along with people who like to get outside (except for the summer) and spend money which makes for a good diverse economy. A more positive vibe than the Denver area.

I don’t know much about hunting there but general mountain recreation seemed good plus you have desert to ride around in if you’re into bikes/utv etc.

 

[Bannedinshortorder!]

100% of everything written in these posts is true.

 

[eddielasvegas]

What part of AZ? It's a big state (6th largest by square miles) so where does matter and rural can easily be found given its size.

I grew up in Va. Beach then moved to Boston in late 80's and then AZ 20 years ago.

I still have a soft spot for SE VA, but I would take AZ over the places I've lived.

The Valley of the Sun iss dang near perfect weather wise for 8 months a year and stupid hot for ~4 months a year. I'll still take our "oven" season over 5+ months of wintah in Boston and ungodly humidity in VB in the summer.

The variety of outdoor activities here is mind boggling and only rivaled by CA IMHO. Play golf in Scottsdale on a January day in shorts and then drive 2.5 hours north to hit the slopes the same day. Not many places offer that.

Regarding the crime mentioned in the Valley....we've owned our home for 18 years and the only crime we've experienced is someone stole a few things out of my wives' car when she forgot to lock it. That was 12+ years ago.

We have constitutional carry here and we voted for DJT in 2024 if those things matter to you.

PM me if you decide to move here and I'll be glad to give you some ideas and suggestions.

Good luck,


Eddie

 

[TreeDux]

There’s been a lot of good answers and a lot of accurate information given already. But while we’re talking, I’ll throw my two cents in.

Arizona is an absolutely gorgeous state. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there. But the heat is a significant factor. My sister lives on the west side of the state, and about the only thing we found tolerable to do in the summertime was river based recreation.

Also, depending upon your career, jobs can be very hard to come by and largely seem to be focused in a handful of areas, like Phoenix. On the upside of that, Arizona could be a good option for someone who can work remotely.

Even in some of the more desolate areas removed from population centers, the real estate struck me as being prohibitively expensive.

And then, yes, there is that whole water rights question.

Lastly, as someone else pointed out, big game tags are extremely hard to get. About the only thing I know of that you could count on doing every year reliably would be some of the over-the-counter archery deer hunts and some of the bear hunts. But both can be great hunts so there is that. There is good bird hunting, and small game hunting as well.

 

[Bailer]

I am in the process of escaping. When Phoenix had a population of 2-3M I could escape north, east or south into beautiful country. Now you’re competing against twice as many people for those escape spots.

 

[WyldGoose]

Depends on where you’re at and your needs. I’d never live down in the desert/city. We’re up in the ponderosa pines, small rural town. Summers get into the 90’s, so we do get city folk flooding through on weekends in summer. We don’t have tons of shopping, Costco, etc…that’s a 2 hour drive.