Arizona Pro's & Con's

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Meter Tech

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For those that live in Arizona what's your likes and dislikes to living there? 

Looking at the future and getting out of California, Arizona is high on the list of prospective destinations.... mostly thinking for retirement or hopefully a little sooner. 

And I know that four months out of the year it's HOT AF....but it looks like for the rest of the year is fairly nice.

One area that has my interest in Queen Creek, AZ. 

Thank you for your thoughts and time to comment.  :cheers:

 
AZ IS CLOSED!!!!!!!  I hear New Mexico is taking refugees. 

cons: its damn near CA with all the high prices of fuel, chit tons of traffic, housing shortages and your already transplanted CA resididents who recently changed us from a red state to blue. 

Pro's: NONE!  

 
I bought my house as a second home in Lake Havasu during COVID.  We were going back and forth and then stayed here two weeks and said screw it, let's move here full-time.  I sold my CA home and gone.  It's been awesome and we love it.

Since then, AZ has turned blue and some cost of living have gone up.  Utilities, food, gas...  I feel bad for other red states with an influx of Californians.  They HATE us.  A conservative in CA is a liberal anywhere else.  You have no idea how conditioned you are to liberal ideologies and acceptance.

Wherever you are thinking, do a deeper dive into the area.  Spend a few weekends/days at different times and seasons.  Also, real estate is not as cheap as it once was.  Out of staters moving in and the economy has screwed up the entire nation.  There is still a grand illusion that other states are cheaper.  Not anymore.

 
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Mac said:
I bought my house as a second home in Lake Havasu during COVID.  We were going back and forth and then stayed here two weeks and said screw it, let's move here full-time.  I sold my CA home and gone.  It's been awesome and we love it.

Since then, AZ has turned blue and some cost of living have gone up.  Utilities, food, gas...  I feel bad for other red states with an influx of Californians.  They HATE us.  A conservative in CA is a liberal anywhere else.  You have no idea how conditioned you are to liberal ideologies and acceptance.

Wherever you are thinking, do a deeper dive into the area.  Spend a few weekends/days at different times and seasons.  Also, real estate is not as cheap as it once was.  Out of staters moving in and the economy has screwed up the entire nation.  There is still a grand illusion that other states are cheaper.  Not anymore.
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We started looking at houses in LHC just before COVID. Now I wish we would of bought then. We are the kind of the same boat. We planned on doing more short trips for a few years until we can spend more time out there. My biggest complaint about LHC is.....everytime we go out there we drink wayyyyy tooooo much. I don't know what else there is do there other than go to The Desert Bar, Desert Martini, The Office or even Smiths. LOL

I am a San Diego Native and I love it here. As much as I as I am sick of CA, I love San Diego. But even this city is going south quickly. I would want a house in SD and LHC

 
Had some of the guys come up from Cali last weekend. They rented a RZR. We drove ours out of the garage.  Did some (sort of) rock crawling/Dunes. Then did about 40 miles into the pinion forests. They were really concerned about the distance we'd traveled.  "What if something when wrong"... It's 2023, cell service everywhere. Or even GPS if it went really sideways.  Heard gunfire of someone target shooting out in the desert.  I didn't think anything of it.  They were firing into a sand hill. But my buddies wanted to leave quickly... Then they talk about the RV storage in the old neighborhood... RV's get broke into at least once a month.  Homeless move in, make a nasty mess.  They steal parts off the RV's... It gets cleaned up. Then they just HOPE theirs isn't the next one to get broken into. It's become apathy!  Do something to stop the behavior... But, seems it's not going to happen.  And they cant leave to go elsewhere, because, you know, the weather... It's HOT in those other places...  

Once you get out of Cali, the mindset changes.  Hot is no big deal. Gunfire doesn't rattle you (if it's in the right place) The cost of living is going to get MORE staggering in Cali with all the new taxes and giveaways that are on the docket. Seeing articles about the high earners that've already left the California economy.  (cant tax the rich if they don't live there, so...) Saw yesterday California ranks 50th for starting a business...  I cant even imagine what's going to happen when the currently 'open' border, OPENS MORE, and flooded with hundreds of thousands this next few months. GET OUT while you can.

 
Punchdrunk Monkey said:
We started looking at houses in LHC just before COVID. Now I wish we would of bought then. We are the kind of the same boat. We planned on doing more short trips for a few years until we can spend more time out there. My biggest complaint about LHC is.....everytime we go out there we drink wayyyyy tooooo much. I don't know what else there is do there other than go to The Desert Bar, Desert Martini, The Office or even Smiths. LOL

I am a San Diego Native and I love it here. As much as I as I am sick of CA, I love San Diego. But even this city is going south quickly. I would want a house in SD and LHC
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Life choices man... :lol:

Everyone knows me by my drinking antics.  I rarely drink now at all.  Havasu is what you make of it.  We have plenty of friends here.  @Kevin lives here and we do a lot of stuff and hangout.  @2dasand started up an offroad group here in Havasu that does SXS runs all the time.  We do year round boating.  Winter months, lots of off-roading, hiking, tons of city planned events, lots of car shows.  Winter Havasu is pretty bitchin.  Bike night on main street every Wednesday, Car night on Thursdays.  Plus, making new friends and such.  We'll have game nights and such.  When's the last time as an adult you sat with friends and played cards or a board game?  Great times.  If you have a dog, the dog park people here are in full force.  My wife takes the dogs out there a lot. My wife started having us take "adult interest" classes with the local community college.  It's fun to get out and meet people.  We've met a lot of nice people.  There are a lot of GD.com people here.  We all kind of lay low but run into each other.

And of course, you have the bars.  We go out at least once a week.  Go have a drink.  If you know where to go, Havasu is a very social place and lots of fun.  We always sit at the bar and it's never a dull time.  Have a drink or 2 and then call it a night.

My wife is a San Diego native.  I was in SD for 32 years.  She said she would never leave but coming here for 2 weeks...on day 5 she didn't want to go back.  Day 10...she told me she wanted to move here.  It's nice to be in a small town.  Plus, living here, the party stays down at the lake or in the bars.  Our neighborhood is so nice and quiet.  We can have a pool party, sit in the hot tub and watch the sun set over the lake (we have a lake view).  Life is easy here.  It took me a few months to adjust.  I had no idea how consumed by the chaos I had become.  My physical and mental health are way better here.  Slowing down is a good thing.

 
Just curious, what is the Property Tax in LHC?  I tried looking but struggle to find the actual number.

Thanks

 
Mac said:
I bought my house as a second home in Lake Havasu during COVID.  We were going back and forth and then stayed here two weeks and said screw it, let's move here full-time.  I sold my CA home and gone.  It's been awesome and we love it.

Since then, AZ has turned blue and some cost of living have gone up.  Utilities, food, gas...  I feel bad for other red states with an influx of Californians.  They HATE us.  A conservative in CA is a liberal anywhere else.  You have no idea how conditioned you are to liberal ideologies and acceptance.

Wherever you are thinking, do a deeper dive into the area.  Spend a few weekends/days at different times and seasons.  Also, real estate is not as cheap as it once was.  Out of staters moving in and the economy has screwed up the entire nation.  There is still a grand illusion that other states are cheaper.  Not anymore.
Click to expand...
Mac makes some great points

I am in CA but had two homes in AZ, last in Havasu for 15 years , until the Pandemic (wish I kept it)

for 15 years the house I built in Havasu went up basically 5% from 2005 to 2019  - and Everything...  food, gas, utilities, taxes all 33% lower than CA

in 2021 My ex-home resold for 2x what I sold it for, from visiting now prices are closer to 15% less than CA (Im in LA county)

Many desirable areas of the country are similar

We as "Californians" have always said "CA is More expensive but its worth it because:  Weather, natural beauty, opportunity, culture, surf, sun, mountains, car culture, outdoor activities  etc."

If you ask yourself how much of that is still true.. or how much of that is exciting in AZ, I think you will find many people's perspectives have changed. 

I have done the comparison several times (great on line sites for this)  against where I live  in CA and where I want to live AZ - A couple years ago this was close to me making 30%  more, now given my "lifestyle" its closer to 19%

I ask myself is its worth 19% more to live where I do for the weather  (the only thing CA Government has yet to destroy) ...

My 2 cents

 
But it's really hot there.... Idaho and Montana are full, Utah shut off Californians....AZ is the last place to go. 

 
Fullthrottleguy said:
We as "Californians" have always said "CA is More expensive but its worth it because:  Weather, natural beauty, opportunity, culture, surf, sun, mountains, car culture, outdoor activities  etc."

If you ask yourself how much of that is still true.. or how much of that is exciting in AZ, I think you will find many people's perspectives have changed.
Click to expand...
I used to say I pay the sunshine tax to enjoy the weather and lifestyle.  Then...I realized I didn't go out anymore because of the traffic, the crowds, no parking, etc...  Why was I paying to live there if I never used the surrounding amenities?  It became a no brainer to leave.

 
Realbadlarry said:
But it's really hot there.... Idaho and Montana are full, Utah shut off Californians....AZ is the last place to go. 
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As sick as it sounds...I freaking LOVE the heat.  I wish is was 100+ here year round.  I go out and take naps in the sun on the hot summer days.  It will be 115 and I'm out taking a nap.  My wife thinks I've lost my mind.

Disclaimer...5 summers in the Persian gulf will cure you from complaining about the heat.

 
Mac said:
Life choices man... :lol:

Everyone knows me by my drinking antics.  I rarely drink now at all.  Havasu is what you make of it.  We have plenty of friends here.  @Kevin lives here and we do a lot of stuff and hangout.  @2dasand started up an offroad group here in Havasu that does SXS runs all the time.  We do year round boating.  Winter months, lots of off-roading, hiking, tons of city planned events, lots of car shows.  Winter Havasu is pretty bitchin.  Bike night on main street every Wednesday, Car night on Thursdays.  Plus, making new friends and such.  We'll have game nights and such.  When's the last time as an adult you sat with friends and played cards or a board game?  Great times.  If you have a dog, the dog park people here are in full force.  My wife takes the dogs out there a lot. My wife started having us take "adult interest" classes with the local community college.  It's fun to get out and meet people.  We've met a lot of nice people.  There are a lot of GD.com people here.  We all kind of lay low but run into each other.

And of course, you have the bars.  We go out at least once a week.  Go have a drink.  If you know where to go, Havasu is a very social place and lots of fun.  We always sit at the bar and it's never a dull time.  Have a drink or 2 and then call it a night.

My wife is a San Diego native.  I was in SD for 32 years.  She said she would never leave but coming here for 2 weeks...on day 5 she didn't want to go back.  Day 10...she told me she wanted to move here.  It's nice to be in a small town.  Plus, living here, the party stays down at the lake or in the bars.  Our neighborhood is so nice and quiet.  We can have a pool party, sit in the hot tub and watch the sun set over the lake (we have a lake view).  Life is easy here.  It took me a few months to adjust.  I had no idea how consumed by the chaos I had become.  My physical and mental health are way better here.  Slowing down is a good thing.
Click to expand...
Mac -

Havasu is a fantastic place, but prices are so high now, but the small town feel is so incredible  - are you saying its gone blue???  I left mostly in  2019 only been back a couple times  - did not see that 

 
Fullthrottleguy said:
Mac -

Havasu is a fantastic place, but prices are so high now, but the small town feel is so incredible  - are you saying its gone blue???  I left mostly in  2019 only been back a couple times  - did not see that 
Click to expand...
You are correct.  The housing market here exploded and not very credibly right now.

AZ when blue but Havasu still bleeds red.

 
@Schmidty is a new resident of the QC.  

For me it was a nice place to visit but didn't work well for work.  I have to travel into the city for work and getting to and from the QC can be a pain in the you know what.

Even on the weekends when I would visit my GF when she lived there It always seemed to be more crowded than my area closer into town.

 
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