Arizona Pro's & Con's

Check to be sure but income tax is a flat 2.5%

That's a Pro!

I'm trying my hardest to get to Prescott, can't handle the Phoenix/Tucson/LHC heat

 
ChEFF said:
It's a dry heat. Peace
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Tell that to my sweaty balls

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Lost my thyroid...so the heat really screws with me... original plan was a place in Idaho and a place in bullhead.... we shall see... need to be able to flee the heat. 

 
you gotta decide what you want out of the area you live in. the phoenix area has everything you could ever need or want short of small town living. Living here in Havasu i love the small town atmoshpere, the fact theres little to no chain resturaunts, its a slower pace of life for sure. if you move to a place like Havasu, you need to change your expectations on alot of things. nothing gets done here quickly, Havasu time much like island time is real, and if you need to work and expect a wage similiar to calif, dont bother moving to Arizona, that chit aint happening especially in Havasu. phoenix erea has much more opportunities in that regard but wages are still less than what you would get for same job in calif. i got out of calif in 2017, i couldnt afford it today. one thing i keep saying these days when asked why i sold my boat when i live at a lake, dont go to glamis much at all, etc.. is i no longer live a life i need to escape from. socal living was stressful, and i couldnt wait to go somewhere for the weekends, these days are much different.

 
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Went from Fullerton to Peoria in June 2020. So far we like it I like outdoors and lot of stuff to do lake close by,got back into shooting a lil more too and of course off road toys are plated. 
 

like has been said though the cost of living here has gone up from housing to fuel. If we were to do the same move today it would cost us more for sure.before you could come here from ca and a decent job would carry you fine today your gonna need a good job.currently I go back to ca for work every other week which I’ve gotten use to and can work more if I choose. Makes it hard to beat for me. 
 

I do like the drive to glamis been averaging 4.5 hours with gas and food stop. Can do 4 with quick gas stop. It’s only 8 miles difference from old house was average of 6 hrs before. Havasu is 3:20 min vs 6-7 before(traffic). 

 
Kevin said:
 one thing i keep saying these days when asked why i sold my boat when i live at a lake, dont go to glamis much at all, etc.. is i no longer live a life i need to escape from. socal living was stressful, and i couldnt wait to go somewhere for the weekends, these days are much different.
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I have a few friends that say the exact same thing - they still have boats and sand cars sitting and I can never get them to go out - they just say its paradise every day here  - I used to go out to get away and relax, now I come home to relax.  I never got that in AZ  being there part time ..  but I believe you would full time

I started looking at Yuma  since I still travel a bit for work if mostly at home -  I did the run to Las Vegas a number of times for flights from Havasu  - that gets real old  real fast...   Yuma is near the river, near Glamis  both within an hour, and a real airport in town.  Good hospitals - got think about that getting older, Havasu is good on healthcare - but anything big they fly you to Vegas. Then there is the border in Yuma, but ... maybe that gets fixed in 2024

I can get a nice newer house, and a couple acres in Yuma a 2500 sq ft shop and a pool  about half the cost of Havasu right now, but not sure of the culture. 

Its amazing how all of AZ has a significantly higher crime rate (by on line stats) than my town (Torrance) in CA  but I never felt that way in Havasu. They rate Havasu same as Yuma C- in most crime, most coastal cities in CA are A- like mine , makes you wonder

I  use some stupid measurements to determine culture of where I want to live  - How red is it,  what is the percentage of RV garages, how many car clubs,  Plusess...how many chain restaurants and 7-11's Minuses ..., percentage of college grads ...  A mixed bag  and of course healthcare, and location

 
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.
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I still check Zillow daily. I have a couple close friends that live on the north/east side of town. A house popped up right next door to my buddy. I knew I was going out there a week after it got listed. So I planned on looking at it and hopefully putting in an offer. It sold the day before we went out there. I had 3 other houses I wanted to look at. All of them went pending that weekend. WTF! This was a couple months ago. The market had been dropping and then it jumped right back up. Now it is dropping slowly.

 
Mac said:
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.
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Definitely NOT a dry heat there. No beer. No porn. All the heat. Yeah, can’t blame them for being angry…

 
I noticed some mention they cut back on things since moving.I as well cut back on dune trips the past couple years and havent taken my boat to havasu or river either.I have a lake close by that i can enjoy boat on then hit restuarant on the water before headed home,can take jet ski mid week with no crowds,

As for glamis now that i have buggy plated i can cruise around town or take a lil adventure on a saturday morning some street to desert then just putt around or do some desert trails.

 
Nevada might be an option....no income tax.   I know people that have moved to Texas, which also has no income tax, but they tax the heck out of you in other areas, like property.  I don't know if NV is the same way.

 
East valley. Gilbert, chandler, Tempe, some Mesa would be my top picks and have been here 42 years. queen creek would be a solid choice. San tan valley is too far out I think same with Maricopa,  but could work depending on situation (definitely more bang for your buck). 

as seen from east valley 

pros

-glamis 3.5-4.5 hours

- weather, the heat doesn’t have to stop you so you can do anything year round. (I accomplish nothing in summer, but not this year (said every year)

-4 lakes within about an hour drive. 

-real big lake about 2-2.5 hours

-lake powell 5-8 depending 

-mountains (7400) 1.5-4 hours depending on which ones. 

-snow skiing still open till memorial day this year but decent skiing every year 2.5-3.5 hours depending on mountain. 
 

the gun thing I guess, I’ve just always assumed that was my god damn given right as a law abiding citizen that strides to be a good patriot!!!

 -traffic, doesn’t bother me and I drive all over metro Phoenix  

-cinders if you’ve never experienced it

-good off-road of all terrains. Az tends to be a pretty rocky state  

-beach, 4.5-6.5 depending

cons 

-heat 

-I-17 going up north. (Something always fawks it up, usually on Sunday coming home. so we never go that way)

-the west side!! Unless you gotta go check out a game  

-homeless is becoming more noticeable. 

For me not much more than that. Of course maybe I don’t know what I’m missing elsewhere.  From what I see building is going crazy. It is showing that either you have plenty of money or you have no money out there  with the prices of homes from just a few years ago and from what I hear about rates. I don’t know how a 1st time home buyer is going to start out here anymore.  

summers really are inside or water bound. 

 
this is the research I did with respect to weather.  I also did an evaluation of $/SQ-FT for smaller houses, but cant find that.  it varied a lot with lot size.  I was kind of surprised @ how expensive some of the houses were in places like Prescott. with regards to temperature days, those are daytime highs. 

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These are the general areas we were looking @.  we know that Phoenix is not in the running.  just too damn meany hot days.  we could not live like that. 

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Fullthrottleguy said:
I have a few friends that say the exact same thing - they still have boats and sand cars sitting and I can never get them to go out - they just say its paradise every day here  - I used to go out to get away and relax, now I come home to relax.  I never got that in AZ  being there part time ..  but I believe you would full time

I started looking at Yuma  since I still travel a bit for work if mostly at home -  I did the run to Las Vegas a number of times for flights from Havasu  - that gets real old  real fast...   Yuma is near the river, near Glamis  both within an hour, and a real airport in town.  Good hospitals - got think about that getting older, Havasu is good on healthcare - but anything big they fly you to Vegas. Then there is the border in Yuma, but ... maybe that gets fixed in 2024

I can get a nice newer house, and a couple acres in Yuma a 2500 sq ft shop and a pool  about half the cost of Havasu right now, but not sure of the culture. 

Its amazing how all of AZ has a significantly higher crime rate (by on line stats) than my town (Torrance) in CA  but I never felt that way in Havasu. They rate Havasu same as Yuma C- in most crime, most coastal cities in CA are A- like mine , makes you wonder

I  use some stupid measurements to determine culture of where I want to live  - How red is it,  what is the percentage of RV garages, how many car clubs,  Plusess...how many chain restaurants and 7-11's Minuses ..., percentage of college grads ...  A mixed bag  and of course healthcare, and location
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The crime facts are there but...these are generated by ratios and percentages, not plain numbers.  When you have 40 million people to base your numbers off of, of course it looks lower.  The crime you have to deal with in Havasu is petty robbery.  Meth heads grabbing stuff to get their next fix.  It also depends on where in town you are.  I still feel safer here than I did in a very nice, newer area in San Diego.

As far as RV garages, we have them for sure... :lol:

In the end, it's finding the place that best suits "you".

 
Thank you too all.... really appreciate everyone taking some time to provide great insight and details! 

I've got 12-14 years before retirement, but I hope to get out of Cali much sooner...going to plan some extended weekends to visit Arizona and establish an exit plan.... we have 2 daughters (27 & 24) and hope they will follow as we do not want to be far away grandparents.... someday! 

:cheers:  

 
Stinky said:
Nevada might be an option....no income tax.   I know people that have moved to Texas, which also has no income tax, but they tax the heck out of you in other areas, like property.  I don't know if NV is the same way.
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I moved my parents a couple years back out to N. Las Vegas and I have a good buddy that lives out that way as well...they all seem very happy there, not sure if the wife will go for Nevada.  :fl:  

 
Stinky said:
Nevada might be an option....no income tax.   I know people that have moved to Texas, which also has no income tax, but they tax the heck out of you in other areas, like property.  I don't know if NV is the same way.
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TX went crazy on the property tax this year. The houses are selling for that price. Thanks CALLIE Folks. Peace 

 
We live in fort mohave az. Ive been here my whole life and could never understand the CA program. the heat is rough but whatever, do your stuff early or late in the day. Built our dream home in 2016 perfect timing.  6500sqft under roof makes you never want to leave home. nice to wake up and decide river, or SXS to oatman for lunch. Havasu is the new OC. so expensive.

 
Fullthrottleguy said:
I have a few friends that say the exact same thing - they still have boats and sand cars sitting and I can never get them to go out - they just say its paradise every day here  - I used to go out to get away and relax, now I come home to relax.  I never got that in AZ  being there part time ..  but I believe you would full time

I started looking at Yuma  since I still travel a bit for work if mostly at home -  I did the run to Las Vegas a number of times for flights from Havasu  - that gets real old  real fast...   Yuma is near the river, near Glamis  both within an hour, and a real airport in town.  Good hospitals - got think about that getting older, Havasu is good on healthcare - but anything big they fly you to Vegas. Then there is the border in Yuma, but ... maybe that gets fixed in 2024

I can get a nice newer house, and a couple acres in Yuma a 2500 sq ft shop and a pool  about half the cost of Havasu right now, but not sure of the culture. 

Its amazing how all of AZ has a significantly higher crime rate (by on line stats) than my town (Torrance) in CA  but I never felt that way in Havasu. They rate Havasu same as Yuma C- in most crime, most coastal cities in CA are A- like mine , makes you wonder

I  use some stupid measurements to determine culture of where I want to live  - How red is it,  what is the percentage of RV garages, how many car clubs,  Plusess...how many chain restaurants and 7-11's Minuses ..., percentage of college grads ...  A mixed bag  and of course healthcare, and location
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+1 on Yuma...If I ever moved from San Diego (hard to justify with all points previously mentioned by you - if you can afford to stay, why leave? ) + Daily flights to Phoenix from Yuma to jump onto another international flight if needed, relatively inexpensive, some nice areas, etc. But when stop and think about it, I really like where I live now...if I can afford to stay in Ramona CA when I eventually retire  - I'm here for life...small town feel and great weather. If I am dead broke, Yuma is on the short list.

 
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