Snow Birding in Arizona

[bsnyder]

The wife and I will be retiring in 8 months. Where's the best locations in Arizona for Snow Birds? Lived most of our career lives in Tacoma WA.

Bruce http://www.ffcars.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.gif

[NAZ]

If you like hot weather there are plenty of areas in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix area) and the larger city living may feel more comfortable to you. If you want it a bit cooler but don’t want harsh winters, Prescott (we pronounce it Preskit). I live in the forest just north of Flagstaff. It’s beautiful here but we get more snow than Anchorage so it’s not a good fit for everyone. Remember, this is a Red State so if you haven’t spent much time here there may be some culture shock when you walk into Denny’s and see people wearing side arms & folks riding ATVs down Main Street. This state still has close ties to its western heritage.

[mikeinatlanta]

I've been working just north of Tucson for a few months and sometimes it seems like I'm in Florida, retirees everywhere. I like Tucson better than Phoenix, but would take Flagstaff over either if you don't mind some snow.

[GoDadGo]

I'm from the Red-Neck Riviera so anyplace between Bay St. Louis Mississippi and Tampa Florida is the best place to live. Foley & Gulfshores Alabama are my favorite places. Pensacola, Navarre, Ft Walton, Destin & Panama City are great too. Just run if a hurricane is coming to visit if it is a Cat-3 or higher. They aren't a lot of fun.

[skullandbones]

:cool:I think temperature preference and tolerance is the biggest issue in the AZ area. I've lived in the "valley of the sun" since 1998. We lived in Tucson before that and it was really nice but no infrastructure as far as inter city transit (no belt ways, loops, etc). Only I 10 wraps around it from west to south. It's a beautiful place. We lived on a hill west of the Santa Catalinas which was awe inspiring every time you look up.

Phx is great if you need the metropolitan structure to get by. We are near Apache Junction which is probably one of the best places for snow birds. A lot of them come here every winter. The population soars from 37K to about twice that. If you want cheaper taxes, go west of there to Mesa. Still not the big city feel but close enough to get services. If you want cooler go north to the Rim. It's 6 to 7K elevation. Some people have a cabin or RV up there and nest in the city during the cooler times. If you are heat tolerant, stay down here with us desert folk. The summer is well worth the price of great weather most of the year. I have two convertibles if that says anything for our weather. When it rains, some people get out in it to celebrate; that's how rare it is. When we have a cloudy day occasionally, it is a nice variance in the day to day life. Wear a lot of sun screen and carry water every where.

Have fun searching for the perfect spot!:cool::cool::cool:

WEK.

[AZPete]

Come visit first. AZ has a lot of choices, as you can see from the above posts. From desert to alpine, from boonies to urban, homes from $100K to $10 million+. Most of us moved here after coming for vacation trips so visit several places in AZ before putting money down. I like the urban infrastructure WEK mentioned, and the beautiful golf courses, so I live in north Scottsdale. From here I can easily drive to mountains with evergreens, lakes and snow, or drive to San Diego, L.A., Vegas, Santa Fe or Mexico. In the winter you'll see lots of WA residents here.
And, you can drive your Factory Five roadster year-round!
And, many FFR cars here don't have windshield wipers because they don't need them!
And, you can drive to the Huntington Beach show with a bunch of other cobras.