Moving to Arizona within 2 years - What's it like?

[Subsailor]

Wife just called. Interviews went great, she starts in March 2014.

Time to get busy to prepare to move her there and then move me after retiring in July.

No more 7 month winters after this one! In fact we are under Wnter Storm Watch to go to Winter Storm Warning this evening but we're only expecting 7" to 10" of snow for now. However it is already snowing heavily!

 

[Rhumbline]

Great news!

The Prescott area is very nice, including Whisky Row!

It will certainly be a change from Alaska, but it should be a welcome change. Wish you and yours a great time there.

 

[Subsailor]

OK, nearly 18" of new snow at our house and it is 9F this morning. My Wife looks at me yesterday as we were shoveling and says - this is our LAST Alaskan winter. I didn't help as I said; but Dear, we only have about 4 to 4 1/2 more months of winter!

She threw snowballs at me! But then I reminded her she will be moving to Prescott in February and it should already be Spring there, at that time (I think).

 

[Subsailor]

Less than 2 months until the Wife moves. We are starting to get a little hasty in decisions on things to keep and ship or things to sell or give away.

I have to make a decision on brewing equipment. I am seriously considering getting rid of everything I have up here and starting fresh in AZ. I am very interested in doing Electric BIAB and No Chill, been checking out the Aussie Homebrew sites where they go into a lot of detail and have been doing it for quite some time. My Wife used up a lot of her craft supplies getting ready for Christmas and wants to ship as little of it as she possibly can. I told her there is no way I'm giving up any reloading equipment, luremaking things and flytying tools and materials but I would give up the brewing stuff if I can have new down there!

 

[Rhumbline]

Less than 2 months until the Wife moves. We are starting to get a little hasty in decisions on things to keep and ship or things to sell or give away.

I have to make a decision on brewing equipment. I am seriously considering getting rid of everything I have up here and startin... tools and materials but I would give up the brewing stuff if I can have new down there!

I think that sound like a good plan. Brewing equipment takes up a lot of space compared to fly tying or reloading equipment. When you get settled in you can easily get restarted in brewing.

Good luck,

 

[HefeHood]

70 and sunny in Tucson today. I know that a ways further south than were ur headed but winters in AZ can't be beat.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Just curious if anybody is familiar with the area: Most likely the Sedona/Jerome, basically around the Prescott Valley area. Wife is finally fed up with our long cold winters here. She spent most of December with her family in Arizona and I went down for the last 10 days of her visit. She was hooked on the area where her parents are out West of Wickenburg but I don't think I could survive the summer time heat.
I'll be 55 unless we move sooner and I'll be eligible for my State Pension minus healthcare (70% disabled Vet, VA takes care of me). I collect my Military pension and that covers my home, property tax and home insurance up here.
We are looking for something rural, 5 or more acres. Someplace where she can still go to work as a Sterile Processing Tech and have at most a 1 hour commute. She's 7 years younger than I and still wants to work and thinks I would be fine just puttering around taking care of chickens and rabbits and a little garden.

I'm a hunter and a fisherman, and we like to take road trips, especially off of the regular trails and paths and take our 3 dogs, Nitro, Nellie and Nikki. Also, this will be the first time in my life I will be further than just a few minutes from any large body of water, either the Great Lakes or an ocean, it's gonna be kind of wierd to see dry land in every direction.

Just a little but also curious, any Arizonans out there and have anything good, bad or indifferent to say about Arizona - Particularly the Prescott Valley and surrounding area? I have to admit, I enjoyed my visit there, mostly Phoenix and West/Southwest to Yuma.

Thanks,
Bryson

It's been over a decade since I was last there, but I'm pretty sure Sedona is still full of hippie-new agers, sitting on "power points" & "ley lines." All yammering on about chakras & kundalini, eating gluten free horkin fiber chunks, talking about their feelings & taking aloevera enemas. Other than that, it's one of the nicer areas of AZ; especially around Oak Creek Canyon:
https://www.google.com/search?q=oak...HioASujIGoBw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1231&bih=919

Pinetop/Lakside area is nice too, there's a ski resort there. The Snowflake, AZ area isn't bad, not many trees & it's all pinon "forest." Handy if you like pine nuts. Prescott & Flagstaff are nice, they have real trees & plenty of them, both are close to the Grand Canyon. I used to like walking thru the desert at night, after it had cooled down; on nights with a full moon. The light from the moon was bright enough so I could easily see the landscape around me clearly. I loved the smell of rain on the sagebrush. And if you get out away from town, it's quiet. Usually only the coyotes making noise, which can be annoying if they're close & won't shut up; BTW, coyotes WILL attack dogs & will tag team them to death. Small dogs like yorkies are snacks for coyotes.
Gee, I didn't know I had such a cheery outlook on AZ.
Regards, GF.

 

[azscoob]

I lived in the phoenix area for 15 years, I loved the winters there, however working out in the summer heat all day wore me down, and not seeing even one little cloud for months at a time started to drive me crazy too.

But that was the valley, up north in sedona and peyson there are more moderate climes, some winter snow here and there, lots of outdoorsy things to get into there

 

[Subsailor]

What's the mosquito/black fly/no-see-ums conditions around the Prescott area?

 

[bob1852]

What's the mosquito/black fly/no-see-ums conditions around the Prescott area?

Not bad. Some mosquitos starting in July with the rains, and peaking in late August. Higher densities near areas of water/vegetation (which aren't much).

Nothing like the midwest, or presumably, Alaksa.

 

[Subsailor]

Not bad. Some mosquitos starting in July with the rains, and peaking in late August. Higher densities near areas of water/vegetation (which aren't much).

Nothing like the midwest, or presumably, Alaksa.

Yeah, they get pretty bad up here. Last year, we actually had to quit fishing a couple of times even before we really started, the mosquitos and black flies were so bad. My Wife and I had so much bug dope on, our exposed skin looked greasy and within 20 minutes was almost gray with dead and dying insects. She's got some photos I'll have to try to dig up.

I imagine you all have more of flea and tick type of pest.

 

[bob1852]

I imagine you all have more of flea and tick type of pest.

Not really. Pretty low numbers of those too. It gets both too damn hot and cold for much of the bugs to thrive...

 

[Subsailor]

Well, big changes in plans. My Mother in Law had a stroke last week, so it looks like we are going to be moving closer to Wenden Arizona to help her and my Father in Law out. My Brother in Law, also lives here in AK, has decided to go down with us, so we are going to be a very small caravan moving in July.
I have 52 days until I retire from the State.

 

[azscoob]

I hate moving, I always sayin just going to buy new stuff when I get to the new place, never do though...

Moved from phoenix area back to Chicago suburbs with a big honkin truck and a trailer with my car dragging along..

Still hate moving, next time I'm leaving everything and buying new stuff when I get to the new place...

 

[Subsailor]

Yeah, the only stuff coming with us now is our hunting and fishing gear, camping gear and our hobby stuff. We want to ship as little as possible since we are not going to haul anything. It's going to be $1.20/lb to ship from Anchorage to Phoenix. We're looking at about 1000lb, maybe. The heaviest things are some of our books and my reloading stuff. No furniture except an antique rocking chair from my Wife's great grandfather. No dishes except a small camping set.

We've decided since all the kids are grown up and gone, to get rid of nearly everything and start fresh, just the 2 of us. New adventures, new memories!