Moving from California to Arizona someday

My mom doesn't like California, so someday we might be moving to Arizona or someplace similar.

I'm actually okay with the idea.

We want to move to a metropolitan area with dry summers, extremely mild winters, better broadband internet, and good public transportation.

It will likely be years down the road, but we would buy a new, better place, and sell our current place.

We might be following the geographical path that Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander took.

(They used to live in Palm Desert.)

Although I do not like moving, if we find a better place, I will be happy.

I don't have a problem with California, but it's cheaper to live elsewhere, which appeals to me.

So maybe someday we'll have a new place!

I moved from Tarzana (S.F. Valley) to Miami just over 35 years ago and never looked back.

6 weeks visiting Pops this year is enough to bring back fond memories, but that’s as far as it goes.

SoCal was a fantastic place to grow up in the 60s, 70s and 80s, but not no more.

Chris

Half my friends are California refugees, they had various reasons but overpopulation, traffic, cost and lower quality of living (based on cost of living) were the big ones. Most of them ended up in Arizona or Tucson, a few outliers are in New Mexico.

I used to live in Phoenix and then Tucson, both amazing places and I would love to move back to Arizona post-pandemic, around 2022. Tucson and Phoenix have slightly different climates but offer great living conditions. Dry heat, very mild winters, traffic is getting worse but still a LOT better than in California.

Cost of living is significantly lower than in California, especially if someone moves from the bay area, Greater LA, or San Diego.

city-data is a good source of information, as well as various youtube channels.

https://www.city-data.com/ looks excellent!

I have a book called Places Rated Almanac, but it is an old edition so an up-to-date website is way better (and more convenient.)

My mom was thinking about New Mexico as well.

I wouldn't mind Nevada, but my mom doesn't like that state.

Because of my job I have seen most of the US, Europe, parts of Asia and some African countries as well. Have been to every US state except Hawaii, Rode Island, and Maine (also never been to Puerto Rico).

I would argue that someone from California would be able to live comfortably in Arizona or Texas. New Mexico is a little bit different, mostly the culture and how cities are designed and how everything looks. Demographics are also different and some of the Breaking Bad cliches are sadly true. I love New Mexico, but the vibe & lifestyle is very different; NM should be the most affordable out of the states mentioned.

Nevada is my guilty pleasure, have spent too much time in Reno, Lake Tahoe (beautiful!) and Las Vegas before. But I am not sure if I could live there. Maybe a cabin near Tahoe would be enough ?

ps also look into Scottsdale, Chandler, and surrounding area in AZ.

Since we like larger cities, we're mostly looking at Phoenix and Mesa.

Albuquerque is also large, but the elevation is too high.

I wouldn't mind Tuscon, but my mom doesn't want to be that close to Mexico.

Western Texas is much drier than Eastern Texas, but I don't think we want to go that far East (to Texas.)

I’m moving to Montana soon.
Gonna grow me a crop of dental floss.

Good luck with your search…

Tahoe is beautiful, but there is a lot of snow in winter. Reno has cold winters too. And the Reno/Sparks area is the blunt of an old joke: Reno is so close to hell you can see Sparks.
AZ an NM sound better for her.

Another Frank Zappa fan!

I moved from California to Prescott, Az, 26 years ago. Prescott is about average on the usual criteria; you have to bring your own lawyers, guns and money.

Funny you mention Sparks! I have been to the gigafactory and have seen the entire area in detail. While I like the area, the snow was indeed starting to fall and driving wasn’t great with my rental car (on summer tires).
Some sketchy folks running around as well, which is expected in cities with a strong gambling/entertainment focus. But overall a great place…. let’s see, maybe I will get that cabin one day :slight_smile:

I hope you find a place that works well for your mother :slight_smile:

I moved from SoCal to New Mexico 30 years ago.
Because it costs less to buy a house.

I would like to see Montana.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but it's more than just my mom and I.

My sister and niece will be coming, too.

We should be able to afford a larger and nicer place in Arizona than our place here.

Our current place is worth quite a bit because we have a spectacular view.

We probably won't have that when we eventually move, but we'll be fine without it.

The elevation is what saves ABQ from being as hot as PHX. It does mean there is more of a winter in ABQ, they even have occasional snow.

My mom has arthritis and I think Albuquerque might be too cold for her (even though the summers would be much more mild.)

There are many places in Arizona and New Mexico that rival and surpass your area of California for views.

Montana is really nice, but winters are hard. Missoula, the only city in the US with the word soul in it, is progressive while much of the state is not. We saw ancient wall paintings in caves and found nature to be plentiful. There are great restaurants and shops. We visited a Buddhist garden with 1,000 statues of Buddha in of all places Montana. The rivers and mountain are impressive. But you might need a winter cottage in Hawaii.

Probably not good for arthritis but Toronto is the “Raccoon Capitol of the World”

If your mother is elderly, she might need a lot of help in the future?
What are the social services offered in the county where you live?

I am sure you can find a spectacular view in many places, but you might look at the county services as well.

A little off topic but I saw that some parts of Arkansas are offering $10k bonus for moving there.

It was paradise! Which is why so many moved in with the accompanying unchecked development and IMO ruined it. Kinda like the Golden goose I guess. As a 3rd gen. Angelino I have an view of changes there since the 1880’s. I’m not sure there will ever be another place like So. Cal. Was in the decades after WWll.

Wherever I’ve been in my life since I’ve always gritted my teeth when I see that kind of runaway development happening, some folks call it progress.