Arizona Retirement?
 

Still have a couple of years left but I have to get out of this God forsaken corrupted, overtaxing state of Illinois! The wife and I are thinking of moving lock stock and Cobra out west somewhere and I was wondering what people out there think of different area's?

I am hoping for a smaller newer construction in the 400K area and wondering as well about the likes and dislikes of the weather in different area's. Tired of shoveling snow in the winter, and I think my aching bones would like the climate better?:LOL:

It's not AZ but close enough imo, this is what you get if you live in NV near las vegas. Many people I've worked with in CA (now retired) jumped over the state line and love it in NV. The Ten Best Things About Living in Las Vegas | Las Vegas and US Online Poker News

If it were me I would go a little north, getting some property at the base of the sierra nevada mountains near lake tahoe. All of the vegas benefits and a whole lot more to do as a retiree, fantastic golf courses if you golf. I have a timeshare at heavenly valley NV and can tell you 1st hand there are many things to do & see a short drive away.

Investigate Bullhead City, AZ
Lots of retirees heading there for some reason from Cali.
I can tell you Phoenix and all its direct surroundings kinda sucks, it's hot as hell, it's over crowded and full of boarder jumpers.
Other then that it's okay I guess.

Tucson has a lot to offer...... I have golfing friends that like the security and lifestyle of Del Web developments in Peoria and Tucson....

I don't care for the heat except in winter...

Palm Springs has pretty much everything including relatively good access to the Pacific Coast....but..there are those taxes.

If I could afford it, I would live in Santa Barbara.....

Avoiding snow (which Arizona has plenty of in about 1/2 of the state) means you'll be south. We lived in Phoenix in the late 70s for about 5 years and I was headed back in the late 90s but Intel canceled my group. I was there for about 9 months. Fortunately our house in MA hadn't sold and my wife and kids stayed there but I did get a chance to do a lot of real estate scouting.

We lived in Tempe the first time. Tempe is a great city but landlocked so not much new development. Moving "out" from there (south and east) Mesa, Gilbert, and Chandler areas are expanding. The problem with all those new developments is that they all have Home Owners Associations. Read the CC&Rs carefully. They almost all prohibit you, for example, from parking your car on the driveway for more than a few hours, or leaving the garage door open. These rules will be attached to most newer developments, even un-gated communities and I haven't seen a gated community in the past 20 years that doesn't have egregious rules.

We ended up zeroing in on the Queen Creek area in the Southeast. It had larger lots, very few areas were HOA controlled. When we had decided to move from Colorado we considered both Phoenix and Tucson, and agreed Queen Creek would have been the starting point again. There are newer developments yes, but there are still small builders building spec houses on 1/4+ acre lots, and plenty of places with 1+ acre (many with horse rights). The trend was starting then to heavily remodel or scrape off the old house. There were some striking properties for very reasonable prices (compared to CO).

Over all the years, we decided we liked the southern part of the valley best. My sister recently moved to the northwestern part of the city (Surprise) and there are some nice areas north of Scottsdale (but pricey).

We are also retired and in the end, even though Arizona's state tax is among the lower, we settled on Nevada because of zero state income tax. When you're living on pensions and investments that's a 5% raise. Again, the state has a wide variety of climates but we liked the desert so chose the Vegas area. There are lots of smaller communities around the city (just like in the Phoenix valley) but ended up in a no-HOA area in Vegas. Lots of people like Pahrump. Don't be put off by "the strip". We are roughly 3 miles from it and it has zero influence on us (except that it makes it so we have no state income tax.)

It gets hot in both places, Vegas will hold 5-10*F below Phoenix on average. (For example, we had below freezing at our house this week). On the other hand during the summer last year we had something like 20 straight days of 105*F, and at one point the water in our pool topped 100*F.

Good Luck!

P.S. Several other replies came in while I was typing this. I second Tucson as a closer look, and if you really like hot and a really cool small town with lots of artsy feel, look at Bisbee. I love that little town.

PPS. Both AZ and NV are quite friendly with Cobras. AZ has a better deal though. It's mileage based and I recall that people have even registered Ford GTs on the program. Which reminds me - these areas do have emissions inspection. Phoenix for sure and I think Tucson, and Las Vegas (Clark County) but not Pahrump.


PPPS: Both of the areas in AZ and NV were hit really bad by the housing market decline. We bought just coming off the bottom in 2013, and both markets are on an upswing that will probably last for more than a few years. If you can, consider buying in now as a second home. That was our intent when we purchased here (and to stay working in CO until 65) but we changed our minds and moved here early which again was heavily driven by the state tax situation.

You may not be allowed to move to AZ. Depends on your age. If you're over 65, you're required to move to FL, wear polyester manager pants to your nipples, and complain about the government full time.

bobcowan, don't forget the white shoes and matching belt!

What do they drive since white Grand Marquis' went out of production?

I have a few friends getting ready to bail out of CA on retirement and 2 or 3 of them are ending up in the Reno NV area. They say they love it there!;)

15 Years ago I started casually looking in Arizona for a second home. I checked out many communities in the Phoenix valley but found myself coming back to Fountain Hills in the east valley. Eight years ago we bought a house in Fountain Hills and I have never had a regret. Nice area, nice people, out of the way, but not too far into Scottsdale or downtown Phoenix. About a half hour to the airport. Reasonable real estate taxes.

As a transplant from the Chicago suburbs, I can tell you the wife and I have had that discussion many times. We've lived along the California coast for 30+ years. In the down times of 2008 and other times, we discussed cashing out our house and moving somewhere cheaper for retirement. We've discussed all areas of the US and it always comes down to the weather. Nothing beats the temperate climate of the Pacific coast. We are spoiled and we just can't bear the idea of leaving it. We would have to be in a desperate situation to leave the coast. Sure, there are things you have to put up with here, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Weather, weather, weather. As said, the Santa Barbara area is really nice. But who can afford it? Take a look up and down the coast and see if something suits you.

If not, I agree about Reno. Just out of town are some nice places in the woods. But realize that many desert towns are in the high-desert (Reno is 4500'), so they can get cold in the winter. Unlike Vegas, Reno is right next to the Sierras with Lake Tahoe, plenty of beautiful scenery, and things to do. Plus its not a long drive to San Francisco and the coast.

Anywhere in AZ you can live and find a 400k house, a very nice one at that, Vegas is also great, I have a place there also, AZ has the best roads in the USA, all brand new pavement which makes for a perfect driving state, plus everyone and their mother here is from Illinois, I thinks its because we have the cubs, its like a little Chicago community here...

If you go to Arizona or Nevada bring a tanker truck of water with you. Coming from the east you can manage that but I don't know where all the Californians are finding water to bring.

Tucson is a little bit cooler than Phoenix in the summer. If golf is your thing and you want a new or newer house, I suggest Dove Mountain. Beautiful area!
Dove Mountain, Sonoran Spectacle & Serenity, Tucson / Marana / Oro Valley / AZ

An no, I'm not a real estate agent!
Larry

Yup, just check out San Diego, La Jolla, Capistrano and Dana Point. Then go north from there to Ventura or Santa Barbara. All good stuff if you can afford it. They just built the first of 23 de-salination plants in San Diego area, so water is coming!;)

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blue hairs in Cadillac's and golf carts, both are dangerous

I live in Florida, am over 65...The polyester pants help me slide in to my BDR, and if your aren't complaining about the government you are not happy, LOL, Happy Holidays....BTW spent a lot of time in AZ, great State.

Are you living at Phase 3 of Del Bocca Vista Estates?

Wow great replies thanks soooo much. We have a lot to look over that's for sure.
Thanks again and keep em coming guys. Knew I would get good information on here!

Prescott AZ is a nice town. Bisbee mentioned above is a small town at the end of everything; only ways in or out involves long drives down two lane roads. Did I mention it was a SMALL town?

Pinetop area is where people from Phoenix have their second/summer homes, cooler, with dustings of snow, but nearby. Phoenix area is in a bowl...hot. Tucson is higher, marginally cooler.

Really comes down to what YOU want. Drive everywhere, walk about, restaurants, isolation, like-minded folk, or mix of young old artsy fanatics.