AZ has the largest Pondersosa pine stand on earth. You just need to get above 5000 ft. and then everything’s fine. That’s nearly half the state. Flag is 7000 ft. Prescott is a little over 5. Sedona is 4-something but still very livable and just gorgeous. Phoenix is a dump. Tucson is an even bigger dump. The desert can be incredible, like at my getaway, but there are at least 6 desert ecozones in AZ. High Sonora desert is the bomb. Low Sonora desert chews. Here’s a picture from one of my field guides.
Plenty of nice spots in Arizona like the Grand Canyon . Lake Powell is awesome.
But southeast Arizona? Like New Mexico?
All my friends there live near Phoenix. They love the heat and play golf. Not my thing.
Benson is in the southeast and at about 4500 ft. Great weather, nice hills. An hour east of Tucson and 10 degrees cooler.
Benson looks like my idea of hell . Nothing to do. One horse town
Cheap for a reason. And nearby hospital is 27 miles
Not a good spot to retire. My neighbor rescued her Dad from a spot in New Mexico like that. Close to the border. Always had to carry a gun. Illegals would come through his property after jumping the border. He is 94 lives near Gardenerville, Nevada. Still in the country but only 20 minutes to a hospital.
A friend bought a house in Benson last year; plans to semi-retire there and work from home. Here’s the topography once you get a little back from the freeway.
…20 miles to a hospital? I’m 100 if it’s anything serious. I think I already mentioned it but when having a root canal in Payson the dentist couldn’t find my roots. I had to get up from the dental chair all drilled out and while still numb drive 80 miles to an endodontist in Phoenix. That’s just living rural.
Cheap crappy houses. The rural poor live there. Not where most people want to be. 28 miles is a long way for doctors visits and emergencies . When get older you need to go to doctor often . The seller of this house is unclear on the concept of location location
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2565-N-Ocotillo-Rd-Benson-AZ-85602/7415081_zpid/
There cheap crappy areas, mostly right near the freeway, and then there are spots with nicer homes.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/13360-S-Bell-Rd-Benson-AZ-85602/8661384_zpid/
In AZ you already don’t need one. We used to have a permitting process and it is still in place. But people only get it because there’s still reciprocity with 36 other states.
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People are leaving the deadwood behind in SB.
My reason is weather. Hot and humid compare to SB.
So people make fun of Bay Area losing a couple hours of power during wildfire, but literally 100K people in Austin losing power for days is fine? And apparently it happens every year too?
This week’s winter storm covered Central Texas in ice that left a total of more than 300,000 customers without power since early Wednesday morning. Between that time and 7 a.m. Friday, power had been restored to 182,159 customers – or almost exactly 60% (59.89%).
As of 11:40 a.m. Friday, Austin Energy has 1,687 outages affecting 119,542 customers across the city. Crews continue to work to get the lights back on for everyone, but an estimated time for full restoration isn’t clear.
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Remember to avoid any places run by Democrats such as city of Austin and Travis County. You get the usual: blackouts, high taxes, traffic jams, etc.
Crews from various City of Austin departments have been working around the clock to restore power to tens of thousands of residents and clear debris from area roads.
Brown said that whether Travis County and the City of Austin issue disaster declarations will depend on whether doing so will have a direct benefit to the community.
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“MoneyGeek’s annual report analyzed the most recent crime statistics from the FBI in 263 cities with populations of more than 100,000 across the United States.”
Easier to just live in a city with less than 100,000 and drive to a bigger one when you want to take advantage of some cultural attraction.
Latest greatest law enforcement action in my hood (I heartily approve).
https://www.paysonroundup.com/government/county-approves-ban-on-feeding-wildlife/article_a2a45f71-3897-5801-ba9a-9787a85be1dc.html
The 15 Safest Cities in the U.S.
- Naperville,
- Sunnyvale, CA
- West Covina, CA
- Carmel, IN
- Glendale, AZ
- Meridian, ID
- Provo, UT
- Joliet, IL
- Jurupa Valley, CA
- Sugar Land, TX
- McAllen, TX
- El Monte, CA
- Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- Glendale, CA
- Pearland, TX
The 15 Safest Large Cities in the Country
- Honolulu, HI
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Henderson, NV
- El Paso, TX
- New York, NY
- San Diego, CA
- Mesa, AZ
- Charlotte, NC
- San Jose, CA
- Boston, MA
- Raleigh, NC
- Arlington, TX
- Santa Ana, CA
- Omaha, NE
- Austin, TX
Both San Diego and San Jose are safer than Austin. NYC is much safer than portrayed on right wing media.