Relocate to Flagstaff?
 

Hello there!

Hubby keeps saying Arizona..but I don't know. We currently live in NC and came from NJ.

Just wanted to see if anyone had an advise of good places to relocate to that were in the mountains but not TOO much snow and low humidity.
I guess I've been searching on zillow for homes. and it looks to me like its only stone gardens and desert. I really would like to know where in AZ you can have a grass yard or a garden. These are important things to me =)
I'm an RN and would need to find a job in a hospital. Ive had Flagstaff recommended to me...so I'm asking. Thanks!


Thanks!
Joanne

You probably didn't need to start a new thread. As someone recommended on the other thread, if X is a serious contender for relocation, you should go and see it--AND probably live there for an extended period of time (weeks/months). Arizona and other southwest areas, and now California, are xeriscape candidates. You might consider gardening from that point of view, which is very possible.

Citydata.com

With severe water issues, grass should not be added to any home you purchase. You will need to study desert plants and drip irrigation for your gardens.many neighborhoods in AZ have outlawed grass.
Flagstaff is in the north so perhaps you could have some traditonal eastern style plantings. It does get snow, has a ski area. You may need to adjust your thinking and learn new ways to enjoy a garden.

Flagstaff is at 7,000' elevation so definitely gets snow. I stayed with friend there for most of a year recently, a great town but not for someone whose priority is a lawn unless artificial turf appeals. Google "lawns in Flagstaff" and you'll get an idea of how many companies are offering it in the movement to not waste water. Here's one:

"...a growing demand for artificial turf in our arid region. They work exclusively with the fine products from Arizona Luxury Lawns. Artificial turf is one of the most efficient and effective solutions to the water shortages affecting this region, and it is virtually maintenance-free."

I agree with the above suggestion to get off Zillow and get going to wherever you think you might want to live. Rent an apartment and stay a month. If it seems better than you expected at the end, then it might be for you.

A month won't do it, you need really to be in a place for all 4 seasons, as they can vary so much. I'd love a month near Phoenix in January, but would hate it in July.

Same for many other places; you need to experience "the good, bad and ugly" in a potential city. A month is just like a vacation, or better yet... A honeymoon.

We live in the mountains above Reno, NV, and love it. Moved here from NY 24 yrs ago. The area is more temperate than AZ, NM, and SoCal. No state income tax, no humidity, Lake Tahoe, and GARDENS !! Have a look.

You're right, of course, DebitNM. But with the seeming emphasis on water-hungry gardens, I was hoping in a month she find out there is beauty in appropriate landscaping. And I wonder how many actually do as thorough an analysis as you would making a similar decision. I suspect not many.

Flagstaff is nice in summer and if you don't mind snow (I do), not too bad in winter. For me, having been there in all seasons, it's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. But there are few places I would want to live and wonder often why people do live in the places they do. I suspect often it's fear of change as much as anything. N. California is my home, after a 25 year "vacation" in far S. AZ, and now look what we're up against these days here. So nowhere is perfect and, regarding Flagstaff, I think a month would give them a good idea about the resources available and if it's a big enough town for them.

If grass is important to you, scratch the entire desert southwest and California off your list.

I'm not being glib. Water shortages are here to stay.

Which means if you want low(er) humidity and a mild climate, North Carolina may be as good as it gets.

> If grass is important to you, scratch the entire desert southwest and California off your list.

> I'm not being glib. Water shortages are here to stay.

Not glib, just reactionary and pretty ignorant imo. The fact is, a good part of the state, including much of the north and most of the Sierra Nevada (e.g. where we live) has no water shortage. We're dealing with a few statewide hysteria measures thanks to our governor, but locally the impact for us is that we've been asked to limit our landscaping watering to even or odd days. BFD. That's still more often than it even needs watering.

Our water company has nine local sources to choose from, and only three of them are connected to grids out of the area. So no shortages coming here in the near or even not-so-near future. Our main water source (Jenkinson Lake) is currently 82% full and in the history of recordkeeping has never been less than 70% full.

I'm not saying major shortages don't exist, only that it's ridiculous to write off entire states or regions of the country because of it.

Grass is a terrible idea in any area that is hot and dry, like California and Nevada and Arizona and Texas. I don't know why anyone would actually want a grass lawn, I wish I didn't ahve one.

But I don't think there are ordnances preventing it in AZ as there are in some other areas, for new construction and businesses. There is grass in Phoenix in some areas but in older areas. Of course any huge city like that will have hospitals.

YOu know not only is that rather irresponsible but your water bill will be huge if you tried to water a lawn in Phoenix. Water is a precious resources and shouldn't be wasted on unimportant things like grass lawns. Grass lawns should only exist in areas where they don't need to be watered as there is enough moisture normally. I have never in my life watered my lawn in the mid-Atlantic area.

look at the Ocatillo/Chandler area

I tore up a lawn I had once outside Denver and put in wildflowers, a seed mix. It needed water in the beginning but then none after it was established and was infinitely more interesting than a lawn. I looked out one day when it was looking quite exuberant and the weed police were parked in front. It took them awhile to decide but went away and I never heard from them, presumably a vote in favor.

The irrigation canals that run through Bend Oregon are still running full. The greens of the golf courses are still green.
St. Charles Medical Center is the best hospital we have west of Boise and east of the Cascades.
I've been living south of Bend for 10 years now and I'm not planning on moving.

Every time I have moved around the US I have given up plants I loved such as azaleas, dogwood trees but have found new ones that work well in new location. Consult with a good nursery or read sunset Magazin articles to learn more. Be flexible, adjust.

There are some excellent plants a the Desert Arboretum in Superior. I lived near there in the 90s. I love gardens too, but attempting to grow your east coast favorites just won't work. If you move, familiarize yourself with what is native and use those.

fdecarlo,
<I'm not saying major shortages don't exist, only that it's ridiculous to write off entire states or regions of the country because of it.>
I would never write those states off, for the record, because I love the desert southwest and California. But I strongly disagree with your take on water shortages, and would urge anyone moving to those areas to be realistic about the situation.

Interestingly, in the NYTimes yesterday the water situation in Arizona was directly addressed. At the moment, they are using 90% of their supply. In 10 years they will use !00% and on down the road.
Anyone ANYwhere who is not concerned about good water usage is not being a good steward of our planet.

> Anyone ANYwhere who is not concerned about good water usage is not being a good steward of our planet.

I absolutely agree. Now find a response to that.

> I would never write those states off

You just did. Can you read English or just type it?

No, fdecarlo, I didn't, but I have written YOU off!

"Anyone ANYwhere who is not concerned about good water usage is not being a good steward of our planet."

Completely agree with Gretchen.

While not close to Arizona, Chile is South America's California's weather without any of their massive problems.

My favorite S.A. country

Vaga

There are those of us who try to be aware every time we open a tap, and there are the others who suck up what we try to save. Like who was it, Tom Selleck, caught recently hiring a water truck filled at a hydrant to water his "ranch"? Nothing ever changes, the entitled and the oblivious are always among us.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...lake_mead.html

"Last week, Lake Mead, which sits on the border of Nevada and Arizona, set a new record low—the first time since the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s that the lake’s surface has dipped below 1,080 feet above sea level. The West’s drought is so bad that official plans for water rationing have now begun—with Arizona’s farmers first on the chopping block. Yes, despite the drought’s epicenter in California, it’s Arizona that will bear the brunt of the West’s epic dry spell.

The huge Lake Mead—which used to be the nation’s largest reservoir—serves as the main water storage facility on the Colorado River. Amid one of the worst droughts in millennia, record lows at Lake Mead are becoming an annual event—last year’s low was 7 feet higher than this year’s expected June nadir, 1,073 feet.

If, come Jan. 1, Lake Mead’s level is below 1,075 feet, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the river, will declare an official shortage for the first time ever—setting into motion a series of already agreed-upon mandatory cuts in water outlays, primarily to Arizona. (Nevada and Mexico will also receive smaller cuts.)

According to Robert Glennon, a water policy expert at the University of Arizona, the current situation was inevitable. “It’s really no surprise that this day was coming, for the simple reason that the Colorado River is overallocated,” Glennon told me over the phone last week. Glennon explained that the original Colorado River compact of 1922, which governs how seven states and Mexico use the river, was negotiated during “the wettest 10-year period in the last 1,000 years.” That law portioned out about 25 percent more water than regularly flows, so even in “normal” years, big reservoirs like Lake Mead are in a long-term decline. “We’ve been saved from the disaster because Arizona and these other states were not using all their water,” Glennon said.

They are now. Since around 2000, Arizona has been withdrawing its full allotment from the Colorado River, and it’s impossible to overstate how important the Colorado has become to the state. About 40 percent of Arizona’s water comes from the Colorado, and state officials partially attribute a nearly 20-fold increase in the state’s economy over the last 50 years to increased access to the river."

Dang I have some comments to read thru LOL.
Ok so I own a home in NC so going somewhere for any amount of time would be a problem.
And low humidity in NC? Have you been here?
I love living on the east coast. I love green. I just think I would hate the stones in the yard.
I was hoping there was a more green area.
Now, letmme read.

Ok whew. Water shortages. No I honestly didn't know it was a huge problem.
California? No worries there...I would never move there lol. No Offense. It's just too expensive like NJ where I origianlly moved from.

I know if I did move to the hot dry desert regions I would not have a garden like I imagine a garden. For me its sort of a deal breaker.

I find if I use my imagination and think about a thing for a while, if I want it, it becomes possible to me, even if it didn't begin that way. If you've given up before even looking into all the possibilities of gardens in a dry climate, maybe it isn't something you really want, or want enough. Just a thought. Imagination is a wonderful thing and a real gardener can garden anywhere.

Since you are unaware of the water shortage, may need to tell you that NC is in a drought situation and we have water rationing at the moment.
Two threads, saying the same thing.

<<Anyone ANYwhere who is not concerned about good water usage is not being a good steward of our planet.>>

I guess you have not heard of the water cycle?

The water does not vanish, it just ends up somewhere else.

Mark

2Nd grade science gone awry.

OMG
Next thing we know he'll be running for Congress. LOL

THAT is truly stunningly "something we can't say about someone on a thread".

Have you looked at Sedona?