Try Northern Arizona: Land of Cultural, Climatic, and Scenic Diversity

You may know that southern Arizona is suffering from over-crowding, northern Arizona from Flagstaff south and east through the Mogollon Rim Country and White Mountains remains a delightful place for families or retirees. It is considered one of the best places to live in America and you can see the stars most nights very brightly. Lowell Observatory, famous for the discovery of Pluto by Schlipher in 1930 is here. You will find cultural diversity in things to see and do if you plan to relocate to the Arizona High Country.


The university town of Flagstaff has often been named as one of the best places to live in the US. Prescott and Payson are both premier retirement communities for west coasters. They are small cities, with Flagstaff having less than 70,000 population, but steadily rising at an estimated 8.5%. National Geographic has called Prescott one of "10 Great Towns That Will Make You Feel Young," and Payson is similar but somewhat smaller. Pinetop-Lakeside has become the summer home center for the elite of Tucson and Phoenix. The population average age is less that 35. Only 8% of the population is 65 or older. The racial makeup of northern Arizona is 64.5% white non-Hispanic, 18% Hispanic or Latino, and 12% Native American.


There is variation in the economic conditions and educational opportunities, but generally, they are favorable. Still an affordable area to live, new home prices have been on the rise. The hard working frontier ethic of the area, and the very family-centered focus of those towns settled by Mormon pioneers is still tangible.


Northern Arizona has two roots. Those cities along I-40 grew from the flourishing railroad and forestry industries of the late 1800s. Yavapai county, the Rim Country and the White Mountains developed in the same period from mining, ranching, farming and forestry. With the arrival of Route 66 in the 1920s, the area became a popular tourist stop. Today the entire area is very tourist oriented. Today, Route 66 and I-40 are an historic highway and popular tourist route with many hotel and restaurant chains mixed with the scenic and nostalgic charm.


Just 75 miles away from Flagstaff is Grand Canyon National Park. Because of the areas altitude of 6,000'-9000' and clear skies astronomers from around the world have known the area since before the turn of the century.


The are has weather not often considered typical of Arizona. Flagstaff is at the base of the San Francisco Peaks. Show Low-Pinetop is near Hawley Lake, which can have the coldest temperature in the lower 48 states. Higher elevation ecosystems are surrounded with plateaus, juniper pines, high desert grassland and the world's largest Ponderosa forest. At an elevation of 7,000 feet, Flagstaff is considered a high Sonoran desert. Heber-Overgaard at 6,500' is also. Payson and Prescott at 5,500" are more moderate. However, residents do enjoy mild weather conditions and clear air for the most part. Summer temperatures are often 10-20 degrees below that of Phoenix. The monsoon rainy season of summer often brings an intense, scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The winter weather brings an average annual snowfall of 80-110 inches, good for business at the Apache and Flagstaff local ski resorts. A popular weekend getaway, northern Arizona welcomes visitors from neighboring Arizona communities and beyond.


Flagstaff, Holbrook and Williams are connected to LA and the east by Amtrak. Air travel is available through small general aviation regional airports. All of northern Arizona is accessible from interstate highways 17 and 40.


Come for vacations, and stay for life!

by Forbes J. Douglas - March 22, 2008

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