Wife and I are looking to leave CA but want moderate climates and nice outdoor activities and open space where we can run\walk the dogs.

There are a couple jobs at NAU I was going to put in for but in a quick look at home prices...it looks like home costs are very similar to southern CA.

We would really just need a couple bedrooms but I love my garage gym. Seems like there is a huge disparity in home prices from the 1 million plus for a huge place with mid level homes coming in around 500k-600k. Was really hoping to keep it in the 300-400k range. Don't really need a bunch of land just a two car garage.

Am I looking forward to sticker shock in the Flagstaff area?

Flag is poverty with a view.

Most of Northern AZ real estate is ridiculously priced.  Real Estate in the rest of AZ is catching up as well.  Too many people did the CA/NY/IL to AZ move and we are no longer an affordable market.

The mayor of Flagstaff posted this while the town was flooding.

Drag Queen Story Hour at the Library will continue. If you have a problem with grown men putting on wigs, heels, makeup, and stockings, I have bad news for you about the founding fathers…

Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy  (@MayorDeasy) July 14, 2021

Prescott has more reasonable pricing and is mostly still conservative

Not sure I'd consider Flagstaff climate as moderate but if you plan on working at NAU that's what you get.  I'd strongly recommend spending some time there before making a decision due to demographics, cost of living, climate and traffic to list a few.

One of the local nicknames here in the Prescott area for flagstaff is “ poverty with a view”

I've lived in AZ for over 30 years. No way in hell I'd move to Flagstaff. That town is just like Kingman, a giant truck stop. Plus, it's over run by libs and really is a dirty shit hole.

We camp near Munds Park regularly, and that's usually as close to Flag as I get.

Prescott would be a way better choice, and like was said earlier, it's still pretty conservative.

Drunk college students, drunker Indians, insane traffic because there is basically ONE ROAD through town....it really is poverty with a view.

Take a look at Prescott and Cottonwood

well if you people would stop moving here then prices wouldnt be so fucked up!!!! STAY WHERE YOURE AT!!!!

Prescott is FULL

Getting really tired of seeing more and more shitty CA plated obnoxious drivers here, congesting everything and trying to vote for the same BS that they supposedly "escaped" from.

And we're started to see snowbirds that didn't haver the common sense to buy homes to Yuma or Quartzite.

This.  

I was just there yesterday.  Nice and lefty.  Not to mention I went up for fall and got winter (snow).  I believe they get a lot of it.  I checked out a local book store in downtown.  Plenty books from great people like Obama, Hillary, Kamala.  The only book I saw about Trump was the hit piece one from his relative.  I frantically looked for the "oppressor" section, but they didn't have one.

And don't forget the mile long freight trains that come by frequently splitting the city in two.

If you do go check it out, I can highly recommend you stay at "Little America" Hotel.  One of the best room layouts I've ever stayed in.  Right off the 40.  Includes 2 miles of forest trails behind the Hotel.  I wish I had a need to go to Flag more, just so I could stay there.

And sorry Prescott, we might be coming there in a year or so.  The toilet that is Tucson is getting old.  And my vote will only help the area stay conservative.

Thanks for the info everyone!

Guess I might avoid it as everyone is sounding kinda down on the whole area.

In looking at houses, it seems everything was either 1 million dollar beautiful homes or dumps for 200-300k. Looked to be very little middle class homes.

Oh well.

Thanks everyone!

The area itself is beautiful, but anything in the mountains that's easy driving distance from Phoenix Metro is going to have a heavily inflated RE market due to wealthy valley residents purchasing a vacation home or people snatching up properties for airbnbs or vrbos.  Add in NAU being there and you also get plenty of CA folks sending their kids to school and buying an investment property for their kid to live in for four years.  

I lived in Flag for a year.  Lots of interesting living situations up there to combat the high cost of housing in my experience.  Married couples with kids having a room mate, 4-5 guys sharing a 2 bedroom place, couples living with one of the parents, two couples living together etc.  Wasn't for me and I wouldn't move back.

300-400k barely buys a decent place in a central location in PHX metro...

Green Valley or Sahuarita AZ.

Yep.  Than you could work at U of A.  

Although this market is taking off too.  I bought a little over a year ago for $325K.  My place is now worth at least $450K.  But who knows what the future holds with Biden's America.

I live in the Prescott area ( town of Dewey to be precise) and it seems here the housing market has taken a very small downward bump as of late.
About 6-12 months ago every house offered for sale ( usually to escaping California refugees ??) was selling within a few days of listing and often for tens of thousands of dollars over asking price. More recently houses are listing for longer, and sometimes I have even seen price drops
I was renting long term a nice house in a country club / golf community which we were completely happy with( from what I had heard we had a 3 bedroom house that was costing us less than most apartment complexes in the area) but the owner decided to sell, forcing us to buy with relatively little time to choose a new home. We did end up finding something we are very happy with in the mid $400’s.

This area also has several colleges but is not the “ college town” flagstaff is thankfully

In these parts a nice move in ready house can be found for around 400 in a nice neighborhood,and if you want a little more space have the budget and are not adverse to some minor challenges ( well water, septic, dirt roads ) there are some very nice houses in the 1/2 mil range.
When looking I found a terrific house a bit farther out ( but still an easy commute for the wife and I.) I reallly worry about well water out here drying up ( not sure if my fear is fully warranted) but did not want to chance well water, or a dirt road that had several low point washes that may be impassable in monsoon season.

Something more of a fixer upper if you have the skills to deal with it can be found for low to mid 300’s

Yep my 20 year old plain 3/2 1500 sqft in the NW valley is valued at over 300k, hahaha it's ridiculous.