#2390925 - 05/11/11 10:52 PM
Any Arizona Residents?
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Nimrod777
18 Point
Registered: 09/28/03
Posts: 23272
Loc: Spring Hill, TN
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I was just wondering if anyone had lived in AZ, had an opinion about life in the Southwestern US. I'm so used to green hills and flowing waters, I find it hard to imagine living in a primarily desert area. Not that I wouldn't mind smoothing out my yard rather than mowing it... but can you hunt much? Fish much? Garden anything at all??
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Some hunt for racks, some hunt for roasts. I hunt for sheer joy; the aforementioned items are merely fringe benefits.
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#2390926 - 05/11/11 11:02 PM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: Nimrod777]
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Big J
16 Point
Registered: 03/10/06
Posts: 11586
Loc: Joelton
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My Brother lives in Tempe AZ. Housing prices are ridiculous! He lives in a $240k house that is all of 1200 sq feet!!
Hotter than hell!
I would not live there for any amount of money in the world!
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Love God, Love people, Live Gospel!!
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#2390938 - 05/11/11 11:42 PM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: Big J]
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Bambi Buster
12 Point
Registered: 01/29/04
Posts: 6125
Loc: Middle Tennessee
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Arizona is a very large state. Generalizations do not paint an accurate picture.
As for the hunting and fishing; lots of public land, but it's complicated. Google is our friend.
http://www.azgfd.gov/
http://www.arizonahuntingtoday.com/forum/
Unless you have a source of irrigation water, gardening could be problematic.
Not currently a resident, but Arizona was my home from 1984 to 1988. The U.S. Department of Justice is a jealous mistress and as a consequence, I had little time to enjoy it. Tennessee is home and I missed it, bit I will admit Arizona was a very interesting place to live.
_________________________
"The American military is like a finely crafted sword. To be effective, it must be wielded by a discerning, skilled and merciless hand."
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#2390941 - 05/11/11 11:46 PM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: Big J]
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Hogbear
10 Point
Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 4032
Loc: Cuba (near Memphis)
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I lived in Yuma in 88-89 and 94-96. There's definitely lots of hunting and outdoor stuff around there. AZ has millions of acres of public land for 4 wheeling, camping, hunting etc. I got a bighorn sheep and a couple of mule deer, plus quail, both mourning dove and whitewing dove, javelina. I saw lots of pheasant around the orchards near Yuma, but there was no season on them.
I grew up in Alabama and had only lived in the southeast and VA until I moved out there. It was like landing on Mars or something, totallly alien, but I really had lots of fun exploring the desert. Not unusual to see stuff 40 miles away out there, but sometimes you can walk within a few feet of a truck and never see it with the deep, narrow washes and gullies. Don't care much for the Phoenix area, too crowded, but I liked Yuma and the mountains around Prescott and Flagstaff were great. Tucson is a nice area too. I put 36,000 miles on my truck the first year I lived there just driving around and seeing all the different stuff. My lips were chapped from the dry air for the first few months too.
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#2390967 - 05/12/11 05:19 AM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: Hogbear]
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44fanatic
12 Point
Registered: 01/01/08
Posts: 6068
Loc: Clarksville, Montgomery Cnty
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Lived in Sierra Vista from 1999-2002. For SE Arizona it was a nice place to be, a bit cooler than Tucson.
Southern Arizona can be brutally hot in the summer.
Norther regions can get a bit of snow in the winter.
Hunting:
Javelina, mule deer, elk, buffalo, antelope, great bird hunting
Indian reservations can sometimes be your best choice, but costly
Fishing:
Great trout fishing can be found in the northern waters, decent bass fishing on the Salt River lakes around Phoenix
Plenty of opportunities for hiking, camping, ghost town hunting. Just gotta watch out for the cacti...seems they have plenty of them there that will reach out and touch you although you deliberately walk 10ft away from them.
BB is correct in that it is a large state that cant be overgeneralized.
Hopefully Knight88 will chime in, he lives out there.
_________________________
Bill
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#2391054 - 05/12/11 08:23 AM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: 44fanatic]
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The Ol'Professor
6 Point
Registered: 04/16/08
Posts: 879
Loc: Mid TN
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We lived in Arizona for nearly 20-years, about 1/2 that time in Flagstaff and the rest in Phoenix. Our eldest son and his family plus a number of other relatives still live in the Phoenix area so we make it out there 3-4 times a year.
Keep in mind the AZ has 6-climate zones from the Lower Sonoran (sea level to 4,500 feet) to the Alpine Zone (above 11,500 feet). It can be 110 in the summer in Phoenix but if you drive 2.5 hours north you can expect it to be 75-degrees. Winter is just as varied. Flagstaff is the only place I've ever lived where I had to shovel snow off the roof for fear that it would collapse! 2.5 hours south, sunny and 75.
There is more public land there than private..a whole lot more. I've hunted deer, quail and javalina there. Lots of elk in the north but never had a chance to hunt them..had several friends who were successful though. Also lots of opportunities to fish.
With all that said I don't think I'd want to live there again. Been in Tennessee 14-years now and this is home.
_________________________
The wealthy man can get hunting anyhow, but the man of small means is dependent solely upon wise and well-executed game laws for his enjoyment of the sturdy pleasure of the chase. Theodore Roosevelt
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#2391072 - 05/12/11 09:04 AM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: 44fanatic]
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Nimrod777
18 Point
Registered: 09/28/03
Posts: 23272
Loc: Spring Hill, TN
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Sounds pretty interesting. Place I was looking at was Apache Junction, which serves as a bedroom community for Phoenix/Tempe to a certain extent. It's to the East about 45 minutes out, at the edge of the big populated area there. Bottom of the Superstition Mountains. Plenty of history. Just not sure how much huntable wildlife!
Course I could always drive 4 hours to Lake Havasu...
_________________________
Some hunt for racks, some hunt for roasts. I hunt for sheer joy; the aforementioned items are merely fringe benefits.
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#2391073 - 05/12/11 09:11 AM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: Nimrod777]
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Hogbear
10 Point
Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 4032
Loc: Cuba (near Memphis)
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I scanned a few old photos from when I lived out there. Didn't want to put them all in this thread because it would slow down the thread, but you can see them at the link if you're interested. The sand dunes are in CA just across the line from Yuma and the blue pickup next to the big boulder is just outside of 29 Palms, CA, but the rest are in AZ.
http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/Hogbear/AZ/?albumview=slideshow
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#2391080 - 05/12/11 09:29 AM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: Hogbear]
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knight88
10 Point
Registered: 09/28/06
Posts: 3218
Loc: SE Arizona and Hardin county
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Hi! Well I am here in TN, and really have no desire to return to AZ. Expensive, high taxes, HOT in summer (9 months of the year). People are Not nearly as friendly as here in TN. 44 Fanatic gave good info.
BTW the illegal and smuggling problem is still there even with the fence altho that has helped a bunch.
I have caretakers living on the ranch and they have had to call both border patrol and the sheriff in the past week.
Down near the border it is normal to carry either concealed or openly.
Feel free to PM or if you prefer we can phone if you have questions...
_________________________
Finally at home in Hardin county, thank the Lord...
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#2391081 - 05/12/11 09:30 AM
Re: Any Arizona Residents?
[Re: knight88]
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Buck Nekkid
Non-Typical
Registered: 12/20/07
Posts: 42423
Loc: Jefferson County,Tn
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you aint leaving us are you nimrod?
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TnDeer's sexiest man over 300lbs.
One half of "Man Purdy"
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