Arizona - would you live there?

quail hunting is solid

I loved when I lived there. Payson is a really nice area that I could see myself having a place one day.

Payson looks awesome. There has to be limitless possibilities for camping in that part of the country. We have two very young boys who I'd love to provide them with a lifetime of camping memories. Fly fishing too.

Maybe northern Arizona. Definitely not Phoenix or Tucson.

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I'm contemplating moving to the Phoenix area. It would be nice to have only a 4-6 hour drive to SW Colorado and southern Utah as well. Y'all's thoughts?

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durango CO and moab UT are closer to a 7.5 hour drive, but still totally accessible in a day. st george UT a bit closer. and don't forget an easy 5.5 hour drive to southern california.

but you'll find lots to do much closer to phoenix. great bass fishing in and around the valley in the winter and when it warms up, head to the mogollon rim or white mountains for river and stream fishing (several quality lakes up there too). i don't hunt, but have a lot of friends who hunt in the valley for quail, rabbit, deer, and javelina.

several posters mentioned payson, which is sort of the gateway to the rim. the rim has lots of small streams and creeks with wild trout, and high alpine lakes.

flagstaff is a 2 hour drive, but gets crowded in the summer. some quality lakes to fish for trout and pike up there. not much in the way of streams or creeks because the volcanic soil absorbs so much water. oak creek in sedona the obvious exception. the GC and the colorado river @ lee's ferry are also great for fishing, but that's 2 hours north of flagstaff.

further afield are the white mountains (3 hr drive from phoenix), which is a hidden gem. incredible trout fishing in the high-mountain lakes (some at 9,000 ft elevation) and streams during the summer and quality elk hunting in the winter. the lakes and streams of western new mexico are also relatively close to the white mountains.

i lived in tucson for school and enjoyed it, but i am glad to be in phoenix now. more centrally located, bigger, and an airport with flights to everywhere. and of course lots to do year round (whether in phoenix or day/weekend trips to escape the summer).

we have a lot more hunting and fishing than people realize, but i like it that way. keeps the pressure down.

The only place I would consider would be Flagstaff.

I'm currently working a few hours north of Phoenix. It's not too bad up here. There are plenty of outdoor activities to do for sure. Ton's of people with side by sides and plenty of places to ride them. I was surprised at the amount of hunters there are. There seems to be a ton of public land and plenty of places to go shoot your guns. I plan on doing some fishing in the next couple months. Not really sure where to start but I went to a National Park in Prescott and it looked like it held some fish. A lot of the lakes up here are stocked with trout regularly through the summer. I will be doing a turkey hunt in the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico in April (it's about 4-5 hours from Phoenix). I haven't killed a Merriam turkey yet so might as well check that off the list if I can while I'm here. I'm not sure if I'd live in Phoenix but one of the surroundings cities maybe.

Probably in Scottsdale

Yes. Love it there.

Fantastic Elk hunting. I would prolly do NM over Arizona but splitting hairs there.