Quoted from Methos:I visited Flagstaff last year and really dug it. The weather doesn't get as warm as I would like, but hard to have it all. What are your thoughts on that area?
I'm a second generation AZ native and I've been everywhere in AZ many times. So many good choices up north. It just depends on the climate you're looking for as to how far north and in elevation that you want to go. Flagstaff, Cottonwood, Oak Creek, Sedona, Payson, Prescott, Show Low, Williams, Jerome, Pine, Strawberry, Munds Park, Winslow, and the list goes on.
There's tons of lakes, camping, hiking, star gazing, winter sports, off road activities galore.
AZ is great. You get to decide if you want a deal with a 3-4 months of cold(ish) weather in the winters up north with an amazing other 8-9 months of the year or 4ish months of heat for an amazing other 8 months of the year down south. Or you just have 2 places and just jump back and forth to the best of both worlds.
Honestly even up north you still have highs in the 60's-70's unless a cold front is coming through with winter storms. Depending on the area we usually get 4-6 decent winter storms in an average season. With snow on the ground for a week or two.