Considering relocating to Sedona..what's it like living there?

[Amazingrace]

Presently I reside in NE Tennessee. Always been curious about Sedona. If possible provide me some 'inside information' (other than what I can find on the net) about residing there. Since I am a single woman my main concerns include - crime, demographics, jobs, places of interest, etc. Thanking everyone for their input.

[smb]

Sedona is a great little town. We are located about 2 hours north of Phoenix, so that is where you need to fly in and out of for any major flights. We have an emergency room and an Urgent care. 2 major markets and an organic market as well. We have a Walgreens. There is a Walmart and a HomeDepot 30 min away. Flagstaff is 45 min away and has a college ( Northern Arizona University, and therefore a college town, and many more bars & restaurants). There is a ski area in Flag. Sedona offers hiking and the great outdoors. Houses are cheaper than they were a couple years ago, but will still set you back at least 400 K. 250K for a condo. The police love to give speeding tickets, but generally the town is friendly. Overall Sedona is much more liberal than what you think of as a Red State. WE have two Starbucks. A "real one", and one in Safeway.

[carljackson]

Amazingrace wrote:

Presently I reside in NE Tennessee. Always been curious about Sedona. If possible provide me some 'inside information'(other than what I can find on the net) about residing there. Since I am a single woman my main concerns include - crime, demographics, jobs, places of interest, etc. Thanking everyone for their input.

tough to find good paying job. also, a bit isolated 2 hours north of phoenix.

[Just me]

Sedona Az is a very attractive little town but very decieving. It is primarly run by its wealthy, while there are hundreds of homeless families struggling... they do a good job at hiding those facts. The poor are set off into two small trailer parks in the hopes that no one will notice. Sedona has spend millions trying to study the need for low income housing... over 5 years yet there is none... they could have paid any number of people to tell them there is a problem. Most earn 7.00 an hour and full time work is not available..in most cases. The homeless hang out at the safeway store,occassionally asking for a hand out... but in Sedona there is little help. There is one food pantry, but they limit the food they are willing to give to 32 items per week for a family of three... hardly enough... and of course brag about all they help... humulation is not helpful. There are two starbucks, I prefer the one uptown becasue the one in safe way is poorly managed by safeway, and dirty, all one has to do is look at the cash register to see it has not been cleaned in a very long time. Stand in line and you will see no one ever washes their hands,garbage is usually piled up in a shopping cart next to starbucks, and they are always out of things. It does not bode well for safeway... Keep in mind safeway owns and runs this store and it is in many way seperate from starbucks. The goal for Sedona is to keep "those kinds of people" out of the community while using their talents to grow Sedona...IE rob from the poor to give to the rich. The teachers here are wonderfful but the lowest paid in the state, there is not hud housing, and if you need assistance one must go to cottonwood, 1/2 hour away. There are not shelters to help with the SERIOUS homless problem, most are living in tents or as I said sub standard trailer parks... Don't waste your time moving here unless you have a large income... and remember when you visit here this is NOT a family friendly community... families are only welcome here to spend money... not to live.

[Condsidering Sedona]

If Sedona is such a miserable and unwelcome place for the homeless to live, why don't they go North to Flagstaff or South to Phoenix? Or, do they have some right to live amoung the "large income" folks?

[Midwest Ghost]

Gosh Just Me! That sounds horrible. HUD housing and the homeless hanging out at Starbucks. I sure hope that this isn't true, I just bought a 2nd home there. I knew that there is a huge hippie and new-ager problem but all the rest-jeez.

Seriously-as long as Sedona is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the nation that is the way it is going to stay. I don't think that at 500K per acre there is going to be any low income housing going up any time soon. Luckily this is still a capitalist society and the market will dictate. When the employers run out of unskilled labor you will see low income housing going up. It will probably be in Cottonwood though. As I understand it there is a rumor that Cottonwood is trying to annex some of the land between Sedona and cottonwood along 89A. I am not sure what they plan on doing with this but again I am sure it will not be low income housing.

As far as the trailer park goes though you neglected to mention how many of those living there are illegal aliens.

I think that I would be more inclined to agree with smb's description of the city. I feel very safe there and as a single woman I think you will find living there pleasant. My biggest problem with the place is that they roll up the streets at 9PM and the small town politics seem to be a little amplified. Luckily phoenix and flagstaff are not far away for entertainment.

There seems to be plenty of work available but it is all in the service or hospitality industry. If you are in the medical industry you should have no problem finding a good paying job in either Cottonwood or Flagstaff.

[tnhiker]

I am from East TN and I lived in Flagstaff for about six months with a friend who was a travel nurse. I loved Flagstaff and on my days off I was usually in Sedona or some other area hiking. I loved the area and someday want to come back. I felt safe in Sedona. I did see lots of rough looking folks in Flagstaff at grocery stores and well in lots of places but I never saw that in Sedona. You may want to go to the Sedona Chamber of Commerece website for info. Best of luck to you Amazingrace.

[oilman_15106]

Somehow the OP's question got hijacked into a homeless discussion?

I do not live in Sedona, but have a second home there and have spent considerable time there in the last 6 years.

Two points I would make are: 1) If you want a high paying job you had better bring it with you. Or if you do something that can be done over the net and get paid you are ok. 2) You had better like California style government. In my opinion the city thinks they can have it all and has taken on the debt to prove it.

I would suggest spending some time there before you make the leap.

[2ndsight]

WElp...i agree with most of you...
aside the medical jobs paying..POOR (my experience)
It is beautiful Oasis, and thats the point...

Excerpt;
An Affirmation:
The Beauty of Life surrounds me, the Joy of Life uplifts me, and the Resilience of Life protects me.
It is enough -- author Laura Teresa Marquez

Just Google Images.."Sedona", Enough said.

[troubled youth]

I have lived here for almost 30 years, here is something I posted at an earlier date to this Forum.

In my younger years I worked at the Chevron Station at the "Y". It was a Full Service station back then and I was making $2.85 an hour, minimum wage for a high school kid. It was the busiest corner in the Southwest and we would get fuel deliveries almost nightly. Sometimes there would be 4 or 5 cars lined up waiting for me to check the oil, tires and give the windshield a swipe. Most were Visitors seeking Sedona's splendor that made the trip across the northland or braved the desert, always tempting fate by not turning off the A/C as they came up the hill from Black Canyon City. Remember the little sign on the right hand side at the bottom?

Mother Nature made Sedona what it is today, we are just her translators. Sedona is known, not only for it's beauty, but for the warm and friendly people that live here and we have spoke to the Visitors in such a way that they return year after year and in some cases they just decide to stay and help. Thank you, we need that.

So.....

I'd like to think.... that I was the first smiling face they saw, quick to give directions while I was cleaning the bugs off the windshield, "Poco is 2 1/2 miles that way, the VOC is another 4", "Slide Rock, why that's 5 miles up the canyon, have fun and don't forget to remove your wallet and keys, oh and by the way can I check your water and oil in case you sprung a leak on the way up?". People that live in Sedona are always so nice, ever hear that one before?

I'd like to think....that I was also the last smiling face they saw. Cleaning the glass once again so they could take in the views on their way out of town, topping off the tank so they wouldn't have to stop and checking the tires, oil and water for peace of mind that they would arrive home safely. You never know, the next person they meet may not be smiling, then again, that's a different town!

[GoatBoy]

I remember the Sedona that troubledyouth speaks of, but it's long gone. I live 20 minutes from Sedona and that's about as close as I'm comfortable being. I will admit it's a great place to go yard sale shopping these days. The upper class that lives there have fallen on hard times and are selling their goodies for pennies on the dollar. Shops are closing. Hotels are laying off employees. Maybe the hideous traffic will improve a bit.

[oilman_15106]

GoatBoy wrote:

I remember the Sedona that troubledyouth speaks of, but it's long gone. I live 20 minutes from Sedona and that's about as close as I'm comfortable being. I will admit it's a great place to go yard sale shopping these days. The upper class that lives there have fallen on hard times and are selling their goodies for pennies on the dollar. Shops are closing. Hotels are laying off employees. Maybe the hideous traffic will improve a bit.

Are you aware that the median income for
Sedona is $34,000. The upper class?

[Berd]

I am considering a move to VOC area when I retire. There are homes under $300,000 available at this time. Does anyone have comments on the Village of Oak Creek/Big Park area? Good, bad or indiferent? I drove around the area in March of 2008 and saw some homes in foreclosure there. I fell in love with the area and how close it is to the beautiful Red Rock views.

[2ndsight]

Berd wrote:

I am considering a move to VOC area when I retire. There are homes under $300,000 available at this time. Does anyone have comments on the Village of Oak Creek/Big Park area? Good, bad or indiferent? I drove around the area in March of 2008 and saw some homes in foreclosure there. I fell in love with the area and how close it is to the beautiful Red Rock views.

ya don't have to committ, but i find Barbara the most complete and fun realtor in the Area.Check out her web site.

; http://www.barbarabaker.com/

[2ndsight]

Commit..lol...

[tony]

Sedona is a great place to live but real estate is very expensive. If I wanted a cheaper home I would move to cottonwood. 20 mins away

[Dan R]

Sedona is a beautiful place to live. There are homeless people in most Arizona cities, so it's really about your own perception. The majority of the permanent residents are retirees who have income streams that allows them to live comfortably. The other comments about lack of good paying jobs are true, unless you operate your own SUCCESSFUL business. So, if you're looking for a place to live and work, you would be better off locating in one of the major metro areas like Phoenix or Tucson. Tucson is the best kept secret of the Southwest. Shhhh, don't tell anybody...

[Thea]

Sedona is great, but too much tourism. Also, overpriced. I lived in Flagstaff for many years, before moving back home to Aussie. I visited Sedona often, mostly for the warmer temperatures. The residents were not too friendly to tourists, as I mentioned, maybe too much of it. Still, it's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't live there.

[firechild]

Sedona is a very beautiful and spiritual place, but like all things... there is a negative side. Being a new single woman in Sedona will bring some experiences. For one, men there are always looking for fresh faces. They do this who "Sedona hug" thing, where they are basically feeling you up. Many people claim to be spiritual there and all it really is a mask. I've been visiting Sedona for 5 years from New York My girlfriend has a house there. I recently moved to Arizona and I visit every other weekend. I found that I had a profound spiritual realness and experience while hanging out with the hippies. The social lites of Sedona are only good for marketing. Just keep you eyes open and do not get fooled by the illusion. You best bet is to come here to spend time on your own, really get to know yourself and hike. Eventually you will be able to weed the phonies from the real. It is a nice place to live for a couple of years,that's when the magic becomes somewhat diluted and the truth is revealed. It is a modern day Babylon(human created), and visually/energetically spectacular(GOD craeted)

[2ndsight]

FireChild; what does one say?..you reveal too much..and yes you are,telling of your,truth.
I read your doubt and critical thinking to such an extent..i can only ask..where's the relevance and significance in your remark, "Sedona Hug" ?
I agree with you alot, but,most,make our friends by choice no? ie:Avoided decisions, where the outcome could be so severe that the choice should not be made, as the consequences can not be recovered from if the wrong choice is made,LOL even the "Social Lites"..
as for your history in judging mans- need for fresh faces..i feel saddened and egoestically protective now..
nothing to hide..i assure you..but geez,,,what can any man say to that response without stepping off a deep abyss.? back to topic..
The Vortex...Really is a reality. both in Theory and science fact..ie: Tesla's Colorado Springs Experiments..earth is a conductor..
see Wiki on Nikola Tesla.
"energy" as the native Indians say,"high energetic collision numbs the body and spirit in sedona. that can be,negative, too! energy sooo high sedona is a place of Celebration and not to be consumed by man 24/7..
as i posted earlier..just Google images on Sedona..
The, Babylon, Firechild describes is,an extension of divine visual spectacle.