Sedona vs Scottsdale(ish)

Phreddy · December 7, 2016

I am jumping the gun by a couple 3 years but the cold that has settled over the upper midwest have my wife and I talking about a winter home when I retire. We have traveled a bit, and find ourselves liking desert more than the southeast. On one level we find the Sedona area very beautiful and a bit less crowded than Scottsdale (to be fair we haven't spent enough time to truly judge). Even though Sedona runs cooler than Phoenix/Scottdale it would still be a major improvement over the frozen tundra we call home. But as a golfer who would look to play 3-4 times a week in January, February and March I think the Sedona area might be pretty limited. Have I missed something in my early research?

I belong to a club at home, and I don't let that stop me from getting out and to see another course once in a while, so variety is important to me. I might try to duplicate that idea with a non-resident membership in what ever location we end up. If you have thoughts and suggestions on helping me to further my research I am all ears.

Phred

zzyzxx33 · December 7, 2016

It's been 10 plus years since I left the Sedona area. The courses in the Sedona area were average and over priced IMO. The Sedona area to me felt very isolated. Phoenix/Scottsdale is an hour and 30 minutes +/-, Flagstaff or Prescott is 45+. I don't know what it's like now, but I was looking at Anthem. At the time is was close enough to Phoenix, but not as congested. The other thing i did not care for about Arizona is they do not observe daylight savings. Good luck with your search.

Browns71213 · December 7, 2016

If you are into art & spirituality Sedona, if you are into golf Scottsdaleish.

Phreddy · December 7, 2016

I'm in to getting up and down to save par.

fore_life · December 7, 2016

Look at Prescott

az2au · December 7, 2016

I love AZ. I can live anywhere I want in the world pretty much as my job is global in nature and I'll travel regardless. I consider North Scottsdale the best place in the world to live. It gives the small feel of a Sedona or Prescott while only being 20-30 minutes away from civilization. At 2700'+ we almost never see the real heat that exists downtown and yet it never gets too cold either.

I just left a dinner meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica a few minutes ago where a few of my colleagues were talking about how they were heading home to snow tomorrow and talking about how lovely the weather is here. I checked the weather at home and it is basically the same exact temp as here in Costa Rica. Unlike them, I look forward to heading home :)

dtm6582 · December 8, 2016

Of those two? For golf? Scottsdale, hands down. But if you think you're jumping the gun... I'm 30 years from retirement and already have Prescott in my sights. Vibrant little community. Has high desert and forest. Pretty much year round golf with several decent options. Easy access to the Phoenix metro. It's almost perfect. A lot of people from Phoenix retire there for pretty decent year round weather.

Be careful with az2au's reassurances on the heat. I'm pretty sure he's immune to it. If you flew over his club at 2:00PM on a 106 degree day and saw one person walking up the 7th fairway, that would be him. :)

North Scottsdale still gets pretty uncomfortable for a good chunk of the year. Especially if you're coming from a cold weather location, it will probably take a few years to adjust. Each 1000 feet of elevation is supposed to be around 3 degrees cooler so figure higher elevation N Scottsdale is 3-5 degrees cooler than the rest of the metro. 112 everywhere else is still 108 there.

Since you're debating Sedona/Scottsdale I assume you have some budget to work with. If you can or wish to maintain 2 households, another option is a winter home in Scottsdale/Phoenix and a summer home in the Flagstaff area (or the white mountains). You can get nearly perfect weather year round doing that since those northern areas are usually 25-30 degrees cooler than Phoenix. It's about 2 hours to Flagstaff, 3 1/2 to the Pinetop area. There are a bunch of small towns in the white mountains though if that's your thing. Pretty much all the decent golf in Flagstaff and the white mountains is private. Flagstaff has Forest Highlands, Pine Canyon (both top level) and Flagstaff Ranch (more a mid-tier if I remember correctly). Show Low has Torreon. Pinetop has Pinetop CC and White Mountain CC.

Sun Devil · December 8, 2016

I'm biased because I live in the North Scottsdale area. This area has a natural desert look. Less commercial. I like to look at it as being rural. Plenty of golf courses and private clubs here.

Scottsdale also has some impressive shopping and dining areas. You are close enough to take in some of the area's sporting events also.

Sedona is beautiful. If you're into small touristy towns .... then Sedona is your ticket.

If golf is your emphasis and your wife loves shopping/dining ...... Scottsdale is a no brainer.

golfandfishing · December 10, 2016

It's been 10 plus years since I left the Sedona area. The courses in the Sedona area were average and over priced IMO. The Sedona area to me felt very isolated. Phoenix/Scottsdale is an hour and 30 minutes +/-, Flagstaff or Prescott is 45+. I don't know what it's like now, but I was looking at Anthem. At the time is was close enough to Phoenix, but not as congested. The other thing i did not care for about Arizona is they do not observe daylight savings. Good luck with your search.

Curious how the DST affects your opinion of the area? I don't particularly need sunset to be at 4:00 in the winter when the weather is great nor an hour later in the summer when it is 115 degrees in the shade.

Sun Devil · December 10, 2016

It's been 10 plus years since I left the Sedona area. The courses in the Sedona area were average and over priced IMO. The Sedona area to me felt very isolated. Phoenix/Scottsdale is an hour and 30 minutes +/-, Flagstaff or Prescott is 45+. I don't know what it's like now, but I was looking at Anthem. At the time is was close enough to Phoenix, but not as congested. The other thing i did not care for about Arizona is they do not observe daylight savings. Good luck with your search.

Curious how the DST affects your opinion of the area? I don't particularly need sunset to be at 4:00 in the winter when the weather is great nor an hour later in the summer when it is 115 degrees in the shade.

Exactly.

Chomper · December 13, 2016

Carefree seems to be about 10* cooler than Phoenix in the summer, and there are a few options re: public and private golf. Just north of N. Scottsdale, only 40 min from the airport. If you don't want the hustle and bustle, you should check it out.

Sedona - not nearly as many golf options that Scottsdale has. Quality is not anywhere near the same, either