Flagstaff, Arizona

What life in Flagstaff, Arizona is like, explained by people who live(d) in Flagstaff:

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*Response format = Answer (Your name, How long you’ve lived in Flagstaff)

Flagstaff Favorites

What’s your favorite thing about living in Flagstaff?

Route 66…all of the old restaurants and motels. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Mountains. (Billy, 2 years)
Weather, downtown, the size of the city. (Christina, 2 years)
The small town feel. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
The general location. (Brett, 3 years)
Summertime weather. (Joseph, 3 years)
The area is beautiful. (Kris, 3 years)
The fresh air. (Dayna, 4 years)
Easy access to hiking. (Ariel, 5 years)
Wildlife. (Tanya, 5 years)
Weather. (Andy, 7 years)
There’s so much history here and the sunsets are sensational. (Ashley, 8 years)
Weather and the Forrest. (Anna, 9 years)
Beautiful. (Dani, 10 years)
Trees. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Living in the forest. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Summer weather. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
Down to earth community and the Summertime. (Lindsey, 18 years)
Has a little of everything. (Bill, 23 years)
The weather. (Mike, 25 years)
The accessibility to outdoor activities and surrounding forests when they are not closed. The nice summer weather and beautiful fall seasons. (Rebecca, 25 years)
Weather. (Vanessa, 25 years)
Small town feel. (Betty, 28 years)
The people. (Anonymous, 30 years)
Sense of community. (Jennifer, 34 years)
It used to be a small mountain town. (Debbie, 39 years)
Small town that holds tight to being a small town. (Anonymous, 54 years)
Being around my family. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff Least Favorites

What’s your least favorite thing about living in Flagstaff?

Housing prices and the constant trains going through town. City counsel liberal policies are raising taxes and making Flag unaffordable. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Traffic. (Billy, 2 years)
Nothing. (Christina, 2 years)
The growing size of NAU. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
High rent payments. (Brett, 3 years)
Cost of living/snow. (Joseph, 3 years)
The cost of living. (Kris, 3 years)
Bad drivers. (Dayna, 4 years)
Snowbowl/Student/Tourist Traffic. (Ariel, 5 years)
All the valley people coming to visit. Lol. (Tanya, 5 years)
The high costs. (Andy, 7 years)
The lack of city officials caring about the people that actually live here and not just the college kids. The god awful traffic that could also be easily fixed. (Ashley, 8 years)
The lack of affordable housing. (Anna, 9 years)
A high cost of living. (Dani, 10 years)
Most of the people are haters. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Traffic. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Cost of living. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
The new things: traffic, the hub, paid street parking. (Lindsey, 18 years)
The politics, taxes and housing costs. (Bill, 23 years)
College students. (Mike, 25 years)
The politics, HIGH cost of living with low wages, lack of growth allowed, not re-purposing buildings or updating them, vacant properties that invite crime and vandalism, and now the current building on natural forest lands. (Rebecca, 25 years)
High cost of living. (Vanessa, 25 years)
No enough options sometimes (shopping, restaurants, activities). (Betty, 28 years)
The traffic. (Anonymous, 30 years)
Traffic. (Jennifer, 34 years)
The politics. (Debbie, 39 years)
NAU taking over and not caring about the residents, they keep bringing in more students, where are we going to get the water? (Anonymous, 54 years)
The college kids are too rowdy. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff Things To Do

What are fun things to do in Flagstaff?

All of the national monuments. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Hiking. (Billy, 2 years)
Ski, eat downtown, hike. (Christina, 2 years)
Walk around down-town, skiing, and hiking. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
Drink booze. (Brett, 3 years)
The outdoors/observatories. (Joseph, 3 years)
Hiking, lake Mary, snowbowl. (Kris, 3 years)
Hike, camp, drink coffee. (Dayna, 4 years)
Hiking. (Ariel, 5 years)
Hike, ski, fish, see ruins and other national parks. (Tanya, 5 years)
Go downtown or in the forest. (Andy, 7 years)
Hiking, skating, camping. (Ashley, 8 years)
It’s pretty endless. (Anna, 9 years)
Tons of hiking –lots of awesome day trips. (Dani, 10 years)
Not much for older persons. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Hiking, enjoying the historic aspects, various bars and eateries. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Downtown. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
Wandering around downtown and seeing the historical buildings! Driving up Snowbowl road and hiking- every time of year offers something different and special. Strolling through the woods on top of Mars hill by Lowell Observatory. Going to local shows at Firecreek or the Monte Vista Lounge! (Lindsey, 18 years)
Just enjoy the weather and almost 4 seasons…. (Bill, 23 years)
Lava Tubes. (Mike, 25 years)
It depends on what you like to do, but some include hiking, biking, boating, exploring lakes and many other events around town. (Rebecca, 25 years)
Hike. (Vanessa, 25 years)
Hike, ice hockey, horse back riding. (Betty, 28 years)
Hike, go to concerts, gather with friends. (Anonymous, 30 years)
Snow Ski, Lowell Observatory, cruise downtown, anything outdoors. (Jennifer, 34 years)
Take hikes, picnics, fishing. (Debbie, 39 years)
Rock climb. (Anonymous, 41 years)
All kinds of things in the outdoors all year around, 4 actual seasons to enjoy, hanging out at all kinds of places that they all become favorites, lots of things that are free or low cost. (Anonymous, 54 years)
Walking at Buffalo Park we have many restaurants. Oak Creek Canyon, diverse community. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff’s Reputation

What’s Flagstaff known for?

NAU. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Progress. (Billy, 2 years)
NAU, being the closest city to the Grand Canyon, snow. (Christina, 2 years)
Probably the amount of snowfall it gets annually and the eclectic down town feel. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
Trees. (Brett, 3 years)
Astronomy/skiing. (Joseph, 3 years)
NAU. (Kris, 3 years)
Beautiful trees. (Dayna, 4 years)
Snow, Grand Canyon. (Ariel, 5 years)
Route 66…the most ponderosa pines in one city. (Tanya, 5 years)
Snow. (Andy, 7 years)
Largest forest visible from space, dark sky, discovering Pluto, Ted Danson. (Ashley, 8 years)
Route 66, NAU and skiing. (Anna, 9 years)
Forrest Gump! (Dani, 10 years)
High coast of living. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Our elevation. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Route 66, Peaks, hiking, skiing. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
Being close to the Grand Canyon and enjoying all four seasons! (Lindsey, 18 years)
High housing, high taxes and limited jobs………. (Bill, 23 years)
Mountain town. (Mike, 25 years)
The peaks, high altitude living in a small town. (Rebecca, 25 years)
Snowbowl. (Vanessa, 25 years)
Snow, stars. (Betty, 28 years)
High cost of housing, gateway to the grand canyon. (Anonymous, 30 years)
Grand Canyon. (Jennifer, 34 years)
Snow bowl, NAU. (Debbie, 39 years)
Wanna be hippies. (Anonymous, 41 years)
We are the City of Seven Wonders. (Anonymous, 54 years)
Route 66 and many hiking trails. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff Crime

What’s the crime like in Flagstaff?

High for a town this size. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Low. (Billy, 2 years)
Very little crime. (Christina, 2 years)
Around campus is regular street crime and I feel like the rest of town is pretty average when it comes to crime rates. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
Little to none. Except the drunk Native Americans. (Brett, 3 years)
Avoid sunny side ( it’s really barely a ghetto compared to places in phx). (Joseph, 3 years)
Not horrible. (Kris, 3 years)
Getting worse. (Dayna, 4 years)
Mostly where the drunk people are at – Downtown, Bushmaster Park. (Ariel, 5 years)
4th St/Greenlaw- not good. (Tanya, 5 years)
Better than Phoenix. (Andy, 7 years)
Near downtown because of the train, mission, bars, college students not being respectful. (Ashley, 8 years)
Sunnyside has high crime. (Anna, 9 years)
Drunk in public. Pretty much everywhere. Difficult being close to a dry reservation. (Dani, 10 years)
More than most know street drunks. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Minimal. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Generally safe with common sense, avoid walking Sunnyside after 11pm and be with friends if walking downtown after 1am. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
Unsure. Probably low in comparison to other parts of Arizona and other cities in general… but also probably comparable to similarly-sized places. Terrible things do happen. I believe crime is concentrated (but not exclusive to) areas towards the east side of town with more low-income housing. Sunny-side and the 4th St area, etc. Again, I am unsure! (Lindsey, 18 years)
Sunnyside. (Bill, 23 years)
Not much crime. (Mike, 25 years)
If you keep yourself and property safe, then it is not as much of a concern. Being at the intersection of I17 and I40, two major drug corridors, there is drug and people trafficking, low level prostitution, amongst property crimes, gangs, members of crime families, shopping, homicides and others. It truly is a different town day versus night and in certain areas that are known to have higher crime rates than others. It is a smaller town but it still has crime. (Rebecca, 25 years)
Minimal. (Vanessa, 25 years)
It’s on the rise, sunny side has always had a bad reputation but I think all areas are growing. (Betty, 28 years)
More cops per capita than anywhere else in AZ, but few prosecutions by the city or county attorney’s offices. (Anonymous, 30 years)
I think there is more than what is reported or given to the community. I think the police and paper have a bad relationship and so we are uninformed. (Jennifer, 34 years)
Getting worse / good if you’re white. (Anonymous, 41 years)
Plaza Viejo has become pretty rough, Sunnyside has its moments, but for the most part it is petty crimes and your occasional insane moments. (Anonymous, 54 years)
It’s mostly everywhere in these days. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff Advice

Any advice for people moving to Flagstaff?

Don’t. The cost of housing is too high. The town’s lack of amenities doesn’t justify the high prices..No Costco, In n Out Burger, etc. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Prepare for high housing cost. (Billy, 2 years)
Be prepared to pay more for a smaller house. (Christina, 2 years)
Be prepared for winter. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
Make sure you find a good paying job before paying the high rent. (Brett, 3 years)
Stay away. You’re the reason rent keeps going up. (Joseph, 3 years)
Don’t expect good late night food. (Dayna, 4 years)
Expect poverty with a view (a very nice view) – rent is astronomical. (Ariel, 5 years)
They say it is poverty with a view—have lots of money. (Tanya, 5 years)
Prepare for high costs and super liberal people. (Andy, 7 years)
Don’t move here unless you have a second income, and learn how to recycle. (Ashley, 8 years)
Have money for housing. (Anna, 9 years)
There are one way streets downtown…read the signs. And look up local property management companies if looking for places to rent. They’re better to deal with than large apartments and you’re immersed in the community and various neighborhoods. And they tend to be more affordable. (Dani, 10 years)
Bring lots of money. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Smile and enjoy it. Look around, take deep breaths, and don’t litter. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Unless recruited there for a high paying job, be prepared to be broke and deal with over-crowding and diminishing views due to NAU taking advantage of the town and giving little back. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
Be kind and considerate. Be accepting. Be involved in progressing the community towards a better future for its inhabitants and its environment. Make friends, have fun, create art, be a part of something bigger than yourself. Don’t litter. (Lindsey, 18 years)
Check Prescott first……….. (Bill, 23 years)
Stay away. (Mike, 25 years)
Ask around, look around, and do not think that just because Flagstaff is a smaller town that it’s like Mayberry. There is the false cover that nothing bad happens and it is a quaint place to be. It is a nice town, but it is expensive and not a place to be caught unaware. Lock your car, house, and keep valuables out of sight and unadvertised. (Rebecca, 25 years)
High price of living. (Vanessa, 25 years)
Plan ahead, it’s expensive and a lot of people can’t afford to work and live on their own. (Betty, 28 years)
Bring more money than you ever thought you needed. (Anonymous, 30 years)
Rent is high but if you are willing to work hard you’ll make it here. (Jennifer, 34 years)
It’s a hard town to get started in. Prices high here. (Debbie, 39 years)
Go away, or don’t try to change it when you do get here. (Anonymous, 41 years)
Prepare yourself to live in poverty with a view, even with the minimum wage being higher, the cost to live here is completely out of line. (Anonymous, 54 years)
Be prepared for the high cost of living, rent is really high. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff Stories

Share an experience you’ve had in Flagstaff (fun, crazy, dangerous, etc.).

Waiting for a train that has broken down on the track. Then having another go by at the same time, waiting 25 min and being late for work. This happens quite often. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Christmas parade. (Billy, 2 years)
Taking a road trip from Flag to the Grand Canyon to see the sun rise. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
Cop pulled me over because I had a beanie on. (Joseph, 3 years)
Adventuring on woody mountain road to the creepy house. (Dayna, 4 years)
The earthquake of ’14. (Ariel, 5 years)
Beautiful wildlife, stars and trees. (Tanya, 5 years)
Blizzards. (Andy, 7 years)
The first time I hiked Mt. Humphreys, I broke two toes but still finished and cried the whole way up because that view changes you. (Ashley, 8 years)
Downtown is always fun. (Anna, 9 years)
I mess with the Asian tourists. They take pictures of EVERYTHING so if you tell them Chuck Norris sat in this chair, they will take twenty pictures of the chair. I like to think they go through their pictures when they get home and question why they have so many pictures of chairs. And drinking fountains. Bricks. Light poles. Gum on the underside of tables. (Dani, 10 years)
Over by people from phx 4 of July parade. (Ladonna, 13 years)
I always enjoy when visitors comment on how folks smile and say hello while walking downtown. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Ladies 80’s when the Green Room was the Mogollon. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
Endless entertaining and enchanting hours wandering downtown after school at Flagstaff Middle School, and still to this day after graduating from NAU in 2014. Deciding to neglect my “flag-stuck” syndrome and move away… only to decide to move back after less than two years when a loving and accepting community was desperately needed in my life once more. Taking a routinely walk to or from work on a different street, or other side of the usual street and always meeting remarkable people or witnessing beauty in the natural world along the way. (Lindsey, 18 years)
Nothing jumps out other than working with Toys for Tots 12+ years. (Bill, 23 years)
January 2010 blizzard. (Mike, 25 years)
One of several fun experiences includes going to a local lake and enjoying the wildlife. (Rebecca, 25 years)
Snow is awesome. (Vanessa, 25 years)
I tried to ditch in high school, but was caught because it’s a small town and everyone knows everyone. (Betty, 28 years)
I enjoy the outside. (Debbie, 39 years)
Life. (Anonymous, 41 years)
Growing up here was awesome when we knew everyone and it was safe not having to worry about who your neighbor was. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff’s Future

How do you think Flagstaff will change over the next 10 years?

Hopefully they’ll get more land to build housing and citizens will vote out the current city counsel. These liberals running the city are making the cost of housing and the cost of living skyrocket. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Get groovier. (Billy, 2 years)
Get bigger :(. (Christina, 2 years)
The college will destroy the town. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
Double the students. Triple the rent. (Joseph, 3 years)
A lot busier, more crowded. (Dayna, 4 years)
More students, more urban sprawl. (Ariel, 5 years)
More people. (Tanya, 5 years)
Will get too hard to live because of the cost. (Andy, 7 years)
It’ll only get worse if the city and NAU keep planning to overrun the town with student housing when the locals can’t afford to live here. (Ashley, 8 years)
More student housing and less dwellings for year-round residents. (Anna, 9 years)
With the minimum wage increase I think that companies that don’t embrace change will fizzle and die. (Dani, 10 years)
All for NAU ……. Higher cost for everyone else. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Housing and university are gonna explode. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Further crowding and diminished desirability. (Kaitlin, 17 years)
More focus on making money. More tall buildings- less immaculate and more obstructed view of the sacred peaks. More pushes towards catering to tourists and not so much locals. More traffic. More construction. More students. (Lindsey, 18 years)
Unless they start balancing the govt’ with Conservatives Flag will be as bad or worse than Calif. Look at all the major Liberal run cities….. They are a mess. (Bill, 23 years)
Horrible, NAU is over taking this town. (Mike, 25 years)
It seems that Flagstaff will continue to get more expensive to live in with minimal growth and more student and high density housing. (Rebecca, 25 years)
Cost more for all non locals. (Vanessa, 25 years)
I think we will become more of a college town and less of a destination town. (Betty, 28 years)
Yes, with NAU’s strategic plan focused on increasing enrollment and out of town developers building unsightly, corporate-run housing, it’s gonna be worse. (Anonymous, 30 years)
More growth and traffic. More divide between NAU and Flagstaff. (Jennifer, 34 years)
More and more of a college town. (Debbie, 39 years)
All the a holes coming here wanna change it from why they came here – it’s not Phoenix thank goodness. (Anonymous, 41 years)
I hope for the better, but that hasn’t been our track record so far. (Anonymous, 54 years)
Too many new buildings, too many people, run by students. (Esther, 78 years)

Flagstaff Facts

Any other interesting facts about Flagstaff?

Enjoy the Lowell Observatory. (Cheryl, 9 months)
Great music. (Billy, 2 years)
A part of Casablanca was filmed in the Hotel Monte Vista. (Mackenzie, 2.5 years)
Last year there was skiing in June in Arizona. (Joseph, 3 years)
Lots of family-friendly events. (Tanya, 5 years)
It’s high. (Andy, 7 years)
People still think it’s crazy that it snows here and it’s Arizona. (Ashley, 8 years)
Plenty. (Anna, 9 years)
Surrounded by active volcanoes. (Dani, 10 years)
Sad schools, bad teacher pay. (Ladonna, 13 years)
Second largest continuous pine forest. (Anonymous, 14 years)
Pluto was discovered here! It’s the first international dark sky city! It’s the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world! It has been one of the top snowiest cities in the country! (Lindsey, 18 years)
We need snow………… Thin the forests or Flag will burn…… (Bill, 23 years)
Founded for lumber mills. (Mike, 25 years)
It has a lot of shopping but not a lot of selection. There is still a high need to shop and dine elsewhere for proper customer service and products. (Rebecca, 25 years)
Most people can’t afford to retire in Flagstaff. (Anonymous, 30 years)
There is a lot of history here. (Debbie, 39 years)
We have a lot of memories from the old days. (Esther, 78 years)