A good place to live.
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12/9/2013
We moved here from San Diego, CA. There was massive culture shock, that took more than a year to overcome. The weather runs to extremes, with sub-zero winter temperatures and several 100+ degree days in the summer. Winds can be fearsome and the sand-storms shut down I-40 at least once a year.
Having said all that, the crime rate is very low. There is graffiti and there are drunks, but violent crimes are quite rare. The EPA counts the sand-storms as pollution, which lowers the air quality ranking, but most of the time the air is pollution free. There is no smog at all. The cost of living is hard to compare to life in the big city. By car there is no place in town more than 5 minutes away. The whole town is bicycle and pedestrian friendly, so except during the worst weather there is no need to even start a car. Flagstaff is less than an hour away for occasional "big-city-shopping" which is typical daily driving for those who live in bigger cities. Utilities are affordable, only slightly more than we paid in mild San Diego.
The overarching benefit of living in this nice little town, is the quality of the people. This is a family-based church-oriented community. Everybody knows everybody else and it is like living among one's cousins. Even if we aren't all the same religion or political persuasion, we still get along. Our little town is generous to those in need, even though our average income is lower than the state average. We give more to Special Olympics than most cities of any size in AZ.
Like most things in life, what you get out of Winslow depends on what you put into it.
Fran | Winslow, AZ