Consider flagstaff. I live about 1 hour from there in Holbrook. flag is half way between PHX and Las Vegas.

cost of living is near what phx is but you have the cleanest skies in the US (they have an observatory like 1.5 miles from downtown). NAU is a good medium size college town, houses can be had for a little less than phoenix. you have to allow extra costs for snow 3-4 months of the year but you already know about that. winters get down to -5 degrees for a week, 10-20 degrees for around a month and less than thirty for about 3 months. Very rarely will you find a day in the winter where it stays below 25 the entire day as there is usually a 30-40 degree temperature swing every day.

if you really want to move to Arizona, consider flagstaff, sedona, show low and pinetop. These are all areas that are relatively cheap, all much cooler than Phoenix, VERY VERY beautiful and NO EMISSIONS TESTING for your Z.

Holbrook would NOT be for you but on the bright side, i bought a 2600 sq ft house with a 1/2 acre grassy yard and fruit trees 200 feet from the town park/pool for $89K, and my property taxes are FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER YEAR. I kinda miss the city life (and have 30k miles in 10 months to prove it.), the nearest wal mart is 30 miles away etc, etc, but my money is going a LONG way here in the middleof nowhere. You can go shooting a few hundred yards from town and people carry guns on their hips into Safeway occasionally.

 

Yes on Flagstaff. It is beautiful. Think small college town kind of thing. PERFECT weather (for me) you do get snow in the winter so be prepared.

 

Yes, summers are warm. But have never had to shovel it! Moved here from "beautiful" northern Illinois years agp - have never regreted it for a minute.
Never have had to warm up my car in January here for 5 minutes so it would move - and never had more than 2 days in a row without some sunshine ! (cant even remember when that was last )
Arizona - one of the fastest growing population states - reason?? Go figure - climate and style of living.
Lots of nice Z country here - mountain curves and long stretches ( keep the PASSPORT plugged in ! )

 

My husband and I just bought our first house about 3 weeks ago. It is being built in the middle of nowhere (23rd ave & dynamite for those that know), and will take awhile to build. The base price when we bought was $205K (price went up $5000 overnight). Just 3 weeks later, the base price is $240K. Glad we got in when we did. Things move pretty fast in Phoenix.

 

Phoenix is great! There are the nightlife sections of town, like Tempe and Scottsdale.. not Vegas, but not Podunk, Kansas either. There are rural, modern, "historic", cheap, expensive and any type of lifestyle you can imagine available. Real Estate ranges from rip-off LA type prices to cheap, rural living. 20+ shopping malls in the greater phoenix area, outlet centers. 5 road courses, four autocross clubs, two drag strips. NASCAR, NHRA, IRL, World of Outlaws. Diamondbacks, Suns, Cardinals, Rattlers, and the Phoenix Coyotes. Every opportunity imaginable is here, it's just up to yourself to take full advantage of them. I've been here almost 9 years and after having lived in Minneapolis and Florida, I can't think of anywhere else i'd want to be. 2 hours from snow, 5 hours from Mexico, Vegas, LA, or the most remote and desolated part of the world, New Mexico.

The longest running weekly car show in the country is right here in Phoenix. Sure it's hot in the summer, but get A/C and window tint and you'll be fine. It is definately worth sucking up the summer to have 7 months of 75 degree weather! I was in Nashville last week with 85 degrees and 70 percent.. 10 times worse than Phoenix ever is!

There is a lot of crime (on TV at least), but unlike NYC or more cramped cities, Phoenix is very spread out so it's all relative and it's rare to see it. Every neccessity (food, mall, car dealer, sports) is a short drive away. Phoenix is expanding rapidly, take advantage of it while you can!