How We Chose to Settle in Phoenix After RVing For 8 Years

This article was first published in TravelAwaits on Dec. 12, 2021.

Almost immediately after our wedding ceremony, we embarked on what we thought would be a never-ending honeymoon. We had both led very career-driven lives and our hunger for travel had reached its peak. But after crisscrossing the North American continent for five years full-time in an RV,  we decided to settle in one location every winter to begin what real retirement should be for us “sexygenarians.” But many ask, "Why Phoenix?" Let me tell you how we reached the decision.

It started with our realization that we were not super-persons who did not need a team of physicians who could take care of us on a regular basis.  After my husband suffered a heart attack in Florida—fortunately near a heart hospital— and my host of many smaller health issues, we decided to stay put in a place for a few months to do the rounds of doctors. Besides, not getting any younger, we would have to wake up from the dream later, cut short our honeymoon, and really retire.

Before making a firm decision, we took our RV and proceeded to stay in the most likely areas where we could try semi-retirement to get a better feel of how it would be to live there, which is vastly different from simply visiting. We were sure it would be in the South because neither of us could handle the cold. My husband’s fingers turned blue at the Grand Canyon National Park…in spring; and, for 54 years, it was summer year-round for me. It would probably be somewhere in Florida, southern California, or Arizona. We embarked on a serious search.

SEEKING A BETTER TAX STRUCTURE AND LOWER COST OF LIVING

Even if San Diego is touted to have the best weather in the country all year round, it was easy to eliminate southern California; sad because that is where most Filipinos choose to live. Thus, there are Filipino groceries like Seafood City, many Filipino organizations to join, and many of my former classmates, co-workers, and other colleagues. However, the tax structure of the state and the consequent high cost of living are not good for retirees on fixed incomes like us. A case in point is the cost of gasoline. It is always highest in “SOCAL.”  Our dollars would buy so much less!

TO BE NEARER OUR CHILDREN

We turned our attention to Florida where the tax structure is better. And there are so many ready-made retirement havens for people like us. As a matter of fact, we thought we would be buying a property at The Villages, often cited as the best retirement “city” in the whole country. We loved the climate there, hot and humid like I was used to in the Philippines. But, alas, Florida is so far from where our children live. Road trips to visit any of them would never be practical, and plane flights would all end up being more expensive in the long run. These may prevent us from visiting them often; or, worse, discourage them from visiting us!

So we zeroed in on Arizona, where a road trip to San Francisco, California— where my eldest daughter lives—would take just 12 hours; to Denver, Colorado— which my husband’s daughter calls home— would almost be the same; and to Boise, Idaho— where his eldest and only son lives— would be longer by just an hour and a half.  So we took our RV to spend three weeks each in Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma, Arizona’s candidate cities.

A WARMER CLIMATE

The Grand Canyon National Park is only one and a half hours away from Flagstaff; only 45 minutes separates it from Sedona, that magical city of red rocks (photo). There are many other national monuments and state parks around the city: Walnut Canyon, Wupatki, Sunset Crater, Tuzigoot, and Montezuma, to name a few.  Yes, it’s Arizona’s prettiest corner. If we lived there, we would be visited by a lot of friends and family. And yet, it proved too cold for me and my husband since Flagstaff is in the northern part of the state, at elevations of almost 7,000 ft.  After three pleasant summer weeks, this Arizona city was nonetheless eliminated.

A MORE COSMOPOLITAN CHOICE

Let me explain here that I am a big-city girl, having lived in Metro Manila—a megacity with a  current population of 14 million, one of the densest cities in the world, much like Bangkok—until I retired. Given a choice, I prefer to have a wide range of facilities for cultural events, many options for shopping, extra choices for international culinary delights  (not a single El Pollo Loco), and a full complement of government and commercial services. So, even if Yuma has a population of 200,000 and is just 25 minutes walking distance to Los Algodones, Mexico, a mecca for inexpensive dental and medical services and supplies, it was also eliminated from the list. 

A BETTER GLOBAL REACH

In the end, it became a close contest between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona’s biggest and best metropolitan areas. At first, we found it difficult to decide between the two.

The Tucson metropolitan area, population of almost a million, was the early front-runner. Temperatures are cooler by five degrees year-round because it is at a higher elevation. It is also closer to Mexico which we were looking at as a second home at best or a regular vacation spot at least. There are also many landmarks in and around the city like the Saguaro National Park and the Sabino Canyon National Recreation Area, aside from cool day trips to places like the Tumacacori National Historical Park, the site of the first-ever Spanish mission in the US. Actually, another mission, Xavier San Juan del Bac, is right in the city and is the best example of Spanish architecture in the US, still actively providing enchanting services. Tucson is decidedly more Spanish in character. It is also the site of the world-famous “International Gems and Jewelry Festival” in winter. Great for aspirational women, like me!

On the other hand, Phoenix is five times larger with a population of five million, the 11^th ranked in the nation. Although it does not have national parks or Mexico at its backdoor, the Flagstaff area is just about three hours away, Yuma about the same, and Tucson, two. It is also home to more museums, entertainment options, venues for concerts and shows, and city, state, and regional parks. The latter were very useful for communing with nature when we were in forced lockdowns.  There will be no dearth of places to take our visitors and guests. The megacity is made up of a cluster of cities and municipalities like Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Apache Junction, and 17 others. 

We stayed at the Viewpoint RV & Golf Resort in Mesa. With 1,900 sites, it is the biggest such resort of its kind in the Phoenix area. There was a similar resort called Voyager RV Resort and Hotel in Tucson. Although a little smaller with 1,500 sites, there was a hotel for guests attached to it. Both are part of Encore Resorts which also owned the network of campgrounds where we were members. And both had sections for homes when one finally decided to stay put.

We chose Viewpoint. The deciding factor was simple: Sky Harbor International Airport is a global hub, and therefore our travels around the world and visits to children in Anchorage, Alaska, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Melbourne, Australia would not only be less expensive but more convenient, with usually just one stop or even nonstop stop flight options.

Three years later, after we settled with a great family physician and a team of specialists to whom he referred us, we finally fully retired, sold our RV and bought a house in Viewpoint. I have fallen in love with the desert. Spring is a beautiful season to be here when the ubiquitous paloverdes, aside from all the wildflowers, are in full bloom with their delicate yellow flowers. Fall weather is also perfect.  These days, we stay home during these two seasons and travel when Phoenix sizzles in summer or chills in winter.

It was a blessing owning an RV. We were able to search the country thoroughly and when we were ready, choose from candidate cities by staying in each one for three weeks. And then we took all of three years wintering in Viewpoint before deciding to make the arrangement permanent. It was a rigorous and highly enjoyable process. And in the end, we made the best decision. 

PREVIOUS POST

How to Choose the Best RV and Campground for the Way You Want to RV