The Reiki Cafe 

I have been to Arizona & Nevada once during the summer. 100 degrees there was so much more bearable than 100 degrees in Florida! I felt a strong pull in Arizona & felt "at home" more so than any where else I have visited. Now I feel myself attracted to New Mexico though I have never lived there. Have done some research & am aware of hazards such as arsenic in the water & water sources drying up, etc. So Im not just looking at the "romantic" things about the state.
Im curious what those who have lived there or are there now have to say about the state. Any Reiki experiences there?

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- I have been there twice

- did shamanic training in Albuquerque with Sandra Ingerman (drove up to Sedona on a free day) and participated in an International Shamanic gathering in Oracle, NM (a bit north of Tuscon) where there are mountains. Back then I did a distance K-K at night from a spot away from the gathering and encountered coyotes, javalinas (with young-ones), and other critters out at night for fun and feeding.

>:-}}

- from what I have seen of the state the mountainous areas north of Tuscon are beautiful but often dry and fires can be a problem.

- don't know about the water quality issue

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Dear Firekeeper,
Isnt Oracle & Tuscon in Arizona? Many states have the same names of towns but I cant find them on the map of NM. Of course since you were at a shamanic conference perhaps you were at both states at once? :)
Yes, it seems that every state has natural disasters...the most damage seems to be caused by flooding though I have to admit that Id prefer to take my chance with a hurricane rather than a fire. But I am weary of the hurricanes here.
The one thing I dont want to give up is the gorgeous sky, blue with fluffy white clouds, one of my favorite Florida experiences. I have seen more meteors here than I ever did in N.Y. The west is indeed blessed with tremendous skies and light. The sky is one of the first things I miss when Im up north in areas with great scenery & landmarks but grayer skies. Funny how such things can affect us, eh?
As for coyotes, well those guys are everywhere these days, even here at the Cafe!! They do get around....:)

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- true

- I seem to have run comments about the two states together without proper clarification

- lapse in mindfulness on my part

bagl

- that does not, however, alter the beauty of the Oracle area

>:-}}

- the skies can be absolutely clear and beautiful in both states and some of the sunsets I sat were spectacular (in Albequerque it appeared there was a small sunset culture as there is in Key West).

>:-}}

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

I live in Illinois, near Chicago. Had just come back from a cool trip to Arizona.......drove home from the airport at 2 am, and what crossed my path as soon as I entered my home town? You guessed it........a coyote. I just had to laugh.

Seriously, New Mexico is beautiful. You can hike in beautiful places up north and not see another person.There are cool Buddhist retreat centers. There is also a good amount of poverty there and jobs are not too plentiful. I had not heard about arsenic in the water.....guess you'd have to find out what kind of filtration system takes that out! I have a close friend in Albuquerque.....they have not much trouble finding pretty cool friends to hang with......energy workers........shamans.....spiritual explorers. They love being able to hang outside most of the year. They miss having water to play in. There are some waterfalls up in the mountains, and there are hot springs to play in. Most of my experiences there have been in the northern section, which is awesome!

I have heard wonderful things all around about Flagstaff and Prescott areas in Arizona......did you look into that area? You would still be close enough to New Mexico to enjoy the awesome play areas.

Good Luck,
Feather

Dear Feather,
Coyotes are everywhere! Perhaps they are brother to the cockroach...survivors!
I would love to consider Prescott though I think it might be out of my league financially. (There are few bargains in housing anymore unless you can do carpentry & plumbing, etc :( What do your friends in Albuquerque experience with pollution? Yes, the lack of bodies of water in the desert states is something to consider...have always lived within 30 minutes of a large body of water connected to the sea. Sometimes what we take for granted becomes a significant loss when it isnt there anymore.
Am doing research on potential relocation areas precisely because my heart has lead me in the wrong direction before. I love my house & the community where I am now in Florida but the truth is that my job is located in a larger city & it has been a struggle living here. Actually, one could say I have been existing here more so than living, but I did find Reiki here! Cant do any more daily 3-4 hours drive time. When I was in my twenties I just picked up & moved when I wanted to but I had my pick of jobs then.
I do appreciate the feedback. Getting a wide range of opinions & experiences is helping. My friends in Florida arent helping at all....HeHeHe. And statistics are just, well, cold facts.
peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

Well, Flag is a college town and the winters are quite severe. It is at about 7,500 ft. The area is absolutely beautiful but the town doesn't seem to be very affluent. I have only been there twice for a few days each time, once in the late fall for an anagama firing at the college and once in the spring for a wedding. The weather in the winter is far too cold for me but the wedding in May was beautiful (wedding and weather :-)) It is near Sedona but frankly that isn't much of a sell in my book as Sedona has turned into a very commercial place and from accounts of friends (as well as my own observation limited though it may be) it isn't very friendly either.

I have been thinking about Prescott but haven't done any serious research yet. I have good friends in Pheonix but don't want to live there so have been thinking about Prescott or Tuscon which are both within driving distance of Pheonix.

hope this helps some

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

I, too, was disappointed in Sedona. The hiking trails and vortexes are to be experienced, but I was so sad to see huge developments going up right next to sacred areas!
Peace!
Feather

Dear Rebecca,
There were 2 ladies from my Reiki teachers group who relocated to Arizona ( somewhere around Sedona) & came back to Florida several years later. Something about it being better to be a small fish in a small pond than lost in a big ocean. Guess it wasnt what they anticipated. Have heard before that many people kinda think they are "special" out there in energy vortex land. Anytime we relocate we take our issues with us & that is one thing Im trying to keep in mind...grass isnt always greener! Easy to get wrapped up in the more exciting features of a place. Every place Ive lived in & fallen in love with was eventually changed by it's popularity.
Found out 2 days ago that someone Id lost contact with relocated to Prescott recently. They are up to their necks in settling in & learning the off grid lifestyle but I will try to remember to pass on whatever I learn about that area.
Had looked into Flagstaff but too much snow & employment opportunities seem to be limited.
The small towns appeal to me but that means long distance driving to work. Tuscon apparently is more eccentric than Phoenix, a more commercial town?
Has anyone found a place that is good for allergies & asthma? Every large city seems to be listed on that list of worst places for asthma!
Thank you so much for the input, Im soaking it all in!!
peace & joy,
holobon

feather,

Sedona is definitely into spiritual materialism. (as well as the more mundane types :-)) The vortexes are worth putting up with everything else in order to experience them though.

I had a book to locate them given to me by my friends in Flagstaff and decided to visit one of the less visited spots. The information in the book on locating the spot was not entirely correct and it took me some time to find the place to hike in off of the road and the estimated distance from the road was way off but I knew it when I got there. Every hair on the side of my body next to the spot literally stood up as I walked past it. The sunset from that spot was something I'm not likely to forget for some time.

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

holobon,

Special is a good word (it can mean so many things :-))

Yep, the one thing we are sure to take where ever we go is ourselves. :-)

The weather is Prescott is supposed to be more tollerable than Pheonix as far as heat, though it does snow. The sun however, shines most of the time. I have only been to Tuscon once for a few hours on business with my friend who is a rep for a dental equipment company. We went to a hospital there (think it was the veteran's hospital) and didn't pass through the better parts of the city. From what I saw it did seem pretty commercial. I have been told by someone here who lived there for a short time that even in the summer the nights in Tuscon are pretty chilly (well it is desert after all :-)) One of the fellas that worked for our local phone company moved there last summer and told me that he had no trouble finding a job before he moved so maybe the employment opportunities are better there.

Everything in Pheonix is so spread out that where ever you live there you will be doing a lot of driving just to get everyday things taken care of. There are some smaller towns around Pheonix but the city is growing so fast that those are being encroached upon. The property values in the area have gone through the roof so housing is very expensive. Crime rate in Pheonix is one of the highest in the country the only saving grace is that most of it is not violent. Also consider that things like cars are registered according to value in Arizona (it cost my friends over 700 bucks to register two vehicles. one was new and the other about 3 years old)

Unfortunately any place that is good for allergies isn't going to stay that way. People have a habit of bringing their plants.

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

Dear Diosa,
Is that auto registration a one time impact fee when you first move to the state or is it the yearly registration fee? $700.....how can anyone afford to drive with those prices on top of car insurance & gas! No wonder the auto theft rate is high......
I didnt realize that Phoenix was a sprawling city...so thanks for that heads up!

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

I don't know if any part of it was a one time fee or not. Also don't know if the registration is an annual expense or a bi-annual one. Good news is their drivers lisences are pretty cheap. :-)

(I will ask and get back to you)

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

Namaste Holobon,
I have lived in the metro Phoenix area twice in my life, seperated by thirty years. I am comfortable in desert living and the heat and the cool nights. I currently have one child living in Tucson and very close friends living just outside of Gallup. My friends near Gallup NM are very happy with all the space and the low cost of living. They live 15 miles out side of Vanderwagen NM. (find that on your map!) They love the scenery, the space and the 'feel' of the area. My child in Tucson would move back to Washington in a heartbeat except she has copd and it would probably cost her life. She is also dealing with lung cancer. When we left Mesa (can't tell the seperate towns anymore from Apache Junction to Sun City) the cost of living was too high, the crime rate was more than I wanted my son to be around all the time, and I just didn't feel comfortable in my own skin anymore.(trees just didn't look like trees) (have you tried to hug a palm tree?)
When we got back to Washington state I felt as if I could breath again. It hasn't been easy since we got back here but as a family, we know that this is the place on earth we are to be. There are trees and more trees (and they are green). Until you spend a spring here you don't know how many fantastic shades of green exist. There is ocean and rivers and lakes. There is blue sky with clouds that come in various colors. The public image of WA is rain. Yes, there is rain, but there are so many days of sunshine it is ok. We have a lot of peek-a-boo days when the clouds are chasing around in the sky and block the sun one instant and are gone in another.
There are great places in both Arizona (Prescott, Apache Junction) and New Mexico (Vanderwagen) but my personal choice will always be Washington state. We always have the mountians, ocean, lakes, rivers, trees and more trees. I am also spiritually at rest here. I love where I am but I am glad to have been elsewhere so I know what and where I need to be.

Dear Redheadedragon,
Oh,boy, your love for Washington sure comes through in your post and you are fortunate to be where your heart is. Your words truly remind me of that time in my life when Florida was the best place for me to be.
If it wasnt for the dampness & cost of housing Id consider WA or Oregon. A former coworker lives in Seattle now & is quite happy. And if I was financially well off Id probably consider California.
Yes, I have thought over living a life in the desert without towering oaks & tropical foliage and seashore. ( I remember the culture shock of my first Christmas in Florida after leaving NY.. with decorated palm trees & no snow, it felt like I was on a different planet & it took some getting used to.)
I have been asthma free since moving from NY to central Florida and with an asthmatic parent on multiple meds, Im trying to avoid following in those footsteps. It is very difficult though to predict what areas are best from the standpoint of respiratory & allergy issues. Anyway new allergies can develop no matter where one settles. Im just finding out that cedar or juniper is a real allergy problem in some parts of the southweast.
Every place has good & bad points, the key seems to be recognizing what is most important to you. ( I have seen people move their families to Florida only to turn around & go back home within the year because they couldnt adjust & for some all it takes to scare them off is our bugs: flying cockroaches and ferocious red ants).
Thank you for the input and I did find Vanderwagon on the map !

peace & joy,
holobon

Dear Holobon

Lived in New Mexico 3 years. It can get very hot. Have lots of water,and non perishable food with you as you travel and you'll be ok.
Snakes and scorpions can be a problem, if you hear a rattle don't move until you locate the location. Sunsets are beautiful. T2

holobon,

I didn't forget you, I just haven't heard from my friends yet.

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

holobon,

Happy New Year, may it be peaceful, prosperous, and healthy.

Finally have an answer for you.

Yes that is a yearly fee. No there weren't any one time fees included. It is based on a percentage of the cars value when new and is less each year as the care ages.

The two cars they registered were between 20 and 25K new. One was a few months old and the other was a 96. (and it was closer to 800 than 700 for both cars)

So there you have it. :-)

Oh, and don't forget that AZ has a sales tax that runs anywhere from around 7 to something over 8 percent depending on what extra city/county taxes are added on.

Walk in beauty,
Rebecca

Dear Rebecca,
Well that IS something to consider...thats very expensive & Im wondering how people on a fixed income handle that. Thank you for getting back with me. The "little" things that you dont know before you move can make a difference.

peace & joy,
holobon

Dear T2,
Good to hear from you...where are you in your travels now?
You must of read my mind, I was just considering the other day about living with snakes & scorpions..I have had both in unusual numbers this year in Florida & the scorpions here are wusses compared to Southwest stingers!! :)

peace & joy,
holobon

The real stingers in the desert Southwest are the tiny brown ones. Them and the mojave greens (rattle snakes) There are a few lizards as well that don't play well with others. I have seen the biggest black widows in the Mojave desert as well as the biggest cocroaches. They were bigger than in New York City.

Maybe Florida aint so bad after all....Yikes! :)

peace & joy,
holobon

Otoharo!

I lived in New mexico from 84 to 92, before having reiki. I lived in Hagertown, Roswell, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. My job required traveling from town to town, (social work) I ended up as a consultant in the state office in Santa Fe. I had to leave because rent increased every year until I could no longer live there after I retired. I enjoyed the Native Americans. As a social worker, many of my clients were Native Americans, so I often met with tribe members. They shared life with the whole city in many ways. In fact, I had bought a Toyota Pickup so when I left, i lived in the camper shell of the truck while I explored the Northwest until I found where I really wanted to live. In Santa Fe, it is very hot in the sunshine, but cool in the shade because of the altitude.

finality

Otoharo!

Holobon, I also lived in Timberon in the mountains. My father lived there then and one of my brothers. I loved Timberon. The wild flowers are just out of this world! i put out a weekly newspaper when I was in Hagertown. That was fun! Drove to Lubbock, Texas to the printer each week. Of course, everything may be different now.

finality

Dear Finality,
So where did you wind up in retirement? I cant keep up with your travels, kiddo...you move around so much, I cant remember where you are now!!! :) :)
HeHeHe...in all fairness, I have enough trouble figuring out where I am!!!

peace & joy,
holobon