Having lived there for a few years, I will say that for retirement purposes, it does present an interesting case, and there’s a lot that an active person can do. That said...July and August are miserable because of the heat.
On politics, the urbanization around Tucson and Phoenix have made both liberal magnets. The two universities are part of the problem, but folks tend to want Republicans-in-name-only (RINOs) who mostly say conservative things and then wink at everyone. The western and northwest part of the state probably stands more conservative than Phoenix/Tucson region. That would include Flagstaff and Kingman.
Thanks for the info. One of the reasons I reject it as a retirement place is that extraordinary heat. I couldn’t even take LA’s heat in the summer! And while I can’t stand Dims, I hate Rinos even more. Too bad. I do plan on visiting out there, though. Beautiful state.