This thread is a year old so you have most likely settled somewhere by now. I'm surprised to see you mention Snowflake but not the rest of that area. I lived in the White Mountains for several years before moving to North Carolina. There are so many areas in the Az mountains that would be great for growing and/or homesteading. We'll leave NC in the next couple of years and I'm tempted to move back if we don't find what we want in Idaho.
Nutrioso and Alpine are beautiful on one side of the mountain headed toward NM. Heber and Overgaard on the other side headed toward Payson are also great areas. I will be looking at Heber if we end up back in Az.
NC is a beautiful state but there's been a lot of changes in the last five years that have taken away it's luster for me. If you don't like bugs you won't like it here. I've never seen so many ticks in my life. I bought a flock of guinea fowl to combat them.
