My SIL and her husband bought a hunk o’ land in Sedona and they’re going to build a fabulously ginormous house there. However, they’re having a hard time getting the house they want and now they’re wondering if they really want to live there. They’re going to rent for 4 months to get the feel for living there.
She says there aren’t a lot of restaurants (they love to go out to eat). It’s mostly a crystal-waver’s paradise, from what I hear.
What does a resident Sedonan with no need to work do?
Sedona is mostly a tourist stop with stunning scenery and a few overpriced shops and restaurants.
If you don’t need to work, then that’s what you do: you don’t work. Enjoy the quiet. Do they do any kind of art? Maybe they could buy some horses or something? That’s about it.
I don’t think they’ll last the whole winter. They love the city (Chicago). Quiet is not their style, at least not so far. They aren’t artists. She gardens, but that’s about it. I already feel sorry for them. There are only so many day trips you can do before you’ve seen it all.
Well, if they’re searching for something they could join up with these guys. 
Or they could stockpile a bunch of books and movies, go to Prescott or Flagstaff when they need human contact and just enjoy the view.
Tell them to go visit my mom in Prescott. She loves company! 
In all seriousness, I have a friend who tried moving to Sedona - she intended to stay most of the year there and the remainder here for only a few months - she now rents the place in Sedona out because she HATED IT! She was so bored, she went cross-eyed. Now she lives full time in Hampshire, IL - quiet but she can still get SOME excitement and it isn’t too hard to get into the city.
My parents moved out there years ago (to Prescott) and did tons of day trips but you’re right - you can only see so much. After my dad died, my mom started doing week trips. Like to other countries - she got kinda sick of mines and ghost towns.
See, all these comments fit into my theory. There is a reason that there are only “some” beautiful places in the world. We’re not meant to live amongst the beauty all the time. We’re supposed to visit it periodically to appreciate it, but then you have to go back to your little spot on the planet and cultivate your life.
Or become a professional crystal-waver.
Actually my accountant lives there. His wife telecomutes and they are very happy. But it’s not for everybody.
What is it with you people? You just need hobbies to fit the surroundings. What can you do in Sedonia that you can’t do in Chicago? Hike. Run. Mountain bike. Fly fish. You’re in driving range of good skiing.
What can you do both places? I’m pretty sure they golf in Az. (But, 365 days a year.) When you want to sit, you do many of the same things you do anywhere else. Read. Go to a bookstore. Watch a movie. Watch TV. Of course, you might feel guilty doing anything indoors, because the weather probably never sucks.
What can’t you do in Sedonia that you can do in Chicago? Listen to a variety of good, live music. Theater. Eat out at a variety of fine restaurants. Sail on a Great Lake.
And, of course, if you don’t do any of the latter set much, it has to be cheaper to travel to Chicago every now an then, and live in Sedonia, than live in Chicago…