This is where you want to look.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/arizona/
Flagstaff housing is very expensive by AZ standards, but probably not by CA's. It's a college town, so there's lots to do for young folks. It's gorgeous country up there, lots of snow in the winter. It's really not a big city and I don't think there's much around it either. Williams is very nice, but touristy, Grand Canyon is another 60-90 minutes from there. Most of what's east of Flagstaff is Navajo Naitons. I-40 is closed down for snow or wind almost regularly. Last time I was there was in late April and it was almost too windy to ride on the hwy. Still snow on the peaks then too.