Arizona is kinda like Florida, which is blah. But I’ve never spent extended amount of time there.
I love SLC and would move there in a heartbeat. Only issue is that the woman in my life won’t move there. It’s a very serious issue in our relationship right now cause I can’t stand the state I live in, yet she won’t move due to her job, family, etc. I felt like I fit in SLC despite the LDS influence. It’s a very ‘outdoors’ culture. I LOVE snowboarding, mountain biking, Xterra’s and tris. If you love those items or related, SLC is the place.
Never been to PA so can’t comment on it. But it’s also CA and not sure why anybody would go to California. 
Flag is MUCH different than Phoenix or Tucson…
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Phoenix was depressing, but Flagstaff especially US180 headed northwest towards the Grand Canyon through the Kaibab NF was very pretty.
I would never live low desert, but high desert has potential.
As for Stanford vs. it depends on the field. If you are going for a field that pays $ then Stanford makes sense, but in fields where the wage is more standard(teaching, social work, clergy, pharmacy, etc.) why pay for something more than a state school and in some cases the public might be better assuming you are paying for it. I am an engineer from Northwestern, but totally understand the argument that I should have gone to Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, , etc. as they have more well regarded engineering in many disciplines.