Yeah I live at 5200. We have some wheeling that gets up to 13k, and then I'll get down into the 3k area in Utah. Lots of elevation change. When I had a FJ60 that was too much for the jets. It was either good in the high country or good low, I could never get it to handle both. (Plus the mileage was ridiculously horrible for a truck that could barely do 65, haha)
We are very close to being desert here, we see 300 days of sunshine and not a lot of rain. It rarely hits 100 degrees and winter is pretty mild too. It's also never humid. If you need cold air in the dead of summer it's only an hour away. Just drive west and up!
I love the desert though. I get to Utah 2-3 times a year or more. Basically it's where we go on vacation
I'd consider moving there but the beer situation would be upsetting.