Best place to live in Arizona??? (Phoenix, Tucson: for sale, how much, motel)

[lindmh01]

My husband, son, and I are planning to move to Arizona (we currently live in Indiana) next year when I have finished my Master's Degree in English and he has finished his Associates Degree in Computer Networking. Our son will be 13 years old and is very much into football and baseball. We have a dog and a cat and very much enjoy the two acres of land that we currently live on. We eventually want to have horses in Arizona as well. We are a middle class family that wants to get away from freezing cold winters for good, but don't want 120 degree summers either. I am currently a substitute teacher, but want to teach at the collegiate level in Arizona if possible. Arizona is a big state and we are moving away from all of our family and friends so any tips or information that you can give us would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!

[BriansPerspective]

It sounds like Chino Valley is the place for you. The lots are mostly 1+ acres and there are plenty of horses around. The temperature is very moderate: 80s-90s in the summer and 40s-50s in the winter. The sun is always shining. Of course you will need to find some gainful employment there, commute into Prescott/Prescott Valley, or telecommute.

[Bill-]

Prescott is great if you can find a job. Unfortunately the jobs up there are pretty few and far between, which is why most people live in Phoenix or Tucson.

[Great Joy]

lindmh01, welcome soon to AZ!

Have you been to AZ before? AZ is very diverse, and has lots of different terrain. If you're considering the desert parts of AZ, 2 acres in AZ (lots of dirt, cactus, and prickly bushes) is much different than 2 acres in Indiana (lots of natural grass and trees). Sure you can landscape your yard to make it more usable and people/pet friendly, but it is expensive to do here. I think that's why most lot sizes here are less than an acre. People do have horses in the desert, but if we had horses in AZ we would prefer to live in a higher elevation and "green" area like Flagstaff. Flagstaff has a college also. I don't know about Chino Valley, but Prescott is "greener" too. Payson and Show Low are "green" AZ areas also, but I don't know if they have colleges. Best wishes in your search!

[lindmh01]

No I have not yet been to Arizona, we plan on coming out to check things out within the next six months or so. Prescott looks nice, however I don't think that I want to deal with the higher elevation problems, maybe something a little lower? We don't mind a little heat, just not Phoenix-type heat in the 120's. We are super excited about this move and really think that this will be great for all of us. Thank you all for your comments thus far...keep 'em coming!

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by lindmh01

No I have not yet been to Arizona, we plan on coming out to check things out within the next six months or so. Prescott looks nice, however I don't think that I want to deal with the higher elevation problems, maybe something a little lower? We don't mind a little heat, just not Phoenix-type heat in the 120's. We are super excited about this move and really think that this will be great for all of us. Thank you all for your comments thus far...keep 'em coming!

Well, in that case, you probably want to take a look at Camp Verde (3100'), Cottonwood (3500'), or possible Black Canyon City (2500'). In AZ, elevation = temperature. If you do not want the Phoenix heat, then you have to increase your elevation. Phoenix is about 1000' in elevation. On average, temperature decreases by 3.5 degF per 1000 feet. So, figure out how much cooler you want to be and then do the math.

If Phoenix is 110 then:
Prescott = 96
Cottonwood = 101
Campe Verde = 103
Black Canton City = 105

[FirebirdJones]

That is a very interesting graph for temps, thank you.
I have driven up and down I-17 many times from Prescott to Phoenix and love to watch the temperature go up/down (depending on direction traveling) it simply amazes me how fast it changes with altitude.

We originally thought Black Canyon City would be a good place to look for a home, but found it was just a speck on the map,,,,got off the exit on I-17 and drove through a tiny neighbor hood and on the other side was the on ramp to I-17. If you blink you miss it. Just south of that though about 10 miles is a nice strip mall though, we stayed at the motel accross the street, believe this was about 30 miles north of Phoenix.

[FirebirdJones]

Originally Posted by lindmh01

My husband, son, and I are planning to move to Arizona (we currently live in Indiana) next year when I have finished my Master's Degree in English and he has finished his Associates Degree in Computer Networking. Our son will be 13 years old and is very much into football and baseball. We have a dog and a cat and very much enjoy the two acres of land that we currently live on. We eventually want to have horses in Arizona as well. We are a middle class family that wants to get away from freezing cold winters for good, but don't want 120 degree summers either. I am currently a substitute teacher, but want to teach at the collegiate level in Arizona if possible. Arizona is a big state and we are moving away from all of our family and friends so any tips or information that you can give us would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!

We might be able to help some. We currently live in Ohio, same climate you are dealing with right now so we may have some of the same interests. We are planning a move to Arizona as well. We have visited several times looking around so maybe some of what I tell you might save you some time looking.

We have the same criteria, with at least 2 acres for some room and temps around 100 degrees and very mild winters if any at all. Another consideration for us was emissions checks which we try to avoid, and Maricopa county has this. Which envolves Pheonix and all it's surrounding suburbs, so that pretty much threw that out of the equation for us. Something to consider if you are a car collector as we are. Just don't want to deal with the headaches. So Yavapai county has been our focus.
With that said, my wife and I pretty much settled on the Prescott and the surrounding towns like Prescott Valley, Peeples, Chino, Paulden, Dewey and Humbolt are also some options.
Like mentioned, we have found Chino to have more property available and is a good place to start, not as congested, and only about 15 minutes to drive into Prescott down 89. Paulden is another 15-20 minutes above Chino but wasn't much in Paulden that grabbed our attention.
Dewey and Humbolt are just East of Prescott/Prescott Valley and we have seen quite a few houses for sale in that area as well with some property. And it's close enough to Prescott so the occasional run into town wouldn't be bad, yet close to highway 17 as well if that is needed.
Since you have kids as we do,,,schools may be an issue for you. Our son is enrolled in Virtual Accademy which is also offered in Arizona,,so it doesn't affect us so much, but I do hear that Arizona schooling has it's ups and downs. Most of what I have read and hear, Prescott gets the most praise for their schools so this may have some influence for you.
Hope your first trip out is a great one, this time of year is perfect.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by lindmh01

No I have not yet been to Arizona, we plan on coming out to check things out within the next six months or so. Prescott looks nice, however I don't think that I want to deal with the higher elevation problems, maybe something a little lower? We don't mind a little heat, just not Phoenix-type heat in the 120's. We are super excited about this move and really think that this will be great for all of us. Thank you all for your comments thus far...keep 'em coming!

Lindmh01 - was just wondering what kinds of "elevation problems" you were concerned about? If someone in your family has breathing at a higher elevation, then I wouldn't recommend Prescott. However, if you're wanting to get out of the "Phoenix heat", then there's a direct correlation to the elevation, as BiggsHomes mentioned. You really won't find a mild climate once you get below 2,500 - 3,000 feet.

Except for the "elevation problem", it would seem that the Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Dewey-Humboldt area (lovingly referred to as the quad-city area up here) would suit many of your requirements:
Mild 4-season weather, good schools (Humboldt school district is now rated "excelling"), good football and baseball programs, and a number of 2+-acre horse properties. Depending on the topography you like, you could have 2 flat acres of grassland, 2 acres of scrub vegetation (high desert), 2 acres of grass and boulders and magnificent views, etc - within about a 15-mile radius our topography varies so much you will find just about anything you want.

For a warmer climate at a lower elevation, you may want to check out New River, Camp Verde, Cottonwood, Cave Creek, Wickenburg, Peeples Valley, and Skull Valley.

[FirebirdJones]

Hey Gretchen, can you elaborate more on Peeples Valley?

I have been down to Wickenburg, nice older town but unfortunately it crosses over to Maricopa county right before you get there on 60. But I did notice some new housing developments on 60 and 93 (where they intersect) with what looked like new subdivisions going in right near the Yavapai/Maricopa borders that looked interesting. And it was only 30 minutes from Peeples.

Anyway, there was a house we toured in Peeples and were very close to making an offer, the only thing that stopped us was the drive up and down 89 from Prescott,,,thinking this would be our main source of food, gas, stores, supplies, and possibly a job of all things,,,,we weren't sure we could tolerate such a hard drive with switchbacks and turns that seemed endless. We drove around Iron Springs and came down that way past Skull Valley once, and it wasn't as bad,,,,but we wanted to drive it a few more times before a decision was made.

Do you have any experience with Peeples? Comments, information? What kind of shape are the roads in like Iron Springs or 89 when it does snow in the winter? If they become impossible to travel in the winter it may steer us away from Peeples all together. It appeared to be a small ranching type community, but we need to scope the neighborhood some more next month and see whats around. Cheers. Larry.