Prescott or Flagstaff? (Phoenix, Prescott Valley, Payson: real estate, housing, rent)

[steve22]

Originally Posted by kansaslady

Both towns (Prescott and Flag) are beautiful, but in different ways. Flag has what is considered an Alpine Climate, and can have very long and cold winters (and hopefully heavy snowfall, up to 84"/season, because that is the foundation for their water supply). This last year was terrible and they are on water rationing. Flag also gets ice in the winter, so be prepared to learn how to drive in hazardous winter conditions. The cost of housing is much higher in Flag than in Prescott, and jobs are not that plentiful in Flag...I would never recommend moving there without securing employment first (W.L. Gore is one of the top 100 companies to work for, if you can get in).

Flag is a mountainous community and a college town (NAU), but not a crazy college town. Very crowded in the summer months due to tourism (which is a big part of the town's revenue). Lots to see and do in and around Flag. If you can tolerate long cold winters and have sufficient income, you would love it there. Not sure about a ranch right outside of town - you've got the forests all around (largest stand of ponderosa pines in the U.S.).

Prescott offers much milder winters and the scenery is similar to Sedone due to the red rock formations (not as gorgeous as Sedona though). Housing prices have escaled there too. Summers are mild compared to Phx, Tucson, and/or Cottonwood (Cottonwood does not offer good scenery). You've got the Mingus Mts. between Prescott and Cottonwood and would have nice scenery after the winter snows.

If I had to pick between the two towns, I'd pick Flag because I love the San Francisco Peaks, pine trees, and fell in love with the town in the early 80's when I first visited. If you visit, be sure to dine at Horsemen's Lodge just north of town!

Payson is a nice town, but again, you've got to be prepared for snowy winters.

No place is perfect, and it all comes down to what you can tolerate as far as climate and cost of living. If I move to Flag, it will be after I retire to avoid having to get out in the winter months when the snowfall and/or ice is at it's worse. And also, I would not move there unless I have sufficent income to sustain me.

I currently live in the Kansas City area and every winter I swear that I will never again live in a cold winter climate (and no ice please!)...but that being said, if you're retired (or rich enough not to have to work) then who cares? You can sit inside drinking hot chocolate and watch the gorgeous scenery from the comfort of your warm home.

Wherever you choose, it's ALWAYS a good idea to visit the area during July/Aug and/or Jan/Feb for several weeks at a time to experience the hottest/coldest times of the year. Just visiting an area for a few days during the nicest weather in Spring/Fall is not an accurate indicator. Flag's winters/snow can range from September through the end of May.

Oh, and if you love warm summer evenings, you won't find it in Flag, they are at approximately 6000 ft altitude and summer evenings in the mountains are cool (but invigorating!).

Hope this helps!

Katie

Anyone who would characterize the winters in Flag as "long and cold" ought to have their thyroid checked. Winters there are gorgeous- cool and crisp, but almost always sunny, and with the altitude the sun is so intense that it actually feels much warmer than it is. And the snow tends to stay up in the mountains for the most part; when it does snow down in the city, it typically evaporates quickly b/c of the sun and low atmospheric pressure. It's not like the midwest where the snow sticks around for weeks & turns into a brown slushy, icy mess.

Of course, summers up there are terrific. It's easy to stay active in Flag year round, with the skiing and multitude of outdoor things to do in winter as well. There is no time of year in Flag when you're literally housebound for months, unlike Phoenix. Like mom always said, you can always put more clothes on to stay warm; there's only so much you can take off to keep cool. I'll take Flag's climate over Phoenix's any day of the week. I'll also take the city of Flagstaff over the crime-ridden, polluted, sprawl-eroded and traffic-choked mess that is Phoenix.

[kansaslady]

Thank you! I have never lived in Flag, but was told by those who do or have, that the winters are miserable. And that is one of the reasons I've hesitated to move there before I retire.

You have shed a whole new light on Flagstaff and I really appreciate it! I guess those who gave me the "doom and gloom" of winter either just hated winter period or were wanting to live in Phx.

I'm with you, I agree that you can always put on a jacket/coat to get warm, but when it's sweltering, you can't take off your skin.

You have painted a beautiful picture of Flagstaff's winters, and I am very glad you replied!

Katie

[steve22]

Originally Posted by kansaslady

Thank you! I have never lived in Flag, but was told by those who do or have, that the winters are miserable. And that is one of the reasons I've hesitated to move there before I retire.

You have shed a whole new light on Flagstaff and I really appreciate it! I guess those who gave me the "doom and gloom" of winter either just hated winter period or were wanting to live in Phx.

I'm with you, I agree that you can always put on a jacket/coat to get warm, but when it's sweltering, you can't take off your skin.

You have painted a beautiful picture of Flagstaff's winters, and I am very glad you replied!

Katie

You're welcome! Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Some people have a very low tolerance for what they consider to be cold temperatures; if you're one of the types I see on the streets of Phoenix during December, bundled up in parkas, scarves, and stocking hats when it's 60 degrees, well I suppose you'd find Flagstaff cold. To me, 60 degrees is shorts and t-shirt weather if I'm moving around. 100 degrees, on the other hand? Completely intolerable. Trust me, if you've never experienced a southern rockies winter, you'd be in for a pleasant surprise up in Flagstaff- especially if you're comparing it to K.C.

[kansaslady]

Steve, yes I was comparing it to a KS winter...which can be a living nightmare: ice, blizzards and the blast of cold air from Canada! 60 deg to me is a spring day.

Thanks again!

Katie

[sallygirlknits]

1) a great place to move if you are in the medical profession, 2) the forest closes for 1/2 of the summer due to fires, 3) the ski slopes are closed but for 1 - 2 weeks due to low snowfall, 4) the average house price is 300k...and that doesn't get you much, 5) public and charter schools are not of the best quality...hence the HUGE home-schooling movement in Flag, 6)high taxes, 7) the main industries here are FMC, GORE and tourism, 8) Flag has a transient population base, with the middle class quickly declining each year due to a very bad economy. All this I know from personal experience. I have lived here for 11 years, have a family, own a business, and am thinking of relocating elswhere very soon.

[brian_2]

If I may ask - relocating from Flag to where?

I'm looking to move from the Verde Valley next year.

Time for a change.

[steve22]

Originally Posted by sallygirlknits

1) a great place to move if you are in the medical profession, 2) the forest closes for 1/2 of the summer due to fires, 3) the ski slopes are closed but for 1 - 2 weeks due to low snowfall, 4) the average house price is 300k...and that doesn't get you much, 5) public and charter schools are not of the best quality...hence the HUGE home-schooling movement in Flag, 6)high taxes, 7) the main industries here are FMC, GORE and tourism, 8) Flag has a transient population base, with the middle class quickly declining each year due to a very bad economy. All this I know from personal experience. I have lived here for 11 years, have a family, own a business, and am thinking of relocating elswhere very soon.

Such are the hazards of living in a small resort/college city in the mountain west. Since there isn't much in the way of industry or any other major source of salaried employment, other than the university, there is more than likely a huge separation in quality of life between the haves- who have a LOT- and the have-nots, who have very little. There's not much of a middle class, I wouldn't imagine. And I would guess that those who aren't near the top of the economic ladder would find it very hard to exist there comfortably. But that doesn't make it any less of a great place, in my opinion. It's just a question of whether or not you can afford it. I'm moving to Durango in about a year, and anticipate much of the same sort of situation.

[freeopinions]

Some interesting opinions here.

I lived in Wichita for almost 4 years in the 60s, and I remember mowing the lawn on Christmas eve one year. Another time there was a two inch snowfall that paralyzed the city. All they had to plow the streets were a couple of graders. It was pretty funny to the kid who grew up driving in Minnesota.

We picked Show Low for the 4 seasons, because we don't want the 120 degree temps of the valley or Tucson, and because we don't want the -25 of Minnepolis in the winter. As someone else mentioned, if it snows up north in November, most of it will still be there in April, except it will be dirty, icy and full of salt that rusts your car into oblivion in 5 years.

Someone in Show Low told us that it snowed about five feet one time last year, and it was melted in about a week. Five feet of snow in Minneapolis would last until May, and would be mostly dirty brown ice and sand. Don't misunderstand; I am a native Minnesotan and the Twin Cities is a great place to live, but winters are not pretty here.

[5thgenAz]

pretty apt desrition of Flagstaff . http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A951572

[bluepacific]

Hi Guys/Gals

Really Glad I found this forum. I love Arizona and it really does'nt matter which part. Always loved the independant nature of Arizonans from the rest of the country. I unfortunately at the moment live in Sweden , but I'll get over to Prescott or surrounding country in a couple of years. I work for a Real Estate Listings Service from Canada and they have a real unquie way of getting buyers/Sellers together without alot of middle men.

We will start out with the listings ads first and then go from there. I'll have to choose Prescott as a residence or even Flagstaff. My Swedish wife wants forest. Sad to say that the last time I went thru Prescott with my son, the Forest was dying back in huge areas. Looks like so much of the west is being harmed by the low rainfall the last decade or so.

Well I'll keep coming by here once in a while. You may PM me if you wish. I am the head Moderator for our business forum and answer many of our investors Support Tickets. So not much time. You folks keep posting things about Arizona, it's the only thing that keeps me sane over here.

Cheers , Kevin ( bluepacific )