Prescott ten years hence (Phoenix, Flagstaff: environment, transplants, trip)

[brian_2]

Was up to Prescott and Prescott Valley on some errands yesterday, and it really hit me how much has changed there since 1997. Ten years really is not that much time, and most of us know how quickly that time passes. Yesterday the haze in the air looked increasingly familiar, and the large tracts of newly-razed, barren dirt hillsides crawling with the earth movers preparing the surface for yet another sprawling office park, residential tract development, and retail sales build-out was depressing. How many more hillsides will be denuded for 'progress'? So much has changed in so little time. A once very desirable community has sunk into another sprawling retiree/second home suburb of Californians and other recent transplants - still desirable to some, but much less so to others. Yesterday in Prescott I twice experienced a driver behind me hitting the horn because I wasn't immediately speeding off the red light. This behavior is familiar to every California commuter. The nervousness, the rush of people in a hurry. If I didn't need to go to the VA Hospital, I don't think I'd venture to this area anymore - not at the rate of all of the negative changes. Imagine what a headache it will be to reach (and return) to/from the I-17 from Prescott in ten years? Reminds me more & more of what happened to California - and a big part of the reason why so many Californians moved.

I shudder to think how Prescott/Prescott Valley will change up there ten years hence. Everyone's (literally) hometown indeed!

[zonababe]

Prescott Valley was the fastest growing city in Yavapai country 10 years ago. Everyone would like to move to a new town and lock the gates. It doesn't work that way. Looking for a place that is green, quiet and slow on growth? Try Lake Montezuma, zip code: eieio. LOL, It is located on the banks of Wet Beaver Creek, very pretty area.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by zonababe

Everyone would like to move to a new town and lock the gates. It doesn't work that way.

Yeah, it would be nice if time stood still. Because of its mild 4-season weather and its location nestled near the National Forest and close proximity to Sedona, Flagstaff, and Phoenix - I don't think there was any way that Prescott was not going to be "discovered".

I know alot of posters diss Prescott because they remember how it was in the 60's and it isn't like that anymore. However, that was 40 years ago! How many nice towns do you know of that still look the same after 40 years. 40 years ago there were no fast-food restaurants or do-it-yourself home improvement stores or discount stores with throngs of bargain hunters. There was a sense of community back then in all but the largest cities. Our lifestyles were totally different back then. I think we'd all like to go back to that time, but aren't all of us somewhat responsible for the changes? We all want convenience and cheap prices, but we don't want things to change. We can't have it both ways (By the way, I've seen the other side of the coin, too. In Nebraska, many of the small towns are becoming virtual ghost towns.)

While I'm not thrilled with the growth either - I don't think Prescott will ever get the Carmel (CA) no-growth attitude. What I hate to see are: 1) More big box stores and retail along Hwy 69 - there are lots of places off the 89A bypass route that are easy-build, don't impact traffic, and esp don't impact the environment. I just hate seeing sides of mountains leveled and ravines filled in to make way for another big box store. 2) My biggest concern right now is the development that's going on in the Prescott Dells. I am just amazed that such a beautiful and unique area is not protected somehow. It also is an area with unique historical significance as well. Hiking in there is pure pleasure. What a shame that's all going to change!

I chose Prescott as my home, and I know it isn't what it used to be. I'd love to keep it the same as it is now (or rewind 20 years or so). It's funny but most of the advocates for growth are actually some of the folks that have been here the longest. . . . Interesting.

[brian_2]

"However, that was 40 years ago!"

40 years! I'm talking about a huge Prescott/Prescott Valley transformation in the past 10 years.

"Because of its mild 4-season weather and its location nestled near the National Forest and close proximity to Sedona, Flagstaff, and Phoenix"

Nothing personal, but the above line sounds like chamber of commerce copy out of one of those buyer-hunting brochures they mail off to retirees.

Marketing brochure 'nestled' in someone's Phoenix mailbox is more like it.

[Gretchen B]

Hey - Brian2 - The 40-yr thing was in reference to alot of posts here lately (not yours) lamenting the way Prescott was in the 60's. That was what I was referring to. Yes, the growth up here is phenomenal, but there isn't any nice place in AZ where it isn't. As I mentioned I'm not thrilled with many of the recent changes either, but I'd still rather be up here in Prescott than in the sprawl of Phoenix. And I get a little tired of all the Phoenix people raggin on Prescott, as if Prescott is somehow worse than Phoenix. No way, no how. Just because it's not like it was 10 years ago, (or 40) doesn't mean it's not a really nice place to live. Because it is. Yes, there's times traffic is bad. There's also times when you breeze right through. And it is going to be a major problem if they don't address it asap (which I guess there are a number of road projects in the works). I'm sorry your last trip up to Prescott wasn't as pleasant as what you'd hoped for. My trips down to Phoenix are seldom pleasant either.

Oh, and btw, the haze in the air right now is a controlled burn that got away from them.

[brian_2]

"The 40-yr thing was in reference to alot of posts here lately (not yours) lamenting the way Prescott was in the 60's. That was what I was referring to."

Understood. My mistake.

"My trips down to Phoenix are seldom pleasant either."

I can relate to that.

[BiggsHomes]

There are plenty of places to move to if you want rural untouched beauty. You could move to Ashfork, Seligman, Paulden, Skull Valley. Take a drive north up 89 and you will see thousands upon thousands of untouched hillsides.

Why are you complaining about hillsides being moved around Prescott? - Because you live within a 10 minute drive of them. Why did you move to Prescott to begin with? Because there was civilization there. Well, civilization grows and evolves. If you truly want raw untouched beauty, then you cannot have civilization. Or, like Gretchen said, you can have both (e.g., Carmel), but then you stop population growth and housing prices sky-rocket - and then you get to complain about that. If you liked how Prescott was 10-20 years ago, then move to Camp Verde or to Cordes Lakes.

[brian_2]

"If you liked how Prescott was 10-20 years ago, then move to Camp Verde"

Camp Verde? I know it a little. I have property there.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by brian_2

"If you liked how Prescott was 10-20 years ago, then move to Camp Verde"

Camp Verde? I know it a little. I have property there.

Camp Verde never was Prescott. Prescott had a special quality and, in theory, they could have developed it in a more sensitive and attractive manner than the strip mall/tract home model of LA. I realize that this is all market driven and not some devious plot by realtors and developers. The Californians and the Phoenicians expect and demand the look and feel of where they came from and they will be getting exactly what they are asking for.

[ruralcaligirl]

Hey Ponderosa

"The Californians and the Phoenicians expect and demand the look and feel of where they came from and they will be getting exactly what they are asking for."
I think you are stereotyping Californians! I live in a small town in the high desert of California and am looking to get out because of the growth. I like my little town, just that, "little"! We have big booming business in the big cities, and I think the need for more and more destruction of the hills here to make way for some fancy new store is not worth the damage to the hillside, environment, or the views!
Now maybe the Phoenicians like the looks of all the shopping centers and big industry, but I will take a hitching post in front of a small cafe, that has been there since the dawn of time, where the owner stands behind the counter and knows you by name when you come in the door!
That's my kind of demand for look and feel!!