Liberal towns in Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson: condo, buying a home, neighborhood)

[don85259]

^ Prescott is a weird town. I can't put my finger on it, even though I have a second home in the pines in Prescott, about 2 miles west of the square (downtown), and have been going up for years. I spend most of my summers up there now -- in fact, I'm clerking for a judge in Yavapai County this summer in between my first and second year of law school.

I describe Prescott as thus: Take two-fifths Payson, one-fifth each of Phoenix, Flagstaff and Sedona. Mix vigorously, serve chilled with fresh mountain air and a chic downtown scene, and voila! You have Prescott. It's conservative and liberal, Republican and Democratic, laid back but just a tad introverted. I can wear my Daisy Dukes (skimpy shorts) around town and not get hassled, at least no worse than in Phoenix.

Prescott is very expensive for a small town. There are two towns - the Prescott in the pines and the part (mostly suburbs like Prescott Valley and Chino Valley) in what I like to call the Serengeti Plains (vast treeless expanses of yellow grasses). Real estate in the pines starts at about $250,000 for literally a shack. Even small condos can run well north of $200k. Decent homes are typically $350k and up. Unless you want to live in a trailer, there's no way to live in the cool pines for less. Then you go down the hill to the Serengeti Plains and the housing costs drop by $50 to $75k. Go figure...

Prescott's built environment is also bizarre. They have pretty terrible sprawl as the city covers a large land area, but it has one of the most dynamic and hopping downtowns of any city in Arizona. Downtown Prescott is always busy and, I would argue, is more active than downtown Phoenix.

If you want to see some pics of Prescott, you can see some of my photos here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v22/don85259/Prescott%20Photos/ (broken link)

And here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v22/don85259/Prescott%20and%20Snow%20pics/ (broken link)

Latest stats:

Prescott city population: 45,000 (2006 est.)
Prescott city land area: 38 square miles

Prescott Valley city population: 41,000 (2006 est.)
Prescott Valley land area: 32 square miles

Chino Valley city population: 11,000 (2006. est.)
Chino Valley land area: 19 square miles

Dewey-Humboldt town population: 8,000 (2006 est.)
Dewey-Humboldt land area: 23 square miles

--don

[NewDayRising]

Some very good points all around. Here's my own take on it, using Simpsons characters:


Flagstaff: Lisa (Liberal, intellectual, pretentious, preachy)
Prescott: Bart (Reckless, macho, optomistic, energetic)
Tucson: Marge (Sensible, hand-wringing, artistic)
Phoenix: Homer (Big, dumb, conservative, proud)


Mohave County: Cletus, the Slack-Jawed Yokel.


(Tucson:Marge is really stretching it, I know.)

This analogy also works in terms of the cities' respective sizes.

[ArizonaBear]

What I find interesting is that many so-called 'Liberal' trends of 50 years tend to be embraced by Conservatives today.

My favorite: an Elvis Presley 45 record would have been considered to be low-class 'Black' music back in 1955---------play that same 45 today and it would be classified as Country Western!

As for me: I believe in a woman's right to choose but have severe hearburn with abortion-------if used as a form of birth control. face it: us guys do not get pregnant-------and, if we as a group were so concerned about 'knocking up' a female, then we need to keep our pants zipped up. Problem solved.

As for Gays and marriage: call all legal contracts between two people age 18 or olde rcivil unions-------marriage IMHO is a ritual between family, friends and God.

NOTE: God is all things to all people whether named Allah, Buddha, Thor, Isis, etc.

Guns: banning them is silly........there are too many of 'em in circulation. Besides; law abidng citizens do have the right to defend themselves.

Drinking and driving: the DUI tipping point should be .04 BAC; if that is acceptable for CDL holders (even when driving their personal vehicles), then .04 should be the law across the land.

But; the drinking age should be 16-18-------if one is old enough to enlist in the Armed Forces then one is old enough to drink.

With the outrageous cost of healthcare; I would like to see some form of socialized medicine.

Marijuana: legalize and tax it--------the legal machinery is already in place to control it, simply 'tweak' (no pun intended) the existing ATF laws and call it good.

Am I a Liberal or a Conservative?

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

Lincoln did not emancipate slaves, though he had a role in the process (it isn't within the enumerated powers of the President to effect such a change in public policy).
Congress abolished slavery in 1865 by passing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
What is interesting though, is that Republicans were liberals back then. It wasn't really until the 20th Century that Republicans became associated with clinging to the past as a general philosophy for forging into the future.

Teddy Roosevelt comes to mind----------both the Conservatives and Liberals today claim him

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by don85259

^ Prescott is a weird town. I can't put my finger on it, even though I have a second home in the pines in Prescott, about 2 miles west of the square (downtown), and have been going up for years. I spend most of my summers up there now -- in fact, I'm clerking for a judge in Yavapai County this summer in between my first and second year of law school.

I describe Prescott as thus: Take two-fifths Payson, one-fifth each of Phoenix, Flagstaff and Sedona. Mix vigorously, serve chilled with fresh mountain air and a chic downtown scene, and voila! You have Prescott. It's conservative and liberal, Republican and Democratic, laid back but just a tad introverted. I can wear my Daisy Dukes (skimpy shorts) around town and not get hassled, at least no worse than in Phoenix.

Prescott is very expensive for a small town. There are two towns - the Prescott in the pines and the part (mostly suburbs like Prescott Valley and Chino Valley) in what I like to call the Serengeti Plains (vast treeless expanses of yellow grasses). Real estate in the pines starts at about $250,000 for literally a shack. Even small condos can run well north of $200k. Decent homes are typically $350k and up. Unless you want to live in a trailer, there's no way to live in the cool pines for less. Then you go down the hill to the Serengeti Plains and the housing costs drop by $50 to $75k. Go figure...

Prescott's built environment is also bizarre. They have pretty terrible sprawl as the city covers a large land area, but it has one of the most dynamic and hopping downtowns of any city in Arizona. Downtown Prescott is always busy and, I would argue, is more active than downtown Phoenix.

If you want to see some pics of Prescott, you can see some of my photos here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v22/don85259/Prescott%20Photos/ (broken link)

And here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v22/don85259/Prescott%20and%20Snow%20pics/ (broken link)

Latest stats:

Prescott city population: 45,000 (2006 est.)
Prescott city land area: 38 square miles

Prescott Valley city population: 41,000 (2006 est.)
Prescott Valley land area: 32 square miles

Chino Valley city population: 11,000 (2006. est.)
Chino Valley land area: 19 square miles

Dewey-Humboldt town population: 8,000 (2006 est.)
Dewey-Humboldt land area: 23 square miles

--don

You summed up Prescott in a nutshell.

I have noticed that downtown Flagstaff reminds me of a roundish, buxom, Bohemian woman with long hair in her early 40's who could also be a genuine 'dung kicker' pickup truck driving good 'ol gal as well.

Prescott: OTOH; has a stronger 'plastic' quotient a la Scottsdale but not as overt.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by choc-e-claire

Hey! I'm as liberal as they come! I'm a Goddess damned LIBERAL, by Goddess! AND I live in ApAcHe CoUnTy! A to tha Z! This state can't stay conservative for longggg.. Too many avacado-pickin' CALIFORNIANS movin' in, baby. We don't die, we MULTIPLY! ;D

I tend towards Liberal as well--------till one tries to flagrantly get in my face. Then the redneck comes out in me.

The word is respect.

I do not drink to speak of, keep my stereo turned low-----especially after dark, in general try not to be a self centered idiot.

Trust me: I have seen both putative Liberals and Conservatives 'play the fool'.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by don85259

^ Prescott is a weird town. I can't put my finger on it, even though I have a second home in the pines in Prescott, about 2 miles west of the square (downtown), and have been going up for years. I spend most of my summers up there now -- in fact, I'm clerking for a judge in Yavapai County this summer in between my first and second year of law school.

I describe Prescott as thus: Take two-fifths Payson, one-fifth each of Phoenix, Flagstaff and Sedona. Mix vigorously, serve chilled with fresh mountain air and a chic downtown scene, and voila! You have Prescott. It's conservative and liberal, Republican and Democratic, laid back but just a tad introverted. I can wear my Daisy Dukes (skimpy shorts) around town and not get hassled, at least no worse than in Phoenix.

Prescott is very expensive for a small town. There are two towns - the Prescott in the pines and the part (mostly suburbs like Prescott Valley and Chino Valley) in what I like to call the Serengeti Plains (vast treeless expanses of yellow grasses). Real estate in the pines starts at about $250,000 for literally a shack. Even small condos can run well north of $200k. Decent homes are typically $350k and up. Unless you want to live in a trailer, there's no way to live in the cool pines for less. Then you go down the hill to the Serengeti Plains and the housing costs drop by $50 to $75k. Go figure...

Prescott's built environment is also bizarre. They have pretty terrible sprawl as the city covers a large land area, but it has one of the most dynamic and hopping downtowns of any city in Arizona. Downtown Prescott is always busy and, I would argue, is more active than downtown Phoenix.

If you want to see some pics of Prescott, you can see some of my photos here:

don85259/Prescott Photos - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting (broken link)

And here:

don85259/Prescott and Snow pics - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting (broken link)

Latest stats:

Prescott city population: 45,000 (2006 est.)
Prescott city land area: 38 square miles

Prescott Valley city population: 41,000 (2006 est.)
Prescott Valley land area: 32 square miles

Chino Valley city population: 11,000 (2006. est.)
Chino Valley land area: 19 square miles

Dewey-Humboldt town population: 8,000 (2006 est.)
Dewey-Humboldt land area: 23 square miles

--don

You hit the nail on the head! Very accurate information. It is interesting here in Prescott. You've got a very conservative right wing (vocal) group, but you also have a very liberal (almost hippie) vocal group on the other side. And bunches of folks in the middle. And it's true about so many things here - growth vs non-growth, environmentalists vs non, artsy vs cowboy. The whole town is kind of a contradiction in terms. Maybe that's part of what gives Prescott it's character.

[Marka]

Thank you, Gretchen. Everybody, please stay on topic. This thread is about Arizona cities, not your personal political views. You're all welcome to discuss them in the Politics forum.

[ptbrennan]

Take a serious look at Tucson for a larger city, although you could map all of the smaller ones mentioned here for an idea of what to expect. My guess is that you are looking to find places where you can join up with active liberal groups, which you could find pretty easily in Tucson or Phoenix, or probably places like Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona, Bisbee, Jerome, etc, but on a smaller scale.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by ptbrennan

Take a serious look at Tucson for a larger city, although you could map all of the smaller ones mentioned here for an idea of what to expect. My guess is that you are looking to find places where you can join up with active liberal groups, which you could find pretty easily in Tucson or Phoenix, or probably places like Flagstaff, Prescott, Sedona, Bisbee, Jerome, etc, but on a smaller scale.

I have to disagree:

Tuscon has all of Phoenix's problems (expensive housing, crowding, crime, etc) as well as lower wages for 'regular' working folk as well as is dissicated looking-------not even decent xeroscaping in many neighborhoods.