Prescott AZ or Rio Rancho NM Hmmmm? (Phoenix, Prescott Valley: housing, rent)

[AngelaFLA]

Can anyone compare the 2 as far as crime, aff housing ($200,000), shopping, jobs, taxes & climate not 2 hot or cold. P.S. pet friendly. P.S.S. We will probably rent before we buy! P.S.S. I really like medium size towns around 60,000- 70,000. Thanks for your help.

[CodyW]

Rio Rancho and Prescott are two very different cities.

To start off, Prescott is MUCH more expensive. I doubt you can find AYTHING in the 200,000 range, unless you wanted to go to Prescott Valley. Prescott is also miles away from Phoenix - Where as Rio Rancho is a suburb of Albuquerque and is growing very rapidly.

Jobs would be better in the Rio Rancho area, thanks to Albuquerque being so close, Not sure on taxes, however.

[BiggsHomes]

You cannot find anything IN Prescott for $200K unless you're looking for a manufactured home. In Prescott Valley, you can just squeeze in to the bottom end of site-builts. The same goes for Chino Valley.

As far as the weather goes, it's hard to beat the Prescott area. We are at 5,000 feet, so the weather is very mild year-round. We are about 15 degrees cooler than Phoenix and 5 degrees cooler than Sedona.

Crime is comparatively low for the Prescott area as compared to towns of similar size (~60,000 people).

I do not know what "pet-friendly" means. I don't know of any city that restricts pets, except for requiring them to be on leashes and requiring you to pick up afer them.