Any Decent Towns Near Phoenix? (Prescott, Payson: crime, to live, floor)

[Bates419]

Originally Posted by pathrunner

Yes, I understand that. The houses my friends bought are on the very south edge of Goodyear in an area with just houses and maybe one strip mall. I don't remember the name of the development. I guess the photos I saw of Estrella were very misleading. I've never been out that way myself. I'm not a fan of the west valley, north or south.

Estrella is a nice safe community. Ponderosa is just disgruntled and past his time to move.

[curiousgeorge5]

Apache Junction?

[wit-nit]

Wickenburg.

[Prickly Pear]

Given that we live in a desert ecosystem, the answer is no. You either live in a population center with somewhat of a guaranteed water supply by state and federal law, or you live on top of dirt and rocks with no water in the immediate future. Best believe that Arizona would rather support it's farmers over people choosing to live in the boonies and not even use the land for any economical purpose that supports the greater community who still demand heavily subsidized and expensive infrastructure (dirt roads, highways, etc.). And yet Arizona is shorting it's farmers currently.



We are already digging to sea level (Phoenix is at 1000' feet in elevation) or lower to get to the aquifer. You want those city amenities like the airport? Then be apart of it and pay taxes for it like the rest of us do (Phoenicians do pay taxes to support Sky Harbor) as we do our water supply. Don't be a leech off a neighboring city in a time of severe resource constraints for things we pay taxes for, then take vital resources and tax funds away from us to support your lifestyle at the expense of the rest of us.

You are best off looking outside of an arid climate where the lifestyle you desire can actually be supported and financially secure. Otherwise you will reap what you sow... which will be nothing, because there will be no water to grow what you sow, and you will be out of funds from losing what you put into acquiring the property. Half of the US is not under severe water constraints... look east of about San Antonio/Austin, and from there north to Canada, and you will be fine. Or the Pacific Northwest or Alaska. Everywhere else from Hawaii to California (all of it, Crescent City down to San Diego) to Wyoming and Montana will not have a forseeable future with these levels of growth.

[Truth11]

Originally Posted by Bates419

Yes but far removed.

Estrella park looks like it's pretty much in Phoenix...

[Truth11]

Originally Posted by popwar

Cottonwood? Camp Verde?

Too close to cold Flagstaff...

[Truth11]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

Wickenburg.

That sounds good,it's far enough not to just be an outskirt of the city.

[grmi66]

I think I know what kind of town you're looking for. On a whim, my wife and I explored getting out of Arizona recently to move to the midwest in search of large Victorian or other early 20th century homes. We found a number of cute small towns that had all the day to day amenities we needed and were only an hour away to a big city with things like an airport, more extensive shopping and a good medical system. Not going to find anything like that in Arizona. You are either in Phoenix or Tucson or you're not. If not, then the livable places on my list would be Prescott & Flagstaff (nice to visit, but too cold for me in the winter), maybe the Verde Valley and that's about it.

[Truth11]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Half of the US is not under severe water constraints... look east of about San Antonio/Austin, and from there north to Canada, and you will be fine. Or the Pacific Northwest or Alaska. Everywhere else from Hawaii to California (all of it, Crescent City down to San Diego) to Wyoming and Montana will not have a forseeable future with these levels of growth.

I'm not necessarily looking for alot of 'growth',just sustainability as you said. Phoenix isn't the be all end all for me,I am open to other areas. I just prefer warm dry winters. I've considered Florida at the same time,but I'm not a fan of humidity.

[pathrunner]

Originally Posted by Truth11

I've been monitoring the weather in Payson this winter, and though the lows have been hitting the upper 20s I haven't seen it as cold as Pennsylvania currently with lows around 10.

I have relatives and friends that live up in Payson and Pine. It is cold there in winter, albeit not like Pennsylvania. Payson gets snow, although it does melt fairly quickly. It also gets hot in the summer, about 10 degrees cooler than the valley floor (Phoenix). The summer temps in Payson are rising in recent years.

I really don't think you're going to find what you're looking for in AZ as stated in your original post. First, there is the issue of sustainability which a lot of people are discussing these days. Then, if you want something "non-hick" Wickenburg is about as close to what you're looking for except you have to realize Wickenburg is a very small town - it's not a suburb. It is its own city and it's going to be more hickish than anything closer to Phoenix. It also gets really hot in Wickenburg.

I have thought a lot about this issue myself over the years, having grown up in California, spent time in Oregon because of my mother, then in Arizona because I was escaping Oregon and its too often gloomy weather. I loved Phoenix but the reality is what you're looking for is really classic "snowbird" – dividing time between two places that are temperate at different times of the year.