Relocating for health, work and study (Prescott, Prescott Valley: rentals, crime, houses)

[Brennus MacBean]

My daughter and I are considering a move to the Prescott area. I'm 46, a former Corrections Officer, partially disabled with a fixed income that I am capable of augmenting (I work as a part time Security Guard and do some sub-contract expediting using my van). When I was younger I looked into attending the Gunsmithing school at Yavapai College and have always regretted that I didn't do it, but as a single father I had obligations that came first.

Winters have been getting harder and harder for me here in Michigan. Digging out after the 2 1/2 to 3 feet of snow that we had 3 weeks ago almost killed me (Literally). My daughter turned eighteen this month and she will graduate from High School this Spring. I've been pondering what I'll do after her graduation but the recent snowstorm and my subsequent trip to the ER has really made me give it some serious thought.

I would love to move Prescott and take some Gunsmithing classes at the College along with some creative writing classes. My daughter would be coming with me. She would be looking for work in the food service industry (entry level). She completed a two year Culinary Arts school program in a single year and she has all of the food service safety certificates that are issued by the state of Michigan; which was quite an accomplishment for someone her age according to her instructors.

I've seen some reasonably priced rentals on Craigslist (a cottage on Oregon Ave comes to mind), near or under $500 a month which is honestly more than I have been paying ($375) for the shack of a single wide that we've been in for 4 years, but with my daughter's added income and the fact that $300 to $400 dollar a month winter (November through March) utility bills may not be as prevalent in Arizona as they are in Michigan, I'm optimistic that we could afford it.

I would be interested to know if entry level food service jobs are available in Prescott or the Prescott Valley and if there are any Culinary Schools in the area because my daughter definitely wants to attend a Culinary Arts program. Also if there are any issues of concern that might not be widely known. From all that I've read on this site and elsewhere, the crime is less of an issue there than it is here in Jackson, Michigan and I am aware of the prevalence of halfway houses in Yavapai County which are not a deterrent to me, but may in fact be a part time employment opportunity since I do have experience in the areas of criminal justice, custody and security.

[wretched wrench]

With regard to your heating bills, be sure to rent in a natural gas area. Propane and electricity are high here.

[TrentBeaver]

I am not sure what all you may be asking and having never lived in Michigan I can only assume as you have said that utility bills would be less.

As for culinary jobs I am not sure, but it does seem like they're a lot of restaurants here and I am sure opportunities would be available, but I am not much help in that regard.

Depending on when you looked into the program for gunsmithing Yavapai College has a relatively new (2007) state of the art building CTEC off of Ruger Road. YC transferred the gunsmithing program, welding, and auto out to CTEC in 07 and having taken some welding classes there it is very nice.

As for the snow side of things I think it would be an enjoyable change. We get snow, but most times it is melted by mid-afternoon the following day. Hope this has helped.

-Trent

[like-2-hike]

First - good luck with whatever you decide! I live down Oregon Ave. and work at YC, so here are a few thoughts:

The rental you're looking at is in an area of rentals - fairly high traffic but it's set off the road enough that there shouldn't be a ridiculous amount of noise or anything. I don't think utility costs are very high here, but it's been a long time since I paid a utility bill from the midwest. You should be on all city utilities there - including natural gas, but if I recall from that listing, the heat was electric. The rental is conveniently located to most everything - you can walk from there to the downtown square area in 10-15 minutes, walk to the post office in about 5-10 minutes, and there are a number of restaurants and fast food locations 5-10 minutes walk on Miller Valley.

The gunsmithing program at YC is very popular and has a perpetual waiting list - if you wish to get in, you should apply right away, or just be flexible on when you can start it. It's also not located at the main campus - it's about 7 miles north at the airport - a very easy drive from the rental you're looking at. Word on the street is that a culinary program will be starting very soon, but that's in no way official (however I'm expecting to see it offered this fall).

Lots of restaurants in the area - also lots of fast food - not sure what your daughter would be looking for in terms of food service employment.

For what it's worth, my utility bills last month (with some overnight temps as low as 4 degrees and an older, inefficient house three times the size of the rental you're looking at) were a little under $200 - natural gas, electric, water (we have septic further up Oregon - I suspect the rental is on city sewer). That was also with a fair bit of entertaining of guests before/during/after Christmas.

Best of luck with your (and your daughter's) plans!

[wretched wrench]

Originally Posted by like-2-hike

if I recall from that listing, the heat was electric.

At the present Prescott rate, natural gas heat will cost you $10.33 per million BTUs. This will be a little higher to heat your house, as no gas furnace is 100% efficiency. Some heat goes up the chimney. A rental is unlikely to have the latest or greatest high-efficiency furnace, but the latest and greatest are in the high 70s, with an efficiency of 78% making your heating costs per million BTUs $13.24.

Electric heating is $32.24 per million BTUs, if you figure $0.11 per kWh. APS rates are all over the map, depending on what plan you choose and what bogus fees apply. If you are talking space heaters or electric hot water radiators, electricity is 100% efficient...............

You can see that whole-house electric heat is horribly more expensive than natural gas, but there is one advantage to electricity. That is, you can use space heaters to heat only the room you are occupying at the time. This can allow you to manage your heat well enough to make electric heat reasonable. ...for example, we do not heat our bedrooms and use an electric space heater to give us a warm bathroom for showers. It is possible to use space heaters wisely and actually pay less per month than with natural gas.

Figure if you heat a third of the house only when occupied, you will be ahead of a person who sets a gas thermostat and leaves it.

Be aware, also, that an electric water heater is MUCH more expensive than a natural gas one. Unless it is a heat pump design, but that is unlikely to be found in a rental.

[Brennus MacBean]

Thanks for the responses. It's encouraging. That would be fantastic if Yavapai College offers Culinary Arts in the future. I heard that there was a two year waiting list for the Gunsmith program. I've waited 20 years so I could wait a few more. I was a gunsmith in the 80s and 90s and then gave up my FFL when the Clinton administration started harassing FFL holders and raised the licensing fees from $30 for three years to $300 per year (if I recall correctly). I was not a custom gunsmith, I was merely a gun repairman really; scratch and dent fixes, bluing touch ups, scope mounting, action jobs on handguns that consisted mostly of just installing a Wolff spring kit. My education was mail order, hands on and learning some things from an older gentleman who was a locksmith that did gunsmithing also. I've only worked on flintlock and percussion muzzle loaders since then and I've become a custom builder of historically correct muzzle loaders but I'd like to learn the nuances of stock shaping and metal work for modern sporting rifles.

My daughter is looking for any kind of work in the food service industry, even if it was fast food or a step above. I'm going expediting with a cargo van for a company out of Indianapolis right now, and saving money. I hope to get a load out to Arizona so I can check things out first hand and see if there is a need for small load expediters in the region as well.

[wretched wrench]

My free advice is to consider opening a one day gunsmith shop. In at 9, out at 5. No recording of SN for the Feds.

I now a bunch of gun owners who own unregistered guns who would patronize such a shop. These are all legal guns, inherited, bought second-hand, etc, that they just don't want in a data bank.

I was a custom stockmaker in the '60s, and was forced out of business by the Feds who thought anything but a brick and mortar store was a gun-running operation.

[Brennus MacBean]

Originally Posted by wretched wrench

My free advice is to consider opening a one day gunsmith shop. In at 9, out at 5. No recording of SN for the Feds.

I now a bunch of gun owners who own unregistered guns who would patronize such a shop. These are all legal guns, inherited, bought second-hand, etc, that they just don't want in a data bank.

I was a custom stockmaker in the '60s, and was forced out of business by the Feds who thought anything but a brick and mortar store was a gun-running operation.

Funny thing is, that even when I had my FFL, the only guns that I ever got in were muzzle loaders so I never had to record the transactions. Somehow I got a reputation as the muzzle loader guy. I went years without contact with ATF then they started Harassing all the smaller FFL holders and doing what they do best, regulating small businessmen out of business, plus this was back when they were killing people by "mistake" so I just gave up the FFL.

I told Brownell's that I still was going to do muzzle loaders and they continued to give me the dealer discount. Since the increase of inline muzzle loaders, my work has tapered off to almost nothing. Around here people don't get those cheap plastic stocked zip guns fixed, they just go buy a new one. The traditional muzzle loader shooters are getting older, many have died. I like to build historically correct muzzle loaders and the zip gun crowd, who just want an extra shot at a deer during ML season won't pay $1500 to $3000 for a hand made rifle when they can go to Sam's and get the $99 special, shoot it without cleaning it until the bore is so pitted that they can no longer hammer a sabot down the barrel, so they throw it away and get another.

Lately I've rekindled my interest in early bolt action sporting rifles, from the 1890s up to WWII and I'd like to start building some of that style. I've never shaped a stock for a bolt action though, so I'd like to attend a hands on school. It also sounds like Prescott has a vibrant gunsmith community (if such a thing is possible among a profession that is often made up of ornery hermits :-) ), so maybe I can get some pointers from the community while I wait to get into the college.

[wretched wrench]

Originally Posted by Brennus MacBean

. Since the increase of inline muzzle loaders, my work has tapered off to almost nothing. Around here people don't get those cheap plastic stocked zip guns fixed, they just go buy a new one. The traditional muzzle loader shooters are getting older, many have died.

Yeah, it's pooping out. I am down to a sort of Lyman Plains with a Pedersoli barrel. Having a coil spring lock, I am ineligible to compete any more, but my eyesight wrecks that anyway.