Should city motto change to 'Welcome to Retirement Hometown'? (Prescott: real estate, house)

[Spuggy]

Originally Posted by k2rider

You are obviously projecting your own issues on others. Retired doesn't necessarily equate to using a walker and needing 24 hour home care. I'm retired and mountain bike 3 days a week. I snowboard. I whitewater kayak. I paddled the Grand Canyon last year. As far as retirees not spending money....speak for yourself. I spend plenty, just ask my wife.

Add to that some weird notion that my gallery representation and exhibit opportunities are confined to Prescott or the dubious assumption I create the very kind of work they are bored with lol.

Like you said K2rider some of us are very active, although not as active as you Kayaking the Grand Canyon sounds amazing.

[bigdogmom13]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Way to move the goal posts, Brian. We were talking about retirees.

As a soon-to-be retiree with asthma, I can't do those physical activities at Prescott's altitude (5,368 ft for those who don't know. Many rural areas are even higher.) The retirees I know in Prescott aren't physically active.

Your museums are typically small-town. It's all typically small-town and that, to me, is boring. Been there, done that, not looking hard for "free" entertainment since you usually get what you pay for. I have to say, though, for a small town there sure is a lot of driving involved to get anywhere. Not once could we ever park the car and walk to multiple errands or destinations.

We're on track to close on a 5 bdrm 4.5 bath property in Scottsdale that has just about everything we will need within walking or Segway-ing distance...including those types of interesting and ethnic restaurants that Hschlick drives 100 miles down to the valley to get to. We will have access to world-class health care within a 20-minute drive and can easily find quality physicians who are actually accepting new patients. This is simply NOT available in Prescott, however much one protests.

My question is why you keep trolling the Prescott board if you don't want to move there??

[Ex New Yorker]

Originally Posted by bigdogmom13

My question is why you keep trolling the Prescott board if you don't want to move there??

That's a really good question.

It doesn't matter to me whether she wants to move here. Both my wife and I love this area and the entire State of Arizona and all of the great people with whom we've made new friends with. Keeping in mind that we knew absolutely no one before we moved out here. It's almost as if we were born and raised here.

What someone else's opinion of this area is doesn't affect our lives. I have a funny feeling that no matter where they go they'll always find something to complain about.

[k2rider]

Originally Posted by bigdogmom13

My question is why you keep trolling the Prescott board if you don't want to move there??

She's obviously so bored in her current city that she has nothing better to do than going online to try and convince others not to move to Prescott. Strong work

[infocyde]

fluffythewondercat has contributed positive post both on the Prescott page and in other spots on the AZ forums. I disagree with her from time to time, but s/he is far from a troll. Perhaps Fluffy is just disappointed in the direction of the town as from her past post she (or he) came close to moving here but decided not too. It was a close thing if memory serves. And those critiquing her from posting here and not living here...be sure you actually live here too before throwing in that grenade...

I think her critique of Prescott's lack of fine dinning is right on. As to boring, even though I critique Prescott I wouldn't say it is boring. But the big draws here are the scenery, mild (but with full four seasons) weather, and the access to hiking and outdoor activities. If you take away the easy access to the outdoors because of lack of mobility, you lose one of the big three draws. The other two draws can be replicated elsewhere.

And check this. I'm hardly the the outdoors type but I do get out to hike now and then. When I go hiking by Lynx lake into the Prescott National Forest there are times when I am the only person out there. This actually could be a big plus to some people (is to me actually). But for a community of this size there should be a lot more people out and about. I do see people utilizing the area for walking around Watson lake but other areas are often like ghost towns once you get a few 100 meters away from where a few cars are parked. If the population was made up of more below 50 types this would not be the case. Heck I run into more people hiking around Jermoe which is a tenth of the size of Prescott. Again, this could actually be a plus, but just pointing it out as interesting.

And another interesting thing. There are whole areas of this town where there are big houses that are almost ghost like. Try driving around the area behind Trader Joes. You see huge houses but only one car for every five to ten houses it seems like. It is weird. A lot of second homes I'm guessing. So people come, buy or build a house, drive younger families out, and then don't even live here most of the year...

Some could care less. To others it is a bit depressing.

But again, it isn't an issue with individual people wanting to retire here. I don't blame them, it is nice, you can buy a lot of house if you cash out of even a modest home in California, it isn't too far away from families that are left behind, the tax situation is good, you leave a lot of the various problems that plague California when you cross the border into AZ. I get it.

In a sense it is like settlers coming in and kicking the Indians out. The new reservations are a few spots in Chino and PV. The new settlers are on medicaid and drive SUV's or Trucks with white plates. The new Indians are those below 55...

I know, hyper dramatic, insulting to the Yavapai Indians who went through what they went through by making the comparison, yadda yadda...but a grain of truth to it. Instead of 10 acres and a mule it is 2200 square feet and an SUV...

Flame away, I thought the comparison was clever.

People the issue is flogging a dead horse. I'm a guilty party in bringing it up. I apologize for those post. Not because they aren't truthful but because what's the point? Things are the way they are and that is the way it is.

Maybe, just like Fluffy and others, I bring this stuff up out of a bit of frustration. And it is an interesting writing exercise from time-to-time. Buuut it is otherwise pointless.

Come buy or build and enjoy. Chase all the deer, javelina, and young people out as you build another 3-4 master planned communities that cost 6x the median local salary to get into, or throw up a another McMansion down the road if you prefer.
Deer, coyotes, bobcats etc... will need less land to feed on as their numbers get less and less with time. But you will still have nice weather, and all those former creatures might have sh_t on your lawns anyways, so good riddance. Build a few more Dutch Brothers, Starbucks, Native Wings, Chic whatevers, and soon it will be just like home...

[infocyde]

Sorry, I drank like six cups of coffee to make the drive from Phoenix up here, the above is what you get out of me when I'm tired and over caffeinated. In thinking about it I went to delete most of the above but I was too late.

People, I know many retirees here and most of the people I know are nice people who's lives are actually pretty impressive. I don't hold any of you retirees individually any ill will. It is a very nice area, I do worry about too many of you coming, but the one more family (yours) isn't going to matter one way or another, and ultimately that is all you're responsible for, so I certainly won't hold it against you. Collectively, maybe a little. Individually, nah. Who cares anyway.

[mrshowtime3]

You really seem to hate where you live. Most of us have moved or want to move to Prescott to get away from where we live now. You should move. No reason these days to live somewhere that makes you so unhappy

[Spuggy]

Originally Posted by infocyde

Sorry, I drank like six cups of coffee to make the drive from Phoenix up here, the above is what you get out of me when I'm tired and over caffeinated. In thinking about it I went to delete most of the above but I was too late.

People, I know many retirees here and most of the people I know are nice people who's lives are actually pretty impressive. I don't hold any of you retirees individually any ill will. It is a very nice area, I do worry about too many of you coming, but the one more family (yours) isn't going to matter one way or another, and ultimately that is all you're responsible for, so I certainly won't hold it against you. Collectively, maybe a little. Individually, nah. Who cares anyway.

The problem is that many people stereotype and trot out the usual ageist dribble. Its not the retirees people should resent, it's the voters and local government who shape the policies that alter the dynamics of the town,as well as changes that come from loss of local industry,etc. I hear the same complaints from a friend whose has lived in Scottsdale 50 years and how it's changed for the worse with the influx of more people etc etc. same complaints in our tiny village that lost its industry base and has had to reinvent itself as a tourism magnet.

The claim Prescott is boring doesn't fly even if they have mobility issues because then it's about their mobility,not the place.

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by infocyde

Come buy or build and enjoy. Chase all the deer, javelina, and young people out as you build another 3-4 master planned communities that cost 6x the median local salary to get into, or throw up a another McMansion down the road if you prefer.

Actually, building additional homes keeps prices more in check, since it creates additional supply. If you want to see prices skyrocket, legislate away new home building.

Currently, rent prices are increasing because of limited housing supply. Home prices are increasing because of limited housing supply. To keep costs low, you can either decrease demand or increase supply. Those are your two options.

In the housing crash, we had both. Demand decreased because of the crash. Few wanted to buy homes, because they were decreasing in value. Plus there already was an oversupply of homes. 'Investors' were getting 100% loans to buy a house that no one was going to live in, to hold the property for three months, and then sell it for a profit. There were too few buyers, and too many homes, which equaled a decrease in prices.

Funny, during the crash, I do not recall people on the forum being excited that housing prices were falling and that lower income Prescottonians would now be able to afford to buy a home

[infocyde]

Originally Posted by BriansPerspective

Actually, building additional homes keeps prices more in check, since it creates additional supply. If you want to see prices skyrocket, legislate away new home building.

Currently, rent prices are increasing because of limited housing supply. Home prices are increasing because of limited housing supply. To keep costs low, you can either decrease demand or increase supply. Those are your two options.

In the housing crash, we had both. Demand decreased because of the crash. Few wanted to buy homes, because they were decreasing in value. Plus there already was an oversupply of homes. 'Investors' were getting 100% loans to buy a house that no one was going to live in, to hold the property for three months, and then sell it for a profit. There were too few buyers, and too many homes, which equaled a decrease in prices.

Funny, during the crash, I do not recall people on the forum being excited that housing prices were falling and that lower income Prescottonians would now be able to afford to buy a home

I can't buy bread. It cost a 100 a loaf and I have 20 dollars. Solution? Sell bread for 90 dollars.

Families generally won't be buying those places until middle class jobs that support wages that can afford the new "cheap" houses starting at 300k come into the area, which ain't going to happen other than a trickle. All these houses "to keep demand low" will go to those who are demanding housing here...retirees. It isn't a hard concept to grasp. Hell you even know it BriansPerspective. Come clean man, you have the data. Else prove me wrong (I'm far from infallible). Sure there will be exceptions to the rule, but we are talking about the rule.