Moving to Prescott Arizona (Prescott Valley, Jerome: apartment, rent, houses)

[DeeDee/Giselle]

I have lived all of most of my life in San Diego,moved to Idaho(beautiful but boring),then my friends mom talked me into moving to hell yes you have guessed it Missouri. I have wanted to move to Prescott ever since I lived in San Diego,I can't stand Missouri(I have been through 2 ice storms,tornados and flooding,pot holes on the freeway,people throw trash out of their car window and it just looks trashy out here), so I am moving. With 2 cats and a dog. Right now I have been going online looking for jobs and a place to live.I have gone onto craigs list.If you know of any other sites to go on please let me know.
Thank You,
Dee Dee

[Lovehound]

I've been giving Prescott a serious consideration too, spent a week there in September. Issues: (1) not really that pretty outside of and surrounding Prescott, (2) housing prices seemed fairly high for premium houses, maybe more than I'd expect everything considered.

Have a look at the houses to the south of town, on the west side of the freeway, in the hills. Yeah I'd like to live there, but $$$$$$.

I think Prescott is just a bit too small for me, although I'd like to make it clear that's about me, not about Prescott.

[bloglover]

I would certainly check out the job market before moving to Prescott. If you are unable to work in that area, you could find yourself driving quite a distance to keep food on the table.

[esselcue]

Don't know what your job capabilities are but there are always good job listings for the Yavapai County Government, Health Department, Prescott City Government, Yavapai Regional Hospital, etc. I personally work for the Sheriff's Office and I know most of the agencies and courts have openings in various fields...of course their hiring conditions are a little strict but if you've got a clean back ground, etc, you should be able to snag at least an entry level position.

Housing is expensive IN Prescott...but look to Chino, Prescott Valley, Dewey, etc. Good luck!

[Gretchen B]

Prescott home prices have been dropping quite a bit as of late (in certain areas). Of course, still higher than the outlying areas.

Definitely check out the town and see if it's the size and type of town you're looking for. And also definitely check out the jobs. There are some good jobs here, but they're not plentiful, so you'd want to have something lined up if you decide to make the move.

Jobs in the medical field here are really in demand.

[collected_eve]

Originally Posted by esselcue

Don't know what your job capabilities are but there are always good job listings for the Yavapai County Government, Health Department, Prescott City Government, Yavapai Regional Hospital, etc. I personally work for the Sheriff's Office and I know most of the agencies and courts have openings in various fields...of course their hiring conditions are a little strict but if you've got a clean back ground, etc, you should be able to snag at least an entry level position..........

The downside of those job listings are the huge amount of people all after the same thing. I know that applies to most everywhere, but when I interviewed with the County they informed me that they had over 250 applicants, chose 50 to interview & all this for one position. I didn't get the job.....
Jobs here are few & far between. Too many people moving here & not enough openings to fulfill the heavy load of newcomers.
Yes, it is expensive to live here. I lived in Cape Girardeau, Missouri & loved it. I guess it all depends on what part of the state you were living in to dislike it that bad.
And what I would do for a thunderstorm!! I miss that. I haven't seen rain in months & well, I'm SO dry! The things you take for granted when living somewhere....just don't realize it until it is gone.
I've been in the Prescott/Prescott Valley area for almost 2 years now & even though the landscape is quite lovely, that's just not enough to keep me here. Don't get your hopes up too high.
My main beef with this area:::
Hospitality is lacking...people just aren't as friendly. I'm a talker & love to socialize, but striking up a conversation with neighbors here usually fails.
Traffic...!!!!!YIKES!!!!! So annoying & the bad driving here doesn't help. I've never in my life seen so many people run red & yellow lights & just make road hazardous.
Price of living....I rent & the price I pay is ridiculous. I rented a 3 bdrm. house in MO for $500/mo. Here I get a 2 bdrm. apartment for $700/mo. & well, lets just say thank goodness I'm a good decorator & know how to make space look & feel bigger.
These are all small things & if you can get over them then good luck to you. I'm getting out of here, though.

[RockyRoadg]

Southern Missouri is very beautiful with rivers and creeks running everywhere, its one big forest. The big cities in Missouri are the same as most in the country. Prescott is a small town, most of the population is out in the valleys now. Its close to a lot of beautiful sites, my favorite thing to do is to take off on our Quads and ride up to Jerome stop and get a haunted hamburger. But nothing compares to San Diego, it has just about everything, we are going to the Red Bull air races this weekend and camping in Chula Vista on the bay next month. Good luck!

[Gretchen B]

I've been here 6 winters. So far not a lot of snow, but native Prescottonians tell me that it used to snow a lot more back in the 80's. One wet winter (2004, I think) we just had a lot of rain and no snow (too warm for snow that year). This past winter was a wet year, too. We had a couple of pretty decent snows (about 3" to 6") which had melted by noon. Then we had one or two light skiffs of snow (didn't stick to the ground) and the rest of the time it rained about once a week. It seemed a little colder this past winter. We had higher humidity with the rains, which maybe made it seem colder. On the rainy days, our highs were in the mid-40's. On the nice sunny winter days, we were mid to upper 50's with an occasional 60+ in there. Our "winter" usually runs from about mid December through February or early March. Pretty much jacket weather most days. I only pull out my heavy coat a couple times a season.

The snowiest year I remember was the first year we were here. It snowed every couple of weeks for a couple of months. Most times, it melted as it hit the ground, but there was a time or two where you could make a snowman before it melted.

[DeeDee/Giselle]

In Idaho I worked for juvenile probations and I was programs director.I have been going on craigs list for housing and jobs.Thanks, I will need all the luck I can get.

[DeeDee/Giselle]

Thanks I have been doing just that.