Payson or Prescott

[5thgenAz]

prescott= nice pretty too expensive horrible schools.
prescott valley= i think they must have a by-law that requires each lot to have a chainlink fence and a tin shed.
payson= quiet. a friday night consists of KFC and a trip to wal-mart.

[wakamac8]

If you can afford it, go to Payson. It is a beautiful town and the people are exceptionally nice. I wish I could go back. I made a very decent living while residing there from '98-'00. It was expensive then and I could not afford to buy. I rented and loved it. It would be a great place to raise children. Good luck. I hear Prescott is getting bad, the secret got out about 7-10 years ago and so the weirdos flocked there; it is very beautiful there though.

[Randall Neis]

You should vote for Prescott, because I like Payson better and want everyone away from here to keep form over crowding.

[Sean_Harrington]

The Randalls and their neices can keep Payson.

[Randall Neis]

My thoughts exactly Mrs. Harrington. Glad to see I have some support!

[BriansPerspective]

My wife and I moved to the Prescott Country Club (actually in Dewey) from Maryland about a year ago. We love are minute living here. The area is growing, which brings more shopping and things to do. Prescott Valley recently built a hockey and events arena and some big-name stores are about to break ground - e.g., Kohls and Home Depot. There are movie theaters, nice restaurants - just about everything you might need.

Contrary to some of the postings, Prescott Valley does have some nice, clean subdivisions where you can get a 3/2 house for $230K+. Prescott prices are $300K+ for the same home.

[lifesajerney]

I have lived in both places. I now live in Payson. I lived in Prescott for 20 years previous. 20 years ago I loved Prescott. A small cowboy, downhome town. Now it is Los Angeles without the water.

Payson is a small town within 90 min of 3 major areas. Phoenix, Prescott or Flagstaff. I am not a city girl which is why I got out of Prescott. Payson still has that small town feel and great people. Summers are a little hectic here due to the tourist traveling thru but locals use surface streets to get around and don't do our shopping on big weekends. We only have a Walmart and 2 major grocery chains. If we want something special we go to the Valley (Phoenix)in the winter or Flagstaff in the summer (it's cooler). If you need a Mall close by you then Prescott is the place for you. As far as schools go, Prescott schools are probably better. Payson schools are very poor. However 2 smaller towns just north, Pine and Strawberry have there own K-8 school which is awesome, better then Prescott. If you live in the outscirts of Prescott, which is a normal 20 minute drive will turn into an hour commute in "rush hour" traffic to get to work because of all the hoard of people who have moved there.
Good Luck!
K Reed

[Gretchen B]

So . . . just a quick question for all the Payson folks out there. . . When a person lives in Payson do you have to go out of town for shopping (other than WalMart items)? How often do you find yourself needing to to to Phoenix to shop? Just wondering. I'm a small town gal (rural Nebraska - you can't get much smaller than that) and I HATE having to battle the traffic, smog, rude sales clerks, etc whenever I go to Phx to shop. It's one of the reasons I really like Prescott - I never HAVE to go to Phx for anything. Sometimes we'll go to a game or a concert down there, but hardly ever do we go there to shop. I've only been in Prescott for 6 years and I know it's changing, but I'm still loving it and hanging in here til the population tops 150,000.

Just wonderin'