Want to move to Prescott Valley, AZ (Phoenix, Tucson: day care, homes)

[merywidow]

I want to move to Prescott Valley but I need some information. Does it snow much? Any one foot snowfalls? What part of Prescott Valley is the slum area? I would like to avoid it. Is it windy there? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Randall Neis]

It would make sense if you've been there to know if you want to move there. Any opinions here may obscure your thinking. You said you want to move there so go, and you are smart enough to know what constitutes slum and good neighborhoods. There are both in most communities. Best luck!

[TNGalInAZ]

<Is it windy there?>

Yes it's windy here! I moved here from TN about a yr and half ago and it took a while to get used to the wind. Seems like it blows all the time!

[BriansPerspective]

Snow is usally a dusting of an inch or less and melts quickly. We may get an occaisional storm with more snow, but that is very rare.

As far as where to go or where to avoid, that is a personal choice that you will need to discover when you come here. Some of the nicer (and more expensive) areas in Prescott Valley are the following subdivisions: PV Unit 19, PV Unit 20, Granville, Viewpoint, Pronghorn, Stoneridge, Quailwood, and the Prescott Country Club.

PV is really starting to grow and put itself on the map. The AZ Sundogs hockey team is now playing in PV at the new events arena - along with bands (such as Willie Nelson and Chicago) and other events. Groundbreaking has just begun for Home Depot, Kohls, and Sam's Club. The current mayor and town council are very forward thinking and fiscally responsible, so PV is in good hands.

Good luck with your research!

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by merywidow

I want to move to Prescott Valley but I need some information. Does it snow much? Any one foot snowfalls? What part of Prescott Valley is the slum area? I would like to avoid it. Is it windy there? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Snow? Wind? Slums? I guess everything depends on one's perspective. Having relocated here from the midwest, my concept of snow is 3" to 6" every week or two from the middle of November through March. Prescott Valley probably gets that much a month December through February--and that's in a snowy year. Plus temps here are normally much warmer and the snow usually melts within a day. (Although these past couple of weeks have been very cold! Brrr!)
Wind - again depends on where you're from. May and June are our driest and windiest months. The past couple of years they have been especially windy. Prescott Valley is in a valley so it does seem that it's a little windier than Prescott. However it's not as windy as Flagstaff.
Slums - PV has a population of less than 30,000. It is one of the fastest growing small towns in the US. As with any town, there are more desirable neighborhoods and less desirable neighborhoods. But I don't think anyone could possibly use the word "slum" to describe any of the areas in PV. Prescott Valley has very strict codes and ordinances (although you're sure to find a few places that have slipped through the cracks). Because the town has grown so rapidly you will find several areas of strip malls, but PV is working hard to change that image.
Again, it's all in your perspective and where you're moving from.

Hope this info helps.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by BiggsHomes

Snow is usally a dusting of an inch or less and melts quickly. We may get an occaisional storm with more snow, but that is very rare.

As far as where to go or where to avoid, that is a personal choice that you will need to discover when you come here. Some of the nicer (and more expensive) areas in Prescott Valley are the following subdivisions: PV Unit 19, PV Unit 20, Granville, Viewpoint, Pronghorn, Stoneridge, Quailwood, and the Prescott Country Club.

PV is really starting to grow and put itself on the map. The AZ Sundogs hockey team is now playing in PV at the new events arena - along with bands (such as Willie Nelson and Chicago) and other events. Groundbreaking has just begun for Home Depot, Kohls, and Sam's Club. The current mayor and town council are very forward thinking and fiscally responsible, so PV is in good hands.

Good luck with your research!

Kohl's, Home Depot, Sam's? Sounds a lot like the same path to suburban perdition that LA, PHX, Tucson etc have taken. I guess it is not possible to find "Unfranchised America" anymore.

[jch928]

Hi,
I'm so glad I found this board! My family and I are thinking of moving to Prescott Valley too. Or Prescott, though we know housing is more expensive there. I am hoping someone currently living there can help answer some questions for me. We are currently choosing between this area and an area north of San Diego (much more expensive, I know).

1. It looks like there may be a lack of jobs there. Is this true? We don't work retail or health care, so I'm not sure we will be able to find jobs there in our fields. I work in I.T.; my husband is a photographer (may open his own studio). What is the general outlook there?

2. Is there much to do there? What about things to do with small children (not yet school age)?

3. How are the public and/or charter schools?

4. If you moved there from somewhere else, are you happy you did it? Would you do it again if you could?

5. Are there any other areas you would consider moving to that have the same great climate but are bigger cities? (we're adverse to lots of accumulated snow)

6. What about day care centers? Are there any really good ones there? If so, can you name names?

7. Is the area and a lot of the businesses, activities and/or services geared toward the elderly or retirees? I've studied the demographics and understand that there are a lot of older retired people there.

I think that's all for now. I appreciate any responses I might receive. This is the kind of information that for the most part can't be found by searching city websites, etc.

Thanks,
jch

[BriansPerspective]

Hi jch,

Originally Posted by jch928

1. It looks like there may be a lack of jobs there. Is this true? We don't work retail or health care, so I'm not sure we will be able to find jobs there in our fields. I work in I.T.; my husband is a photographer (may open his own studio). What is the general outlook there?

True, many of the jobs are in retail and health care, but I would guess that with an IT backround you should be able to write your own ticket. Businesses are always looking for help in the IT department. As for your husband, if he has been successful where he is, then he should be successful here. There certainly are gorgeous areas here to photograph and plenty of weddings if he is in that line of work.

Originally Posted by jch928

2. Is there much to do there? What about things to do with small children (not yet school age)?

There are lots of things to do here. There are open-air concerts and art shows in downtown Prescott. There is hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, golf, tennis, and fishing. There is a small zoo. There are casinos if that interests you. You can go ice skating at the arena. There are several parks around the area. The Grand Canyon is about 2.5 hours away. Sedona is about an hour. Phoenix is about 1.5 hours away.

Originally Posted by jch928

3. How are the public and/or charter schools?

Check out: www.prescottschools.com for Prescott and www.humboldtunified.com for Prescott Valley. I have generally heard positive things about the school system, but I do not have children, so I do not have first-hand knowledge.

Originally Posted by jch928

4. If you moved there from somewhere else, are you happy you did it? Would you do it again if you could?

My wife and I moved to Prescott Valley from Maryland and we could not be more happy. We absolutely would move here again. We have met lots of wonderful friends and everybody is very friendly around here. People in our neighborhood even wave as we drive by.

Originally Posted by jch928

5. Are there any other areas you would consider moving to that have the same great climate but are bigger cities? (we're adverse to lots of accumulated snow)

We researched many cities before we moved here. San Diego had the best climate, but it's way too expensive. Some people told us that Payson, AZ is nice, but it's less developed. Albuquerque was an option, but when we drove through, it seemed like a big ugly city to us. Prescott had a good balance of reasonable housing prices, excellent weather, and enough development in terms of shopping and restaurants.

Originally Posted by jch928

6. What about day care centers? Are there any really good ones there? If so, can you name names?

Sorry, I can't help you here. I did see a sign the other day advertising day care for $20/day. Of course, who knows what the quality is.

Originally Posted by jch928

7. Is the area and a lot of the businesses, activities and/or services geared toward the elderly or retirees? I've studied the demographics and understand that there are a lot of older retired people there.

There are a lot of retirees here, but I would not say that the activities and services are geared toward retirees. There are also a lot of younger families, so there is a broad range of services to satisfy everybody. The demographics are changing and younger people are moving in. The town council is very business-friendly and they are working hard to bring in higher paying jobs, such as with Lockheed Martin who recently opened an office in Prescott Valley to support the multi-billion dollar Air Traffic Control contract that they recently won.

Cheers,
Brian

[Prescott Valley mom]

Prescott Valley has several times a years have family oriented activity's outside the civic center heres. Several nice parks and lakes ( they call them lakes to me,being from kansas, they are like big farm ponds).

My grandkids go to a daycare called Busy Bee. We have been very happy with them. The 3 y/o had trouble adjusting to other places we had tried. They charge around$22-24 perday. Open 6am to 6:30 pm Mon. - Sat. They include diapers and wipes in there price too. Another one we tried that didn't work is Grampa farm. It's just in a converted house, not on a farm. They push religion, too much for out taste and our grandson didn't do well there.

We found the public schools to be better than the 2 charter schools my grandkid tried. We have 4 grandkids and their mother who live with us for now. R/T their father messed up with crystal meth. She's divorcing him.

Yes, this has been a retirement area but it's changing. Prescott is more retired than prescott valley.

Can't help you about jobs, just don't know about those areas.

[jch928]

Hi Prescott Valley Mom,
Thank you for your post about the day care centers there. It always helps to know the good and the bad. The Busy Bee prices you mentioned are far less than we pay in La. Our current day care includes all food and formula as well as diapers, so the higher price is understandable.

Thanks again!