Retiring -- Spokane vs. Prescott AZ? (Seattle: low income, appointed, sales)

[retirekool]

I'm looking to retire in a place near the pine trees with low-cost housing, low taxes, with fairly close access to non-trophy fly fishing, deer/or elk/ or antelope hunting, not too many ticks nor poison oak/ivy, with some snow but not too much, big skies, relatively drier climate, and reliable internet and good health care access.

I'm looking hard at Spokane and Prescott, AZ. They both share very similar climate stats, and housing cost stats, and both seem to fit all my criteria. WA is no income tax, AZ is low income tax. Spokane is bigger town, Prescott is 90 mins to major metroplex.

I'm from urban CA, so both Spokane/Prescott have low housing costs by my standards.

I'm slightly leaning toward Prescott. I'm much more familiar with the Southwest, it's closer to friends in CA, though Spokane looks a bit prettier and a bit less brown. I know that CA has areas in the Sierras that fit all those criteria, but my beloved CA's income tax burden is too much for a fixed income.

Thanks in advance.

[stonecypher5413]

It's a fact of life in the West that burgeoning populations are placing enormous pressures on groundwater supplies in many areas, especially with the widespread drought and a predicted continuance of the La Nina effect into the fall.

This article about a water rate increase in Prescott is four years old, but I found this telling:

"...the scarcity of water in our area. They also point out that whoever is living here will have to pay more for that scarce resource.

Finally, it also points out that people form up in two camps on the issue. One camp wants to stop growth cold. The other is in denial about the scarcity of water and would like growth to continue unabated.

Somewhere in the future, the lack of water will stop growth as surely as a charging junkyard dog chokes at the end of a leash.

That reckoning may be 100 years away or a decade or so."

Editorial: Water scarcity is causing ripple effect - The Prescott Daily Courier - Prescott, Arizona

If you're comfortable with the idea of innovative solutions magically appearing to ease water shortages in Arizona that would negatively impact your retirement years, then I say go with your heart and choose to be closer to SoCal.

I've just seen too many heartrending pictures of the drought's effects all over the West to ever feel safe living in an area that does not have abundant water resources. To be fair, the Spokane area may be facing these issues in the future, too:

River advocates warn of water scarcity | capitalpress.com

I just urge you to investigate the issue of water thoroughly before you make your decision -- after all, you want plenty of fresh, clean water in those rivers you want to fish in.

[retirekool]

Wow, thanks for that. That's the kind of info that doesn't usually come along so quickly. I'm hip to impending macro water issues, but wasn't aware of particular regional issues, other than with CA's chronic cyclical drought conditions.

Originally Posted by stonecypher5413

It's a fact of life in the West that burgeoning populations are placing enormous pressures on groundwater supplies in many areas, especially with the widespread drought and a predicted continuance of the La Nina effect into the fall.

This article about a water rate increase in Prescott is four years old, but I found this telling:

"...the scarcity of water in our area. They also point out that whoever is living here will have to pay more for that scarce resource.

Finally, it also points out that people form up in two camps on the issue. One camp wants to stop growth cold. The other is in denial about the scarcity of water and would like growth to continue unabated.

Somewhere in the future, the lack of water will stop growth as surely as a charging junkyard dog chokes at the end of a leash.

That reckoning may be 100 years away or a decade or so."

Editorial: Water scarcity is causing ripple effect - The Prescott Daily Courier - Prescott, Arizona

If you're comfortable with the idea of innovative solutions magically appearing to ease water shortages in Arizona that would negatively impact your retirement years, then I say go with your heart and choose to be closer to SoCal.

I've just seen too many heartrending pictures of the drought's effects all over the West to ever feel safe living in an area that does not have abundant water resources. To be fair, the Spokane area may be facing these issues in the future, too:

River advocates warn of water scarcity | capitalpress.com

I just urge you to investigate the issue of water thoroughly before you make your decision -- after all, you want plenty of fresh, clean water in those rivers you want to fish in.

[stonecypher5413]

I'm glad I was able to give you something to think about that can so completely affect your quality of life -- good luck on your research.

Here's the latest U.S. Drought Monitor. Take a look at the entire state of Arizona, and then contrast it with Washington:

US Drought Monitor

[M3 Mitch]

I would think the fishing is better around Spokane as well, but have never been to Prescott.

Probably you need to make a scouting trip to both areas - there are things you care about, that you can't think of off the top of your head.

Not sure how much snow there is in Prescott, although, both towns have data pages in the CD data.

[loveautumn]

If you go onto the Arizona - Prescottt thread, there is alot of information about the water/well problems they have there.

[brianjs]

Interesting choices. I used to live in Spokane and found the fly fishing to be great. I know live in Phoenix. I have visited and camp around Prescott and found the area reminded me of Spokane. I love the ponderosa pines. Prescott however is incredibly windy during my visits and I have heard that as a general comment about living there.

I think if you are fly fisherman, you will be sorely disappointed with AZ. Most of the fishing is bottom feeders and the lakes are mostly murky messes. Rivers barely exist. Spokane on the other hand has plentiful options within a 30 minute drive. I used to drive 5 minutes down to the Little Spokane River and go fishing for trout before work! Steelhead fishing is pretty good(not in Spokane proper). Originally I am from Alaska so it is hard to beat the fishing in the Last Frontier.

We have been in Arizona over 2 years and it really seems like the cost of living was less in Washington. The property taxes are higher, but there is no sales tax on food or state income tax. Gas is higher, but car tabs are cheap. Some counties in Washington offer steep discounts to seniors for property taxes (not sure of the requirements). If you live in one of the surrounding counties to Spokane you can save a large amount on taxes and get more acreage. Another consideration for those on fixed income is utilities. Utility charges in AZ are outrageous and they don't seem to be regulated very well. All the dams in Washington help keep the power costs down.

Another thing to consider would be medical care which would likely be a lot better in Spokane although PHX is close to Prescott and has great care, like Mayo.

My wife and I constantly talk about going back, but have not had the opportunity as of yet. Then winter comes in Arizona and I second guess going back to Spokane.

My 2 cents. Good luck on your decision.

[redhead]

Originally Posted by brianjs

Interesting choices. I used to live in Spokane and found the fly fishing to be great. I know live in Phoenix. I have visited and camp around Prescott and found the area reminded me of Spokane. I love the ponderosa pines. Prescott however is incredibly windy during my visits and I have heard that as a general comment about living there.

I think if you are fly fisherman, you will be sorely disappointed with AZ. Most of the fishing is bottom feeders and the lakes are mostly murky messes. Rivers barely exist. Spokane on the other hand has plentiful options within a 30 minute drive. I used to drive 5 minutes down to the Little Spokane River and go fishing for trout before work! Steelhead fishing is pretty good(not in Spokane proper). Originally I am from Alaska so it is hard to beat the fishing in the Last Frontier.

We have been in Arizona over 2 years and it really seems like the cost of living was less in Washington. The property taxes are higher, but there is no sales tax on food or state income tax. Gas is higher, but car tabs are cheap. Some counties in Washington offer steep discounts to seniors for property taxes (not sure of the requirements). If you live in one of the surrounding counties to Spokane you can save a large amount on taxes and get more acreage. Another consideration for those on fixed income is utilities. Utility charges in AZ are outrageous and they don't seem to be regulated very well. All the dams in Washington help keep the power costs down.

Another thing to consider would be medical care which would likely be a lot better in Spokane although PHX is close to Prescott and has great care, like Mayo.

My wife and I constantly talk about going back, but have not had the opportunity as of yet. Then winter comes in Arizona and I second guess going back to Spokane.

My 2 cents. Good luck on your decision.

this is good infor for me cause i love spokane but hate snow..............when winter comes it always causes me to reconsider where i want to live when i get "real" old......somewhere where there's no snow!
so wondering about your area........since you've lived in spokane and now in az...........do you feel as safe living in az as you did living in spokane???
how about the heat?????
just how outrageous are the utilites for cooling a small home in the summer???? do your utilities go down lots in winter becasue they are mild???
thanks

[brianjs]

Originally Posted by redhead

this is good infor for me cause i love spokane but hate snow..............when winter comes it always causes me to reconsider where i want to live when i get "real" old......somewhere where there's no snow!
so wondering about your area........since you've lived in spokane and now in az...........do you feel as safe living in az as you did living in spokane???
how about the heat?????
just how outrageous are the utilites for cooling a small home in the summer???? do your utilities go down lots in winter becasue they are mild???
thanks

I was just reading one of your posts earlier today, funny. We lived in Spokane about 3 years. We lived on the Seattle area prior to that.

I can honestly say that we definitely don't feel as safe in this area as we did in Spokane (I have 3 kids under 10). The area where we live seems to be pretty safe (Goodyear, Estrella Mountain Ranch). We are really kind of removed from the city and crime. We picked Goodyear because they have a lot of police and the city is really well planned for future growth. I know someone who went into Babies R Us the other day and came out and someone had tried to steal their SUV. The border stuff you see on TV really is a problem, but if you don't go in those areas (which you would not want to) it really won't affect you to much.

When it comes to the heat, it gets miserable about this time of the year since it has been ongoing for 3 months. From October thru May is great and June can be okay. Usually if it is under 100 it is fine, under 110 it is bearable. We moved from Spokane in spring of 2009 and you can remember how miserable the snow was that year! I found the heat refreshing. I grew up in AK and I run into quite a few Alaskans defrosting down here.

I pay on an average usage plan. I pay 203 a month for a 2 story home with 2 AC units, one up and one down (a one level would be cheaper). In the winter I rarely use the heat, which is gas and it never seems to go above $80 a month. Unfortunately basements are hard to find in Phoenix.

I would recommend trying it out for a few months in the winter and seeing how you like it. Another option would be to consider being a snowbird (traveling south in the winter). You could probably get a really nice condo in a good area for around $60-70K right now, a house in an area that you would feel safe locking it up and leaving for several months would probably be upwards of around $150K. If you are a long time Spokanite you might be thinking about acreage, I would avoid that in Southern, AZ beacuse of the direction areas can go without an HOA. Most rural areas around Phoenix are extremely run down and lack services.

We lived in Colbert and North Spokane when we were there.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

[redhead]

brianjs thanks for the info.............good stuff. i can't afford to maintain two homes so the only way i'd be a snowbird is getting an rv, but then again that might be just as much as keeping a home here and then renting a place in the winter somewhere down there. i've been to your area lots, and also tucson, like tucson a little better but have concerns about the problems with high crime due to being so close to the border. like to travel lots so would want to feel safe taking off on day trips in the country and doing hikes and such; don't know if the drug cartel problems around there prevents that sorta thing being safe???? and don't think i'd enjoy living in 100+ degrees summers; have lived in the desert for many years and tolerated it ok but as i get older extreme heat bothers me........maybe we won't have much snow this year......supose to have a break and have a mild winter........hope hope!!! thanks for the info