Looking @ moving to AZ- Please help? (Phoenix, Flagstaff: house, wage, living)

[MotleyCrew]

There is a very helpful poster that actually lives there. She will probably post something soon
We love Prescott and are planning on retiring there and perhaps buy a lot when we can sell our town house. The downtown section is very charming.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by Jill Warner

There is a very helpful poster that actually lives there. She will probably post something soon
We love Prescott and are planning on retiring there and perhaps buy a lot when we can sell our town house. The downtown section is very charming.

Hi Jill - you knew it was just a matter of time . . .

Kristie from Kansas - looks like we've got quite a bit in common. I grew up in NW Kansas. I love it here in Prescott. It's growing rapidly, though. On the plus side - great mild 4-season weather (winter - lows in the upper 20's, highs in the 40's/50's; summers - highs in the 80's/90's but cools to low 60's most nights). Prescott Valley (which is about 10 miles east of Prescott) has more affordable housing than Prescott. Still high by Kansas standards, but not bad by AZ standards. New 3/2/2 1500 sf can be purchased for under $250k. Should be better than Big Bear prices anyway.

For jobs - health care is big, accounting, clerical, construction, engineering. It's best to check out the jobs before you actually make the move. I think the Sunday edition of the Prescott Daily Courier is one of the best sources to find out about jobs. http://prescottdailycourier.com/

Please feel free to send me a Private Message if you have any questions. I'd be glad to help!

[cfergie]

Have you looked at Tucson? I really like Tucson.

[maniac]

""""I know what most AZ locals feel about people from CA, but I am not looking to cut into anyones' "space", just looking for good community for my family and self. I am very tired of killing myself here for nothing but an unclear furture.""""

I don't mind California people, unless it's the ones who come and rip up our farms for their homes and say "I hate Arizona, I wish I was back in Californa"

Actually, I just don't like land developers

Anyways, I am no expert on living prices or anything, but if you can thrive in a small town or work at home, Prescott is a very nice place, much of my family was born and raised in Prescott, although I live nearer to Pheonix and only visit Prescott in the summer.

Also, when it comes to reading crime rates on paper, I wouldn't read too much into it. It is good to be aware, but I have a friend who lives in Columbia where it's supposedly just big drug cartels and terrorism, he says that it's not as bad as the news makes it out to be. Also, when my Father was on buisiness he said he lived near Phoenix and the person he was talking to freaked out because he had heard of the Baseline Rapist. I don't mean to have a "It will never happen to me" attitude, because it could, it's just that it is not very likely.

[katiekristie]

We have been lookingin the Buckeye area. From what my husband has been checking into it w/ an agent and some other businesses and has found that the buzz there is that the area will be growing. Here on the this site though the info is kindof outdated, so I have to go and see if I can find any recent info. Can anyone confirm this info or suggest (other than a local newspaper, which I plan to get) any sites that would have the info?

Gretchen- nice to meet someone else from KS, thank you for the info and to all of you for helping. This time we want to make sure we have all the correct info.

[Gretchen B]

katiekristie - All Arizona towns are growing by leaps and bounds. Seriously, though, the whole AZ thing is so different from what we're used to in Kansas (that is unless you're from Wichita or KC). For instance, Prescott Valley was a town of 3,000 in the early 80's. It's now about 35,000 and continuing to grow. My Kansas hometown was 5,000 pop in the 70's. That's what it had been back in the 40's and that's still what it is in 2007.

If you decide on Glendale or Buckeye (or any other suburb of the Phoenix metro area) be prepared for sweltering heat. Unlike Kansas where the temps can vary from day to day and give you some relief from the cold or heat, down on the desert, once the temp reaches 100+ the end of April, you probably won't see another day in the 90's until October. And lots of days at 110 in between. Even watching the 10:00 news, the temp will many times still be over 100. Wintertime is great, though.

Do come for a visit and check out your original picks: Tucson, Glendale, Prescott, and Buckeye. Be sure to visit in the summer for a few days so you can get an idea of how it might be for 6 months out of the year.

[laurunf]

i lived in prescott for nearly ten years. the only issue there is the job market. regarding the construction jobs, now you have a group of 30 people standing on a street corner looking for work, and they're willing to work for next to nothing. why pay someone a decent wage at construction when someone else is willing to do the job for peanuts? you'd have never seen this two or three years ago, but that is what prescott has turned into now. within the past couple of years, prescott and the tri-cities (prescott valley, chino valley) have grown like crazy, but there haven't been any new big businesses or jobs to accomodate this growth. someone mentioned health care was big, but there is only one hospital and it is a small one. unless you're already wealthy, prescott probably won't work out for you. it's too bad because it really is a great place to live if you have money and it has, in my opinion, some of the best weather in the whole state. it is turning into a completely different place now, though. it is definitely not the same charming little town that it once was.

i live in tucson now and love it. to me, it's a city that still thinks like a small town. there isn't a fast food restaurant on every corner, there are a ton of local businesses and people that support them! in phoenix, you definitely get the big city feel. every block is a fast food restaurant or chain restauraunt, along with a shopping center with the same five stores in them. tucson businesses are at least more spread out, and all the big businesses seem to be contained to a select few areas. the tucson weather is more mild than the phoenix weather, too. our summers are hot, of course, but phoenix sees temperatures rise at least 5 degrees over us. it might not seem like it, but 105 vs 112 is a huge difference. our summer nights cool down, which doesn't happen in phoenix. you can still keep your windows open at night here to get a cool breeze in the summer, something i was not able to do when i lived in phoenix. we have more rain, but it still isn't a lot, and most of it comes from our awesome summer monsoons. our winters are definitely cooler than phoenix, though. it is not uncommon to see 20-30 degree low temperatures at night in the winter. when you need to escape the heat in tucson, it is a short drive up the beautiful mt lemmon, and you're in temperatures 25 degrees cooler than in town and you're surrounded by pine trees. to escape the heat in phoenix, it is about a 90 minute drive to get up north.

hope that helps!

[hughesgirl]

Have you checked out Williams? It is near a forest, housing isn't too bad and the will be building a theme park up near there so there should be plenty of work.
Valerie

[katiekristie]

We are looking in the Goodyear area as well and have talked with a few sellers in the area.

Gretchen-actually I did grow up in the Wichita area, Clearwater which is about 20 min southwest of Wichita. The summers are getting worse there, but from what I understand the humid is not as bad as Ks. If so, my husband already knows he will not see much of me during the day outside. I don't mind the heat, it really is humidity that I have any issue with. But I am almost willing to deal with it.

After looking at some of the house prices there, I find that the owner of our current home is completely out of his mind with the price and has no idea about the market up here (he lives in San Diego), and after we leave he is going to rethink the pricing, otherwise it will sit for quite abit.

[chuckvs]

Great forum with many great people here. We are looking to move to Buckeye and to buy a new home, most likely one from Hacienda Builders. Our credit is not that good so we may have to rent for a few months. Does anyone know of some economical,safe and in good area close to Buckeye for rent? Apt. or house? Thanks Chuck best of luck to you all