Moving to Prescott July 2011 (Pinon: for sale, how much, houses)

[TcherDawn]

My husband, myself and our two young boys are being transferred from New Hampshire to Prescott in July. I was wondering about the subdivision Pinon Oaks that we are looking at. General opinions, impressions. We saw lots of basketball hoops and kids on bikes there. The people seemed very nice, and the houses looked great. It is kinda close to the airport, which is one of the drawbacks I suppose, if the airport is busy? Any other opinions are appreciated. Thanks soon to be new neighbors. :-)
Also, could someone tell me what the temps are like around the 4th of July there? Just trying to brace myself really.

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by TcherDawn

Also, could someone tell me what the temps are like around the 4th of July there? Just trying to brace myself really.

July 4th will see temps in the low to mid 90's. You can have a 5 degree temperature swing depending on what part of Prescott you are in. Most likely the Monsoon season will be in full swing and you will also have humidity. Trust me, it is not a "dry heat" during Monsoon season. The record temp in Prescott for the 4th of July was 102F.

The one saving grace is that with a good storm, the temps should drop into the 70's and 80's, but it requires a good rain storm.

Not to burst your bubble but they say the worst time to move to Arizona is July - September. It's the hottest and most humid during that time. You then have to deal with the flash floods that will shut down streets in certain areas. I had the unfortunate experience of having to move in the summer. I had to wait until nightfall to move stuff, as it was brutal during the day.

What kind of work will you be doing up here?

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by TcherDawn

Also, could someone tell me what the temps are like around the 4th of July there? Just trying to brace myself really.

Prescott, Arizona (86301) Conditions & Forecast : Weather Underground

Scroll about halfway down the page, look at History & Almanac on the left side, and search from there.

[wretched wrench]

Originally Posted by TcherDawn

It is kinda close to the airport, which is one of the drawbacks I suppose, if the airport is busy? Any other opinions are appreciated.

The airport is pretty quiet compared to a lot of other cities, but the Sheriff has a helicopter, now, so expect a lot of whop whop whop. Both coming and going and just buzzing around.

My own experience (living near the airport) is that airplanes that take off or land do not bother me, but helicopters are really irritating. YMMV.

[keninaz]

I agree about helicopters. We live on the other end of town on the SW side near the edge of the National Forest and we get quite a few from the forest service going over from time to time. They tend to fly too low many times for no reason.
I also think that you would get more noise out of aircraft from the hospital helicopter if you lived near there quite distance down from your housing area. That helicopter stays pretty busy or so it seems.
Other than that as far as noise goes about once a year we get delighted when the B-17 Sentimental Journey comes here as part of it's yearly tour. Now it's noisy, but a pleasure to see. Arizona Wing of the CAF - Home of B-17G Sentimental Journey! Someday I would love to take a flight on that one.
But the edge of your housing area is some 2 miles from the end of the runway at the airport so you should be fine. There are only a couple of small airlines that service the airport and a few private planes there so it's not a major airport by all means.
And welcome to Prescott. I think you are going to like it here.

[BriansPerspective]

Pinon Oaks is a nice subdivision with newer homes and larger lots. The biggest downside is Pioneer Parkway that spilts the subdivision down the middle. There is a lot of traffic on that road and the traffic will get worse in the future, since Pioneer Pkwy is designed to be a major connector route.

[TcherDawn]

Ok, mid 90s. We rarely see that here in NH. When you say humid, we do get quite humid on occasion here, but we also get very dry indoors in winter because of the heating. My house will be around 15 - 20% humidity if I don't use a humidifier in the winter. In the summer, it is plenty humid enough. Often in the 60-70% range, depending on how much Candian air we get. We must use a dehumidifier in our basement all summer long. Do you mean that humid? Or is my perspective of what is humid going to change? I can probably sell or leave my dehumidifier here, I would think.

I like airplanes and helicopters. My boys LOVE them. So I think it will be ok. I don't have any babies needing naps, and I guess with anything, you get used to it.

What builders built in Pinon Oaks? Did any of them have a better or worse reputation? There seems to be a lot of homes for sale and recently sold there. Is it a neighborhood with high turnover because of retirees or mobile young professionals? It is close to my husband's job, so he can bike to work from there (when it is cool enough). The upside is the Parkway can quickly help us get to where we need to go, but I would never want to buy a house adjacent to it for sure.
Ken, thanks for the welcome. The people there have been nothing but extremely nice and very helpful, just like you all. And the area is absolutely gorgeous and not at all what I pictured a "desert" to be like. Definitely makes a stressful move feel a LOT better.

[keninaz]

I think you will find that mid 90's don't occur that often or stay that long for the most part.
And the humidity is normally worse just before a storm in the summer seasons here and right after of course. But then it's cooler so nobody notices much at that point.
I think you will find it will be a lot less humid for you here than there.
I don't know about your traffic there, but getting somewhere here in town or within the tri cities area is not normally a problem.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by DellNec

Trust me, it is not a "dry heat" during Monsoon season.

The humidity that accompanies Arizona's brief monsoon season is not at all comparable to a summer in the midwest or east. As I posted earlier, the historical stats compiled bear this out.

[keninaz]

It may be higher humidity than DellNec is used to compared to where they came from. You never know.
I just cannot imagine anyone saying that this area has sustained high humidity during any WX events or periods compared to other areas of the country.