Horse lifestyle in Prescott (Prescott Valley, Chino Valley: vehicle registration, how much, house)

[Mountainman2020]

Hi there,

I really like the Prescott area so far from what I can see online. We're horse people and are seeking 2-10 acres. A concern of mine is how much of a nuisance are rattlesnakes, and any other critters going to be in this area? In the PNW I can grab a bale of hale or piece of wood off the ground and won't think anything of it.

I'm guessing this wouldn't be the case here. Perhaps different areas are worse than others? If any of the locals or folks that have experience in the out skirts of town could please weigh in that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Hope everyone's staying safe.

[Ex New Yorker]

Originally Posted by Mountainman2020

Hi there,

I really like the Prescott area so far from what I can see online. We're horse people and are seeking 2-10 acres. A concern of mine is how much of a nuisance are rattlesnakes, and any other critters going to be in this area? In the PNW I can grab a bale of hale or piece of wood off the ground and won't think anything of it.

I'm guessing this wouldn't be the case here. Perhaps different areas are worse than others? If any of the locals or folks that have experience in the out skirts of town could please weigh in that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Hope everyone's staying safe.

We've lived here for 10 years and have yet to come across any rattlesnakes in Prescott. But they are found in all parts of Arizona. We've only seen two in those 10 years. One that someone had killed out on Burro Creek Road which is about 40 miles west of here. The other was crossing the road near the Roosevelt Dam near the end of the Apache Trail about 150 miles southeast of here.

We go out hiking and target shooting in the Sonoran Desert often, along with hiking the trails in Prescott. We've yet to come across any there. That's not to say that they aren't there, they could have been in the vicinity and we would not even know it. From what I've read about rattlesnakes is that they pretty much keep to themselves and try to avoid contact with humans. Just as much as humans will try to avoid them. Not so for pets especially cats and dogs that are allowed to run wild.

In the 10 years that we've lived here I've yet to here or read about anyone getting bit by a rattlesnake. Plenty of people have horses as well. One of our friends has horses and he's never mentioned them being threatened by rattlers either while they were in their corral or when they were out horse back riding.

There are plenty of coyote's around along with javelina. I don't know if they are threats or attack horses though? Although I haven't heard of any. If they did I would think that it would have made the local news?

[Mountainman2020]

Ex New Yorker,

Thank you for the response. Wow, that's a lot different of a response than I was expecting!

As far as weather goes, it seems that Prescott is almost unbeatable for what we're looking for. A little bit of snow, lots of sun, but also not so insanely hot. Doing some research it looks like Prescott gets 277 sunny days a year! That's 120 more days of sun than we have in the PNW.

Can you comment on such things like tarantulas, scorpions, mountain lions etc?

Any things about the area you particularly dislike? Whether that's the area or on a state level.

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

[Woody01]

Originally Posted by Mountainman2020

Ex New Yorker,

Thank you for the response. Wow, that's a lot different of a response than I was expecting!

As far as weather goes, it seems that Prescott is almost unbeatable for what we're looking for. A little bit of snow, lots of sun, but also not so insanely hot. Doing some research it looks like Prescott gets 277 sunny days a year! That's 120 more days of sun than we have in the PNW.

Can you comment on such things like tarantulas, scorpions, mountain lions etc?

Any things about the area you particularly dislike? Whether that's the area or on a state level.

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

We are just moving in to an area slightly north of Prescott. 5 acre lots, super horse country...!
I agree the weather is almost unbeatable.....
Can't comment about snakes, I would assume there will be some during the summer, better safe than sorry...but not like the desert areas.
C'mon down and bring yer horses.......

[Mountainman2020]

Thanks for the response Woody. We're already planning a trip to Prescott to do some scouting. We're very excited to see the area. Best of luck with your move!

[mrshowtime3]

Im pest averse and Id say it hasn't been an issue at all. Ive seen one tarantula and it didnt bother me and i hate spiders. But they are so big and don't move very fast. Spray around the house with some Talstar and odds are you'll be fine. Some areas might have worse problem with scorpions but i haven't seen one anywhere.

There are javelina packs and coyote. That would be a bigger issue for a dog than a horse id imagine.

For horse acreage youd be looking out Williamson Valley if you have $$$$$ but also Chino Valley or just north of 89 in Prescott Valley. Coyote Springs

[Mountainman2020]

Appreciate the feedback. Good to hear.. we hate bugs (anything east of Kanas was off our list). We also don't want to be IN the mountains because we have little ones that roam free and worry about mountain lions or other predators. We're in a good spot right now in regards to critters and bigger animals. We just don't like that we have 150 days of sunshine a year.

I had to look up what a javelina even was lol. Interesting!

I've been looking on google maps / zillow and it seems Williamson Valley would be where we would end up. Looks like a great area.

I've been reading around the forums and it seems you'll be headed off somewhere else showtime. If you don't mind me asking, where to?

We've done probably over 200 hours of research for a place to move to. We're very picky and want the right place. So far it's Prescott, Colorado (front range) or Northern California. I'm always curious to see why people chose the areas they move to.

Thanks again!

[Ex New Yorker]

Originally Posted by Mountainman2020

Ex New Yorker,

Thank you for the response. Wow, that's a lot different of a response than I was expecting!

As far as weather goes, it seems that Prescott is almost unbeatable for what we're looking for. A little bit of snow, lots of sun, but also not so insanely hot. Doing some research it looks like Prescott gets 277 sunny days a year! That's 120 more days of sun than we have in the PNW.

Can you comment on such things like tarantulas, scorpions, mountain lions etc?

Any things about the area you particularly dislike? Whether that's the area or on a state level.

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

You're welcome!

We see tarantulas every once in a while. They don't bother anyone, scared the hell out of my wife when she first saw one. But now she kinda' likes them. They just mosey along minding their own business, aggressive they are not. I haven't seen one scorpion as of yet, but I'm told that they are all over the place. Supposedly they hide in the dark during the day and come out at night hunting for insects. We bought a black light flashlight and went around our yard looking for them but came up empty.

Occasionally people have reported seeing mountain lions around the area. But we've never seen any as of yet. There are lizard's of all shapes and sizes, they are all over the place. We love watching them scurry about.

There's not too much if anything that we dislike about this area and Arizona in general. It's provided us with a quality of life that we could only dream about had we stayed in New York. But then again I've always wanted to live in the Great American Southwest, Arizona in particular. Sometimes I still can't believe that we live here.

[mrshowtime3]

Originally Posted by Mountainman2020

Appreciate the feedback. Good to hear.. we hate bugs (anything east of Kanas was off our list). We also don't want to be IN the mountains because we have little ones that roam free and worry about mountain lions or other predators. We're in a good spot right now in regards to critters and bigger animals. We just don't like that we have 150 days of sunshine a year.

I had to look up what a javelina even was lol. Interesting!

I've been looking on google maps / zillow and it seems Williamson Valley would be where we would end up. Looks like a great area.

I've been reading around the forums and it seems you'll be headed off somewhere else showtime. If you don't mind me asking, where to?

We've done probably over 200 hours of research for a place to move to. We're very picky and want the right place. So far it's Prescott, Colorado (front range) or Northern California. I'm always curious to see why people chose the areas they move to.

Thanks again!

I get two different packs of javelina that come through my backyard fairly regularly. One group has 15+. I think they are cool animals. However they can be destructive to a yard. And they tipped and ate my garbage when it was by the road for pickup one night lol. If you get a fenced yard you don't have to worry about them much. Just know that their eye sight is terrible and they will charge a person or dog if they feel threatened.

If you can afford it Williamson Valley is the place to be IMO. I think it is the prettiest part of the Prescott area.

I was set on Prescott for 3 years before moving after doing the same kind of insane research it sounds like you did. It seemed to check the boxes. It just didn't end up being right for us. Can't know for certain until you actual get to a place and live there. O well. We were in search of a utopia that doesn't exist.

Weather was a giant thing for us. I actually didn't find the Prescott winter to be that great. Or at least not good enough to justify living there for weather. And I live in Dewey which is a bit warmer and gets no snow in a storm where Prescott might get several inches.

As for where is next I really am not sure yet. I'm gonna go back to PA for at least 6 months and then see whats next. If not for the winters Colorado would hands down be my choice. Either somewhere between Fort Collins and Denver or between Denver and Colorado Springs. And maybe some kind of snowbird situation is in the cards in the future. Winter in AZ and summer in CO.

One side note thing you may miss in your research is the vehicle registrations in AZ. Prepare for hundreds of dollars a year to register the cars if you drive fairly new cars.

[mrshowtime3]

Originally Posted by Ex New Yorker

You're welcome!

We see tarantulas every once in a while. They don't bother anyone, scared the hell out of my wife when she first saw one. But now she kinda' likes them. They just mosey along minding their own business, aggressive they are not. I haven't seen one scorpion as of yet, but I'm told that they are all over the place. Supposedly they hide in the dark during the day and come out at night hunting for insects. We bought a black light flashlight and went around our yard looking for them but came up empty.

Occasionally people have reported seeing mountain lions around the area. But we've never seen any as of yet. There are lizard's of all shapes and sizes, they are all over the place. We love watching them scurry about.

There's not too much if anything that we dislike about this area and Arizona in general. It's provided us with a quality of life that we could only dream about had we stayed in New York. But then again I've always wanted to live in the Great American Southwest, Arizona in particular. Sometimes I still can't believe that we live here.

the scorpion thing is so weird. Must be really neighborhood specific. Ive lived in Havasu and now here and have yet to see one. Even when hiking in Havasu desert. Lot of little lizards. Even one that basically lived on my screen door until it got cold in the winter. But they don't bother anything. I guess they are good for eating bugs around the house too.

The nastiest bug Ive come across is a spricket. Harmless. But disgusting.