Prescott Buying Land / General Questions (Tucson, Chandler: low crime, house prices, neighborhoods)

[traderfjp]

Hi,

I had a few questions. I lived in Tucson for a year and except for the stifling heat that I couldn't take the people there were extremly friendly. My brother still lives there. I was wondering what the people in Prescott are like? Currently we live in Suffolk NY with low crime but high taxes, crazy house prices and one of the highest electric bills in the country.

Our plan is to buy a 1/2 acre or more in a nice neighborhood in Prescott or Prescott Valley and when we retire in 10-12 years we would have the property paid off and then build a nice house. Are there any neighborhoods that could be suggested? Are we better off in a neighborhood with a clubhouse, pool, etc? What are taxes like? Do we have to worry about flooding or water shortages?

I also like to bowl - does anyone know how many bowling houses there are and how many lanes in each house?

What is life like in a small town? We want warmth, friendly people, affordable housing and beauty. Thanks in advance.

[Gretchen B]

Hi traderfjp - I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

I personally think that the majority of Prescottonians are very friendly and helpful. Of course, there's always a few cranky ones in the bunch, but for the most part people that you don't know will return a smile, wave, or "hello" and answer questions if you need some help.

Property taxes here are about 1/2% of assessed value, i.e. a home valued at $300,000 will have yearly property taxes of about $1,500 +/-.

Prescott Valley housing is still quite a bit cheaper than Prescott housing, by about 15%-25%. There are more new home housing developments in Prescott Valley than in Prescott. Because of the trees and hilly, rocky terrain of Prescott, you will find more individual custom and semi-custom and "spec" homes in Prescott vs the typical "subdivisions" of Prescott Valley with 5 or 6 models of the same home in the development.

Finding 1/2+ acre in either Prescott or Prescott Valley will be challenging unless you want 2-acres in the rural areas. There are some larger lots available in The Ranch in Prescott and a few in the newest phase of Prescott Country Club in Prescott Valley. Also there are a few .4-acre lots available in Pinion Oaks in Prescott. Prices on land have come down substantially this past year, and fortunately are becoming more affordable again. However undeveloped land is difficult to find in Prescott.

Antelope Lanes is the bowling alley in Prescott Valley. That's the one we usually go to. There is also a bowling alley in Prescott. I'm not sure how many lanes there are - I'd guess about 20 in the Prescott Valley one, but it's been a while since I've been bowling. (Hubby hurt his knee and decided bowling probably wasn't the best therapy for it )

PS Weather in Prescott is going to be quite a bit cooler than Tucson in the summer with winters that are quite a bit warmer than NY.

[Rebscott]

The question of what is a "small town" is certainly debatable and it's an interesting question. As a psychologist and a person who's gone from bigger to smaller, here are a couple of observations: I grew up in a major city, moved to a city of about 100K in my 20's. In my 30's moved to a city of less than 100K and started hearing the "small town" description for the first time. Then moved to a town of only about 5K and heard "small town, small town" all of the time. In fact, even a town of 5K isn't really a "small town" based upon the math of how often you run into people you know. Rarely. (That's a surprise to most folks.) Then we moved to a town of 1,800 people for some years and that was the first place we lived that was actually a small town relative to all of the other places. Only at that point did the frequency of interactions increase by several orders of magnitude - even over the town of 5K! For the last 8 years, we've lived in a town of 373 people. Yup. It's a small town. We know every single man, woman and child in town by sight. Now that's small! So fear not, a town of Prescott's size won't fail to offer you the possibility of hiding within plain sight so to speak. You've got a long way to go to get really "small." Good luck! Rebscott

[BriansPerspective]

Great post Rebscott! What is small to some is huge to others. We just watched Horton Hears a Who - now that's small!

[rueladyjane]

Jane from Oklahoma city. I came out here in July last year, and love it as far as deserts go. took some getting used to . i dont mean the small town thing. i grew up in 250people in town limits, but all of us went in to town daily for the mail and a visit at one of the 3 grocerie stores. this is a great area to live and such frindley people. the man i came to meet is wonderful. i just stayed with him and didnt go home. we are well taken care of here. the city cameras keeps speeds down, and the amount of police i see lets me know that the crime will be seen. the short 6 miles over to prescott is just a short hop to the mall and other stores. the sights of the mountains is so worth it. come on up and live with us here in Prescott Valley. Housing has gone way down becouse of the economic thing, so you can probably find a nice house already built and come up and spend some weekends. dont wait 12 years to enjoy life. be blessed

[traderfjp]

How do the traffic cameras work? Do they give tickets for being 3-5 miles over?

[BriansPerspective]

Originally Posted by traderfjp

How do the traffic cameras work? Do they give tickets for being 3-5 miles over?

I think they ticket you if you are 11 mph over, but don't quote me on that.

[jcecil]

I have lived in many cities in Arizona. I moved to Prescott from Chandler about 12 years for less hot weather and a nice place to raise my kids. I have no regrets. There is one 12 lane bowling alley in Prescott and a much larger one in Prescott Valley (10 miles away).The city has about 40,000 people with about 100,000 in the whole area. The average Prescottonian love their city and are good neighbors. Moderator cut: realtor advertising

[traderfjp]

Does anyone know the size of the bowling alley in Prescott Valley?

[BriansPerspective]

Check out Antelope Lanes, Prescott Valley