Need a change?? Want a gun friendly place with 4-seasons and good economy?

[THREEDFLYER]

Consider the tri-cities of Prescott, Prescott Valley and Chino Valley, Arizona.

Now that I have lived here for two years after living on the LEFT coast for 30 years in the Seattle area I have really enjoyed being among a conservative majority.

My wife and I are in our early 50's and the kids are grown and on their own now. We listed our home in Washington and it sold in less than a week.....so the move here was a bit of rush and we had not jobs lined up. However we had heard that the place was growing and we both managed to find employment quickly. I am in home construction and the wife is in the medical field.

We have several firearms related businesses in the area including the Ruger semi-automatic handgun factory which employs 800+ and Gunsite Academy which is a world renowned firearms training facility.
https://www.gunsite.com/

There is also Embry Riddle Aeronautical University which is has been here for many years and growing rapidly.
Prescott Campus, Arizona | Embry-Riddle

And you can still take a dirt road out into the hills and set up targets to shoot which is becoming more difficult to do with all the lands closing to this activity around the country.

We have the Grand Canyon just a little over 2 hours north, Sedona less than an hour east, Las Vegas about 4 hours west and Phoenix 1.5 hours south for your airport and bigger shopping areas.

I just had another friend come down from the Seattle area who is shopping for a property to build a home......so many come here from all over. Yes we get some Californians as well, but the majority of them are escaping the BS just like the rest of us!

Just thought I would share this with you folks and if you get the urge to check out the place feel free to contact me by email and we'll hook up for coffee when you arrive. With all the negativity surrounding gun owners these days, it's nice to be around people with similar interests.

Keep your powder dry!

 

[S&WsRsweet]

Looks like you found a great place to live .nice views also.

 

[Breakaway500]

I've been considering that exact area to relocate to for a few years. Thanks for the confirmation! (please don't invite too many people.. )

 

[bigwheelzip]

(please don't invite too many people.. )

Doesn't take long to change what made the place attractive.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

I've been considering that exact area to relocate to for a few years. Thanks for the confirmation! (please don't invite too many people.. )

As mentioned, I have made some connections here and working for a home builder know the area pretty well. Housing is still affordable, even if you buy land and build. There are plenty of existing homes for sale. I can hook you up with a reputable agent when you are ready to check it out.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

Doesn't take long to change what made the place attractive.

The Prescott area has long been on the favored list for retired folks as one of the top 10 I believe.

The place has all the major stores/restaurants with more moving in weekly...and a very nice downtown....not to mention a long old west history.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

On a side note: When I first walked into HIGH COUNTRY GUNS the first week I was here I noticed a guy behind the counter who looked familiar.
Found out that he had moved down here from the Seattle area 15 years ago when he retired and he worked at a gun shop that I used to frequent up in Bellevue Washington called Wade's Gun Shop......pretty cool to see a familiar face.

We have an event center in Prescott Valley that hosts a gun show every few months and we have a large cartridge collectors show put on by Pete DeCoux of the International Ammunition Association each March. Pretty cool stuff.

And of course if you are a hunter, this place has it all......Elk, bear, deer, Javelina, coyote, antelope, cousedeer, etc.

 

[chaparrito]

Your side of the mountain is indeed full of folks from all over. Just remember, if you move there, it's pronounced "press-kit", not "presk-ought". You'll be forever labeled as a noob if you say it the way you think it ought to be said.

 

[dben002]

NO !!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!

I want a gun friendly place with never a daily temp below 65 where by law you are mandated to wear cargo shorts and polo's.
(wind vest and rain attire allowed). A place where the population has no idea what heavy coats, sweaters, snow shovel's and hoodies are.

If I need to see leaves change and snow I can visit those area that allow that to happen when and if I choose to do so.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

Your side of the mountain is indeed full of folks from all over. Just remember, if you move there, it's pronounced "press-kit", not "presk-ought". You'll be forever labeled as a noob if you say it the way you think it ought to be said.

The "PRESS-KIT" thing drives me nuts......but yes, you are a foreigner if you say "PRESS-COTT".

Must have been a cowboy sitting by a fire back in the 1800's with a mouth full of tobacco who pronounced it that way and it stuck......GEEEZ!!

But when in Rome.....do as the Romans do!!

 

[eb07]

NO !!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!

I want a gun friendly place with never a daily temp below 65 where by law you are mandated to wear cargo shorts and polo's.
(wind vest and rain attire allowed). A place where the population has no idea what heavy coats, sweaters, snow shovel's and hoodies are.

If I need to see leaves change and snow I can visit those area that allow that to happen when and if I choose to do so.

That's three hours away.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

That's three hours away.

Exactly.....just head south to Phoenix, Tucson or the Gulf of Mexico.....

But if you are still a working stiff as I am this place is perfect....too darn hot in the summer in the Valley for me.

 

[bigwheelzip]

The Prescott area has long been on the favored list for retired folks as one of the top 10 I believe.

Having only lived there two years, your short term perspective is naturally glowing, and that's great. I moved to one of those AARP listed places when I retired eleven years ago, and it's become the fourth fastest growing metro region (6 percent annual growth) in the USA. The change is astonishing, and I hope "they" don't ruin it.

 

[eb07]

Exactly.....just head south to Phoenix, Tucson or the Gulf of Mexico.....

But if you are still a working stiff as I am this place is perfect....too darn hot in the summer in the Valley for me.

I was born and raised in the northeast. I have been in southern climates for 35+ years now. No way I am going back to snow. I am north west of you and I LOVE the summer..... because everyone flocks to your area and clogs the rural areas.... I get the desert to myself. I also hate cities.

 

[eb07]

Having only lived there two years, your short term perspective is naturally glowing, and that's great. I moved to one of those AARP listed places when I retired eleven years ago, and it's become the fourth fastest growing metro region (6 percent annual growth) in the USA. The change is astonishing, and I hope "they" don't ruin it.

I have lived in AZ since the early 90's Prescott is already ruined and too crowded IMHO.

It was 100X better years ago

 

[THREEDFLYER]

I have lived in AZ since the early 90's Prescott is already ruined and too crowded IMHO.

It was 100X better years ago

Population is happening no matter where you go and people will find you. As some of you say you think this place is already ruined but I can tell you for fact it's leaps and bounds better than any big city I have ever lived in.

One thing that will control the population growth here is the water availability, someday they will put a moratorium on this place but that is still several years off.

But if you have a place that you suggest people check out feel free to start your own thread and promote it as you wish!

 

[chaparrito]

Prescott is still nice. We go there once a month for provisions at Costco, TJ's, Sprouts and Park Plaza Liquors. The awful jaunt through Prescott Valley to get to Prescott proper is no fun at all.
My uncle raised and trained thoroughbred horses in Chino Valley back in the 60s. The wind was blowing just as hard there then as it does now, but meth was harder to get.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

It's funny after living in the megatropolis of the Seattle area I don't consider anything around the Prescott area to be congestion at all. Yes it could be an inconvenience heading down Highway 69 at times that's for sure but nothing like the back ups you get in the big city.

 

[aphelion]

There's a line in an Eagles song that goes something like 'Call it paradise and kiss it goodbye.' The Boise area is touted the same as you are doing for Prescott and people are flocking here. There is no upside to it. People will move in with their congestion but roads stay the samed two lanes, filling in the open spaces with their close-packed houses and strip malls. bringing in the urban attitudes and crime. Everything that made the area so desirable will go away. "Progress."

 

[Breakaway500]

Not sure about living in Prescott city...I don't like cities...any of them. More like 40 miles out of town...maybe Skull Valley. I hear real estate taxes are low...as there are no services! That's my kinda town. I don't need schools..and all the costs associated with them. I currently live in a town that is charging me $20/day to live on my own meager property.(real estate taxes) This isn't a city by any means..just a small town of 1800 people..however..it's in the same state as Boss-town, so everyone ponys up! We need that money!!

Getting out of here very soon..and the door ain't gonna hit me in the butt.

 

[deadin]

Used to winter just south of Yarnell (down by Congress). Usually left by early May. (Got to darn hot and, as far as my wife was concerned, that about when the snakes came out.) Prescott was too dry for my taste. Tried an extended visit to the wife's sister in Phoenix one summer. Never again! Running from air conditioner to air conditioner got old in a real hurry. BIL lived up in Springerville. If I want snow, I have it here within a couple of hours drive.

 

[rwsmith]

My bro retired to Prescott......

That's a choice place. Flagstaff is too cold. Tuscon is TOO HOT The middle part of AZ is gorgeous.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The Prescott area is a wonderful place!
If I could do it again I would probably go somewhere in N Arizona.
You dont like it that hot?
Me neither!
You go to a higher elevation.

 

[deadin]

You go to a higher elevation.

Don't like it that white in the winter.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Don't like it that white in the winter.

I have good news and I have good news.
Love it when that happens!
Just for a reference, we get 10 inches of snow here in Albuquerque.
So far this years its a scant 2!

"How much snow does Prescott get?
Snowfall is 12 inches. The average US city gets 26 inches of snow per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation is 39. On average, there are 277 sunny days per year in Prescott, Arizona."

See the number of Sunny days?
That indicates that a day or two after you have that massive 4 inch snowstorm, it sun comes out and it's all gone.
Low humidity and a generally dry atmosphere speed this up.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

This year we've had a total of about 8 inches of snow in the Prescott area and all of it was gone by the next day. Our temperatures have been warmer than normal with only about five days of precipitation since September. Although it's made for a nice mild winter we still could desperately use the moisture.

Look there is no perfect place that goes without saying but there are places that are better than others. And I'll take 277 days of sunshine any day over 300 days of clouds Like I had in the Seattle area.

 

[deadin]

So far we've had about a half an inch and that's more than we've had in the last 5 or 6 years. (However, we won't talk about the rain....)

 

[M29since14]

Thanks for the information. That's one of my favorite areas and I admit I've thought about it a time or two as an old-age hangout, but right now it would be difficult for me to move away from friends and family. Maybe some day...

 

[eb07]

Population is happening no matter where you go and people will find you. As some of you say you think this place is already ruined but I can tell you for fact it's leaps and bounds better than any big city I have ever lived in.

One thing that will control the population growth here is the water availability, someday they will put a moratorium on this place but that is still several years off.

But if you have a place that you suggest people check out feel free to start your own thread and promote it as you wish!

Why would I want to promote where I live? I don't want more people moving here

 

[italiansport]

I moved to the Phoenix area in Arizona 22 years ago. One of the happiest days of my life was the last time I saw Illinois in my rear view mirror! Yes it gets very hot in the summer(If it didn't everyone in the U S would move here!). The biggest problem I've see developing over the years in incredible population growth. Currently; A LOT of it is in the form of disgruntled Californians and I can certainly understand this. If I had it to do over again ,and did't need to work as I did when we moved here, I would opt for a less dense area probably North of Phoenix. However; Overall my relocation to Arizona has been a wonderfully positive experience!
Jim