wife and I are looking south and thought it was pretty nice at least on the computer.

Great place to live, not a ton of jobs, though.

I just moved up here myself 6 months ago. Great town, lots to do, and the VA isn't that bad.

We are retired. We like living in a red state. Are taxes resonable? Good fishing, not too much snow etc. Real estate looks like it has bottomed out. Any gun ranges or indoor ranges there?

thanks for the info guys.....

Taxes are reasonable; I think it's 9.7% right now. Not sure about property tax because I pay that with my mortgage. I just came back from a fishing trip during the Veterans Day Weekend but I had to go to Cottonwood for that. There are a couple ranges indoor and out but Rizzo has better knowledge about that. Snow... Not yet at least, although it's been a long time since I've seen snow, I hope that shit pours.

Fly fishing is meh. Mostly small stream and it's not all that close to Prescott. We do of course have Lee's Ferry at the north border with Utah. those are about the largest trout in the state, Still, if you're willing to drive you can do it. The Vermiilian, Green, Owens  and San Juan are all within less than 10 hours driving. Obviously no steelhead and no salmon. But from Prescott, home waters would most likely be Oak Creek near Sedona.

There are "put and takes" around though.

Prescott is a retirement town. Study the areas carefully. Some expensive areas, some downtrodden. Some are natural gas, some are propane. Some wells, some city water. Golf is okay, not amazing unless you country club. Phoenix courses are about 2 hrs away.

If your wife likes to seriously shop, she will most likely go to Phoenix. WalMart & Targets are daily go tos. There is a Kohl's and a Dillard's and some nice small mom & pops. There is an outlet mall enroute to PHX.

Airport has Great Lakes, a regional airline that will fly you into Denver and LAX and some other small towns. There is an airport shuttle that takes you to Phoenix for about $30 or so.

Hospitals? The VA is okay. The regional hospital is called Yavapai Regional Medical Center. There are two campuses, one in Prescott and another in Prescott Valley. They are so so. Major trauma will get flown to Phoenix. (See a pattern?) There is no Kaiser.

Very few people here are in a hurry. Those that are learn to live with disappointment. Plenty of Speed Cameras in Prescott Valley. If you like sports, there is a minor league hockey team here. High School football is lousy.

LOTS of open space going from pine forest to grassland to scrub. There is an antelope herd between the towns that appear frequently. People kind of look at them as neighbors, but don't kid yourself, we hunt them too.

The area around here is at about 4500-5000 feet plus the mountains. Winter has snows, but nothing terrible. Once in a while Mother Nature hits us with more than a foot at a time. Streets are snow free quickly.

Prescott has planned developments with HOAs and trailer parks. In the outer areas you never know what your neighbor will do or have. Lot's of MYOB in the outer areas, less so towards the center but still present somewhat.

If you need a job to supplement your income, things aren't so good.

North end of Sycamore Canyon


South end of Syamore Canyon


Just north of Prescott


Bradshaw Mtns south just south of Prescott

Those are some gorgeous photos... Definitely love the country side of this area.

I think that Prescott would make a great place for a retirement family. Great scenery mild winters, moderate summers(for Arizona) plenty of outdoors activities with in driving distance.  Phoenix and the "Big  City" is 2 hours away. I would move there now if I was retired or maybe on the outskirts of town.

Taxes are okay, nothing to get excited about, but then again, whan does a person get excited about paying taxes? Fishing in AZ is NOT like fishing in ID. Most of our lakes are man-made, and most have to be stocked with fish. That beind said, there are some okay places to fish if you time them right.

Real estate is a buyer's market right now, lots of it available around here.

We have 1 indoor range which is a total junker, 1 outdoor range that is nice enough, 1 trap and skeet range that is nice, and soon we'll have a brand new indoor range not far away in Camp Verde. But why use a range when you can shoot for free? AZ is almost entirely public land.

Let me know if you get into town. First, there's the order of the ammo tax. Don't bother complaining, just pay it (see above). Second, I like to take all new Prescott HTF members to lunch.

I don't recall getting lunch... Come to think of it, I haven't found a range that didn't have hikers interfere with the course of fire. I heard that there was a place NE of Robert Road and 89a but I haven't been able to find it.

Well I can't help it if you don't call me! And I don't recall getting an ammo tax from you . . . .

And I'm happy to show you around to the 'good spots' following a tasty lunch.

If I could make any money there I would have moved there long ago.  Other than a little bit of snow it's just about a perfect climate.  
 

I love this area too.

This is closer to Williams


This area is ENE of Chino Valley


More Bradshaws S of Prescott


Another pic of the S end of Sycamore Cyn


If you're looking for Disneyland, keep looking. But if you like small towns where you can get a decent plate of biscuits and gravy, you'll do well. We get our haircuts in barber shops, not salons. There's lots of Indian ruins, petroglyphs, etc. Because the population density is low, you don't need a camping permit or reservations, there's plenty of Jeep trails and will be if everyone behaves, and like Rizzo said, if you want to go plinking, go find a spot. Chino Valley is N/O Prescott and has an outdoor range being built.

If you walk into a grocery store open carrying, nobody will give a rat's patooty.

There's a nice junior college here with a diverse course offering from welding and gunsmithing to nursing to anthropology. It is also attached to some 4 year schools for an advanced degree.

The political climate is very conserative. I can't think of a single Democratic office holder in the area.

Payson, a little to the east, is similar to Prescott, just not as crowded. There are several lakes around and a couple of streams. There are also some good deals on property/land.

Thanks guys. My wife loves the combination forest desert as she lived in the vegas area.  If we get serious about relocating I'll try and get in touch. How much wolf steel case for ammo tax?

I know everything is location location location and that is what we are narrowing down. It would be easy if we won the lotto......

http://www.unammo.com/

Has some good prices.

We lived off the grid for six years and the town of Preist River was thirty miles away. The Keough (sp) brothers used to be in that area before their infamous shootout and lots of Ruby Ridge types. Nothing should surprise us.

Trust me, I really wanted to show up for the hometown shoot and meet up with the locals but buddies I haven't seen from my deployment really wanted to meet up and I couldn't say no. Sadly, I didn't know enough of the area to take them anywhere worthwhile and ended up in Jerome somehow (fantastic views by the way) nearly running over a pedestrian. I always keep up on the local updates you post or anything around the area but my house is giving me major problems... Stupid home inspector did a slap assed job and now I'm paying for it.