Living in Payson with kids (Phoenix, Glendale: sales, house, neighborhood)

[Sleftwich1234]

Hi. My family(husband and two toddlers2/3) looking for potentially move to cooler temperatures in AZ. we currently live in Phoenix and are looking for more family oriented, cooler temps(actual seasons) good schools, and job opportunities. My husband is starting his own business and I am looking to hopefully go from corporate job to building my own business to have more family time. We are both active in outdoors and camping/hunting but with recent changes, covid, two kids and changes financially we hope to get back to being more outdoors. Looking for information on “living in Payson” with two kids. Education and cost of living are greatest concerns but any and all information greatly appreciated.

[grmi66]

Just a casual observation from camping for a few days, driving through town and doing the occasional business call in both cities. But if I had to choose to move somewhere with a more business opportunity and cooler climate, I'd pick Prescott over Payson. Seems Prescott would have more amenities for children and it's only a 45-60 minute drive to everything in north Phoenix and Glendale.

Our family had great success putting our children in charter schools right away, starting in kindergarten. Both of my sons got full ride academic scholarship offers from all three of the big universities in Arizona. I'd check to what the charter school situation is in both places.

[KurtAZ]

Well...having kids was our biggest deterrent to moving to Payson. My wife's whole immediate family lives up there so we get to hear all the issues first hand. I think I have posted quite a few critiques on Payson over the past few years but let's update:

Drive-Thru town: Every weekend is bumper to bumper through town, so much so that the locals are trying to figure out if they can build a by-pass but...tourists do bring money into town though so that is a constant debate.

Schools: decidedly mediocre. Of course if you are involved in the kids education you can make it work. It is a small town with ~2k kids in the school system. There are no good charter school or private options.

Medical: You didn't mention it but you will be coming down to the valley for anything more serious than a sniffle.

Cost of Living: Skyrocketing. They have been advertising Payson and a lot of the High Country in CA over the past couple of years. A home that would have cost $200ish 5 years ago is now going for well over $350k. Payson also has one of the highest sales tax rates in AZ. Not that there is anywhere to spend your money unless you really LOVE Walmart or intend on eating out a lot. Combine that with an average income around $34k/yr...it really is a town of Haves and Have Nots. There is a large concentration of retired millionaires in the area.

Demographics: about 50% retirees or semi-retirees. There is a constant struggle for "Things for the kids to do" and "Things for Seniors to do". Bowling Alley, Movie Theater, parks (Rumsey) and the forest...pretty much it. Now I will say...you probably won't meet nicer people anywhere else. Most are friendly and it really does have a small town environment if you are a local. We could go into the homeless population/drug issues/etc. but those are any town...I think it is exacerbated by the fact that if you aren't "hooked in" in Payson, you are kind of left out in the cold. The drug problems start off when teens have nothing better to do. Get high, get pregnant, rinse repeat.

Internet access: spotty and pretty low speed. There is only one backbone feed into town so when that goes down, most of the town goes dark. Stores can't process cards, no Internet access, no streaming...nothing. They are trying to work on this but my family has lived there for years and it has NOT gotten any better. Think 1-10Mb/s when it works.

Honestly, we have considered it for years but my work depends on reliable Internet, the schools were a detriment and there are little to no opportunities for teens up there unless they want to work fast food. So we visit. On the other hand we have been looking at Show Low when the kids are out of High School.

[Sno0909]

I agree, Prescott would be the better option for a family. More healthcare, amenities, etc. But housing prices are out of control there, so that may factor in to your decision.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

I agree, Prescott would be the better option for a family. More healthcare, amenities, etc. But housing prices are out of control there, so that may factor in to your decision.

Not much less expensive in Payson for a quarter of the amenities. Honestly...if one wants snow/pines/etc. Flagstaff is still the only real option. Downside is housing costs.

[Sno0909]

Personally, I don't really get the appeal of Payson. The traffic is horrible and it's filled with chain restaurants and fast food. It's really not all that visually appealing. Now, some of the surrounding towns are nice (Strawberry, Christopher Creek, etc), but I would never consider living in the actual city of Payson.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by Sno0909

Personally, I don't really get the appeal of Payson. The traffic is horrible and it's filled with chain restaurants and fast food. It's really not all that visually appealing. Now, some of the surrounding towns are nice (Strawberry, Christopher Creek, etc), but I would never consider living in the actual city of Payson.

And that is the point. Everyone sees Payson as an hour or so out of town, cooler weather, etc. but there is a lot of downside. Pretty much why we never pulled the trigger.

[Sleftwich1234]

Thank you all for information much appreciated. Any thoughts on Prescott, flagstaff and Sedona?

[HTY483]

The average age for Payson residents is like 58. Other than things that involve being out in the forest, I just cant imagine that there's much there for kids.

I agree with others regarding weekend traffic. Winters not so much but in the summer half of Phoenix is up there trying to escape the heat. Also not uncommon on summer weekends is a big ole freight train of noisy harleys making their way through town.

I agree though that it's a beautiful area and a bit cheaper then both Prescott and Flagstaff.

Originally Posted by Sleftwich1234

Thank you all for information much appreciated. Any thoughts on Prescott, flagstaff and Sedona?

No way in ell' I'd ever live in Sedona. Big time traffic and crowdedness. Way worse then both Prescott and Payson. As a mountain biker it's just not even fun to ride there anymore. Seems like every time I go there I see more California plates then Arizona.

[grmi66]

Once you get off the tourist grid, Flagstaff is great if you can afford a house. Stayed at a friend's house in Flagstaff last year and he made the comment that when the neighborhood was built in the 70's, it was a blue collar neighborhood. The previous owner and all of his neighbors did things like work for the railroad, one was an auto mechanic, maintenance worker at NAU, etc...

Now that same neighborhood is full of NAU full professors and my friend and his wife were both doctors. A simple, plain three bedroom one bathroom house that was maybe 1000 square feet cost him almost $350,000.

Another friend has a place with a few acres of land bought in the late 80's just outside of town on an accountant's salary. Just had his place appraised at $750,000. Looks like the Brady Bunch house surrounded by pine trees, nothing spectacular.