Quality of Life - 3/7/2016

Williams Arizona is a great place to live and an amazing place to visit. My husband and I bought a summer home here in 2008. We moved full time to Williams a year ago from the Valley (Phoenix) and have not regretted a minute. There are many things to do in Williams. We are the Gateway to the Grand Canyon and have many tourist pass through Williams. Because we have so many visitors we are able to enjoy a really great grocery store and many good restaurants, that a town this size would not normally have. There is hiking, fishing, hunting, and many outdoor activities. There is a top notch Golf Course - Elephant Buttes - that rivals any course in the valley. Route 66 passes right through Williams and we have a western influence, because of the ranches in the area, Rodeos held every summer, and of course the shoot out shows, every night in the summer, and the train robbers. Such a fun place.

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They're letting it die - 2/15/2011

I've lived in Williams for a few years now. At first I was completely in love with this rustic, Rockwelliam little town, but as the years have passed I think I made a big error moving there. Everything (and I do mean everything is far more expensive in Williams than any of the surrounding towns and the single grocery store, having the monopoly takes full advantage of this. It is completely insane when a family of two goes from Phoenix, spending around $275 per month for groceries to spening in excess of $650 a month for the same groceries. Gas is up to $1.00 higher than most stations outside of town and even the water is high. For the same household of two I spend over $100.00 per month and don't even water my lawn or have the pool I had in Phoenix where water cost less than $40.00 per month (topping off an ever-evaoprtaing pool). The property tax goes up at least 25% annualy as the house values plummet(explain that one), so the aveage person is stuck with and ever increasing disparity between income and outflow. As soon as the economy downturn happened, many people either bailed out to a place where they made enough money to afford their house or just plain lost their house because wages don't even come close to covering just the mortages (let alone the insane grocery costs, utilities, and taxes). Because of this, around 25% of every neighborhood is full of empty houses. Susebquently the value is going down-down-down-down-down. A day off from work, spent driving around town revealed a whole new perspective. The vacancies created are being filled with dregs. The town is filling up with the criminal aspect of illegal imigrants, meth addicts, and what looke like transients. I found the atmoshpere of the town that looked like a small town paradise several years ago now looking like the seedy areas of Phoenix (which I left for that very reason). The feel was depression, hopelessness, and it was like everyone gave up. Spending time attending town meeting brought a lot to light of how and why this is happening. Any attempt at any enitity to bring business, jobs, attractions, or any kind of prosperity to the town is met with resistance. Apprarently the only interest this town has is the tourism by the Grand Canyon Railway only (They could spend thousands of dollars on an ugly wrought iron gateway but couldn't spend anything to keep the aquatic center open for the children). God forbid anyone else yield anything or benefit the town at all. Same goes for restuarants. New ones come and only get bullied out of town by the existing money-makers. Stores? Same thing. Just walk down the 66 now and you'll see more than 50% of all available shops have closed down. It's an example of the "good old boy" system gone bad. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of wonderful people in Williams. Genuine salt-of-the-earth people who would help you out and give you the shirt off of their backs if you needed it. It's just the backwards thinking people in charge are letting the place become a slum or a ghost town. It's halfway towards the first one and if left unchecked could become the latter. Truly sad. What was once a town I was so glad I moved to and could let the children play outside or walk to their friend's houses is now a place where you hear frequent sirens, hear stories about crime, drugs, and violence and now I drive the kids to the same friends houses and wonder why I left Phoenix so I could be stuck in a house that is worth less than half of what I am paying for and having the same neighborhood.

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Bad place to live and raise a family - 3/28/2010

Williams Az is like a poor city. No place to raise children.Place to vacation and I don't even think to retire. You have to haul your water and it is filled with messy lots and mobile homes. (OLD ONES) Pretty ugly.Nice trees but again poverty looking. The people are pretty out of date with about everything.They are use to living like that , so no need for anything to be nice and clean. They can live with crap out in front of their homes.Williams Az will never have a Theme Park there. It is just a joke.If you want to go there I would camp out for a bit and I mean a bit then you will see and be running back home.People are kind of freaky too.It is just a joke of a no town.Go some where nice to camp or rest for a secluded vacation.There are many other places to find.Spending hard working money on something there would be very wrong to do. Trust me you would be very upset you did and would never be able to sell it. You would be out some money .Try it out and you will seeeeeeee !!!!!!!!

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Williams is a bit pricie but still my Meca - 10/18/2009

I live full time in California but my heart is in Williams. I have a home outside of town (north 0n Hwy 64), and love the tree covered property and modular home I have there. Although the cost of living is a bit higher in Williams then some other places, the cost of housing is WAY down compared to the San Gabriel Valley of Calif! There is not too much work available in Williams, but Flagstaff is just over a half hour away--unless it's snowing. Where I now live a half hour morning comute is only about 12 miles, on a good day! Williams locals do get a discount at some stores, which helps lower costs. The people over all are warm and welcomming, of course as in any barrel there are a few bad apples (probably from bad seeds...). To sum up; Williams is a great place to visit, and if you can handle a slower paced life and and a climae which is not the Calif beaches, it's a great place.

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Williams- Gateway to the Grand Canyon - 5/17/2007

Williams is the Gateway to the Grand Canyon. Nice, friendly little tourist town, great place to visit. The Kaibab Forest is just minutes from downtown, a beautiful place to go camping, hiking, fishing, & for the hunting season. Favored by many of the folks living in the Phoenix area, to get away from the intense summer heat. During the summer the median temperature is about 88 degrees. The Elephant Rock Golf course is beautiful, & is occasionally visited by the herds of elk & deer. That's were the best, nicest, most expensive homes are located, encircling the golf course. On the south side of town, compared to the prices of Calif. real estate, Williams has a lot to offer by way of affordable housing, compared to Flagstaff. Should you plan to retire in Williams,no problem. But if you need to seek employment, & you have a family, be forewarned, Williams isn't the place for you, unless you don't mind commuting into Flagstaff or Prescott for decent wage employment. The wages in Williams are pathetic, but remember Arizona is a "right to work" state. And mininum wage, with no benefits, is the norm for this town. The biggest(best paying)employers in Williams is The Grand Canyon Railway,& Hotel, & the Max & Thelma's Restaurant. Also, keep in mind that this is a tourist town, so should you need or desire a shopping mall, WalMart, or a medical specialist you'll have to go into Flagstaff (35 miles away)or Prescott (roughly a 90 minute drive). The price of gasoline in Williams is considerably higher than in Flagstaff. And yes, it does have snow in the winter. To see the Grand Canyon dressed in her winter snow cloak is a sight to behold! Williams, is like a rose, for all it's beauty, it does have some thorns.

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Williams, AZ - 7/28/2006

Known as the gateway to the Grand Canyon. Williams is the home of the Grand Canyon railway and the community and its businesses are geared toward the tourist community. The cost of living is somewhat high compared to the average wage. Housing and land costs are comparable to Flagstaff land prices have risen considerably over the past couple of years. Williams is friendly and sits in a beautiful mountain setting. An ideal place for vacations and recreation and about an hour from the Grand Canyon's south rim via private vehicle or take the Railway from Williams for an unforgettable family trip.

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Flagstaff, Arizona - 7/28/2006

Friendly, but enormously expensive. A great place to visit, but not a place for a middle income family. Services and food are very expensive. Undeveloped land is incredibly expensive. A mobile home and a lot can cost you well over a hundred thousand. If you're well off it is a beautiful place to live. A great place for the wealthy among us.

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