Life in Pinetop-Lakeside
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5/19/2007
For any interested in moving or visiting this area here are the basics of it.
It is a small community that is growing from people trying to escape the city life. Actually it is growing too fast for its current job and living market. The job market consists of mostly motels and retail. The largest shopping center in the area for a few hundred miles is Wal-Mart. There is one main theater with six screens and a small one in Show-Low with two. There is a small community college as well. Cultural events consist of a yearly car show a very small rodeo and occasional pow wow events for tourists held by the local native tribe. It also sports one casino run by the Apache tribe on the reservation. The cost of living here is high while the job market offers little pay. Most often minimum wage. In another ten years this town should be around the size of Flagstaff and by chance may even get a mall by then.
If you want to walk scenic trails through the woods this is the place. Camping and light fishing also available. During the summer months the weather is 80-95 degrees on average. Light humidity can occur. Great place to get away and do the tourist thing.
While great for tourists, this would not be a place I would suggest to anyone interested in moving to a small town. The population growth is not being supported properly. One main road runs through the town and traffic is very congested. You will find drug use at a high among adults and teens. Theft and murder/suicide are not unusual. The cost of buying a home is higher than you should find in a town of this size. Your paying for the view of the woods. With a tiny job market and high expenses as your option..find another town. I know I am. And for anyone who likes this town.. I have little appology I was born here. I have lived several places all over the united states and this would be one of the worst on my list.
Anissa | Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ