They’re not really similar. KY tends to feel like Appalachia, rolling hills, lush pastures, sleepy towns tucked into hollers. Arizona tends to feel like the West, the desert, and where there are mountains, they’re more Rocky Mountain-esque. It does get green and lush in areas, but still not in the same-feeling way as KY, in my experiences.
Buckeye if you’re talking about agricultural rural. Payson if you’re taking forest rural
I was thinking of the kind of rural that has farms and horses, and is often combined with suburbs and such
Payson probably has more horses and trails.
I knew people who owned half a dozen horses in Scottsdale (a Phoenix suburb), but that’s like $10M+ for a property like that within riding distance of trails or the mountain preserve
What about New Mexico?
I grew up near Phoenix but I don’t know anything about those Kentucky cities. Cursory glance at Richmond makes me think of Prescott. Similar population, has a university.
AZ also has Florence, if you’re interested in Versailles for its European name 🤷♀️What is it about those KY cities that you like?
I like Kentucky because of the beautiful rural scenery, not to mention how scenic it is, especially in the Central Kentucky area (Lexington, Versailles, Frankfort, Lawrenceburg and Richmond). I’m looking for a city in Arizona that’s like those; rural, scenic, has horses, fuses suburbs with rural living and is close to the capital or largest city (in Arizona’s case Phoenix).
You’re not going to find too many horse farms in the Phoenix area. Most animal based farms in the area are for cattle.
And as for a combination of rural and suburban, the divide is a lot firmer in Arizona since farmland tends to get developed in large chunks as suburban communities. The farms don’t have any relationship with the suburbs except as a place to drive through until the land gets developed.
And it is not going to be close to downtown Phoenix. Unlike Lexington, there was never a growth boundary chosen for the Phoenix area. Development has sprawled pretty far, only really limited by mountain parks and Indian reservations.
I don’t know anything about horses, but definitely take a look at Prescott. Just to name a few other places you might be interested in: Cottonwood, Sedona, maybe Queen Creek. Maybe Casa Grande, Coolidge, Florence.
I’m just over here wondering what percentage of the population would be knowledgeable about every city around Phoenix AND familiar with what Richmond or Versailles are like in order to answer this question.
I’m thinking maybe 6 people tops.
Wickenburg
