need clean air - moving to arizona

I am an 84 year old poet looking for a great place to live in Arizona - I have allergic lung disease and need clean air. Affordable, preferably near a lake, river or smaller body of water, within an hour and a half from Prescott and /or Chandler where I have relatives. Any ideas or suggestions?

If you're looking for clean are, all you really need to do is stay away from the metro areas (this includes Chandler). Phoenix is normally pretty bad (relatively) simply because it's in a valley and holds everything in moreso than other places would.

But you could live in Prescott without any problems. There are over 100 lakes in Arizona, so finding one isn't that difficult. Lynx Lake is in Prescott, it's very nice, and there are a lot of residential areas in there.

If you don't actually want to be in Prescott, just near it, there are a lot of smaller towns around it. Prescott Valley, Jerome, Mayer, Wilhoit, and Congress, just to name a few. I don't think real estate pricing is that bad at all except in certain areas.

I also recommend Jerome. It's a small artists community set in Mingus mountain. My parents live in Cottonwood, just below Jerome and love it there. They have views of Sedona from their patio.

I agree with Jerome. You'll be in mountain air where it might snow once in a blue moon, and a hot day really isn't that hot (being from Phx where 115 degrees is hot). Sedona is also a nice alternative though it can get to 100 in the summer & it is very expensive.

You could also consider going East to Payson area though it gets colder there.