I'm looking for a nice cool place to live in the Phoenix area. How about Payson?

I have sort of an open invitation to start and manage a construction/remodeling company in Phoenix, and I'm looking for a good place to live. The only thing that scares me is the searing summer heat. I'll have the freedom to set most of my work hours, and I can do a lot of the management work from home, and probably even take large parts of the summer off. I just don't want to spend that time in 110+ degree heat.
Looking at the maps, I've picked Payson as a good place to live. It's into the mountains so the climate should be much better, and the commute into Phoenix should "only" be about one hour or so. Again, keep in mind that a lot of my work will be on the telephone, so I can do that work while commuting.
Is Payson a good place to live? I'm looking for a reasonable summer climate and a communte of no more than one hour.
I can pick my own jobsites, and intend to use the northern 1/2 of the city.
Any suggestions from you locals? Anything closer that fits the bill?

Payson would be your best bet. The drive will be more than an hour during rush hour.

Prescott is really nice and still close to the valley.

either Prescott or Payson should fit that bill. Just be aware that it is one hour to the edge of Phoenix from both locations. If you have to drive into the city any distance, that adds to your commute time.

Payson is nice. But the 1 hour travel may be pushing it. I would say over an hour to an hour and a half. You have to take in consideration the size of the road and traffic going to Payson. They are not major roads, (Beeline Hwy) and get really congested getting in and out during rush hour. I would say an hour will get you to Fountain Hills, and maybe N Scottsdale, but not N Phoenix.

I like prescott nice place