Bisbee and Sommerton (Yuma) (Tucson, Sierra Vista: affordable apartments, renting, crime)

[BrendanSWM]

A close business acquaintance and friend has a daughter who is about to become a music teacher. She is considering possible positions with schools in Bisbee and Somerton (Yuma). I am trying to help them find information about the two places and we have found the basics. Bisbee is an historic mining town turned into a hippy town in the 1970s and then discovered by yuppies in the 1990s. It is quirky, artistic, secluded, small and gets very little rain. There is a huge pit nearby from copper mining. It is hilly with shrubbery but no trees or grass and gets only a tiny bit of cold/snow. It seems to have a bit of a nightlife, but not necessarily a young crowd.

Somerton is apparently a suburb of Yuma. It is primarily Hispanic (not a problem, just a culture adjustment). Yuma is bigger than Bisbee, hotter and appears to be flatter and more like a desert(?), has a military base, and apparently attracts a lot of older Canadians during the winter.

Both are very close to the Mexican border. Surprisingly, neither appears to have a serious crime problem or involvement in drug trafficking. Naturally she would visit both if she decides to choose one of the two (assuming she has a choice), but it is difficult to gather much information from a single visit, especially with limited experiences for comparison. It is unclear whether there is much to do in the area. One resident said the best thing about Yuma is it has a Wallmart.

His daughter is very sweet, energetic, somewhat naive, young (22), extremely intelligent and sings so beautifully you want to cry. She is not a partier, does not use marijuana or other recreational drugs, samples alcohol from time to time. She mostly likes cute things like children and puppies and owls and of course singing and playing instruments. She comes from an upper middle class family in the northern Midwest and she does not love the snow. Her compensation will be very little in either place (around $27,000 - 33,000). She is used to forests, lakes streams and open space, but she is not the outdoorsy type, so the shrubbery desert environs will not likely be a problem. She is single and will be starting out with next to nothing. Her car is about kaput, so she will have to buy a car or motorbike (or can you get by with a bicycle?). She is really interested in new experiences and living somewhere different from what she is accustomed to. As far as I know she has never lived at any significant distance from her family and they seem very close, so that will be a big adjustment. From what I can gather, her entire life (friends, hobbies, social time etc. is centered around music, otherwise she spends some time with internet and television).

If you are familiar with those two areas, do you have any suggestions or comments for a person as described?

What is the likelihood of finding decent affordable apartments and/or roommates?

Thank you for your comments.

Cheers

[grmi66]

Anywhere you move to in Arizona you will need a car. It's darn near impossible to live in this state without one. If I had to pick between the two towns it would be Bisbee hands down. Close enough to Tucson if you want some culture on the weekends and want to stock up on groceries. The weather is a lot better and it is very artsy. If she wants to go see forests and trees it's not that far away to Chiricahua National Monument and the Chiricahua Mountains. It's a desert "sky island" with cooler temps and vegetation like you would see further north including pine trees.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Anywhere you move to in Arizona you will need a car. It's darn near impossible to live in this state without one. If I had to pick between the two towns it would be Bisbee hands down. Close enough to Tucson if you want some culture on the weekends and want to stock up on groceries. The weather is a lot better and it is very artsy. If she wants to go see forests and trees it's not that far away to Chiricahua National Monument and the Chiricahua Mountains. It's a desert "sky island" with cooler temps and vegetation like you would see further north including pine trees.

Agreed and Sierra Vista ain't far at all from Bisbee for most big shopping.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Anywhere you move to in Arizona you will need a car. It's darn near impossible to live in this state without one. If I had to pick between the two towns it would be Bisbee hands down. Close enough to Tucson if you want some culture on the weekends and want to stock up on groceries. The weather is a lot better and it is very artsy. If she wants to go see forests and trees it's not that far away to Chiricahua National Monument and the Chiricahua Mountains. It's a desert "sky island" with cooler temps and vegetation like you would see further north including pine trees.

Agreed and Sierra Vista ain't far at all from Bisbee for most big shopping. Too; Bisbee is pretty darn green compared to Yuma but Yuma's winters are def warmer like as in NO snow at all.

[grmi66]

Yuma has a Marine base and Sierra Vista down the road from Bisbee has an Army base. Does she prefer Marines or soldiers from a dating perspective?

[cacto]

To compare the two in my perspective,Bisbee is a higher elevation, mild weather, charming town with an eclectic Old West character with a little bohemia mixed in. Yuma is like a bedouin outpost in the heart of the Sahara. If you want hot low desert that can be beautiful but severe, Yuma is the place. I happen to love desert and wouldn't say Yuma is a bad place but knowing how hard it can be to acclimate to the heat I'd be cautious about moving there.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by cacto

To compare the two in my perspective,Bisbee is a higher elevation, mild weather, charming town with an eclectic Old West character with a little bohemia mixed in. Yuma is like a bedouin outpost in the heart of the Sahara. If you want hot low desert that can be beautiful but severe, Yuma is the place. I happen to love desert and wouldn't say Yuma is a bad place but knowing how hard it can be to acclimate to the heat I'd be cautious about moving there.

Agreed tho Yuma does have a river so it's not totally "desert".

[observer53]

Somerton (correct spelling) is not really a suburb of Yuma, as they are several miles of desert apart. For a young single woman (and I speak from prior experience with a different AZ small town when I was that age) Bisbee wins hands down.

[curly5759]

Of the 2, Bisbee is a better choice.
Somerton is nothing more than a crossroads town populated mostly by farmworkers. There is little to no shopping there, most of that will be in Yuma or San Luis/Son (Mexico) Your friends daughter will most likely have to find a place to live in Yuma because there isn't much to choose from in Somerton. The town has grown a lot in the last 10 years, but mostly as a bedroom community for the surrounding area.
Also, unless she is bilingual, she will have quite a learning curve in the classroom.
My daughter grew up in Yuma and was 22 when she started teaching there (High School) She did alright because of her background, but she eventually moved to Tucson because she was tired of the lack of activities for someone her age.
I'm not a Yuma hater as so many on here seem to be. It's a great place to live but its not for everyone. I don't know much about Bisbee, so I cannot compare them.
My wife and I are former Yuma teachers, with 30 years (each) in the school districts there. Feel free to PM me for more info if you want.

Curly

[gemstone1]

You've done your research...kudos.

Placing myself in her shoes, I'd agree with the Bisbee vote....and I live in Yuma. As Curly said, Somerton is a crossroads town/bedroom community for Yuma....minimal shopping, nothing to speak of there...But trust me, Yuma has more going for it than WalMart....
Bisbee might offer more in the way of renting a room in a yuppie home in the downtown canyon area....I would imagine a lot of folks might be looking for added income to offset their lifestyle choice....other than tourist economy $$$, Bisbee doesn't have much going for it either.


Regards
Gemstone1