Bisbee or...... (house, move to, budget)

[GrouchyPossibility7]

Originally Posted by HTY483

Sounds like Bisbee would be a good fit for you. If you cant find housing you may need to give Sierra Vista a try. It's not a as cool/quirky as Bisbee but it's nice. A search on realtor.com didnt yield much so you may be stuck purchasing.

You might also look at Patagonia. It's smaller then Bisbee and even more isolated.

I'm calling about a fixer-upper in Bisbee on Monday. Everything I've read about Bisbee makes me more sure that it's what I've been looking for. Thanks, I'll check out Patagonia too though.

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by HTY483

Sounds like Bisbee would be a good fit for you. If you cant find housing you may need to give Sierra Vista a try. It's not a as cool/quirky as Bisbee but it's nice. A search on realtor.com didnt yield much so you may be stuck purchasing.

You might also look at Patagonia. It's smaller then Bisbee and even more isolated.

Patagonia is minutes from Nogales..but it is $$$$. Same with Elgin and Sonoita. The value is going to be on the far east side of Rio Rico..you can even see Patagonia Lake. Most refuse to give credit to the great climate down there....so much better than PHX, and somewhat better than Tucson.

[fly_me]

Did you move to bisbee? Do you like it?
I have thought about it.
I am concerned with the water issue. I believe they get it from the Colorado River? Anybody know?

[GrouchyPossibility7]

No, I didn't move to Bisbee. I was looking at a small house, but it proved to need too many repairs for my budget. BUT, what is so remarkable is that just an hour before I got a notification of your post, I had been thinking about Bisbee and that little house.

[fly_me]

Hi.
Well, that was a year ago. If you look now, Bisbee is selling so fast. Homes used to sit for 8 months. Now if fixed up gone in a week.

Yes, I have noticed less rentals there.

You may try roommate first & get to know the very friendly people & eventually find what you want.

Meet on Skype or zoom.

Just know the burrough with all the stairs in "old bisbee" is more conservitive & quiet I have been told.

But they seem to need roommates more often.

[DAXhound]

I would consider Douglas. You may have missed the window of opportunity in Bisbee. Douglas will have one of the best selections of housing in the state in a town offering a reasonable amount of services. You gotta know how to make living on the border work for you, instead of against you. Duty Free shopping, cheap haircuts, fun and cheap bars, prescriptions, dentists... It is real money., and you could do OK with evap down there.

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by keninaz

If I were the OP I would be looking at Sierra Vista or the Hereford area rather than Bisbee.
At times Bisbee is overrun with tourists.
My wife was born in Tombstone and we have lived in the area many times over the years with my military service and her job with the Forest Service at Sierra Vista.
Now retired and living in Prescott Valley to stay out of the wind and heat.
Good luck OM.

Yeah, Bisbee often reminds me a lot of Grass Valley, another 'popular' old mining town, this one located in the California Sierra, with similar 'Old Towne' charm that also draws scads of tourists every weekend... particularly on holidays when just finding a parking spot can get kinda 'challenging'.

And as the larger urban centers near Bisbee continue to grow, no doubt it's weekend 'popularity' will only increase as well.

[fly_me]

Originally Posted by DAXhound

I would consider Douglas. You may have missed the window of opportunity in Bisbee. Douglas will have one of the best selections of housing in the state in a town offering a reasonable amount of services. You gotta know how to make living on the border work for you, instead of against you. Duty Free shopping, cheap haircuts, fun and cheap bars, prescriptions, dentists... It is real money., and you could do OK with evap down there.

Is it true Douglas isn't in between the mountain and hotter summers than Bisbee? Everyone says when they get out of the tunnel it's a whole different Energy.

[fly_me]

I get the impression it is dead Monday through Thursday so they like it is busy just for the weekend. It is still a 6000 pop. I will soon check out to see if it's a healthy balance. I have never heard of anybody playing tourist there unless from another Arizona town. You won't get people from Spain or NYC to visit..... Imo.

[GrouchyPossibility7]

Yeah. I've lived in weekend tourist towns before. Especially being retired, I just stay home on weekends, since Saturday and Sunday are the same as any other day when you don't have to work. And, if you're still working, tourist towns offer work opportunities.