babyboomers looking for nice place to retire (Phoenix, Tucson: rent, low crime)

[naturlvr01]

Looking to relocate in 3 yrs, husband is wanting to work parttime ,background in educ./editorial field. Requirements are
rural area living, ecofriendly living, tired of paying high utility bills
and paying high rent . Climate needs to be dry,warm, Wife has allergies mold/pollen.
Clean air, low crime, live in organic home and grow own food
become self sufficient as possible!!

[esselcue]

Chino Valley...north of Prescott.

[MotleyCrew]

Have you checked out the retirement forum at the very bottom of the City-data site? There is also a Rural Small Town Forum and you might find some good suggestions there.

[Hassayampa Slim]

Have you been to Arizona? I would suggest you take a trip out to aquaint yourself with the desert environment before making any plans.

There are far fewer small communities in Arizona than in the midwest and east. Reason being; first, water... precious little and can be costly; second, age... a hundred years ago, large ranches controlled thousands of acres, no farm land dotted the country side here.

Sufficiency farming, although possible, is more difficult here than east of the Rockies. You have three major issues; water, heat, and soil (or lack thereof.) As mentioned previously, water is precious and costly. The heat, although allowing early planting, can also require a lot of that precious commodity, water.. especially in the central and southern parts of the state. Most of the soil is very rocky and sandy... as in desert.

Chino, mentioned previously, is indeed a small community that has some (repeat, some) ecofriendly people. There is also Kingman, Safford, and a half dozen others... That's about it, for the whole big state.

Invest in a trip out.. say in August. Who knows, the scenery and climate might be worth the challenge to you.

Originally Posted by naturlvr01

Looking to relocate in 3 yrs, husband is wanting to work parttime ,background in educ./editorial field. Requirements are
rural area living, ecofriendly living, tired of paying high utility bills
and paying high rent . Climate needs to be dry,warm, Wife has allergies mold/pollen.
Clean air, low crime, live in organic home and grow own food
become self sufficient as possible!!

[AzDreamer]

You can get a good idea of what can be grown where from the Sunset Western Garden Book. It has detailed state climate maps that are also useful for deciding where you will feel most comfortable.

[Hassayampa Slim]

Excellent advise Dreamer.
Also, you can check out the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Site which has a wealth of information and additional links. Just type "University of Arizona Gardening" in any browser and you'll find it.

Originally Posted by AzDreamer

You can get a good idea of what can be grown where from the Sunset Western Garden Book. It has detailed state climate maps that are also useful for deciding where you will feel most comfortable.

[AzDreamer]

You can also use google maps to see what areas have irrigation.

[djauto]

Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Festival (New), Verrado (New old town look with good priced homes from 250k to a million dollars), Surprise (knows how to use there money to develope), Goodyear, Buckeye, Vistancia, etc. there's a few.

dj

[Hassayampa Slim]

dj, All of these are very urban and really part of the Phoenix Metro Area and can hardly be called "rural". From the OP's description, rural, organic, grow their own food, etc., I assume they are not interested in the metro areas of Phoenix or Tucson.

Originally Posted by djauto

Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Festival (New), Verrado (New old town look with good priced homes from 250k to a million dollars), Surprise (knows how to use there money to develope), Goodyear, Buckeye, Vistancia, etc. there's a few.

dj

[Phoenix lady]

If your wife has allergies--oh boy--I don't think Arizona is the place for you. Every one I talk to, and I'm not exaggerating, has had exacerbations in symptoms when they move here, including me. Allergies were never an issue for me till I moved here. You might want to plan a trip here in March (spring)and/or September (fall) to see how she does w/her symtoms.