Moving to Benson area? (Tucson, Sierra Vista: real estate, to rent, low crime)

[gwhilikerz]

Can anyone give me some info on the Benson-Willcox-Tombstone area? We are thinking of moving to that area and need to know things like housing, schools, neighborhoods, climate, etc. Is it possible to rent something reasonable there while looking for that "perfect" home? Are there places to avoid? We spent a very short vacation in Benson in April. Now I have the urge to pick up and move. Being retired, that is no problem.

[reneeot]

I'm looking at sierra vista, close to benson. Would be interested in any info too.

[Blue2izs]

The Sierra Vista are is fantastic if you need moderate services. The smaller towns such as Tombstone (no services or facilities), Wilcox (not nice), Benson (no services or facilities but growing) and Bisbee (services, facilities but still very small at 6,000).

I live in Bisbee and have lived here for 8 years. I've lived in Arizona for over 35, mostly south centeral between Phx and Tucson. I love it here in Bisbee (Sierra Vista is 35 miles away), because of the weather, clean air and very very low crime. You can also purchase a house for under $100,000. I bought my 1910 four plex for under $70K. Though I'm renovating them, it was still a bargan....

The area is growing and more and more job opportunities are being presented. So, buy cheap now, live in perfect weather, very clean air and stay healthy!

Have fun and good luck!

[savoy312]

What great info as we are looking at that area as well......thanks

[LordBalfor]

Bought an acre lot in January at J-6 Ranch in the Benson area (2 exits before Benson, 1 exit before Whetstone. First few photos in this album (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/...57149538zALwkS) are of the J-6 area. Very pretty area with terrific views. Massive growth (nearly 100,000 homes over the next decade or so) going on in Vail then state land that cannot be built on between there are J-6, then lots of construction planned for Whetstone (another 30,000 homes planned). New retailers lining up for property in Benson to accomodate the expected growth. Brand new Walmart superstore just opened and apparently a Home Depot is in the works down the road. Benson is going to grow pretty rapidly over the next decade.

Ken

[krs2fer]

J6 sound like a nice place. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. Where did you get the aerial photos. How much is land going for in J6? What about the property across the interstate there Mescal Lakes it's called, any info on that one?

Thanks and good luck in J6

[jcs1956]

Ken,
goodluck,looks like very nice land,we just purchased 4 acres in hereford and am planling to relocated as soon as our home up north sells.

[country pride]

Better do it now. I know of two land investors who just moved down that direction and we know what thats going to mean if you wait. One of them bought up hundreds upon hundreds of acres in the Casa Grande and Maricopa sections about 5 years ago. Theyve made their money and found some pretty good prices on land and real estate out there. Does that signify anything?

[Lee1957]

Avoid Sierra Vista. It's a busy, growing place with a lot of fairly new housing but being right next to an active military base means higher than necessary home prices. If you live in Benson, it's a 30 minute drive to take advantage of the shopping in Sierra Vista, 40 minutes to Tucson.

Home prices and land values in the Benson area are jumping right now, but still reasonable. You can get a lot of value for your money, and the value of your property will steadily increase. Also, it is a growing community and it does have some services that other small towns in Cochise County, like Tombstone, Bisbee and Willcox, do not have. Retail prices have come down as well since Wal Mart came in. Available land is getting a little more scarce, so I'd suggest that now is probably the time to buy.

[LordBalfor]

Hey folks,

We just returned from the area on Monday (after a 2-week trip to Tucson) and have a bit of updated info.

There is a bit of confusion (and will be a lot more upcoming) regarding what is J-6. J-6 is the original development put in south of the freeway at the J-6/Mescal exit back quite a number of years. Most of theat lies to the west of J-6 Ranch Road. They are generally 1-acre lots - though some folks have more than 1 lot.

To the north of the freeway is Mescal Lakes (some of the lots there 1/4 acre properties - those are not nearly as nice and the area closer to the freeway is a bit "trashy" - can't speak about further north).

A brand new development that is going to be called "J-6 Ranch" is going in on the east side of J-6 Ranch Road, so I suppose I'd best get used to referring to the older J-6 (where we bought) as it's true name "J-6 Ranchettes".

There was a meeting last week at Cochise College in Benson where the developers of Redhawk and J-6 Ranch discussed their plans. Apparently the area they want to build in is currently zoned for 4 acre parcels and they are seeking to have it rezoned as 1 and 2 acre parcels. They are to be high-end homes with pretty strict rules on what you can build etc. Many of the current residents are "less than pleased" at this potential development. The bigger issue for me personally is that apparently they are unable to drill for water on the site of the development (the east side J-6 Ranch Road) - too much bedrock I think - so they want to drill on the west side of the road in the state land between J-6 Ranchettes and the Whetstone Mountains. However, it seems that the water for J-6 Ranchettes comes from the Whetstones and flows north. This would place the wells for J-6 Ranch upstream of us at J-6 Ranchettes and possibly draw the water before it gets to us. Needless to say, this made many J-6 Ranchette owners very angry (ie "You can't drill for water on YOUR land, so you want to take the water from OUR land" was the general feeling). The developer says the hydrolists' report indicates there is plenty of water for both, but many of the current residents are not convinced.

Something to be aware of.

Ken