East Coast to Sierra Vista or Tuscon or bust! (Phoenix: salons, houses)

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by south_east2west

First of all let me say, I belong to many message boards but this one has to be one of the most friendliest helpful boards of them all. I am not sure if this is indicative of the board itself or the Arizona connection. ;-)

Thank you all for your comments.

"There is absolutely nothing between Tucson and Sierra Vista......."

That's precisely what someone else told me.

So with that said, I guess living in the middle or even Tucson/Vail and working in Fort Huachuca isn't such a good idea. I have read alot about Sierra Vista and truthfully feel a lil uneasy about the crime, illegal immigrant situation, etc. I have never owned or used a gun in my life but after reading through many SV posts, it has almost made me want to explore the option of perhaps a permit if we decide to move to SV. Maybe I am a lil paranoid and I know crime is everywhere but geez, some folks have made SV sound like the wild wild west. LOL

Soooo if we decided to live in SV, where are the better communities to live? Any new housing developments going up?

Actually, SV itself has pretty low crime and is a pretty nice town. See the crime stats here:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Sierra-Vista-Arizona.html

In addition, while Huachuca City is pretty much a dump, the newer areas of Sierra Vista itself kind'a look like the photos of Marana you asked about - with lots of new shopping going up and some nice developments.

I was actually dissuaded from looking at SV when we were on our property search trip, but after seeing it (especially the areas south of town) I was a bit sorry I didn't look there first. It's gorgeous.

Ken

[south_east2west]

Excuse my ignorance Ken but why did you mention Huachuca City?

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by south_east2west

Excuse my ignorance Ken but why did you mention Huachuca City?

You pass through Huachuca City on the way into Sierra Vista.
(FYI - pronounced Wah Chew Ka City)

Ken

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

Tucson is not nearly sealevel.
Tucson is at around 2,400 feet (Vail about the same - some areas perhaps a little bit more)
Sierra Vista is around 4,200 feet - with areas towards the mountains indeed probably 5,000 or so, while areas to the east (downslope towards the San Pedro) a little bit less.

In Southern Arizona as you go from the west to the east there is a general gain in elevation (not entirely so, but generally so) - with Yuma at 200 feet, Phoenix at 1,000 feet, Tucson at 2,400 feet, Benson at 3,500 feet and Sierra Vista at 4,200 feet or so.

Ken

Man, I was way off on Tucson...always thought it was near sealevel, but I'll admit I never checked any real source for such data.

Sierra Vista is 4600 as wiki states:
Sierra Vista, Arizona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm pretty sure there's a sign either going in from Huachuca city, or coming in from Bisbee that says, i think, 5200...but maybe not.

[drb85650]

Originally Posted by mikec34

Man, I was way off on Tucson...always thought it was near sealevel, but I'll admit I never checked any real source for such data.

Sierra Vista is 4600 as wiki states:
Sierra Vista, Arizona - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm pretty sure there's a sign either going in from Huachuca city, or coming in from Bisbee that says, i think, 5200...but maybe not.

Fort Huachuca main parade field in front of General Custers housing...sign says 5000'.
And yes, he's the greatgrandson of that General Custer. Nice guy, well respected among troops and civilians.
I work due north of that sign and area.

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by south_east2west

First of all let me say, I belong to many message boards but this one has to be one of the most friendliest helpful boards of them all. I am not sure if this is indicative of the board itself or the Arizona connection. ;-)

Thank you all for your comments.

"There is absolutely nothing between Tucson and Sierra Vista......."

That's precisely what someone else told me.

So with that said, I guess living in the middle or even Tucson/Vail and working in Fort Huachuca isn't such a good idea. I have read alot about Sierra Vista and truthfully feel a lil uneasy about the crime, illegal immigrant situation, etc. I have never owned or used a gun in my life but after reading through many SV posts, it has almost made me want to explore the option of perhaps a permit if we decide to move to SV. Maybe I am a lil paranoid and I know crime is everywhere but geez, some folks have made SV sound like the wild wild west. LOL

Soooo if we decided to live in SV, where are the better communities to live? Any new housing developments going up?

The closest Ive been to SV is Albq, NM

Thos pics you seen, well, most of the year looks like the dry ones, not the green ones. Only july-sept. looks green like that in the Sierra vista area anyways. That's because that's the only time that part of the country gets a decent amount of rain. That's of course relative to what one thinks is 'decent'
Sierra Vista Weather Forecast and Conditions Arizona

Now comapre that to whatever part of Virginia/Marlyland you are coming from and you'll be able to see if it is dry or not for YOU.



1. YOu asked for a midpoint with such places and there is no such place. Vail might be the community feel, but there's not much else there...i don't believe there is a theatre for instance. SV has a couple small theateres, but that's not midpoint. According to a 200 census ther are less than 5000 poeple in Benson, so that should give you an idea of the places ammenities.
http://censtats.census.gov/data/AZ/1600405770.pdf


2. Since your first one is not feasible, to answer your question directly, I would say the commute is bad. Again, it's 1 hour 15-35 minutes to Tucson south side of Tucson that is. The commute won't have much traffic and is on a fast track (highway as I stated). Driving long distances on highways is not particullarly safe in my opinion. Still, many Ft. Huachuca workers do this.

3. Sierra Vista is great for this. It's mainly an MI base, so there are engineering/IT jobs. I've been told numerous times that Daivs air base in Tucson is even better for such jobs, but I've no experience with that. I personally do not like Tucson at all, so I never looked into seeking employment there, but clearancejobs.com can give you an idea of the markets in both places.



-------------
So you don't get confused....

Huachuca is a town. Ft. Huachuca is a base. Ft. Huachuca is based in a town called Sierra Vista. Clear as mud, eh?

---------------
I'll tell you something I do when looking at information for town that I've not been to and it's not clear how good/bad they are: I use yahoo yellow pages and look at the stores, theaters, etc

Yahoo! Yellow Pages: Yellow Pages, Maps, Directions, Addresses, Phone Numbers

just use benson, sierra vista, vail, etc as your places to search.

for instance Benson, Arizona on the yellow pages for All Restaurants lists 29 places:
Yahoo! Yellow Pages

Sierra vista is tiny to my standards, but they list 96, so that might give you an idea of benson:
Yahoo! Yellow Pages



Really, I think you just have to decide who you want to have the worst end of the driving deal, you, or your wife. Otherwise Benson or Vail might be the only two sort of midpoints to choose from. Tucson is a mids-zied city, so if you want more action, then you might have her drive. I would choose Sirra Vista over Benson any day of the week, IMHO. Paper, rock, scissors is allways a good democratic process for this. Otheriwse, you can always do the arm wrestle thing....

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by drb85650

Fort Huachuca main parade field in front of General Custers housing...sign says 5000'.
And yes, he's the greatgrandson of that General Custer. Nice guy, well respected among troops and civilians.
I work due north of that sign and area.

See, there's proof i'm not going crazy... I went to sedona recently and started thinking it was a sign i seen up there....

[drb85650]

Culture
The military presence here is of a higher caliber than most bases. Personnel attached here are security clearanced, educated and have specialties. They are respectful, disciplined, refined. On the other hand we have a true "redneck" attitude with many residents, lots of genuine cowboys and girls, not just linedancers. Those who choose outlying areas and privacy can be a tad distant, opinionated and wary of strangers. Amazingly, we have no problems with illegals. You are more likely to hear Japanese, German, and many other languages at the store than you are Spanish.

This is from my origional post on the sticky at the top, Arizona, city by city. Still stand by every word.
I guess you have not visited here? Our crime is minimal. Activity can be checked on the city site sub section Police department. A murder here is headline news for weeks, I think we've had 1 this year(might be wrong, could have been none). Guns? this is Arizona, we allow guns and permits for concealed weapons. 99.9% of the people you see will not be "packing", concealed or no. At the same time, remember, this is the "wild west" still to some, people do live in remote areas, wild animals do come around and drugs do come across the border. The retired military guy who lives on 20 acres adjacent to the border will carry a gun, probably as much for javelina/rattlesnake protection as for drug runners.
Now about illegals....as I've posted before, we've no problem really. Tucson, Phoenix? you bet! Try going to a Home Depot during the weekday there, especially while driving a pickup truck. They swarm you looking for work. Here, you will meet polite, respectful people from Sonora, her to shop, spend money. Chances are alot of them will be driving nicer, newer, fancier SUV's and cars than you. Our signs are still in english, the bank still doesn't have 12" thick bullet proof glass between you and the teller like many in Phoenix. And even you do see "illegals", they are traveling to Phoenix, to Tucson and beyond Arizona, not wanting to stay at the border. The only problems they bring here are empty water bottles left in the desert and a occasional forest fire from a camp in the Huachucas.
There are only very small areas of SV that I would not walk at night, and those are in or around Frytown, a square of perhaps 8 blocks on the northwest end of town.
The natural beauty here is incredible, seasonal 200' waterfalls, snow on the moutain tops at the edge of town, lightening storms moving over Thunder Mountain, looking across vistas that stretch into Mexico or across whre Geronimo spent his last days of freedom. Tombstone lays across the valley, watch the good version again. Recall the 70's with tyedye in Bisbee. Try us.
Geez, I need to get paid for this free promo stuff!
Visit flickr, webshots....search for Sierra Vista, Fort Huachuca...

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by drb85650

Culture
The military presence here is of a higher caliber than most bases. Personnel attached here are security clearanced, educated and have specialties. They are respectful, disciplined, refined. On the other hand we have a true "redneck" attitude with many residents, lots of genuine cowboys and girls, not just linedancers. Those who choose outlying areas and privacy can be a tad distant, opinionated and wary of strangers. Amazingly, we have no problems with illegals. You are more likely to hear Japanese, German, and many other languages at the store than you are Spanish.

This is from my origional post on the sticky at the top, Arizona, city by city. Still stand by every word.
I guess you have not visited here? Our crime is minimal. Activity can be checked on the city site sub section Police department. A murder here is headline news for weeks, I think we've had 1 this year(might be wrong, could have been none). Guns? this is Arizona, we allow guns and permits for concealed weapons. 99.9% of the people you see will not be "packing", concealed or no. At the same time, remember, this is the "wild west" still to some, people do live in remote areas, wild animals do come around and drugs do come across the border. The retired military guy who lives on 20 acres adjacent to the border will carry a gun, probably as much for javelina/rattlesnake protection as for drug runners.
Now about illegals....as I've posted before, we've no problem really. Tucson, Phoenix? you bet! Try going to a Home Depot during the weekday there, especially while driving a pickup truck. They swarm you looking for work. Here, you will meet polite, respectful people from Sonora, her to shop, spend money. Chances are alot of them will be driving nicer, newer, fancier SUV's and cars than you. Our signs are still in english, the bank still doesn't have 12" thick bullet proof glass between you and the teller like many in Phoenix. And even you do see "illegals", they are traveling to Phoenix, to Tucson and beyond Arizona, not wanting to stay at the border. The only problems they bring here are empty water bottles left in the desert and a occasional forest fire from a camp in the Huachucas.
There are only very small areas of SV that I would not walk at night, and those are in or around Frytown, a square of perhaps 8 blocks on the northwest end of town.
The natural beauty here is incredible, seasonal 200' waterfalls, snow on the moutain tops at the edge of town, lightening storms moving over Thunder Mountain, looking across vistas that stretch into Mexico or across whre Geronimo spent his last days of freedom. Tombstone lays across the valley, watch the good version again. Recall the 70's with tyedye in Bisbee. Try us.
Geez, I need to get paid for this free promo stuff!
Visit flickr, webshots....search for Sierra Vista, Fort Huachuca...

I'll second that SV has no crime issue or illegal immigrant issue. I think SV is waaaaaaay (i think jesus could hear me) safer than Tucson. Statistically i may be wrong, but that's just how I feel.

[drb85650]

Originally Posted by mikec34

I'll second that SV has no crime issue or illegal immigrant issue. I think SV is waaaaaaay (i think jesus could hear me) safer than Tucson. Statistically i may be wrong, but that's just how I feel.

Let's just say I know several people who leave their keys in the car, windows down, unlocked.
Or do like my son....lock up his $50grand big diesel truck, hit the alarm, then throw the keys(with the alarm fob attached) in the bed cause he doesn't like carrying them. go figure.....
And yeah, Tucson vs. SV is like comparing a Prius to a Escalade. Both have gas issues, but one sips, the other gulps.