Why so many over 65 in Arizona? What's going on there? (taxes, live in)
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Location: MT/34 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
1,148 posts, read 924,009 times
Reputation: 1342
Quote:
Originally Posted by Montana Griz
Ken.................................Thank you for your response. Some time in the next two weeks I'll be spending a couple of days exploring the area around Patagonia, Elgin, and Sonoita, etc. I'll probably utilize the services of a well know, respected realtor who is very familiar with that area. I'll let you know what developes. Thanx......Griz
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordBalfor
Not a lot of towns in that area (it's a lot of empty space) - and I've not been through all of it. Patagonia is the most treed. It's pretty lush there, with significant trees around the town itself (most I've seen anywhere in SE Arizona) - and these are tall trees too, not just the 10 foot mesquite most commonly seen. It's really lovely there - but the town is REALLY SMALL (below your threshhold I would think -at least it seemed that way). Soniota too is pretty tiny and isolated feeling. Same with McNeal and Sunizona.
Directly south of Benson there is not a whole lot between there are places like Tombstone (along the highway 80 route) or Huachuca City (along the highway 90 route). Sierra Vista is large enough to have pretty much everything but not TOO big as to be congested, crime-ridden etc. Bisbee and Tombstone have lots of character but are tourist destinations.
Maybe somewhere around Benson or Willcox may suit you - they at least fall into the size of the town you mention being interested in. The nice thing about Benson is that there is a basic hospital there and you are less than an hour from the big hospitals in Tucson should the need arise (something to consider - especially for us older folks).
In truth I'm not really sure what you are looking for. You mention the type of house you want, but that COULD be found in any of those areas so that's not a whole lot of help.
Ken
Ken: Ok, I just got back from spending some time in the area around Sonoita, Patagonia, Elgin. Stayed at an "Inn" and ate dinner (next door to the Inn) in Sonoita....both very acceptable. Also eat lunch in Patagonia...food good, service quite slow but efficent & polite. And the town was much smaller than I expected. Liked the "rolling and hilly" country side and all the Oak Trees and other growth. Very pleased with the almost total lack of cactus. Looked at about a dozen homes (on 3 to 5 acres and from 3 to 20 years of age), all within 8 miles of the intersection of Rt 82 & Rt #83, (Sonoita) and found the "pricing" to be very negociable!
The "out in the country" atmosphere wouldn't bother me. (Decent shopping would be: Tucson/47 miles; Benson/41 miles; Sierra Vista/29 miles). At present I live about 40 miles from Missoula, but do have decent shopping at a smaller town (with a good hospital) that is just 12 miles away.
Biggest concern would be finding a suitable home that has it's own PRIVATE well. Many of the homes I looked at were a "shared well" or a similiar situation. Reason being well depths seem to be anywhere fron 330 ' to 700'.... costly to say the least. Price per foot can be between 20 to 28 dollars per foot, plus the pump cost, plus the cost of a water storage tank, pressure tank & related equipment.
In general, I liked the area overall, found the local residents to be open and friendly and was surprised at the very large number of homes available for purchase.
I won't make any hasty decisions....probably will visit the area at least twice more in the next 9 months (and one of those will be during the Monsoon Season).
Ken: Ok, I just got back from spending some time in the area around Sonoita, Patagonia, Elgin. Stayed at an "Inn" and ate dinner (next door to the Inn) in Sonoita....both very acceptable. Also eat lunch in Patagonia...food good, service quite slow but efficent & polite. And the town was much smaller than I expected. Liked the "rolling and hilly" country side and all the Oak Trees and other growth. Very pleased with the almost total lack of cactus. Looked at about a dozen homes (on 3 to 5 acres and from 3 to 20 years of age), all within 8 miles of the intersection of Rt 82 & Rt #83, (Sonoita) and found the "pricing" to be very negociable!
The "out in the country" atmosphere wouldn't bother me. (Decent shopping would be: Tucson/47 miles; Benson/41 miles; Sierra Vista/29 miles). At present I live about 40 miles from Missoula, but do have decent shopping at a smaller town (with a good hospital) that is just 12 miles away.
Biggest concern would be finding a suitable home that has it's own PRIVATE well. Many of the homes I looked at were a "shared well" or a similiar situation. Reason being well depths seem to be anywhere fron 330 ' to 700'.... costly to say the least. Price per foot can be between 20 to 28 dollars per foot, plus the pump cost, plus the cost of a water storage tank, pressure tank & related equipment.
In general, I liked the area overall, found the local residents to be open and friendly and was surprised at the very large number of homes available for purchase.
I won't make any hasty decisions....probably will visit the area at least twice more in the next 9 months (and one of those will be during the Monsoon Season).
Ketch ya later. Griz
Glad you had a worthwhile trip and liked the area. Patagonia is BY FAR the greenest of the towns you mentioned - and the big trees are quite a surprise.
I wouldn't consider #22 out of 50 to be "low" - it IS after all in the top half. More appropriately a ranking like that would be considered in the "middle of the pack". However, having said that, I have to say I'm surprised it's not higher. It IS after all the #3 most popular retirement destination state.
The NCCCR’s study compiled data from 2.5 percent of the population. The study used data from 2005 as it was the most recent year that data was available. According to the study, retirement migration to the ten most popular retirement states of people age 60+ looked like this:
Location: MT/34 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
1,148 posts, read 924,009 times
Reputation: 1342
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordBalfor
Glad you had a worthwhile trip and liked the area. Patagonia is BY FAR the greenest of the towns you mentioned - and the big trees are quite a surprise.
Question: Why are you so set on a PRIVATE well?
Ken
I guess in my 'conservative/old fashion logic" I always think that a "shared well for 2 or 3 houses 'opens the door' for 'possible problems 'down the road'. If and when the time comes that the well isn't adequate to provide sufficient water for those doing the 'sharing'.......a sticky situation could arise.
(Possible example) i.e. family "A" (a retired couple) had a daughter, husband and 3 kids move in and their avg usage rate tripled.....Family "B" (another retired couple) says:" the static level in the well casing has dropped from 150 to 235' since these additional people moved in. And Family "C" put in an extensive underground irrigation system for all his landscaping....thus at least doubling his consumption.
Now comes the 'finger pointing' and who is to carry the greatest share of the cost of possibly deepening the well; or installing a 3000 gal storage tank; or other possible (expensive) ways to take care of this higher usage rate by two of the three "users".
I know this is a hypothetical worse case senario, but something similiar could happen. Since 1960 I've had 3 homes that have had their own well and septic systems. We never had a problem ......however, I do know of 2 separate instances where families on a "shared well" ended up having problems with having sufficient water.
I guess at this point in my retirement living, I don't want to run the risk of a problem in an area that is known for having to go 330' or more (one home I looked at had a well 700'deep) to just reach a water source, and then that water source just may be as low as 2 or 3 gal/per/minute....which requires that water being pumped into a storage tank (1500 to 3000 gal size), which in turn is then pumped into the pressure tank system that services the houses involved.
I will do a lot more research regarding wells, acquifers and water tables in this area. I did not know that many of the wells in this area are quite deep and are rated at "low gpm" as compared to other areas I am familiar with.
Sorry to be so 'long-winded- in my answer to your question, but I guess I am a "detailed-old-fogey"....aka "an 'ole geezer".
Location: MT/34 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
1,148 posts, read 924,009 times
Reputation: 1342
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdog
As an aside, can a well actually be "deepened', without drilling a whole new one?
Yes......many factors have to be taken into consideration: depth of the original well; was the original well 'cased' full depth; depth of the pump setting vs the well depth; original static water level vs how much it has dropped.....and several other factors would be determined and then taken into consideration. Obviously, the submersible pump, the 'pipe string' it is hung on and anything else that is inside the casing....has to be removed before the drill bit can be put "down the hole", and continued drilling can begin.
In the 1970's, in the foothills west of Boulder, CO, I know of two wells that had to be deepened from 300 feet to approx 450' to reach a suitable acquifer that would provide enough water for the specific circumstance.. I know in one case the rated H.P. of the submersible pump was increased from 1/2 H.P. to 1.5 H.P. to compensate for the additional height the water had to be pumped. One very important factor is: how much difference in the 'static' water level resulted from tapping into the "new" water source" and again many other factors are taken into consideration.
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