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Wittmann is what you make it. I moved here over 7 years ago when the place really had a negative image. The property prices were lower then and I was able to get acreage. My neighbors there are 7 homes in my section all know each other, share what we have with each other and all depend on another at one time or another. The schools get good ratings, I don't have kids but my neighbor’s kids all attend Nadaburg and they are New York transplants and mostly all I hear from the students is positive attitudes. There are islands of land that have been annexed by the City of Surprise. The annexations ended when the economy went south along with the citizens of Mexico. Wittmann is hard to define by boundaries. There are none. Typically residents associate with Wittmann by the post office routes. As far as businesses...there are two grocery type general stores, then the post office a couple of Baptist Church's and a new sports bar and grill. The nearest gas station is in Surprise (distance again depending on where you locate). The big attraction for investors and first time homeowners who have top notch credit or $30 thousand lying around, are foreclosed properties. My newest neighbor got five acres and 3500 sq.ft. Site built home for less than $300,000. That sale happened in June. Had they waited it would have gone for much less. There are bank auctions on property where land goes to the first bid because there are no others. To live here it helps if you have lived in a rough rural setting. When the electricity goes out and the water stops flowing there are no utility companies to call, you are pretty much on your own until the repairmen make it out this far. So if urban living has you accustomed to paved streets, HOA's and lighted avenues. Look toward the city lights as a place to live. If star gazing, coyote yelping and rattlesnake visits don't bother you then the area is great. The crime rate is lower here than in most parts of Phoenix. Most people who have moved here are astonished not to find meth labs, drug heads and land squatters. While they may exist they remain low keyed and besides there are not enough votes out here to cause the county sheriff to pay much attention to what goes on. The most valuable security system is that next door neighbors (be it far and few) know each other very well because we depend on each other in times of crisis and celebrate with each other come holidays. Wittmann is not for everyone, just as opening a bedroom window and knocking on your neighbor’s house isn't for everyone in the city. There are a couple of other sites to get more in depth info...[domain blocked due to spam].com search Wittmann Arizona and wittmannnews.com have been around covering subjects that don't make the big city papers.
Last edited by wittmann news hound; 12-02-2008 at 05:46 PM..
Reason: typos and texting formats
Thanks for honest info.
Our family is possibly considering relocating to the area.
We live in somewhat of a rural area of PA. now,the most noise we is from the rifle range about a half mile away,the roosters, the bats when they fly at night and the highway( about 6 miles away) which you can hear at night,were used to our east coast critters( mice,frogs,bugs) but our dog gets them for us anyway.
Our crime is almost non-existant probablly due to the amount of registered gun owners,we only lock our doors to our house when go out for the whole day or on vaction.
Bottom line is were tired of the snow,ice, etc.
Wittman seems ok for us,we don't care for city lights,lots of neighbors, lots of traffic,etc.
We really thank you for you info.
Wittmann is what you make it. I moved here over 7 years ago when the place really had a negative image. The property prices were lower then and I was able to get acreage. My neighbors there are 7 homes in my section all know each other, share what we have with each other and all depend on another at one time or another. The schools get good ratings, I don't have kids but my neighbor’s kids all attend Nadaburg and they are New York transplants and mostly all I hear from the students is positive attitudes. There are islands of land that have been annexed by the City of Surprise. The annexations ended when the economy went south along with the citizens of Mexico. Wittmann is hard to define by boundaries. There are none. Typically residents associate with Wittmann by the post office routes. As far as businesses...there are two grocery type general stores, then the post office a couple of Baptist Church's and a new sports bar and grill. The nearest gas station is in Surprise (distance again depending on where you locate). The big attraction for investors and first time homeowners who have top notch credit or $30 thousand lying around, are foreclosed properties. My newest neighbor got five acres and 3500 sq.ft. Site built home for less than $300,000. That sale happened in June. Had they waited it would have gone for much less. There are bank auctions on property where land goes to the first bid because there are no others. To live here it helps if you have lived in a rough rural setting. When the electricity goes out and the water stops flowing there are no utility companies to call, you are pretty much on your own until the repairmen make it out this far. So if urban living has you accustomed to paved streets, HOA's and lighted avenues. Look toward the city lights as a place to live. If star gazing, coyote yelping and rattlesnake visits don't bother you then the area is great. The crime rate is lower here than in most parts of Phoenix. Most people who have moved here are astonished not to find meth labs, drug heads and land squatters. While they may exist they remain low keyed and besides there are not enough votes out here to cause the county sheriff to pay much attention to what goes on. The most valuable security system is that next door neighbors (be it far and few) know each other very well because we depend on each other in times of crisis and celebrate with each other come holidays. Wittmann is not for everyone, just as opening a bedroom window and knocking on your neighbor’s house isn't for everyone in the city. There are a couple of other sites to get more in depth info...[domain blocked due to spam].com search Wittmann Arizona and wittmannnews.com have been around covering subjects that don't make the big city papers.
Great info. I don't know that my wife would like being so isolated but I'd love to get a few quads for me and my two boys and live away from the hussle and bussle. We'll have to see for ourselves on our next visit.
Some missing information...if you locate west of Grand (AKA U.S. 60) there is a noise and safety zone corridor for Luke A.F.B. so be sure to ask the real estate agent if you are buying in a no build zone. The Air Force trains for runway approaches so there is daytime noise but the low flying jets are more interesting to watch than to complain about. There are current law suits against the state for banning building permits to homeowners already established as well as new developments on certain parcels. There are plenty of washes to target practice and ATV and horseback rides are really common. There is also a raceway that draws national attention that is near by.
Last edited by wittmann news hound; 12-04-2008 at 09:47 AM..
Reason: replace format changes from microsoft spell check
Thanks to all for the info about Wittman,Az.
If any other thoughts come to mind,please post them.
Question: Is the noise from the airbase that much of a nuisence?
My mother-in-law lives near an airbase and really it isn't that bad, the only real noise is when a jet is powering up for take off ( on the runway close to her house),if your 3 feet away from somebody you cant hear them. We just got used to it and waited 5 min. until the jet took off.
Landings are quiet thankfully,lots of those at this airbase.
The noise isn't an issue for us. We find the F-16's fly over to be a unique feature to our civilized desert climate. Sure if you are talking on the phone with the windows up during the spring you have to pause but it is very tolerable. I use to live near an air force base located south of my home, less than a 1/4 mile north was a set of train tracks, about a half mile away was a high school. I worked graveyard shifts. About the time I sank in to a deep R.E.M. sleep and just before entering dream land and a hoped for out of body experience…a train whistle plowed through sending ripples through my waterbed, the jumbo jets assigned to Tinker A.F.B. in Midwest City, Oklahoma would vibrate dust down off the rafters. Once I had what I thought was enough sound proofing material packed throughout the nooks and crannies of my bedroom…the marching band at the high school would jolt my world with a smashing of symbols and a off pitch rendition of a pounding fight song. After months of this happening I was absolutely convinced that the three entities had conspired and made it their mission to synchronize their Rolex’s so they could get the biggest bang by having all three strategically target my pleas for a peaceful days sleep. So in comparison to a scenario such I have just described the F-16's are pussycats as far as noise is concerned. Rather than be concerned about the noise from the jets, the best protection would be to create the best safety net which would be to get in to writing and have triple assurances that the property you are considering is not in the flight zone where Luke A.F.B. is forcing local governments to ban building or allowing property owners any rights to improve their real estate investments. It would also be advisable to get these same clearance protections from the planning departments 10 or 20 year long term plans.
We are considering a property on Roy Rogers. Just a block or so from Grand which we timed it....7 mins to Surprise. 10 mins to get my daughter to school. We saw a few out at 252nd ave. WAY TOO FAR. So at this location it is just a short sprint into town. I mean 5 mins to the 303 and 7 to 10 mins to get to town or my kids school is cake.
I have far greater concerns:
Snakes?
911?
Cox Cable?
Light besides my house?
These concern me. At least this property has a wall. I saw most out there has no separation. I walk into a backyard and a family with their dog looked at me crazy. We left LOL. I need High Speed Internet and Cable.
Also should I buy a handgun for security? Has there been any reporting of crime? That would suck to be home with daughter and fiance and 3 thugs break in. That sort of scares me a ton. But the idea of an acre of land and circular driveway is tight. Also looking near Verado or whatever on 195th and Camelback. Nice acre there on a hill that overlooks the valley and backyard awesome view of the mountains and cactus. The whole Snakes thing scares me too. I mean can they get inside?
You can check out www.wittmannnews.com the site has most of the local tidbits or it has links to where you can get more information. Mostly Wittmann is comprised of a couple of snack food stores, two Baptist Churchs, a community center, a sports bar, a grade school and a fire department. The pickens are mighty slim if you are wanting the bright lights of city lights. If hearing the lonely howls during the darkness that opens up star filled nights is for you then it may be a place you'd enjoy. The center of Wittmann is near US60 AKA Grand Boulevard and Center Street. The post office delivers mail to a largely rural population. The community is not incorporated so Maricopa County maintains the area. Most of the talk about Wittmann you'll find are urban legends. There is more crime and sins 15 miles away in the more populated town of Surprise. Hope this helps! Peace!
Perhaps a better description of what Wittmann is...copied with permission from the originating website...
A note came to me through a community-forum and it got me to thinking…why do people judge others for where they live?
It has caused so many wars, battles over land and when you come to think of it. Is it a good reason to judge another because of where they live?
However in all fairness and in order to see what a Wittmannite, is and to see if we needed judging...I decided it be best if we could identify one!
There is definitely a stigma of eras gone by that Wittmann is identified with because of the type of families escaping metro-suburbia where gangs, drugs and police shootings are witnessed each night on the news.
These families are not necessarily your $200,000+ income households (however despite the negativity Wittmann has their share of top earners); not all Wittmannite’s may have come from sophisticated backgrounds. Some, most in fact were raised either in a small town, on a farm or typical rural setting. Their values, morals and principals can't be fairly rated by judging the majority by the appearances of the few.
Just like the wild west was judged for being full of savage killing red-men scalping still living white people then killing the mother and kids, before shooting Trigger…only years later to learn from a movie it was a group of religious elders who got caught by settlers in a compromising situation and so they had to stage the "Wagon Train Attack" so they wouldn’t get butted…Just as in that situation, Wittmann gets lost with out representation.
There are only a few locally elected officials. The most local of those being, the Wittmann Fire District Chief Eddie Rios, next would be Nadaburg School Board Members, then Maricopa County District 4 Supervisor Max Wilson.
Some may wish to include Justice of the Peace and Constable in Surprise. There is the Hassayampa Chamber of Commerce that originated locally several years ago however seemed to have fizzled out in recent months.
This all being said there is not much damage control, public relations or anyone to function in the roll as a guide to Wittmann's image other than the urban legends that are born at a Bubba's Watering Hole just after 18th Hole!
Wittmann makes for a good story for visiting vacationers and fellow residents alike to take with them back to their native grounds and tell of the Wild West savagery that they had to drive their $300,000 motor home through to get to paradise drive.
On Sunday’s you can sometimes see folks who after being jaded from their Sunday preaching will drive out to near the Toyota Proving Grounds where Patton Road trails off and you’ll see a place, a bit reflective to that of California roadsides in the 1930’s. The sheriff’s deputies call it “Shanty Ville”.
http://www.wittmannnews.com/images/wittmanncockfighting_hfke.jpg (broken link)
This is the image that holds in peoples minds as they drive back to try to find the center of enterprising Wittmann only to find a stop light, some rugged old buildings and rusting cars that are inches away from the only signs indicating that the community of Wittmann ever existed which are posted for you to see as you approach Grand (US-60 and Central) where the traffic signal makes people stop and take notice to downtown Wittmann, Arizona!
The place they’ve heard of. Recalling it from someone’s story about drug addicts, murdering 6 virgin brides, at a Pagan Festival full of Hells Angels on mopeds who were humiliated once their “hogs” were stolen after they began cuddling for warmth and fell asleep while they listened to Willie Nelson sing “Seven Spanish Angel’s”.
.
Sheriff Deputies, Marshals, Police…the whole Calvary maintaining the wild west!!! Those are the engraved images that make it to the descriptions depicted as story’s grow in café’s, bars, family tables, and websites.
No one spends a night in the desert to prove any of these allegations they’ve heard of and told to other people.
Of course not! Because their too chicken!
Because who knows?
Maybe just one of those stories about the Cyclopes whose origin came from a coyote which was high on meth it digested from eating a dead drug fanatic, really will slash through your camper or tent and drag you back in to the desert to discard your carcass in the C.A.P. Canal after feeding your flesh to its pregnant Aphrodite mates!
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