Should we drive out for 4-6 months from Maine?

[Mountainsofmisery]

Originally Posted by RescueDogs

Thanks Rick, I appreciate the feedback from a local! We are super excited for this experience and are excited to explore the area
:-)

Rick of Tucson Homes is a long time wealth of knowledge on this forum so take what he says without a grain of salt. I am a two trick pony (hiking and cycling) and if you enjoy really challenging hikes and rides, I can offer advice. We have a place in Oro Valley (85737) and keep a car there during the summer but still sometimes drive back and forth from Ohio because stuff needs taken out there sometimes. Mostly we fly and it is nice to fly into Tucson and have a car available. Since you will be on the northwest side, you are 90 minutes from the Supes (Superstition Wilderness) on the east side of Phoenix in the Apache Junction area. GO!! The Flat Iron. Robbers Roost, Weaver's Needle, the Battleship, Lower LaBarge Box Canyon, Superstition Peak....oh my! Do a search for "Meet-up" hiking groups. Look for "Hiking Hikers Hiking" or "Junction Connection" (Phoenix area groups). Watch for the aforementioned hikes and go. In the Tucson area, there is "Tucson Hiking" or "Baja" Meet-up groups. For cycling there is GABA (Greater Arizona Bicyling Association" based in Tucson and for mostly laid back cycling, there is a group that rides out of Oro Valley but forget their name. Anyway, hope this helps and let me know if you need more info.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Mountainsofmisery

I am a two trick pony (hiking and cycling) and if you enjoy really challenging hikes and rides, I can offer advice. We have a place in Oro Valley (85737) and keep a car there during the summer but still sometimes drive back and forth from Ohio because stuff needs taken out there sometimes. Mostly we fly and it is nice to fly into Tucson and have a car available.

If you want to have two homes, you almost need to occasionally haul stuff between the Midwest and Tucson. However, we generally never drive the "round trip." In April - June, MOST rental car companies want cars out of Arizona and will give you a cheap one way out of Tucson and Phoenix. In the fall months, cars into Arizona are dire cheap. For example, after Thanksgiving, I am driving back on one way rental for $205 from Cincinnati, including taxes and fees.

[RescueDogs]

Thanks for chiming in mountains of misery and jlawrence01. We'll plan on checking out as many of those places as possible! Also we plan on joining cycling and hiking meet ups to meet likeminded people in the area and explore. We're not hard core cyclists or hikers but we're not afraid to push the envelope. We're excited! Thanks again.

[berkshiregrl]

We're from the Berkshires in western MA. Not quite ME but we do live in a small town without a mall or much shopping. We're not really city people but we do like Tucson. WE have also stayed in some smaller towns like Sonoita, Wilcox, Tubac but while they are nice they are not the desert of Tucson which we love.

We used to stay mostly on the east side adjacent to Saguaro Park east but the last few years we've been staying at a condo complex on No. Kolb called The Greens and we really like it. For one thing the views are great. The complex is fairly small and is very quiet and has nice amenities including heated pool, gym, hot tub outdoor space with a view. Lots of great hiking & shopping nearby. We stay on the east side but there are also units on the west side that look equally nice. It does take 20 minutes to get to Saguaro East which is one of our favorite hiking spots but it isn't a big deal most of the time.

There are many other complexes near here. They all seem fairly nice.

Originally Posted by RobertaWa

We have a condo off of Sunrise up Kolb Road in Ventana Canyon. We love it there. There are a lot of snowbirds in our neighborhood so you would fit right in. It is quiet but easy to get to shopping and eating. By the way we came close to retiring in Portland Maine but then we found Tucson!