Moving to the Tucson Area (Benson, Vail: fit in, 2010, homes)

[marymctucson]

What HS and grade schools are in that district? Aren't there any decent ones withing the TUSD?

Originally Posted by azmom05

We like North Tucson. (Foothills area). It's very nice, and the school district is awesome!

[marymctucson]

If you live in the city limits of tucson, even way out, can you send your child to the school of your choice? Or are there vouchers (money back) if you put them in private school instead? We're out towards Old Tucson (Ajo & Kinney) area. Some really sharp homes w/great views out there. Where are some good private schools out that way?

I read a few people suggesting that Sahuarita is a nice community to live and I would like to warn that there are a few things you must learn to live with if you do take their advice. I am not a homeowner but I did live with my parents in Rancho Sahuarita in 2002 when they moved into their brand new home, so I would like to forewarn you that there are a lot of RULES and REGULATIONS you must follow to be able to own a house there. My parents bought a home with 1921 square feet indoor living space, 3 carpeted bedrooms and Den (or 4th bedroom)/2 full bathroom, Carpeted living and dining room, Open kitchen/breakfast/family room combination, separate Laundry & Pantry, Cream color Linoleum in Kitchen and Bathrooms, Whirlpool appliances, Central air & heating, Universal Outlets, Security system installed, pre wired for stereo & intercom system with vol control etc., and a 2 Car Garage with storage shelves and fluorescent ceiling light. All of this they bought for $150,000 in 2002 but when they sold it in 2006 its property value was worth $235,000. Now, that was good because they had a gain of $85,000 but in Rancho MOST of the homes are so close together it is difficult to get breathing room letalone living space. Another obstacle would have to be parking. If you don't have enough room in your garage to park your cars because of extra storage there is a sign on your street that was installed by the city of sahuarita warning that you can only park on ONE side of the street. Granted, you have room to park 2 cars if you only own 2 cars in your driveway but for others who own more than 2 cars recieve tickets because of parking violations so consider that. Also, there is a height regulation for if you plan to grow any tree or tall plant in your backyard. Those are the few dilemma's that my parents ran into by living in Sahuarita. Also, the town/city of Rancho chooses to use natural light or sidewalk/patio house lights to illuminate the residential streets at night. From what I've been told, Rancho will never install street lights to light up any neighborhood. There is a "main street" in Rancho that is in desperate need of street lights/lamp posts and the city of Rancho refuses to install them because they say it will take away from the natural beauty that they are trying to create for the city. I believe that there are also property fee's and city taxes that not all of the residents agree with. I have only explained what I remember but there were 2 or 3 other problems we encountered. I would ask you to take all of that into consideration. On the brighter side there are Home Owner community amenities including a massive waterpark behind an upscale Clubhouse, fitness center with multiple elevated televisions using Cox cable, a teen room within the Clubhouse with high speed cable connections and a Big Screen television with Cox Cable, an X-box gaming system, and a pool table. Also there are many fitness paths, playground parks, tennis & basketball courts, and a reasonable sized Lake used for fishing and sailing that also include a mile long jogging & walking track around the perimeter of the Lake. Rancho Sahuarita is not at all a bad place to live but do you really want a babysitter hovering over you denying you all of the freedoms that you need to raise your family the correct way? Not that Rancho steps into your personal life, but all I'm saying is it is an additional burden with the lack of freedom you have living in Rancho as a homeowner. If you can live with that, goodness gracious your character is impeccable and I would commend you. Keep all in mind. Thank you.

[Bummer]

Interesting post, Flipinino

Generally speaking, most new home communities involve homeowner's associations with varying degrees of rules and regulations. Some of these rules will restrict us but the majority of them will protect us from less than caring (read: downright disgusting and disrespectful) neighbors.

The best way to avoid the restrictions of an HOA is to purchase an older home.

! ! ! !

LOL, well yeah I was going to mention that eventually Bummer, but you know since you already took the initiative I decided to stand down. (haha/jk) No ofcourse that's not at all true, but I think your conclusion/suggestion was far better than mine. Since I'm not a homeowner I'm ignorant to how exactly the HOA works so for my future purchase I will definately take your post into consideration. Thank you for the insight Bummers

[Desert Bimmer]

All very interesting and opinionated responses. I am a Rancho Sahuarita homeowner and have been for the past year. While there are some restrictions (as in most HOA's) it is not as bad as it being made to be. We love it here! With the exception of one bad neighbor we have a great, close-knit community. Our home is beautiful and exceptional. Builders do offer the option of buying a larger lot to accomodate more room around your home. Every experience will be different to different people so my suggestion/advice would be to come out here for yourself and have a look...ask questions, talk to residents, etc.

One a separate note, the Oro Valley, Catalina foothills and Vail school district areas all have top-notch schools and as such are in higher price ranges. I feel like the town of Sahuarita still has a lot of growing to do and will be one of the most desireable communities to live in around the Tucson area in the future. Plus the schools are improving.

If you like the outdoors and the family life...Rancho Sahuarita is the place to be. A new marketplace shopping center is currently under construction on the southwest part of the community and will add much more amenities to our location.

here are a few websites to check out:

http://www.ranchosahuarita.com]Rancho (broken link) Sahuarita Community

[url]

Sahuarita, Arizona

Enjoy!

[beautyone]

Originally Posted by azmom05

We like North Tucson. (Foothills area). It's very nice, and the school district is awesome!

Myself and my huband and our 3 kids moved to Tucson this past April 2007. We lived in a suburban part of Pennsylvania all our life, I t has been my dream since i was about 18 to move out to Arizona, unfortunately, we rented a house over the internet, the company we rented it from put us right in the downtown central area, the worst part, and the day i drove through that part of town with my 3 children, i wanted to cry and go back home! They did not tell us the house was in the city part of Tucson. We do not like city living, we put up with it for a month and a half, then found a nice home in Oro Valley. I waited so long to finally come out here, and was put in a terrible area of town. There were even gunshots over on the next street a few nights after we got here. That was too much for me! I only hope the schools in Oro Valley are as good as back east, i fell in love with the beauty of Arizona, we used all our savings to get dwon here, but hopefully things wil improve. My husband does not make what he earnd back east, but he is looking fo a beter paying job. We definitely do not want to go back east to live, we left the cold winters to come here, i love Tucson, just not that south central part.

[Lee1957]

You'll want to investigate living in the Benson-St. David area. The schools in Benson are among the top rated in the state on their standardized testing, the facilities are excellent. You can buy a nice home in the Benson area for well under your named price, in fact, a home in that price range would be substantial in that area. It's growing, has a milder climate than Tucson, is in a beautiful valley, and has a Wal Mart.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Lee1957

and has a Wal Mart.

He-he, that's what ideal places are made of! Man, I didn't know I lived in paradise. You made my day!

[LordBalfor]

I agree with Lee1957. We just bought an acre just outside of Benson (in J-6 Ranchettes) in January (for most of the reasons mentioned by Lee) and are very pleased. Check some of my earlier posts for a bit more info.

Ken