Will be working at Ft. Huachuca -- Sierra Vista or Tuscon? (Phoenix: crime rates, home)

[lredman]

I am looking at taking a job at Ft Huachuca in the near future, and I am at an impasse of where to live.

I will be moving there with my wife, and we are hoping to start a family soon. From what I've read so far, SV doesn't really have much in the way of medical services. The local hopsital received scathing reviews. So, that's worrying. If she would go into labor, I don't think driving 60-80 minutes to Tuscon is really a viable option.

Also, how difficult will it be to buy things like furniture and home furnishings in SV? Are there some good furniture stores there?


I would greatly value the reduced crime rates of SV, the reduced traffic congestion, and most of all the greatly reduced commute. I've driven 50-70 minutes each way for the last two years and it's slowly killing me.

So... what is your recommendation? Are my fears regarding quality, accessible medical care unfounded? If we have access to decent ob/gyn & maternity care in SV and won't have trouble buying stuff for our house, I'd really prefer SV for its proximity to base and small-town atmosphere.

[WilmaWildcat]

There was a med-evac chopper operating in southeastern Arizona to U of Arizona's Level 1 trauma center (or also even Phoenix metro); but I heard some years back there was a funding issue, and I never heard whether that was resolved. Maybe someone knows...

[agorski]

I worked on a project at the Fort back in the early 90's and visited a few times. At that time there was a bus that took commuters back and forth to Tucson. Don't know if they still operate a service like that but at least you can read or sleep during the long commute.

[509]

I winter in Benson. I go to Sierra Vista for a big town experience without the traffic of Tucson. There are advantages to both, but with the commute it is a no brainer to live in Sierra Vista.

Medical care in the winter is tough just due to the number of snowbirds, but I suspect as a local that will be less of an issue. Only one experience with medical care in Sierra Vista and it was at the satellite clinic in Tombstone. There were great. Sample of one, which means nothing in statistics.

Not sure what you mean by good furniture stores...that is a one time purchase. I would buy in Tucson and have it shipped to Sierra Vista.

I would live in Sierra Vista. I like Tucson and Sierra Vista....Sierra Vista is more of a small city, whereas Tucson is really a metro area.

[American Expat]

Originally Posted by 509

I winter in Benson. I go to Sierra Vista for a big town experience without the traffic of Tucson. There are advantages to both, but with the commute it is a no brainer to live in Sierra Vista.

Medical care in the winter is tough just due to the number of snowbirds, but I suspect as a local that will be less of an issue. Only one experience with medical care in Sierra Vista and it was at the satellite clinic in Tombstone. There were great. Sample of one, which means nothing in statistics.

Not sure what you mean by good furniture stores...that is a one time purchase. I would buy in Tucson and have it shipped to Sierra Vista.

I would live in Sierra Vista. I like Tucson and Sierra Vista....Sierra Vista is more of a small city, whereas Tucson is really a metro area.

That's what I'm thinking unless it's a person that craves city action, SV is a no-brainer.

[Deelighted]

Originally Posted by lredman

Also, how difficult will it be to buy things like furniture and home furnishings in SV? Are there some good furniture stores there?

Not sure why you asked this question but besides Sears, Target, Walmart and Big Lots, there's also a Discount Furniture and Sparks Furniture. I know Sparks handles Ashley furniture because I bought my dining table there.

I haven't used the hospital so I don't have personal experience to answer.

[Colt AZ]

At the risk of alienating those who absolutely love Tucson, or those who prefer Sierra Vista to remain a secret, I'd select SV over Tucson for a number of the reasons which have already been stated above -- at least for your particular needs.

[meo92953]

I haven't had the need for a hospital visit but everyone at the clinic was great. As for furniture, if you don't find what you want, order it on-line. I haven't been to Tucson yet but really like Sierra Vista.

[Salpointe59]

The new Hospital is excellent. The ER has saved several lives of G I's injured on post. I made it to the ER by 5 minutes and suffered a Left Ventricle attack, I flat lined but the Cardiologist on the scene put a needle in my artery and blew it open. I was dead for 1minute 27 seconds.
My wife had a terrible A/fib attack and the Chief Cardiologist who was a teaching Doctor at the U of Utah saved her life. She was in Intensive care for 5 days.
Pima Heart now has a Cardiologist in Sierra Vista full time.
I did my rehab at the S Vista Hospital and the NEW equipment and P T's are very good. My son who is a rehab trainer for a MLB team was the advisor for which equipment they shoud use.
The new Hospital cannot be compared to the old one.
I suggest Lenzner Medical to be an outstanding Clinic, we have Dr. Jeff Wilde as our Doc.


The Mall is sufficient. If you are military the P X and Commissary are being rebuilt.
The school system up to the High School level is excellent. The High School caters to the advanced level students, (5-6 appoints to the Military Academies each year) The U of AZ South is growing very fast so you should be able to advance in your chosen field.
We live in an area called Town and Country which is near Post but fairly good scale. My neighbors include a retired Special Forces Colonel, at least 2 neighbors who work for some kind of Intel organization. I'm retired but own a Firearms Training Company, we have the training vendorship for all of the Pima County Parks and Rec.


If your wife is a dancer Sierra Vista Ballet is one of the really established dance groups and puts 3-4 students in the U of A and other University level dance groups.

[keninaz]

I first came to AZ with Army service in the mid 1960s. SV has changed a bunch since then. Back then if you wanted a car or much of anything you drove to Tucson (there were no car lots in SV when I first got there and there was only one bus out or into town at 2:30 daily)
SV has almost everything you could want today. We just visited there a few weeks ago.
Driving to Tucson will get old really quick and wear out your vehicle too. And cars are not cheap to replace of course. Ask yourself if you really want to spend an hour or more daily in a car each way back and forth to Tucson?
The WX is also cooler than the Tucson area by some 10-15° on a hot summer day.
I lived in SV in the 1960s and came back with my wife's job and lived just outside SV in Hereford on property in the 2000 era for about 10 years. Just wanted to get away from the border and problems that went with it living rural in the area.
After having had experiences living in both Tucson and the SV area, if I were working at the Fort there is no way I would consider Tucson for residence.