Questions about Bisbee (Tucson, Sierra Vista, Green Valley: real estate, crime, motorhome)

[jazzlover]

I have done a fair amount of research on Bisbee. It has a four-season climate of a type that I find very attractive. I particularly "dig" the Southwest monsoon thunderstorims and lightning shows. I assume those are probably pretty spectacular in Bisbee.

I also am a Western historian, so Bisbee's colorful history and historic buildings interest me greatly. My question is as to what type of community it is. I realize it is definitely a tourist town with a sizable collection of artists, etc. I've also read that it is refuge for a lot of "old hippies" (not my term). Is that true? Are illicit drugs a big problem, along with the crime associated with them? Does Bisbee's proximity to the Mexican border aggravate drug and crime problems? Bottom line, is it a safe town? Is it suffering the out of control growth and real estate specualtion that is devouring much of the southwest?

I would appreciate a "local" perspective from people who live there or are very familiar with the character of the community.

[azloafer]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I have done a fair amount of research on Bisbee. It has a four-season climate of a type that I find very attractive. I particularly "dig" the Southwest monsoon thunderstorims and lightning shows. I assume those are probably pretty spectacular in Bisbee.

I also am a Western historian, so Bisbee's colorful history and historic buildings interest me greatly. My question is as to what type of community it is. I realize it is definitely a tourist town with a sizable collection of artists, etc. I've also read that it is refuge for a lot of "old hippies" (not my term). Is that true? Are illicit drugs a big problem, along with the crime associated with them? Does Bisbee's proximity to the Mexican border aggravate drug and crime problems? Bottom line, is it a safe town? Is it suffering the out of control growth and real estate specualtion that is devouring much of the southwest?

I would appreciate a "local" perspective from people who live there or are very familiar with the character of the community.

There are already several posts on Bisbee with your answers.

[victoriana]

I went to high school in Sierra Vista, AZ in the 1970's. My sister still lives there. To me, the most beautiful spots in the county were Bisbee and Sonoita. How do I put this? Bisbee is a place that a number of business people counted on to really begin to grow and "make it" someday. Many of those people have now moved on. Bisbee has marvelous altitude making for gorgeous air. The mountains are heavenly colors. The place if FULL of history. However, the city's proximity to Douglas, MX. is the problem. Along the border, Mexico calls the shots. If you get property or environmental damage from illegals and coyotes, don't expect any help. These groups are damaging the environment, leaving trash, cutting fences, and legal good citizens who own property can do NOTHING about it. I would say this is probably Bisbee's biggest problem. As tension escalate between Mexico and the U.S., the future doesn't look good for a serious historian looking for a quiet life. Just had to tell you the truth...

[azloafer]

Two years ago I lived in a motor home in Bisbee for a month. Illegals kept coming up to me and begging. There is a border crossing at Naco, just 1-1/2 miles from the camp. There is a real drug problem in Bisbee; I know this because I got to know the locals in the downtown area while I was there. The people that live there let their dogs run loose and I was attacked while walking my dog on three occasions. I resorted to pepper spray after that. I ended up contracting Epstein Barr Syndrome. Now, ordinarily this could not be blamed on Bisbee, but I was one of three people in the campground that had it at the same time! My doctor said that it is unknown how it is contracted. He added that if it lasted for 6 months or more it turns into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and can last for years. In one case, a lady in the campground later had Chronic Fatigue Syndrom. We had followed up with the owner of the campground to learn that. My EBS lsted for 5 months and believe me it is very disabling, but I was lucky. On occasions it comes back and lasts for weeks. The only thing that sets Bisbee apart from other communities (disease wise) and that I suspect could be a cause of EBS is the following: Bisbee homes are built on a steep hillside and to control rain water run-off there is a large concrete ditch (for lack of a better word) that snakes through the lower part of town. This ditch ends up with small pools of standing water and is a haven for mosquitos. It is unknown if mosquitos can pass EBS, but I did get bitten many times in that month. I was too weak to drive home and had to have various medicines over-nighted to the camp. Nothing really worked. One day I had a couple of hours of feeling better and I took that opportunity to make the 2 hour drive home to Green Valley.

Bisbee looks nice from a distance, it really does. Up close is a different story. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't live there! I haven't been back!

[Municipal Failures]

Bisbee is pretty far gone. It was a great place but the white trash have taken over. Now you have a chamber of commerce filled with two bit con artists, a city council filled with perverts and drug addicts. Their last mayor, Adriana Badel, was something straight out of a Jerry Springer Show. The town is now too deep in the genetic sewer to ever recover. It done for, stay away.

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by jazzlover

I have done a fair amount of research on Bisbee. It has a four-season climate of a type that I find very attractive. I particularly "dig" the Southwest monsoon thunderstorims and lightning shows. I assume those are probably pretty spectacular in Bisbee.

I also am a Western historian, so Bisbee's colorful history and historic buildings interest me greatly. My question is as to what type of community it is. I realize it is definitely a tourist town with a sizable collection of artists, etc. I've also read that it is refuge for a lot of "old hippies" (not my term). Is that true? Are illicit drugs a big problem, along with the crime associated with them? Does Bisbee's proximity to the Mexican border aggravate drug and crime problems? Bottom line, is it a safe town? Is it suffering the out of control growth and real estate specualtion that is devouring much of the southwest?

I would appreciate a "local" perspective from people who live there or are very familiar with the character of the community.

I suppose the question is - why are you asking? If you are looking to visit, then Bisbee is a great place to spend a couple of days and enjoy the area and its history. If you are looking to relocate to Bisbee, well ... yeah - read the other posts.

I live in Tucson but I frequently visit Bisbee. From my perspective you can see that it has problems, but it is also a very interesting and unique town with no shortage of things to keep you occupied. The "problems" have never manifested themselves to me or my guests, so I haven't had to deal with them directly, and I also don't go down there to party so maybe early to bed means I miss all the misdeeds? I spend more of my time in "Old" Bisbee, where there seems to be more effort to keep things looking good for the tourist trade. So - is it safe? I think it must be since I've been there so often and have never experienced any trouble, but also I think it is the kind of place where you could definitely find trouble if you wanted to.

Bisbee is definitely not suffering out of control growth and real estate speculation. Real Estate actually appears underpriced there, although maybe that just means the sellers know something that I don't. There isn't much in the way of new development happening there either, as best I can tell. I would say that Bisbee gives the impression of stagnation rather than rampant growth.

[DetroitN8V]

Dates, people.

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Dates, people.

Ahhhhh .... didn't notice that. Sorry.

[azloafer]

Information for people thinking about Bisbee as a place to live. In other posts, all the usual questions, what is the climate like and things like that have been asked and answered over the years. I lived there in a motorhome on many occasions, once for a month. The only thing that may not have been answered about housing is all that I wanted to speak about. Bisbee has the honor of being a HISTORIC LANDMARK and that results in housing restrictions in all of Bisbee. An existing house can be restored but no new houses can be built. An existing house can be remodeled on the inside but the outside is off limits. Maintaining the property is a must but it must look the way it always did when the copper mines were going strong.

For more on this subject I would suggest that a year-round resident could give the best information.

[Packard fan]

Originally Posted by azloafer

Information for people thinking about Bisbee as a place to live. In other posts, all the usual questions, what is the climate like and things like that have been asked and answered over the years. I lived there in a motorhome on many occasions, once for a month. The only thing that may not have been answered about housing is all that I wanted to speak about. Bisbee has the honor of being a HISTORIC LANDMARK and that results in housing restrictions in all of Bisbee. An existing house can be restored but no new houses can be built. An existing house can be remodeled on the inside but the outside is off limits. Maintaining the property is a must but it must look the way it always did when the copper mines were going strong.

For more on this subject I would suggest that a year-round resident could give the best information.

Yowza! If a house in Bisbee was declared "unsafe" and had to be torn down; what could the homeowner do then to replace it?