South NJ to AZ! Where to go?? HELP!!

[LordBalfor]

As mentioned by others here, the area south of Sierra Vista (near Hereford) is pretty good horse country with ample grass and totally breathtaking views east across the San Pedro Valley and south into Mexico.

Another area to consider is the area along 186/181 south of Willcox all the way down through Sunizona and then south along 191. This area is obviously perfect horse country with LOTS of grass and nice views of distant mountains in multiple directions. Attached is a VERY NICE photo I found of some property for sale down near Elfrida (note that you can click on the photo to make it larger (note too the power lines along the road))

//www.city-data.com/forum/attac...da-arizona.jpg

Here are a couple more shots taken along 181. The pictures pict6103 and pict6101 were taken in January so the grass is brown - but note how high it is - clearly during the "green" season (ie mid to late summer monsoon season) this area is no doubt incredibly lush and green. You should also know that power lines run along much of this route so power is readily available. Note too that these pictures can also be made MUCH larger by first clicking on the photos, then clicking on the "Full Size" link in the upper right corner and then finally clicking on the expanded photo to bring them to maximum size.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/560...jhjfl?start=84

Finally, even the area where we have land at J-6 Ranchettes (10 minutes west of Benson on I-10) has a few homes with horses. The big advantage of this area is that you are only about 40 minutes from downtown Tucson. Here are some photos of our area (pict6934, pict6954, 085_85) taken during the summer monsoon season):

http://travel.webshots.com/album/560...jhjfl?start=72

ALL of these areas will have a relatively mild climate - some more mild than others, but ALL of them with temps slightly cooler than Tucson and having summer temps typically in the low-mid 90s (or possibly upper 80s) and winter highs around 60 or so (nights MAY drop a bit below freezing, depending on the specific area).

Ken

[Ritchie_az]

Really, check out (as has been said) the Sierra Vista, Benson and Wilcox areas. I think, though, that Sierra Vista sounds like the place for you. Good luck!

[kdog]

Originally Posted by threeps

I am not retired (25 with 3 little girls) and by no means $$$ (again, 3 little girls LOL). I wish. We are more like $$. I receive an inheritance from a family business but my husband still needs to work to make the ends meet. This is one of the main reasons we are moving away from the east coast. My parents are in Quartzsite now and they are going to buy a 20 to 40 acre piece of land (any where that I choose in Southern AZ) and let me put a modular home on it that we will pay about $100k for. I was hoping that we could live off of the land. Maybe breed dogs or sell chicks and chicken eggs or something of that nature. Also, I am a free lance photographer so I kind of just work at my own pace and for myself, plus with my inheritance, I was hoping that we could do something with our land so that my husband wouldn't need to worry about finding a job in the city, he could just work from home. I don't mind driving 20 - 30 mins to a Walmart or grocery store. I don't mind a little snow but would want it to melt once the sun came up. My parents are buying the land and they wouldn't want to sacrifice the kids education for a cheaper piece of land (They are retired). I hope I answered your ?'s. Thank you for all of your help so far. I will be looking into the above mentioned towns ASAP. I do have another question though.....why does all of the bigger pieces (20+ acres) have no electric? My parents will not buy a lot without utilities present. And is it true that the further south you are the more illegal border jumper BS you have to deal with? Thanks again!!

The 20 acre parcels you see without electricity are "off-grid". If they had power, and/or water, they become much more expensive. When houses are spread so far out, there just aren't enough homes to justify the expense of installing power lines when they subdivide the land. I'm sure you can find big lots with power if you keep looking. Lazy YU as I mentioned has power.

Regarding the border towns and the illegals problems, I have no direct experience, just what I've read here. You'll see the gamut from people who claim there are endless problems with crime from border jumpers to folks who make it sound like illegals are their best friends. The truth is probably in somewhere in the middle. It does make sense that the closer to the border you are, the more problems you're going to have.

Regarding schooling, I feel pretty strongly your kids are going to get a far better education in a northern AZ town, like Kingman, where the schools don't have to cater to large populations of immigrants and indigents.

[crazyme4878]

If you have a 20-40 acre lot in southern Cochise County, you will have problems with illegals. A small, 1 acre lot in a neighbor, not so much. Just a fact of life.

The Sierra Vista/Hereford/Tombstone area isn't known for good schools. However, there is open enrollment, so if you do move to that area I can tell you of a couple that I know of that are good.

We just moved to Young and there are a lot of people who live close to the land. I have also been pretty happy with the school (even though its so small they combine grades). However, it's a little over an hour to the grocery store/hospital/anything and you have to drive a somewhat difficult dirt road to get to the town (although it's not as bad as non-residents think). Oh, and there are no jobs at all.

[threeps]

I don't want to be that far from a good hospital. Like I said before, I have 3 small children and my youngest (she's 3) has already been to the ER 4 times in her life because she is brave and thinks she's a boy. This is so hard. You can't have one good thing without sacrificing the other. My main concern is safety and schools. We would settle for less than 20 acres if that meant more safety and better schools, but not in a neighborhood because we like privacy and want to get chickens, horses and breed dogs on our land. Any tips help. Thanks!

[observer53]

Originally Posted by threeps

I am not retired (25 with 3 little girls) and by no means $$$ (again, 3 little girls LOL). I wish. We are more like $$. I receive an inheritance from a family business but my husband still needs to work to make the ends meet. This is one of the main reasons we are moving away from the east coast. My parents are in Quartzsite now and they are going to buy a 20 to 40 acre piece of land (any where that I choose in Southern AZ) and let me put a modular home on it that we will pay about $100k for. I was hoping that we could live off of the land. Maybe breed dogs or sell chicks and chicken eggs or something of that nature. Also, I am a free lance photographer so I kind of just work at my own pace and for myself, plus with my inheritance, I was hoping that we could do something with our land so that my husband wouldn't need to worry about finding a job in the city, he could just work from home. I don't mind driving 20 - 30 mins to a Walmart or grocery store. I don't mind a little snow but would want it to melt once the sun came up. My parents are buying the land and they wouldn't want to sacrifice the kids education for a cheaper piece of land (They are retired). I hope I answered your ?'s. Thank you for all of your help so far. I will be looking into the above mentioned towns ASAP. I do have another question though.....why does all of the bigger pieces (20+ acres) have no electric? My parents will not buy a lot without utilities present. And is it true that the further south you are the more illegal border jumper BS you have to deal with? Thanks again!!

Please don't breed dogs, unless you are prepared to do it the right way (which is, not for the money). There are enough puppy mills and overactive backyard breeders already.