Living in Southern AZ - Rio Rico area

Hello all, This is my first thread. I have read the many listings on this site but have not noticed any mention of Southern AZ...Rio Rico, Tubac, Nogales etc. My husband and I are very interested in moving to AZ. Have relatives in Lake Havasu City. We are wondering what the southern areas are like. The pictures we have seen on line look wonderful. We now reside in Southern Oregon, which is considered by some to be the ideal retirement area. But I need more warmth! Thank you for any information you can give us. Pattie

Hi Pattie! I'm from NJ and we bought land in Rio Rico last summer. We have been going to the Tucson area for years and decided to retire there - I love it there and I can't wait til my husband retires.

Thank you for answering so quickly MaryBeth. What is it like in Rio Rico? Have you ever been to Sahuarita? Ken and I will be in AZ the first week of May to check out the different areas. Is there someone you would recommend to show us around for acreage? Thank you for your time. Pattie

My husband's cousin moved to Sahaurita(sp) from NJ a couple of years ago. We visited her last year and fell in love with her house. Aside from visiting Tubac and going into Mexico thru Nogales, the only time I've been in Rio Rico was driving thru it on rte 19. But last July, we were looking for land mostly in the Tucson area and just didn't like what we were seeing. We were going to give up until we went to Long Realty in Green Valley and the woman who helped us (I can't think of her name at the moment) told us that it's a different world down there and explained that after Tucson is an indian reservation so the new developments stops there and because of that, it's not as busy in Green Valley as it is up north. She then recommended that we look in Rio Rico and the Tubac Foothills and we found a lot on top of a hill with a 360 degree view. Good luck!

Thank you for the infof MaryBeth. We have seen Tubac on line, but homes seem to be very high there in comparison to outlying areas. It does look beautiful though and we are also looking for acreage with views of the incredible scapes and sunsets. I have read that it takes 6 mos to 1 year to build in AZ. We built our home here in 90 days! So we are expecting to have to rent for a few months while building. I do think that any areas in Pima and Santa Cruz Counties would be ideal to begin a new life. Is NJ as cold now as Oregon is? I can hardly wait for some sunshine and warmth! If you think of anything else, please keep in touch. Who knows...we may be neighbors in a few years! Pattie

Hi Pattie! Gee's the site was down for a few days, I thought it had something to do with that coffeehouse post. LOL We we just had a blizzard this weekend. I would say we had about 15 inches of snow here. I'm not complaining much because we had a mild winter - for once. But I really can't stand the cold weather and everyone is telling me that I am going to miss NJ and the change of seasons but I really doubt it. I hate snow, shovels, boots, gloves, scarves and anything else that has to do with winter. Only thing I like is hot chocolate and you can have that anytime!

Gee's the site was down for a few days, I thought it had something to do with that coffeehouse post.

Something happened with the web server, and I'm not sure what it was at this point. I was out of town Friday - Sunday, so of course it happens Friday evening :-).

Hi Marybeth, I am with you totally regarding the cold weather. We have had so much rain in Oregon this year and the cold...Geeze! It is suppose to snow this weekend again. We have four distinct seasons here, but this year our Fall seemed to be only a couple weeks before Winter hit. Way too much cold for me, I am looking forward to warm sunny days in AZ. I hear the dust storms in Rio Rico are pretty bad so we are now looking northward in the Greenvalley area. We are looking forward to visiting the area in May. Pattie

Hi! My name is Kristi, and I moved from Wisconsin to Mesa, AZ almost 5 years ago now. I love Mesa, even with the very dry heat in the summer. It's very hot, but not the humidity and mosquitos, like WI. I don't miss the midwest at all. We moved to Flagstaff, AZ, 2 hours north of Phx, last spring. I bought 28 acres just ne of flagstaff, and building a house. It's an off-the-grid area. But Flagstaff is nice, a 3-4 season area, if you still want a change of seasons but still live in arizona!!! Flagstaff if pretty expensive to live, I think. The undeveloped area I bought is growing. But houses intown are in the $350-550,000 ranges. The Tuscon area is hot and nice. I hear you can get some good property for a decent price down there. and beautiful hiking areas and historical areas as well. Good luck to you and your decisions!!! Take Care, Kristi Weiss