Golfer's Wife

Now my husband is on a kick to retire in Arizona. He has me looking at photos etc. and we're trying to reach a compromise. I really would like to have a decent size yard (maybe 1/3 acre) with grass, plants, trees. I really HATE the desert landscaping. His only criteria is to front a golf course. Where can you find these homes on golf courses with decent size lots without desert landscaping?? Somewhere where it's not too unbearably hot in the summer would be preferable and the price range would ideally be under $400,000 (give or take maybe) so we have money left to enjoy life. We're moving from the Seattle area. Thanks for any suggestions! Golfer's wife

J Correa

I'm not from Arizona, but I have been there a couple times, and it is really DRY. I'm not much of a desert person either. The landscape was interesting, but definitely not someplace I'd like to live. I remember seeing some developments with green lawns, trees and all that, but I wonder - where does the water come from to maintain this landscaping?

Karen

Moon Valley, in Phoenix, has many homes on Moon Valley Country Club golf course. The lots are very large, either with grass in back and desert in front or grass in both places. Of course, Phoenix is very hot right now, but Moon Valley matches all your other criteria. The NEW desert landscaping is called Xeriscape and is know for vibrant color, year around....it is not cactus, gravel, dirt. Our front yard is very, very colorful, with birds/hummingbirds all over the place, but then our backyard is quite lush with all grass and thick groundcover in the beds. The homes in this area are about 25-30 years old and many of them are being demolished and remodeled...they do this because MV is one of the last areas with large lots that will accomodate good size residences and even three car garages. We feel you get alot for your money in MV and might be well worth a look-see. MVCC hosts the LPGA tournament every March, although I believe the course is now closed for remodeling. It is owned by the Karsten(Ping)Corporation.

kkj

Please reconsider the grass requirement. The last thing we need in Arizona is another yard with grass. We are having a severe drought and another lawn won't help. Every time more grass is put in and watered it raises our humidity. If we keep going we aren't even going to have a dry heat we'll just have a miserable heat.

That being said desert landscaping is environmentally friendly and a lot easier to maintain.

There are lots of homes on golf courses throughout the state. Our yards aren't real big so I don't know how many will have 1/3+ of an acre. You might want to consider coming out and staying for awhile and look around. You could rent a place for a few days in one of the Retirement Communities like Sun City Grand in Surprise (a suburb of Phoenix) and get a taste of the area. Sun City Grand is wonderful, but it doesn't have really large yards.

Sierra Vista south of Tucson is also a large retirement area.

There are probably some books in the Book Stores that will highlight the various retirement communities for you.

Good luck and come on down.

brit

Popular Arizona retirement communities exist in Prescott and Tucson.

Arizona is a great place.

Golfer's wife

Thanks guys....I appreciate your remarks and I'm already re-thinking my "desert landscaping" stigma. You make a very good point about the environment, and especially this summer with the draught. It's that I'm very use to large trees and lots of foliage. I'll have to get through that!
As for retirement communities, I really don't feel like I want to be with a lot of OLD people...my husband is 59 and I'm 51 (but we're both young at heart). I've never considered myself living in a "retirement community"...maybe because our youngest daughter is still in college. I picture the people in retirement as being older, with walkers and oxygen tanks....sorry, I'm sure this is probably not the case but this is what I imagine in my worst thoughts. Are there nicer communities, with milder temps that aren't exactly retirement communities or do I just need to realize that my conception of a retirement community is NOT accurate? Can we keep our dog in these type communities or do they have strict ordinances or ??? Thanks again.
Golfer's wife

J. Carson

Why do you need to have a yard? What do you plan to do with it, play on it, have barbeques on, or even look at it? Phoenix could have been a really great city, but again it was messed by a$$holes that want a big home, big cars, big garage, big yard and short commute times. You can't have everything you jerk. The desert wasn't meant to have grass and thousands of water sprinklers.

cl9

Have you thought about the Flagstaff area?

Denise

We've considered a similar move. Isn't Flagstaff quite cold or even get snow in the winter?? It seems that perhaps part of Arizona is too cold in the winter and the other part is too hot in the summer...???Denise

karen

I think you will find newer planned communities, of any price range, whether they are on the golf course or not, are very close together with small lots. You can almost reach out the window and shake your neighbor's hand. Many of them are also very regimented in bylaws and CCRs, even down to regulating plant selections in front and back yards. That is why I really suggest an older area where the lots are likely to be much larger and further apart and, while probably in some kind of association, are much more reasonable about your own property rights. I don't think any of them ban pets. There are all sorts of planned communities around golf courses here, some retirement type and some not...however, retirees are not what they used to be, many are in your age group and even the older ones are very lively. There are loads of areas to choose from and loads of golf courses, but in your price range and lot size I can only think of Moon Valley or another area in southern Arizona, Green Valley, south of Tucson.

david

There are a lot of new developments in the Prescott area. Much milder climate; not sure if there is golf during the height of winter (Jan Feb) but it gets little snow). If you don't want searing desert heat, stay away from Phx and Tucson

Arlene

Curious....what area in Arizona has the best YEAR AROUND climate?
I know this is subjective as what does "best" mean. I recently read that in the whole USA, San Diego is suppose to have what is considered by most to have the "best" year around temps, so I guess I'd use that as an optimum. Are there areas in Arizona where you don't freeze in the winter, nor do you sweat your butt off in the summer (even with the dry heat)?? It seems to me that everywhere in the USA (except for perhaps San Diego) has some negative factors. I live in Seattle and we get too much rain and gloomy days. Sure wish we could send some rain to Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah with all the fires this summer!
Arlene

diane

Arlene, I don't think there is any place in Arizona that has a nice climate year around. Sedona, just south of Flagstaff but at the edge of the desert, might fit the bill. It does get hot there, but you could drive into Oak Creek Canyon to cool off during the worst days. In the winter I believe the days' highs are usually in the 40s (not sure) and nights' low in the 20s to 30s.

Golfer's wife--when I saw that you'd be coming from Seattle, I thought to myself that you'd have to make a huge adjustment after all the gray skies and rain that you are used to for much of the year. You might think it would be heaven to see sunshine all the time. When I married my fourth-generation Arizona sweetheart and we moved to Tucson, I had no idea how sick I would get of the relentless sun all the time. If I had to drive in a westerly direction toward sundown, the sun would be in my eyes until it went below the horizon (no trees to speak of). I dragged my poor husband back east where I grew up (with humidity but also with huge trees towering over my family home), and due to our favorable job situation we have stayed here.

I suggest that you spend several weeks in whatever area of Arizona you are considering retiring to, preferably in the summer, to see if you can tolerate it. Tucson is somewhat cooler than Phoenix even though it is further south (because it is at a higher altitude). I think it's 5-10 degrees cooler on any given day. Of course, that may simply mean that it is "only" 104 in Tucson when it is 112 in Phoenix! Good luck with your decision. BTW, why are you talking about retiring at your young ages? I'm still teaching in my early sixties and am planning to retire at 68-70.

diane

Oh, I forgot to say, put "sizzles" in the text search box above to bring up a lengthy and somewhat humorous thread of a year or so ago about the heat in Arizona. I believe it also refers to the differences between Tucson and Phoenix.

maggie

G's Wife--It doesn't matter what landscaping is already there when you move into a house. You can change it any way you want. You seem to think that if it already has desert landscaping, you're not allowed to change it (actually, that MIGHT be in some neighborhood's covenants!). Anyway, if you want grass, plant grass. Don't forget, if you're directly on a golf course, you'll have grass already in that direction, won't you? Just plant a tiny plot out front because it'll be hard to keep it healthy. It will probably require watering every day all year long.

Isn't Arizona about to run out of water? Haven't they been fighting with California for years already about the allocation of the water from the Colorado River? Does ANY water still reach Yuma, which counts on it (or used to) for its own agriculture?

Jana

Diane's given some excellent advice.

There is no area in Arizona which is temperate all year. Even Sedona is very cold in winter with 10 inches of snowfall per year and 70 days per year which drop below freezing. Avg temp in January is 31.

Having lived many places all over the US (incl AZ) I, too, found the daily routine of sun, sun, sun got pretty old. Might be more appealing if there were an ocean nearby, but that's not the case.

Also, be wary of data crunching analyses of the quality of climates. Depending on how they're carried out, they will sometimes rank things like lack of snow or number of days above 60 degress and such as being important. I remember once seeing Seattle's weather as being ranked among the top 10 in the US! Maybe to some, but I like a little sun with my above 60 degree days, thank you.

There is no perfect place.
But by all means, if you're considering AZ, go spend some summer days there to see if you can hack it. They don't bother me at all, but some people find the summers there unacceptably hot.

Glenna

Maybe that article about San Diego having the very best weather in the whole USA is correct...guess we can't have it all, even the residents of San Diego probably have their days when they complain. Maybe Arizona is just not all that it's cracked up to be. I guarantee Florida isn't...I live here now..kind of sucks many months of the year. (sorry neighbors and local bugs)

xxx

Golfer's wife, with all your preferences, why aren't you looking closer to home? Sequim, over in the OP, has a wonderful spring-like climate 8 months of the year and the winters are mild. Tons of sunshine and good golf courses. Your price range would get you a very nice house in Sequim or Port Townsend and nary a cactus in sight!

nowhere

No place is perfect. And I had to laugh at the poster who condemned FL because he has lousy neighbors. Oh, right, the whole state is bad because you have idots in your neighborhood.

Sarah

Nowhere,
I don't think the Florida posting was stating she didn't like her neighbors....I think it was weather related. Stating that Florida's weather isn't all that it's cracked up to be and the weather "suck" several months of the year...(thanking neighbors and bugs was apologizing to the "locals") at least this is how I interpreted that post. Sarah