Another Refugee From SB...Living In NE Arizona

[OldSchool]

Inside the house but we have redecorated since that picture.

I might have your old TV…. Lol.
Bought one of those awhile ago from a little old lady in Michigan, she said it was her son’s and he only bought the best.

Great place! Welcome from Michigan

 

[Steve_In_29]

I might have your old TV…. Lol.
Bought one of those awhile ago from a little old lady in Michigan, she said it was her son’s and he only bought the best.

Great place! Welcome from Michigan

That TV and pretty much everything you see in that picture came with the house.

It was fully furnished and well stocked with tools, building supplies and spare parts.

TV worked but went to the local thrift store as we had no need for it.

Most of the furniture you see as well as what was in the bedrooms was given away to neighbor or people who came to work on the house for us. We did keep the dining table as it actually was "the best" LOL

 

[Peanut]

At least you can see a cow occasionally! Still amazed a cow can survive in the dry west. Things here are definitely on the wet and green side... i got out of cattle in '18, my cousin runs unbred heifers here now.

I know the 'getting crowded' feeling. Seems more and more folks move out here each year. So far i can't see or hear another house. I have heifers and there's more cows on both sides, pretty good neighbors, related to all off them.

my favorite tree..

 

[Steve_In_29]

At least you can see a cow occasionally! Still amazed a cow can survive in the dry west. Things here are definitely on the wet and green side... i got out of cattle in '18, my cousin runs unbred heifers here now.

I know the 'getting crowded' feeling. Seems more and more folks move out here each year. So far i can't see or hear another house. I have heifers and there's more cows on both sides, pretty good neighbors, related to all off them.

my favorite tree..
View attachment 157455

The ranchers sink wells and run pipe to water troughs. The rule of thumb is it takes 40 acres per cow to graze.

 

[Mad Dog 1]

A belated welcome from Sunny South Africa I have not been that long here , interesting subjects come up for discussions , it does not really matter which country one lives in there are local problems , I have always said if there was a perfect country ,everybody would move there, then it is not perfect anymore regards Mad dog

 

[Digout]

Welcome from a "Land Down Under".

Love the Intro.

 

[shanrose]

Inside the house but we have redecorated since that picture.

Your place is homey! I love it.

 

[Nadeen Wincapaw]

Hello from another refugee from SB and I recognize some names here from over there.

After a heavy handed Mod over on SB perma-banned me for daring to disagree with him, when he was posting in a non-Mod capacity I was invited over here. I was a member over there (same screen name) since 2012 (iirc) so new to this forum but not new to the subject.

California native "Class of 59" but moved to PA halfway through 6th grade after dad retired from the Air Force. Left for the Marines 4 days after HS graduation in 77. Where I spent the next 17+ years traveling all over the world to meet exciting people, in exotic lands and exchange gunfire with them before getting out on a Medical in 95. While I was a Radio Tech most of my time was in Grunt battalions where I did 7 deployments and got to jump out of perfectly good airplanes and rappel/SPIE rig from helos.

During that time I visited 13 countries and sailed all the oceans except the S Atlantic. Have been from Key West, FL to Adak, AK and above the Arctic Circle to almost the Antarctic. Also did two years of long hair/civilian clothes (I can tell you but then I'd have to kill you) with JSOC, Where I met my Korean born wife and we have been together ever since (43yrs together/41yrs married). Which reminds me, we both forgot our anniversary last month...again LOL

After working a further 19+ years Civil Service for the Marines in 29 Palms, where I helped support units training for war. I bought my military time back and retired at the age of 56 in 2015.

After a multi-year search which started while I was still working that included MT, TX, ID, etc we bought our log house on 36 acres in rural NE AZ in 2017 and picked up the adjacent 36 acres a year later. Property is on grid power (rare) and a well. The power line we are connected to wasn't run out here for people. It was put in place (long before the advent of solar) to power an aircraft navigation aid that sits a few miles further down the road. When it was put in the land here was literally just open range for cattle.

Open range that got sold off to developers who split it into "ranches" (subdivisions). Ours is named "River Springs Ranch". There is a small river passing through a couple of the 250+ 40 acre parcels but no springs. The ranches are kind of a land scam (come retire in sunny AZ with easy monthly payments) but if you know what they are and aren't and can find a property that suits you they are ok.

After spending two years splitting our time between CA and AZ we moved here full time in 2019. Leaving behind 34 years of 29 Palms desert living. The property sits at 6450' so summers are cooler than most of AZ (and definitely cooler than 29) but flip side is winters can get below zero. Those winter temps tend to keep the riff-raff away though. With most lasting a single winter before moving on. 99% of the roads here are dirt and can become impassable during monsoon season. Last year a local rancher reported seeing over a dozen vehicles temporarily abandoned in the mud after one heavy storm. One person I spoke with couldn't get off her property for a month,

Our property is 10 miles down a dirt road from a small city of 3400 people that doesn't have a single stop light. Despite being the county seat of a county, that at 11,000 square miles, is bigger than Massachusetts but with a population of just 70K, Most of which is up on the Rez, It is the poorest county in AZ and sparsely populated.

In the square mile we live in there are just two families (8 people) to include my wife and I. There are three washes that cross that 10 miles of road and if any of them are running it is literally a case of, "you can't get there from here". My well guy once spent 14 hours in his truck on the wrong side of a wash (not one of those 3)

Shopping here consists of a Dollar General and a small market/Ace Hardware. The closest supermarket is 40 miles (each way) from our house. As is the closest urgent care, hospital and McDonald's. We do have a small Clinic (8-5/Mon-Fri) with one doctor in town. The closest big box stores (Walmart, Home Depot, etc) are 60 miles in another direction in a city in the next county over. Absent a medical appointment, we make the 120 mile round trip to that "big city" (pop 12K) roughly once a year when the kids come to visit.

No one here (even in town) gets mail delivered to their house/business but UPS and FedEx deliver out to our property. I make a weekly trip to town to collect mail and shop for perishables.

We have pretty much zero expectation of timely response from Sheriff, EMT or Fire. The Deputies do NOT patrol down the dirt roads and the closest could be 50 (or more) miles away when needed. There isn't even a Deputy on duty in this area after 21:00. A few years ago, when a Deputy was asked by some new residents about how to protect themselves from trespassers, etc, he replied, "you got guns right?". There are a LOT of guns out here. LOL

We live in a log home so Fire Dept would arrive in time to roast some hot dogs or make S'mores as they watered down the ashes.

I have seen the ambulance wandering back and forth trying to locate the road to a property. When my wife had her stroke in 2021, I threw her in the truck and set a record getting her that 40 miles to the hospital. Which then flew her down to Phoenix.

I'm looking forward to a long term interaction with this forum and already became a supporting member.

I can be a bit gruff and don't suffer fools (or Dems) lightly but as my long term work partner used to tell people who asked how he could stand working with me, "If you don't want Steve to tell you you are stupid, don't do stupid things".

How close are you to Flagstaff? Hubby and I went to college there in the 90s before he was commissioned into the AF - spent 7 years there and had 2-1/2 kids there. Some amazing memories! Made it to the rez a few times with friends.

 

[Steve_In_29]

How close are you to Flagstaff? Hubby and I went to college there in the 90s before he was commissioned into the AF - spent 7 years there and had 2-1/2 kids there. Some amazing memories! Made it to the rez a few times with friends.

Flagstaff is 150 miles and 2+ hours away.

It is the closest city of any real size to us.

You would be surprised (disappointed) at how much Flagstaff has grown since the 90s. People working there are living all the way out in Williams to avoid the crowds/costs. Though even out there is increasing in price.