Tell me about Sierra Vista/Ft.Huachuca, allay my fears!

[thepinkdragon]

My husband is in the Army and we are due to move to Huachuca sometime after the new year for about 6-8 months. I am concerned about a few things, namely the heat (we are coming from Alaska! and we have two pugs that have never been in severe hot weather), the leukemia cluster scare from a few years ago and the lack of things to do with a toddler. I also am a WAHM and I need to be able to go to a Sew N Vac for sewing machine service and fabric stores (I know I can go to Tucson if need be). What is the area like? Has there been any more reported leukemia cases since 2007? If we have to live off post what is the cost of living like, rent and utility wise? Should we live in another town instead? I'll be honest, I really am not looking forward to this move. I like it here in Alaska and have everything I could ever need or want (aside from my DH for 6-8 months!) and have a great house and support network and I am a licensed sole proprietor here until 2011. There is a possibility that my son and I could stay here while my husband goes down there for his school and I am debating on if I should put in the paperwork to just stay here. The only reason I hesitate to do that is the actual separation from my husband and for DS being away from daddy. We don't know where we will go after Huachuca and there is always the possibility he will deploy immediately once we get to the next duty station. I'm looking for honest opinions here on the area and what it has to offer. I already know that post housing is smaller than what we have here and there is no guarantee we will even get on post. Beyond that though, quite frankly the whole leukemia cluster thing has me on edge and makes me want to run the other direction. I have done a lot of research on it but have a hard time finding any information past 2007. I want to talk to people who live there, they are the ones who have the real story. Thank you for your time everyone. I'm sure it's not as scary as it seems to me at the moment.

[thefragile7393]

I can't ally your fears of the cluster....I am not sure where in SV it is. You might want to google it and read more for yourself.....sounds like you have already. The EPA basically pooh-poohed the whole thing of course.

It IS hot down there, but it's not as hot as Tucson. It's always around 10 degrees cooler down in Southeastern AZ< so you do have that going for you. SV is kind of high in the way of costs but much of southern AZ is. It's the only medium sized town in the area, with Tucson being the closest city, so moving to one of the small towns nearby, like Whetstone, Tombstone, Palominas, Hereford, may not be much better.

[BeccaBaby1]

Sorry you're not getting many responses. I haven't seen much Sierra Vista activity on here. I'm from Tucson so I don't know that much about it but what I do know is that when I've visited it seems like a nice little town. The area is quite lovely and the weather - while hotter than Alaska - is not so bad. Your home will have a good cooling system and the depending on the time of year it could be stunning weather. Our spring, fall and winters are so beautiful. Plus, most everything is beyond air conditioned in the hottest months. I often bring a sweater with me in the summer when I go some place like the movie theater or the mall.

I am sure they have a sew and vac, and if not in town there are some great fabric stores in Mexico... hello good deals!

There is a homebirth midwife, Stephanie Fritz, in Sierra Vista. I don't know her but I have heard only rave reports, so the town can't be all bad, right? Maybe you could contact her and see if she can plug you into a network. I know there are lots of great families in the area so I would think you should be able to connect with a community.

I have heard about the leukemia deal but it hasn't been in the news for quite some time. Maybe it's resolved??

If I was in your position I'd go. I don't think I would do 6 months apart with the possibility of deployment immediately after because of a less-than-perfect move. Not everyone loves southern Arizona, but you may be surprised. In my biased opinion, it is pretty fantastic.

Originally Posted by thefragile7393

SV is kind of high in the way of costs but much of southern AZ is. It's the only medium sized town in the area, with Tucson being the closest city, so moving to one of the small towns nearby, like Whetstone, Tombstone, Palominas, Hereford, may not be much better.

Really? I thought southern AZ was fairly cheap. I guess I see us in relation to California and think we're a bargain.