|
|
| What Bisbee is like for active adults |
Bisbee is an historic mining town in south central Arizona, almost at the Mexican border. If you are looking for an interesting, off-beat place to retire, Bisbee might be the place. An associate of ours recently visited Bisbee and reported back that he thought the town was a "sleeper", an up and comer that could be the next hot retirement destination. Time will tell. The town is at 5,500 ft., an elevation that gives it milder temperatures than most places in Arizona.
The Bisbee area is famous for its copper, gold, and silver mines. The Copper Queen Mine, one of its largest, helped serve America's need for copper during WWI. The mining industry has had its booms and busts, but the result overall was to create a city with great wealth, even its own suburbs. Today there is still some open pit mining.
Bisbee is famous for its Victorian architecture and Bisbee Blue, a beautiful turquoise. Hippies discovered the town in the 70's as a refuge from trendy (and expensive) Aspen. John Wayne was a frequent visitor and helped in the town's economic development. Today Bisbee is one of the most interesting towns in the southwest. It has been actively promoted as a tourist destination and place for baby boomers looking for an interesting retirement town. The Copper Queen Hotel is an anchor for the downtown, along with a great Art Deco Hotel. There are plenty of coffee shops. The AARP named Bisbee one of the "quirkiest" towns in America. Believe it or not Bisbee actually has some suburbs - one of the nicest is the very affluent community of Warren. Jerome AZ is a town which is frequently compared to Bisbee.
Real estate prices tend to go in cycles in Bisbee. There are plenty of beautiful Victorians and prices go up and down. According to City-Data.com median home prices at the end of 2009 tended to be in the $140's. Of course the condition and location can produce big swings below and above that average. |
|
Edit | History |
| |
|
| What is special about this retirement community |
| Victorian architecture, Copper Queen Hotel, quirky town, location in the mountains. Bisbee has been documented in The New Yorker as well as The Cornell Review by Calvin Trillin. Set in the Mule Mountains, the hills are so steep that some homes can only be reached by steps. The Sheriff of Cochise and numerous other TV shows and movies were filmed here. |
|
Edit | History |
|
| What is not special about this retirement community |
| Bisbee is prone to booms and busts, so far. It is located in a very remote part of the country. And if you don't like quirky, you won't like Bisbee. |
|
Edit | History |
|
| What kinds of people like retiring here |
| Former hippies, baby boomers who loved their era, people with a sense of adventure, and those who love southern Arizona will love it in Bisbee. |
|
Edit | History |
|
| Local economy is driven by |
| Tourism and mining are the big influences in the Bisbee economy. Minerals like turquoise, malachite, and galena are found and sold here. |
|
Edit | History |
|
| Climate and Physical Environment |
| Bisbee is at an elevation of 5,500+ ft. in the Mule Mountains, 82 miles southeast of Tucson near the Mexican border. The climate is relatively mild for being this far south. |
|
Edit | History |
|
| Cultural environment |
| The Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum is located in the former Phelps Dodge general office building. There is the Arizona Cactus Botanical Garden and Southeastern Arizona Bird Sanctuary. Bisbee's tourist promotion emphasizes the town's historic old west flavor. Known to be gay-friendly, there are several Gay Pride parades/events per year. |
|
Edit | History |
|
| Medical facilities |
| Copper Queen Municipal Hospital. There is another hospital in Douglas, 12 miles away |
|
Edit | History |
|
| Transportation |
| Sierra Vista Muni-Libby and Fort Huachuca AAF is 33 miles away. Bisbee has a muni field as well. |
|
Edit | History |
| | |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Please note that all contributions to Topretirements may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then don't submit it here. By submitting content and/or photographs here you agree to give Topretirements.com the rights to use them in any manner without cost or attribution.You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Project:Copyrights for details). DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Facts about BISBEE
- State: AZ
- Environment: Mountains,Desert,Small Town,
- City Population: Less than 10,000
- Median age of Population: 25-44
- Avg Jan Temperature: 41-60
- Median HH Income: 20,001-40,000
- Average Home Price (MLS): $100,000-$200,000
- Annual Property Tax on a $200,000 house: Less than 2000
- Total Crime Index: 101-110 (slightly above average)
- Cost of Living Index: 91-100 (slightly below average)
- Culture Index: <80 (Very low)
- State Sales Tax: Yes
- State Income Tax: Yes
- Name of the Guide: boomer
|
|
Can you add to or correct these Facts? Or do you have a photo of this community we could use? If so, please click on Edit these facts |
|
|
|
Vote on the Ratings for Bisbee |
|
Update Your Ratings |
1. Overall Retirement Ratings
1. Rating: 4.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
2. Expense:
Inexpensive to Luxury
2. Rating: 3.5/5 ( 2 votes cast)
3. Taxes:
Inexpensive to Expensive
3. Rating: 4.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
4. Culture:
None to Cosmopolitan
4. Rating: 4.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
5.Recreation:
None to Summer camp
5. Rating: 3.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
6. Transportation:
Boondocks to World Hub
6. Rating: 1.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
7. Security:
Dangerous to Ft. Knox
7. Rating: 1.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
8. Medical Facilities:
None to Excellent
8. Rating: 1.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
9. Political Situation:
Conservative to Liberal
9. Rating: 2.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
10. Environmental:
Oblivious to Ultra-Green
10. Rating: 4.0/5 ( 1 vote cast)
|
|
|
 |
|
