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| What Green Valley is like for active adults |
| Green Valley is one of the larger active adult communities in the world. It is actually a collection of developments and developments located in extreme southern Arizona. For more details follow the link at right which says "More Communities", or select Arizona using the menu for "Top Active Communities" near the top of this page. Photos of Green Valley courtesy of Wikipedia and Ken Bosma (rooftops), golf cart crossing (Sonya). |
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| Where to Live & Real Estate Values |
There are several developments within Green Valley. In fact there are 59 different home owners associations. Most, but not all are age restricted. See the link at right for "Active Communities" to find out more.
According to city-data the median home in Green Valley sold for about $120,000 to $130,000 in late 2011. |
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| What is special about this retirement community |
| Green Valley offers good value for the money in terms of the housing and amenities offered. It also has a moderate winter climate, although periods of hard freeze can occur. Because of its size the range of its activities and the range of people to meet is more extensive than most other active adult communities. The non-profit Green Valley Recreation is quite extraordinary, operating 13 different recreation centers with golf courses, swimming pools, fitness centers, etc. It also provides many opportunities for the arts and entertainment. One of its attractions is that its facilities and programs allow people from different communities to mix. |
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| What is not special about this retirement community |
| Many illegals and drugs coming through area. |
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| What kinds of people like retiring here |
| People who want a warm winter and love the desert will like Green Valley. Golfers, group activity enthusiasts, and people who like the outdoors will feel at home here. |
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| Local economy is driven by |
| Mining, agriculture, retirees and tourism. |
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| Climate and Physical Environment |
Green Valley is in a basin below the Santa Rita Mountains near the Mexican border. Considered temperate by Arizona standards, nights can get cold in winter and days very hot in summer. Water conservation is a major concern for any further growth in the area.
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| Restaurants & Cultural Scene |
Green Valley has a modicum of entertainment though mostly amateur. Tucson and the U of A is just a short drive away with some excellent entertainment. Number and variety of restaurants is very limited at this time, mostly Mexican, Italian and coffee shops. Restaurants are expensive for the quality of food. Again, drive to Tucson, especially if you like to dine after 8 pm.
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| Crime |
| Green Valley lies in the "illegal" corridor and has seen a major jump in robberies, assault and home invasions in the past several years. Do not to travel alone or to hike into the desert. Towns around Green Valley are known for drug trafficking and drug use. Lots of BP helicopters overhead. |
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| Medical facilities |
The nearest hospitals to Green Valley are in Tucson, 24 miles away on the Interstate |
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| Transportation |
An Interstate 19 runs through the middle of the community. Tucson International Airport is 23 miles. There is a some local bus service.
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What people are saying about Green Valley | | A Great Place to Live |
| Lived in GV for four years. Agree with all the good comments that folks have made and take exception to some of the bad ones. I served with the Sherriffs Auxiliary for two years and would say that GV is one of the safer places in this country to live. We patrolled every neighborhood at least twice a day with 4-5 patrol cars on the road at all times during the day. Green Valley Rec is an outstanding organization and very reasonable (after the initial buy-in) on an annual basis. In our particular neighborhood (approx. 160 homes) we had 6 organized activities every month: 2 couples (potluck and wine tasting), 2 ladies (luncheon and book club), and 2 mens (luncheon and poker night). I would recommend Green Valley to anyone. |
| Posted by bhenk on May 06, 2012 | | Richard |
| Editor's note: We are grateful to Richard to responding to these comments. Unfortunately Yeager seems to have a vendetta against Green Valley and has mounted a campaign to demonize Green Valley. We are sure it has its problems, like everywhere else, but it can't be all bad with so many people living there:
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Do these people live on the same planet where Green Valley, Arizona is located? I have lived here for five years and my wife and I love this area. I'll go through the comments one by one and respond. 1) Extraordinarily expensive? The only thing more expensive here is gasoline that is normally about 20 cents per gallon more than in Tucson, but Tucson is only 17 miles away, so that's not a concern. Want low prices? Why not go to Super Wal-Mart? And yes, we have one of those. 2) Businesses shut down when the snowbirds are not here? Not that I've ever noticed. The only thing that changes is the number of cars on our streets. Name one business that shuts down during the summer months. You can’t do it, can you? 3) Sub-freezing days? We had three of them last January (January 2011) and those were the first in about 10 years. But the palm trees survived very nicely, thank you, very few water lines were frozen, and only a few cactus plants, mostly Organ Pipes, suffered. The only snow I ever see is on the Santa Ritas across the valley. But it can occasionally snow here -- I seem to remember that about 1 inch of snow fell about three years ago. It melted the next day. 4) Crime? Where? Yes, there are smugglers traveling through Green Valley on I-19, but they don't even slow down for our area. We have excellent police coverage from the Pima County Sheriff's Department which has a sub-station in the center of Green Valley. One time when I called the sheriff's office to check out what I thought was a prowler (it wasn’t) they arrived within 1 1/2 minutes. And the Border Patrol is virtually everywhere when needed with agents, vans and helicopters (some on horseback or ATV) whenever a smuggler or illegal is sighted and they round them up fairly quickly. 5) Medical care is excellent with virtually all Tucson hospitals having offices and clinics here. I have both a Carondelet doctor (2 miles) and one at the V.A. hospital in Tucson (15 miles). They are both excellent and the costs are more than reasonable. $5 co-pay is not bad. 6) The GVR? Many properties do not need to join the GVR and even if you must join, the services are great. My wife and I went to a GVR sponsored movie just last week. The cost? Free. The only thing the GVR doesn't cover is golf fees. The golf courses (I believe there are 19 of them) are private businesses and membership in them is separate from GVR fees. 7) HOA fees? I don't think $33 a year is outrageous. If you can't afford it, then you'd better look somewhere else. The HOAs are great for keeping our area clean and neat. There are no junked cars in yards, trash and brush are picked up each week, and homes are well-maintained. The only major concern my HOA has are people from outside our neighborhood who insist on allowing their dogs to run loose in our HOA-owned park. We’re working to resolve the issue. 8) Utilities are high? No more than anywhere else. They are all provided by Tucson Electric Power, Southwest Gas (out of Tucson), several companies provide trash pickup and their prices are very competitive. The rates of all utilities are the same as residents of Tucson pay. As I wrote above, only gasoline is more expensive here than in Tucson, but you quickly learn how to avoid that and Tucson typically has the lowest price per gallon of any city in the country. 9) It's a great place to live, but if you think it's a bad place, please keep thinking that and don't bother to move here. We don't need your negativity here. We like our pleasant, peaceful community where there is always something to do if you're interested and you can always drive into Tucson where there is always something going on. |
| Posted by admin on January 16, 2012 | |
| Extraordinarily expensive. Local merchants rarely respond to phone calls or show up for appointments. If you do patronize them be aware you will be grossly overcharged. Solicit services from Tucson - better quality and better prices. |
| Posted by yeager on April 04, 2011 | |
| Become a madhouse in the winter months when the snowbirds are here. GVR and many shops and restaurants shut down almost all activities after mid-April til October so there's nothing to do in the summer. But at least the summer is peaceful.... |
| Posted by yeager on March 23, 2011 | |
| We shopped a lot of communities and settled on GV because of the weather(although its been below freezing the last few days, it is better than Minnesota!) We however were shocked when at closing we were informed of the GVR buy-n fee for rec activities and the annual dues assessments. This is in addition to HOA fees and extra fees for special activities also run by GVR. Really sad because we don't have any desire to use the GVR activities, but we couldn't find a decent home without this add-on. Still, if you like to belong to clubs, play pickleball and have organized pool activities, this might be the place for you. |
| Posted by hasely on January 01, 2011 | | Cost of Living |
| Quite high for food, utilities, recreation, and local shopping. Get services out of Tucson as local merchants steal you blind. :evil: Local medical and dental costs are the worse. |
| Posted by DannyF on December 29, 2010 | | Way to go Green Valley |
| Green Valley must have quite a reputation with baby boomers - it was just named to the list of the top 10 most popular towns for retirement. http://www.topretirements.com/blog/active-adult-communities/10-most-popular-retirement-towns-announced.html |
| Posted by readytoplay on August 19, 2007 |
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Facts about GREEN VALLEY
- State: AZ
- Environment: Rural,Desert,Golf Community,
- City Population: 10,000-25,000
- Median age of Population: 65+
- Avg Jan Temperature: 61 +
- Median HH Income: 41,001-60,000
- Average Home Price (MLS): $100,000-$200,000
- Annual Property Tax on a $200,000 house: Less than 2000
- Total Crime Index: 111-120 (high)
- Cost of Living Index: 91-100 (slightly below average)
- Culture Index: 91-100 (slightly below average)
- State Sales Tax: Yes
- State Income Tax: Yes
- Name of the Guide: df
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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 |
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Vote on the Ratings for Green Valley |
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Update Your Ratings |
1. Overall Retirement Ratings
1. Rating: 3.1/5 ( 33 votes cast)
2. Expense:
Inexpensive to Luxury
2. Rating: 3.9/5 ( 17 votes cast)
3. Taxes:
Inexpensive to Expensive
3. Rating: 3.1/5 ( 21 votes cast)
4. Culture:
None to Cosmopolitan
4. Rating: 2.8/5 ( 13 votes cast)
5.Recreation:
None to Summer camp
5. Rating: 3.7/5 ( 20 votes cast)
6. Transportation:
Boondocks to World Hub
6. Rating: 2.4/5 ( 15 votes cast)
7. Security:
Dangerous to Ft. Knox
7. Rating: 2.7/5 ( 21 votes cast)
8. Medical Facilities:
None to Excellent
8. Rating: 2.7/5 ( 15 votes cast)
9. Political Situation:
Conservative to Liberal
9. Rating: 2.9/5 ( 14 votes cast)
10. Environmental:
Oblivious to Ultra-Green
10. Rating: 2.8/5 ( 18 votes cast)
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