Rio Rico, Is a place in Santa Cruz county Arizona, about an hour drive from Tucson, Arizona. Believe it or not I have a sister who’s lived in Rio Rico for the last 12 years. And until I went to visit her for a weekend over the summer I never knew why the hell she moved there. She would always tell me she loved the quiet and peacefulness of the desert, She also told me she an the kids enjoyed the deer in her backyard. I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t buying it.
What could possibly be better than living in the city when you have a Chipotle just a click away, Or the convenience of driving up to the nearest gas station or grocery store for that cheap bottle of red wine. After Some time my sister convinced me to come for a weekend. I had to see what all the hype was about. Once we passed through Green Valley, I couldn’t believe I was still in Arizona. The drive itself had already sold me. Golf courses on golf courses, New properties being built and for Cheap! I saw all the potential all these CDP’s (Census designated places) had to offer.
Once we got into Rio Rico my sister had set us up in a Condo located right on the Santa Cruz River. There were chickens and cows. I could feel the serene energy and I had only been there for 30 minutes. It was just what I needed coming from Phoenix. I needed calm. We took a nice little hike along the Santa Cruz River with Lola the farm dog as our guide. The babbling brook to my left became our soothing background noise. I couldn’t believe this was only an hour drive from Tucson and a two and a half hour from Phoenix. Did I also mention the drop in temperature? Rio Rico was about 10 degrees cooler than the 100 degree temps in Tucson and Phoenix. Later on we grabbed a pizza from the local pizzeria “The Italian Peasant” located next door in Tubac, Arizona. The people were friendly and I just couldn’t get over the small town vibe and how everyone knew one another. Everything is made and grown locally and sold in the markets. When my weekend trip was over I felt like I just left a nice weekend getaway in Ojai California.
Why Rio Rico? Why not? Rio Rico is the quiet serene place everyone needs to be. And the City is less than an hour away! Not only is the land affordable, Rio Rico is safe, quiet and friendly, with views for days. Take a trip, buy that land, you won’t regret it.
