M6| Friday, March 6, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Special Advertising FeatureSpecial Advertising Section
Desert Living
of Sedona provide such a different landscape
from the East Coast,” Una says. “Our kids have
finished school so we thought we’d try some-
thing new.”
“We had visited Sedona before,” Tim says,
“and I thought it was spectacular. There’s
something mystical going on here that creates
a calming, peaceful feeling. It took me about
three seconds to get used to this lifestyle.”
They chose a house plan from Seven
Canyons Golf Course Community, sold their
home in Virginia and moved in this January.
“Our house is built on a hillside and has a lot
of glass and stone in natural colors and two
large patios,” Tim says. “It looks out on gigan-
tic red rocks scenery.”
Steve Laver, Seven Canyons’ project devel-
oper for its investors, says 70 of the commu-
nity’s homesites are sold, with many houses
under construction. Prices range from just
over $1 million to $2.3 million, depending on
what interior options their buyers select. Most
buyers, like the Higgins, are “active adults
who are retired or about to retire,” Laver says,
“and for many it’s their second or third home.”
The property also contains a rustic club-
house, L-shaped heated pool, fitness center
and, at its heart, a golf course designed by
Tom Weiskopf. Tim has played the course
but, so far, Una has been too busy. “Sedona
seems to have a festival every week,” she
says. “We just had the Sedona International
Film Festival & Workshop, and right after that
there’s a mountain biking festival, a yoga fes-
tival and even a hummingbird festival. The
Sedona Public Library is amazing and large
for a community of 10,000. There are author
lectures, workshops and language classes al-
most every day, plus all the art galleries and
great restaurants in town.”
“You can play golf in the morning and drive
up to Flagstaff for skiing that same afternoon,”
Tim adds. Or just hike through the canyons to
the popular Enchantment Resort for brunch.
“Everyone who buys a home in Seven
Canyonsbecomesamemberofourprivategolf
club,” Laver explains. “That membership also
gives them access to the resort’s restaurants,
spa and other amenities. But it’s not just golf-
ers.OurfirstbuyerwasanEnchantmentResort
loyal guest who loved going there so much
he wanted to live nearby. He doesn’t even
play golf.”MOUNTAIN SCENERY AND TUCSON CULTURE
Eddie Sturman has been playing golf on
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain course
since he and his wife, Carol, moved therefrom Colorado. “We purchased a former
model home,” Carol says, “and everything
is first-class, yet has a natural feeling in-
side and out. The centerpiece is a round
fireplace that is both indoors and out-
doors. Everything here is just more than
I expected.”
“There are so many amenities for the
homeowners,” she reveals, including a world-
class golf course and hotel, hiking and biking
on the miles of nearby trails, book clubs and
themed events in the “gorgeous” clubhouse.
Plus there are many cultural events in Tucson,
a city of about 800,000. “We recently attended
a cello concert by an award-winning young
performer who played in a botanic garden,
and on another day we attended a Mexican
heritage event. There are art museums and
the University of Arizona also provides the-
ater and concerts.”
It’s that college town culture that helped
draw Pamela and Andy Kerr from Wilmette,
Illinois, to a home in a gated community in
Tucson almost 20 years ago. “We fell in love
with the mountains and the dry environ-
ment,” Pamela says, “and moved here perma-
nently after Andy retired in 2016. We belong
to a golf club, hike, take classes and attend
events at the university, and participate in
volunteer organizations. Tucson is a very
welcoming community.”IS THAT A COW ON THE FRONT LAWN?
Anyone who wants to escape the com-
munity altogether and enjoy the area’s desert
climate and scenery in solitude has anoth-
er option. Sarasota, Florida, resident John
Winter will be glad to show you his 74 acres in
the Salero Ranch Community, a 15,000-acre
patch of mostly underdeveloped pristine high
desert 55 miles south of Tucson.
The ranch, Winter says, “is a beautiful loca-
tion with all kinds of wildlife, like mule deer
and bobcats, plus lots of cattle that graze and
roam freely there.” To live among them, you
must purchase at least 36 acres and live in a
house architecturally suited to the Old West.
“This environment surprised us,” says
Carol Sturman. “Before we purchased our
home in The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dove
Mountain, I visualized the desert as just
flat and dirt. Instead, it’s an area with foot-
hills, mountains and fascinating vegetation.
I still can’t believe we can walk out of our
home into this beautiful, natural setting.”Julie Bennett is a freelance writer special-
izing in franchising, small business and
lifestyle issues.Continued from M5
It’s an area with foothills,
mountains and fascinating
vegetation.I still can’t believe we
can walk out of our home into
this beautiful,natural setting.”
“
Should you play golf, go into Tucson for a concert or just stay here enjoying the view?
Plan each day on your comfortable patio.Golf course greenery, stately cactuses and mountain views are hallmarks of The
Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dove Mountain outside Tucson.PHOTOS: THE RITZ-CARLTON RESIDENCES, DOVE MOUNTAIN
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