New-Age Slums Infiltrate Trendy Sedona

Larry Gorum lives among the red rocks that make this a mecca for the rich and those drawn by its mystical, New Age appeal.

Within earshot of babbling Oak Creek and in the shadow of sheer, 1,000-foot canyon walls, his home is just a block from the trendy craft shops and cafes that line State Route 89.

But aside from the view, it isn’t much of a home. Since arriving several months ago from Albuquerque, N.M., Gorum has lived in a beat-up trailer the size of a mini-van parked in Hawkeye R.V. Park.

He pays $250 a month to rent his plot. His roommate is his daughter’s purebred wolf, who days before gave birth to seven mixed pups. He cooks outside and uses a shower and toilet at the park manager’s office. He has no phone.

“It’s pretty expensive to live in Sedona,” said Gorum, a 65-year-old former railroad conductor who lives on disability checks. “I can’t afford some rents they’re asking for.”

It’s a growing trend in Sedona and many other Western resort towns: As the city of 15,000 becomes a mecca for tourism, New Age devotees and affluent retirees, the cost of rentals and homes is being pushed beyond what the young, the unskilled and those on fixed incomes can afford.

To buy a home in Sedona these days, you’re looking at paying at least $250,000. Rentals have prices befitting big cities.

“I choose to live in Sedona because it’s a very spiritual place,” Gorum said. “But I found Sedona doesn’t want a lot of people here. They’re afraid they’ll ruin the place.”

With most jobs here in the service sector, money doesn’t go a long way for people like Jared Caron, a 20-year-old coffee shop clerk making $8 an hour.

“My roommate and I are paying $750 a month for a two-bedroom apartment,” Caron said. “That’s pretty steep for someone my age.”

Caron lives just outside of Sedona. Others are forced to live 20 miles or more away in working-class towns like Cottonwood or Camp Verde. Nightly commutes home on the rural back roads are harrowing.

Melvin Jones, who makes $6 an hour at a convenience store in Sedona, scrapes together $800 a month to pay a mortgage on a house in Rimrock, a 30-minute commute each way.

“There’s no way we can afford to live in Sedona,” Jones said.

Some who choose to live closer to town live in substandard housing at R.V. and trailer parks, many of which have no plumbing. Others rent a plot and pitch tents. Others simply are homeless, sleeping in the forest only to be chased away by park rangers.

“I’m not happy about it,” said Kiran Degun, a 24-year-old father of two who was homeless briefly when he arrived in Sedona from Seattle last December. “It’s a struggle and a challenge. But our problems are only money.”

Degun and his wife, Julia, are living in Sedona with a friend until they can find an affordable rental. Julia takes home about $200 a week as a waitress but Kiran stays home with the two infants because they can’t find any day care in the area.

Julia Degun said she has found two-bedroom rentals ranging from $500 to $800 a month, depending on the location.

“The city isn’t used to all this rapid growth,” she said. “They should realize that they have to have housing for all these new people coming in.”

Roger Zemelka, executive officer of the Sedona-Verde Valley Assn. of Realtors, acknowledged the shortage of affordable housing, but said the situation is manageable because people can live in nearby towns.

Frank Miller, executive director of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, said the biggest problems are faced by those who insist on living in Sedona even though they have little money.

“We get a lot of young people who fall in love with the place who don’t even have a job,” Miller said. “They’re the ones who are experiencing the pressure of finding affordable apartments.”

‘I choose to live in Sedona because it’s a very spiritual place. But I found Sedona doesn’t want a lot of people here. They’re afraid they’ll ruin the place.’

Larry Gorum, left, who lives in the Hawkeye R.V. Park in Sedona, just a block from the town’s trendy main drag. He pays $250 a month in rent.