Help! We're thinking of moving to Tucson and need your opinion

[pureid]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

Tucson is a dumping site for litter, used cars, trash, beer bottles and garbage. That is all you see when you drive down from Phoenix. I would never live in such a trashy place.

PhxBarb is obviously from Phx and way too biased to be taken seriously. She is way off here in fact the only thing that hampers the beautiful drive from Phx to Tuc. is the sprawling suburban mess called Phoenix.

The reality is that Tucson is a beautiful city with a great deal of history and charm. The north side (Oro valley and the Foothills) tend to have the best schools and are, generally-speaking, the nicest areas to live. There are also some wonderful private schools (e.g., Salpointe, St. Gregory, Green Fields). Having been born and raised in Tucson, I can say that it was a nice place to grow-up. Best of luck.

[tracey_stoner]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

Hi there, I moved to Tucson from Alaska in 2003. I am real glad I've had the opportunity to experience Tucson but can't wait to leave. To answer your questions, the school system sucks. I went to Amphi High and was good friends with one of my teachers. She was making nothing and drove a beat up car. She explained why she hated being a teacher in tucson. The city is cheap.

Tucson, for its size, is fairly dirty. Things are not well kept, there are sporadic abandoned buildings all over, and my GOD, there is trash everywhere. Not like back in AK. Really if you want a nice neighborhood, look north of River Road. Anything south is not good, which is most of Tucson. If you go south of tucson to Sahuarita or Green Valley, those are nice areas. North you have Marana (I don't like marana but others do), Oro Valley (Rich and pricey), and more of the Foothills.

The crime in the past few years has gone up. I never witness gunshots until I moved here. In my neighborhood in central tucson (1st & Fort lowell) there are gunshots and gang activity all the time. No part of Tucson is real safe anymore. I work for the library system here in town, and a few months ago, a deliveryman bringing breakfast to our Main Library was severly beaten by thugs downtown at 8 in the morning!!! Fortunately he was okay but was in a coma for a while.

If tucson would clean itself up, pay better wages, get a better school system, and enact better public transit, and fix the crime problem, I would consider giving this city another chance. I've been to other desert cities and larger cities across the US for that matter, and Tucson is a pretty trashy place compared to other cities.

I never witness gunshots until I moved here. In my neighborhood in central tucson (1st & Fort lowell) there are gunshots and gang activity all the time. No part of Tucson is real safe anymore.
thats funny because i live in that area and yeah that is pretty true. I hear sirens all day and the helicopter at night..but i love it!!..lol....yeah there is also gang activiity but as long as ur not a gangster banging on some foos then you aint got 2 worry about being shot at or something.Down here they dont shoot you for no reason you gotta give us one..we dont disrespect until you do it 1st..and once you disrespect your done.oh and about people worrying about drugs being sold to their kids or something..if your kids arent into drugs then they wont start doing them cuz around here people dont just come up 2 u nad be like here little kid take some of this rock rithe here and smoke it when u go home...man crackheads here can afford to give away or "smoke little kids out"(which means smoke with them so they dont have to give them all their drugs.)thats why they are crackheads.im telling you nobody bothers you unless you bother them.

[mrsgreeniemama]

I lived all over the city from a trailer park on the south side (where I went to a high school that looked like a jail) to the foothills (where I went to a prestigious private school that got me into a top notch university). I have to say that you need money to be comfortable in Tucson, but if you have it, it is totally worth a shot. I lived most of my years there in the middle of town, and I was able to get everywhere with public transpo and a bike.

People are often excited when they see the "low cost of living" and get ideas about renting giant houses there. The rent is low because the landlords run slums and most people make minimum wage, so the rentals would be empty if the rent wasn't low. I almost froze to death one winter because my landlord wouldn't send someone to fix the heater, and living that life, I certainly didn't have the money to do it myself.

I will never live there again, but I am glad I did. It is a great experience if you like gritty towns (gritty is not the same as filthy, Phoenix Barb!), diversity, and a challenge. If I liked the heat I might move back, just to take on the city planning officials and try to keep the place from becoming Phoenix.

[ashmatical23]

I moved to Tucson a year ago for a job. I rented on the NW side, which was an okay part of town. I built in Sahuarita. It's the only community in Tucson that continues to grow while everything else shuts down. It's a great place to live. And despite what these boards say the commute is not bad at all. I actually work on the NW side of town- opposite side of where I built. It takes me 25-30 minutes to get to work in the morning. In Houston that kind of a commute was a given. Check out the Rancho Sahuarita website. You won't be disappointed.

[spike35]

The Vail Area of Tucson is very nice. My wife and I raised 3 daughters in Tucson. They went to Sabino High school.And the UofA Never had a worry, not even after our youngest was held hostage at Sabino. We moved to Tucson from Detroit Mighigan in 1973. just love it. Vail has the best school system at the present time.[INDENT]

Originally Posted by DKNorthwest

Hello! My husband and I are thinking of moving our family to Tucson from Portland, OR, for his job opportunity. We have a 5 month old daughter. We've heard mixed reviews about the area but are particularly concerned about drug issues, crime, and the school system. (I'm a teacher btw) My thought is that like any city there are good and bad areas and you just have to stick to the good...am I off base?

[/INDENT]

[re539]

I am one of the many that is considering the move to Tucson.
I have never been to Tucson. I am originally from IL, but did live in Las Vegas, NV for a while. The cost of living drove me out. I moved to Vegas for various health reasons. The Mojave desert delivered on its promise, and many of my chronic health problems disappeared, or were drastically reduced.

After reading through these posts, it sounds as if there are many similarities to Vegas. The North side of Vegas is a gang-banger infested ****-hole. It sounds like a large portion of Tucson is the same.

Finding a job in Vegas, making a living wage, is a challenge. Sounds like Tucson is the same.

I have read many comments on the elevated cost of housing in Tucson, yet I have been in contact with real estate agents, and done my own digging over the internet, and have had no problem finding 1500+ sq ft manufactured homes, on 1+ acres, for well under $100K. I have seen many properties of this description, between $65K-$80K. These places are 5 to 20 miles outside of town, and zoned for horses, so I assumed it would be rural, with little or no crime. Is this not correct? Has the crime over run even these middle-of-nowhere places?

Here in Peoria IL, $65K will get you a 800 sq ft house, with a tiny lot, in the ghetto. Rural Tucson housing looks like an incredible value! If the crime is low in those rural Tucson areas, why don't the people complaining about home prices, move there? What's the catch?

Weather wise, I hear a lot of complaints about the intense heat. I have also read some comments that Vegas is hotter, overall. The only months in Vegas where I truly loved the weather, was June, July, and August. In other words, 90+ degrees. My favorite day, when I lived in Vegas, was when I went hiking when it was 118. That was Heaven on earth! (my health problems cause me to have an extra-ordinarily low tolerance for the cold) So, what gives? Is Tucson hotter than Vegas? Can you feal the humidity difference? I hear Vegas is drier than Tucson. True?

I went to Phoenix to visit. The air there fealt heavy. Not like Vegas. I could breath in Vegas. In Phoenix, I felt like I had a weight on my chest. Can anyone make a Vegas to Tucson comparison?

I have read many comments on the poisonous reptile issues. I did a lot of hiking in the desert outside of Vegas. Some common sense was all it took to keep from getting bit. People make the Sonoran desert sound like it is so infested with poisonous critters, that hiking is not an option. Can someone that has hiked in both deserts, comment?

I have also read comments that one can't even access the desert without infringing on some government property that requires paying admission to access. That really perplexes me. In Vegas, to go hiking, I simply drove about 15 minutes outside of town, pulled the car off the side of the road, grabbed my gear, and off I went. What gives with the Tucson area?

I also have read comments that there is nothing to do in Tucson. In Vegas, year round motorcycling (on and off-road), mountain biking, and hiking are all readily accessible. Outdoor swimming can be done most of the year. What gives with Tucson? Why can't those things be done there?

[ashmatical23]

You should probably move back to Vegas.

[sickofIL]

After researching Tucson for awhile I think that the people that say there is nothing to do are the ones that are looking for big time nightlife. They probably need to live in a big city. I think that there are so many things to do there including things that I cannot afford to do in Chicago anymore. And most things in Tucson are free of have a minimal cost.

For instance, for me to take my family (myself, my wife and our 8 yo triplets) to Brookfield Zoo it would cost (including parking) about $90-100 without even buying anything to drink or eat. To go to the Tucson Zoo ($6 adults, $2 children free parking) it would cost $18! And the most expensive thing I can find is the Biodome II and it still cost less than going to the zoo here.

As for housing, here (Chicago area) there is no such thing as a house for $65-80k. Try $170k and up (unless you want to live in the getto or one of the very run down south side surburbs) and the taxes are outragous. You need to buy a houst in Tucson for well over $1m to get taxes like here. I have low taxes on my house. (so I am told) Mine are $5000/yr. If I moved two blocks away into the incorporated part of the city where I live I would be paying over $7500/yr. (my house was just appraised for $325k) I look at the Tucson MLS almost weekly and you need to get a house over about $550k before you even start getting close to what I pay. Plus a $250K house in Tucson is about the equivilent to about a $600k house here. We plan on a house around $200-230k. With the savings in taxes and mortgage I could take almost a 50% cut in salary and still live better.

I would'nt mind living outside the city in one of the houses like you are talking about but my wife doesn't want to be too far away from things and neighbors.

To me, Tucson is very attractive, it is very laid back compared to here and it doesn't get cold like here. Besides, I have alwale loved the desert an have been longing to live there.

As for here, we (my whole family) absolotely dispises it. We can see nothing good about it anywhere. Most everyone wants nothing to do with anyone else, they are very short tempered, (this is being very nice) arragant, self important, they only care about themselves, etc. It is difficult to live here. People don't want to be friends here. It's like they think you want something from them just to be friends.

We spent a week in Tucson and made friends with two people. We keep in touch almost weekly. I am on 2 Yahoo Groups, Tucson Life and Tucson Parents Network and I alread have a few others that I will look up when we get there.

Tucson is a place that I have been finding that people either love or hate. Well I think we will fit in the love it group.

[mlbasham]

They must be doing something right to have such technologically savvy gang-bangers! Imagine--participating in drivebys and selling crack by night, posting to the City-Data Tucson forum by day--impressive!

I lived in Tucson for several years and live in Phx. now, and I don't have clue what PhxBarb is talking about. Perhaps some people just can't feel good about themselves unless they feel superior to others, but anywho...

For my money, Tucson is a much more enjoyable city. It doesn't get quite as hot as Phoenix, it gets a bit more rain, and between the Catalinas and the Rincons the natural terrain is far prettier. It is a smaller city, but unless you are some sort of professional club-hopper, there is plenty to do. (Bonus for the young, single guys, magazines like Maxim and Stuff routinely rate U of A co-eds as some of the prettiest in the country! I was young and single when I was there and had a GREAT time! )

Like any place else, there are some bad parts of town (perhaps PhxBarb has never seen the trash heap that is El Mirage and South Phoenix?!?). But honestly, I also think Tucson is sort of classier than Phoenix. People just seem to have a greater respect for the history and culture of the Old West, and far more respect for preserving the beauty of nature. As long as you listen to the helpful posters to this thread and look for homes towards the North or in some of the newer developments, you'll be great.

[New West 2020]

The comments about the "foothills" being the only nice place to live are just not true. Great neighborhoods exist east of the U of A, between Pima and 18th Street (stay off 22nd or south). One high school (charter) at Broadway near Alvernon was rated #1 in the USA. "Inner city" schools such as Rincon/University High, Lineweaver, Sam Hughes, and others are top-rated, safe, and have great special programs.

The worst areas for crime are easy to track online, as the Tucson Police Department has a crime map for every single year. Notice, for example, very many pockets of low crime in the "mid-town" area, with a few nasty exceptions such as Grant and Alvernon, First and Ft. Lowell, etc. where meth heads have taken over. Stay away from the Interstate too, due to heavy drug trafficking. There are plenty of drug dealers and stash homes in the foothills, and foothill areas are experiencing plenty of crime (whether reported or not), so its really not easy to generalize. In Tucson, you really have to do your homework and then take the time to stake out the immediate surroundings, day and night, for a fdew times before you buy to see if its got some bad action.

Some inner city areas are really getting better. The neighborhood east of Country Club south of Speedway is actually becoming safer and new eco-homes are going up there, and you can walk to Wild Oats and cafes. Most neighborhoods in this vicinity, near "El Con", for example, have great old homes, large palm trees, nice neighbors, and bike routes or good walking routes that easily take you to shopping, buses, the jogging path, tennis, and golf course at Reid Park, the university, 4th Avenue and downtown. Some are in the big bucks range, but nice solid little mid-century places are available for a hell of a lot less than stick-built coffins in the foothills, and with the gas savings, you can afford to eat at those nice restaurants.

I would draw a line down Broadway between downtown and Kolb Road and look about a half mile on each side. You will find some cute homes in clean areas with decent schools and mature vegetation - all within walking distance to cafes, restaurants, malls, UA, etc. Same for Campbell Avenue north of Speedway all the way up to River Road. Look at the crime maps and stay out of the hot spots. Then take a really good look around the block, day and night. See some "urban backpackers" that look like LA gangsters, sometimes on bikes? Stay away. Its obvious.

Don't believe the prices in good areas of central Tucson will drop as much as suburbs to the south, or the outskirts of Phoenix. Ain't going to happen with $4.00 gas on the way. And while Tucson has plenty of dirtbags, it also has a lot of great folks, and its not nearly as overrrun or as scary as parts of Phoenix, Vegas or LA - not by a very long gunshot.