Tucson's pros and cons.
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7/12/2009
I moved here in 2005, near the height of the housing bubble, because I couldn't afford a house in CA. I'll admit that I didn't do a lot of homework before buying out here, but part of what attracted me to Tucson was the fact that $200K got you a decent little house in 05. Today you can get the same thing here for about $150K. Moreover, though, I bought here because it is a 6 hour drive, or a quick 1 hr flight to San Diego when I get home sick. LOL.
To me, the pros of Tucson are as follows: Affordable homes, nice weather about 6 months of the year. Reasonable amount of things to do, both indoor and outdoors. Generally speaking restaurant food is pretty affordable. More on that later. Scenic views, but only on the outskirts, i.e., the mountains and undeveloped desert landscape. And personally speaking, I have met a few nice people here and there. I am lucky to have really nice neighbors. I can't say I ever had nice neighbors in California. Moreover, most people I know here seem to be happy with Tucson. Lastly, the community college, Pima, is pretty good and they have campuses throughout the city.
Now the downside: While the fall and winter months here are very nice, better than many other places I've lived, the other 6 months, especially June thru September are absolutely nuts. I mean you'd have to be a desert tortoise to live here durning that time of year. By the way, don't tell me it a "dry heat." My reply to that comment would be "so is an oven." Oh yes, as I write this it is 108 outside. Dry heat or not, it's brutal for several months out of the year. The low humidity sucks the life right out of your skin! The pay scale in this state is rather low. Sure the housing is cheaper, but upwards of $4-5 hour less for the same work in CA? Come on! And while restaurant dinning is reasonably priced, you will not find Tucson to be a city for cuisine. Case in point, a $7 plate of Mexican food, at say Casa Molina, tastes just like a $5 plate of crap. If love an abundance of good restaurants to choice from this is not the city. Yes, there are a few high-end places, but few good casual spots. Oh, and customer service is absolutely subpar compared to other parts of the country. I noticed this right away when I moved here and you will too. I know I will offend the diehard Tucsonians, but a large percentage of the people here, nice or otherwise, are clearly behind the times. For example, a lot of men over 40 have haircuts straight out of the 70s. Attractive women? Not exactly a dime a dozen over here. Yes, I know that looks do not make a person. But the smokers! Geez! You think that in a place as hot as it gets here the last thing you'd want to do is light up? Furthermore, most car drivers do not use bluetooths, and many motorcyclist do not wear helmets. I have one word-foolish. Though they are widening the I-10, the entire infrastructure is sorely lacking. We have no converging freeways-just interstate 10. Therefore, depending on your location, it can take 20 minutes to drive 9 miles. But in all fairness the traffic is still lighter compared to other large cities. In closing, the north part of Tucson is fairly clean, however, the south is an armpit of sorts. And the south is quite high with crime. Rundown mobile homes abound!
Tucson is not unlike many medium sized cities in that it has its high and points points. Do I want to stay here? Actually, if it were 10 degrees cooler, and there were running water nearby this would be a decent place to live. I need to see more greenery and life. Plastic garbage bags stuck to cactus isn't my idea of beauty. Why doesn't the city, with it's large prison and jails, have the inmates do cleanups?
Will I be staying here for the long haul? Even with all the negative things I've mentioned Tucson would be a nice place to have a second home for the winter months. Unfortunately, I can't afford two homes. So the answer is no; I'll be moving in a few years.
John | Coronado, CA