Troubled Tucson and No It's Not Getting Better
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8/21/2017
I cannot understand how people can give Tucson glowing reviews today, unless they are trying to provide what they think is needed balance to overwhelmingly negative reviews. This isn't a competition between Tucson devotees and Tucson detractors. How does that help anybody really judge a place?
As far as Tucson goes, the news has been and continues to be overwhelmingly negative. Is that so bad? It doesn't have to be forever. And I fail to understand how it helps anyone or helps to improve anything if we all pretend that that the problems aren't so bad or don't exist. You can't learn from something you don't acknowledge. The truth is that Tucson is not doing well. It's performance coming out of 'The Great Recession' lags behind just about every other American city. And it is not just a matter of attitude or opinion either. Objective data don't lie.
10 years after the crash and well into recovery from the Great Recession, Tucson still ranks comparatively at or near bottom of all US cities in terms of wages; employee rights and job security; household income; people living at or below the Federal poverty level; income disparity between rich and poor; economic growth; economic diversification and resiliency; short and midterm economic outlook; infrastructure management (especially roads); the quality of public education; the quality of social services and safety nets; services for the mentally ill, children and vulnerable populations; homelessness; public transportation, per capita crime; alcoholism and drug addiction; recovery of the housing market, and the health and well-being of Tucson city government and Pima County government. Ask for help and they'll pretty much all tell you that they can't fill department jobs and hire quality talent because there's no money in city and county coffers.
Yes, this is a lusher Sonoran desert than you will find in Phoenix. The mountain views if you can afford to live outside of the city can be spectacular. The weather is cooler than Phoenix in general. If you like to hike and bike, you'll find plenty of places to do that in and around Tucson.
If you don't need to work or earn an income locally or if you're one of those few people who can find secure employment here, there are bargains aplenty in Tucson. But for most of you, I would think long and hard about calling Tucson home until things change drastically in this here 'Ole Pueblo'. Any time that you hear that children who grow up here can't remain here because there aren't enough quality, decent paying jobs to support the population the city already has - you really need to look hard at the fundamentals of where you are considering moving. This has always been true of Tucson. Young adults leave as soon as they graduate. Tucson has never been self-sustaining. Let's hope the citizenry is learning that lesson now. But don't hope for a quick turnaround. Tucson is incredibly slow to plan and act. There is tremendous embedded inertia here.
Sam | Catalina Foothills, AZ