Anti-Growth & Anti-Jobs
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10/15/2016
Tucson's problem and the reason that it will not be on anyone's 'places to be list' for decades is that it has shunned growth and jobs for so long that it will take decades to recover what it lost in the housing bust and great recession. They won't tell you this here but there's not going to be any recovery or much of anything you can measure, just a slow slog out of the mire...a mire of its own making. It's depressing and it should be depressing for anyone who had investments here. Five to six years after the trough, just about every other Western Sunbelt city has come roaring back and then some - except for Tucson. Phoenix is going gangbusters. You can't find property in Flagstaff. Prescott has come back. Tucson just never got its act together; they took growth for granted. They didn't work with neighboring cities, town, and counties to come up with coordinated plans for smart growth. They didn't market the city to businesses or seek to diversify their employer base. How long have we had the big four - the U of A, Raytheon, DMAFB, and hospitals/healthcare? We lost commercial and residential construction so no longer have the big five. I would say that this city has another 15 years or so to go before it reaches the level of excitement or housing prices before the big bust. By then, every other decent city in the nation will be comparatively far out of reach.
Tucson sealed its fate after years of sticking its head in the sand. It's not coming back. This is not a city for anyone who wants a healthy or thriving economy or social scene. It's so behind the times, you can smell the decay and rot in the air here. Short of Miami and South Florida going under water, Tucson will not be anyone's radar any time soon.
James | Catalina Foothills, AZ