I'm in the minority, but I actually like lots of things about this place. One big plus is that I can actually afford to live here, so that's nice. Crime? Totally depends on where you live. I never go to the south side, and with good reason. Other areas are sketchy, but at least you immediately see them. Pretty easy to figure when you have left the good parts. Weather? Man, summer is brutal. Not that much difference in temps anymore compared to Phoenix. People? A real mixed bag. Some of the people can be friendly. Summer heat makes everyone edgy and snappy. Lots of people here from somewhere else, and not all of them are friendly, but plenty are what I would call "retail friendly". Few east coast rude folks. I miss the friendly Southerners down South, but w/ that comes an awful lot of Trump supporters. You won't see much of that in Tucson, which is why I'm here. There is an annoyingly amount of politically correct older yuppies who think they're liberal. Well, they probably were back in Ohio and Wisconsin, but they're not my idea of liberal. Again, it's still better than right wingers. You have to lower your expectations here, vs liberal cities I could never in a million years afford to live in. Fall and winters are great. Figure on great weather for half the year, an oven for the other half. Beautiful mountains. We do get snowbirds, a sub culture of people that I have learned to avoid in Florida, but that's unavoidable in any city that has mild winters. Southwestern food is very good here, and plenty of other foods like Thai, Vietnamese, etc.
If you stick to the better parts of town you will probably never experience any crime. Just check the online newspaper, so much of it is always in the same bad areas. Wildlife is everywhere. Coyotes and bunnies loping through neighborhoods. Not sure if that's a plus, but I enjoy it. Tons of hawks and lizards and such. Fantastic place to bike if you live in the right area. I can get to everything w/o having to get on main roads that have bike lanes w/ lots of car traffic.
In the end, Tucson is a compromise. I haven't had any trouble finding good health care, safe, affordable housing, and it's an escape from cold weather and Republicans. Factor in the great biking, usually clean air, and safety if you live in the right areas, and it grows on you.
steve |
Albuquerque, NM |
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