What is Tucson like?
 

Been talking to a company in Tucson about an opportunity there. Any first hand experience with the area? It would be a big move from the South East.....

You will either love it or hate it, there is no in between.

It's a slower lifestyle, had a strong artist bend to it, a strange mix of "wild west do what you want" and "save the precious desert, recycle, and support the poor". There are some wealthy neighborhoods, but they are boring and sterile and look like any housing development where you live now.

Depending on where the job is, you potentially could live far outside the city and/or in higher elevation and have a pretty quiet time.

It's nice. Clean, a little pricey and unbearably hot in the summer (but not as bad as unbearable humidity). Friendly people.

Well, I lived in Phoenix for two years, but Tucson seemed pretty similiar. So here it goes...

It's hot, but much more comfortable than a humid climate. I mean once you get in the shade or AC you cool off. Not like NJ\NYC where you still feel sticky even in the AC. But watch when getting into your car. Buy a sunshade for your windshiled if you move there. Leave nothing in you car. Everything melts. Gatorade bottles deform. Cell phone LCD screens go out - ask me how I know. We used to leave cans of soup, pasta etc in the car when we were in classes. We would come out around 5-6pm, pour the stuff in a bowl and eat it. It's that hot.

The nice new places to live are pretty, but boring. Kind of feels like you are at a beach resort, without the beach, but there are plenty of pools. I don't know if there are some older nice neighborhoods, ie comparable to Scottsdale in Phoenix. They would be the place to live IMHO. They give you the desert climate but some older larger trees and grass. The newer developments most likely have gravel in place of lawns.

The people are nice, probably not more than 30-40% are from AZ orginally.

I loved the fact that there is so little rain! No rain dates for car shows. Dress the same everyday - shorts and a T-shirt. Could grill everday. Grilled steaks for Christmas one year. Never had to carry and umbrella. Could wash the car every day if you wanted to.

Living in Phoenix you also could get to the cooler climate (flagstaff) pretty quickly. So on summer weekends you could drive there to cool off. Also Prescott was a nice windy drive from Phoenix as well. I think there are some higher elevations near Tucson as well. Plus you can get to the beaches (Rocky Point - Puerto Penasco) in Mexico pretty quickly.

The girls are always scantilly clad. It's hot ya' know? Additionally the women are very attractive. I've HEARD ;) that the strip clubs in Phoenix\Tucson are pretty good.

You will miss the trees, etc. I really missed the changing of the seasons.

Being from NJ\NYC I also missed the variety of food. I mean you could get pizza\chinese\whatever food there, but it was not too good. And there are very few dunkin donuts or all night diners. But you do have cracker barrels!

I moved back to NJ due to family\job issues but plan to live in Phoenix again someday.

So far doesn't sound too bad. Looked at the housing online. The new places all look the same and on postage stamp lots, but that's the same everywhere. I'd want to find a larger lot and a big garage, or a second garage behind the house.....

Any track events going on out there?

http://www.arroyosecoraceway.com/

Yup, AZ sucks. Don't bother.

For the life of me I've never understood this line. I hear it all the time from people who move here to SoCal.

I'll take being able to surf on xmas day and ride year round, thank you...

Growing up in SoCal, I do like the change of seasons now that I live in Maryland. I also hate the change of seasons.

Summer into Fall, couldn't be a better time of year. Fall is sublime, a time of harvest, yada, yada...change of seasons good.

Spring into Summer...get me a goat it blows that much. I look across the Potomac every day, the widest part of the river. During the summer, there are days I can't see Virginia because of the humidity. What a roast.

Where's my goat:)

I enjoy the seasons here: early summer, mid summer, late summer, and two weeks of winter.

Yesterday the ex asked me where else in the country I'd consider living. I was hard pressed to come up with anyplace outside of CA. Maybe northern AZ.

Tucson area is nice. Get up in the elevations north of town and its nice. South, I think, is Bisbee, AZ which is an interesting place to visit. Old mining town.

I'm a California-lover, the only real one in my family. At least the only one who moved here permanently, a long time ago. I never tire of the climate here.

That said, I also miss the change of seasons quite a bit. I don't miss Jan-Mar. in Minnesota, but I miss the beauty of fresh snow and just winter in general. If that seems contradictory, it probably is, but winter is too long and harsh where I am from but still beautiful. Ice skating on a frozen lake in the city w/ hundreds of other people, sometimes on a lighted rink at night, it doesn't get any prettier in a city. Fall is stunning as well when leaves are changing, also the air can be incredible then. Summers are nice but hot and humid at times. Other times, summer nights can be sublime. Going out on a limb, but you seem like a born romantic NS, so you really don't know what you're missing. :)

FWIW, there isn't enough $$ in the world to make me live in AZ., but I grew up in a place w/ a LOT of water. Lived on a beautiful lake in the middle of the city, (racing sailboats and swimming all summer), the mighty Mississippi running between the Twin Cities, 16,000 lakes in the state, etc... Lots of green trees and grass as well.

I moved here from central Illinois 30 years ago, and I would never move back.

Dude! sshhhh!!!!
ix-nay on the igh-hay aise-pray!!! IYKWIM ;)

uh, yeah, too hot, bad bagels and crappy spaghetti. This place is hell. If only it were like NY/NJ/NE/Chi or the Southeast w/lots of trees. It would be sooo much better!

I forgot to mention the rattlesnakes, scorpions and Gila monsters. This place would be perfect if it wasn't for them slithering and crawling all over the place.

Has a Dry Heat like a pizza oven in the summer. My family who lives in Tucson spends Aug here in Montana. It is quite nice in February tho, the winters are outstanding It would be my #1 pick for winter living.

I just spent 12 days in the Pizza oven and will take it ANY day over the 95 degree days in Florida.

I have been in Greenville during a 95 degree day and it is just as hot as Florida.

Do not let these guys freak you out over the heat, I really did not think it was bad at all, I went running one morning late, at like 9:00 and rand until about 9:40 and it was probably 100 out and felt nothing like 9:00 in the morning in Florida. It was actually pleasant and I never felt like it was too hot.

Go feel it yourself, I liked it a lot.

i would love to live where i could pay for a resident hunting tags. they have great couse deer, a fantastic elk herd, and javalina.

tuscon is on my radar for retirement city. i got hooked on bass fishing at a nearby lake.

bisbee, isnt that were those TREMORS GRAB-oids, things live?

arroyo seco is kinda far away isnt it?

cheap track. my friend invited me. two days in oct, for $175. that is sick.