Phoenix vs Tucson (Chandler, Surprise, Goodyear: HOA, houses, university)

[nikorock28]

Where are you moving from? Since you are not a snowbird and will be living in Arizona year round, please make sure you will be able tolerate the heat.

[thedirtman]

Being active is important to me. I look for weather that is more moderate. The south side of Tucson has the best climate, and more mountains (the Catalinas and Santa Rita) to escape to higher elevations. If you live in a gated community and keep your car in the garage at night then crime is not so terrible.

[vjsoto]

Have you looked into Green Valley, AZ? Quail Creek in Green Valley is a gated retirement community and has access to pretty much everything your looking for.

Quail Creek Clubs and Activities - Active Adult Resort Community

[momtogrif]

Just wanted to throw in my .02Cents. Phoenix and Tucson are completely different and I would suggest you visit both. I live in Glendale but visit Tucson on a monthly basis and there are areas that I enjoy but what I hate about Tucson is the traffic. Yes, they have traffic. If you are up in Oro Valley area it will take you 25 mins to get to East Tucson or U of A. There are no highways that cut across the sprawling city so it's light after light after light at 40 MPH.

We have friends who live in Pebble Creek and we love visiting there. So many opportunities but far enough away from Phoenix and the bigness of the city that it's really a nice place. Also, if you like to travel the airport in Phoenix has many more flights and direct flight options than the Tucson airport. ]\

Oh, and don't let them fool you about the heat in Tucson. It's just as hot there as in Phoenix, maybe only 3-5 degrees cooler in summer and at 105 plus degrees, does it really make that much of a difference? Hot is hot, right? Because of the heat here I suggest you visit during the summer months. June and late September are probably more enjoyable than July and August but you'll get a real good feel for the heat if you come any time in the summer.

[Nanny Goat]

There area also the Sun Cities, Sun City, Sun City West and Sun City Grande for retirement options. Clean, quiet and low taxes.

[thedirtman]

Tucson traffic is much worse than Phoenix. Truth. Ten years ago it would have been the opposite. Phoenix has been building freeways. Tucson needs a northern and eastern alternative to its single freeway.

[vjsoto]

Originally Posted by thedirtman

Tucson traffic is much worse than Phoenix. Truth. Ten years ago it would have been the opposite. Phoenix has been building freeways. Tucson needs a northern and eastern alternative to its single freeway.

I recently drove through Phoenix along I-10 during the morning rush hour (back in 2010). It took almost 3 hours to get through Phoenix from Goodyear to Chandler (6 am to 9 am). I was expecting to see a horrible accident, but there was none. Oh how I wish I had taken the Phoenix bypass route (Route 85 to I-8)! On a bad rush hour day in Tucson, it takes maybe 40 minutes to get from Ina Rd. to Kolb Rd. along I-10. That's peanuts compared to the drive through Phoenix. I would argue that Phoenix traffic is *much* worse despite Tucson's lack of freeways.

[coatimundi]

The traffic is much worse in Phoenix. I don't see how you could say anything else.
Those who complain about Tucson traffic tend to be those who live 20 miles out. If you don't like traffic, then don't live 20 miles out and commute in. It's really that simple. In Phoenix, you have little choice for avoiding the snarling rush hour and off-hours traffic though, even if you're brave enough to get off of the freeways and onto the side streets.
I like Tucson for its lack of freeways. I think most people here do. If it had an additional freeway, either east-west or something roughly parallel to Oracle, there would be much more sprawl thereby making the traffic even worse.

[Bummer]

Once again . . . it's almost impossible to compare Phoenix with Tucson.

Weather . . . on most any given day, the highs can be between 5 to 15 degrees higher in Phoenix over Tucson. Also, due to a higher elevation, fewer people and much less concrete, even during the Summer Months the temperature tends to drop much more once the sun sets here.

Traffic . . . having relocated here from California, both Southern and Northern, the traffic in Tucson is a piece of cake compared to the Los Angeles style madhouse traffic in and around Phoenix. Not implying there are no traffic problems here but definitely a piece of cake compared to Phoenix.

[azriverfan.]

I disagree with the notion that Tucson is a smaller dirtier version of Phoenix. I prefer Phoenix but Tucson is entirely different and it does have some charming elements to it. Tucson has better weather, people are definitely nicer and more laid back, it embraces it's Hispanic culture more and the Hispanic culture is more intertwined within their society, and it's more liberal. The traffic in Tucson is non-existant unless there is an accident but you can drive home around 5 PM and you don't see bumper to bumper traffic on I-10 that you see in Phoenix. I personally think Tucson has better medical facilities for a city of its size. Tucson is 1/5 the size of Phoenix but has medical facilities that comparable which is pretty impressive so the people in Tucson do enjoy greater access to top health care. There is definitely much more of an authentic feel as there are less chains and more original mom and pop restaurants and bars. It's definitely cleaner than Phoenix.

That being said, Tucson is a lot smaller and less developed than Phoenix. They have no freeway system. They lack many upscale stores and ammenities found in Phoenix. It definitely looks and feels older. Everything is just smaller and not as nice like their airport for example. They have no professional sports teams. The number of concerts and events that occur there pale in comparison to Phoenix. Phoenix feels like a big city, Tucson feels like a large town.

Tucson is a great city if you are not big city people and don't need to be surrounded by lots of ammenities. It does have many small town element going for it and many people prefer that and don't mind driving 120 miles to Phoenix on the weekend. It definitely has its own identity.