What does Arizona have to offer?

[Ofaith73]

Me and my wife both was born and raised here in Alabama were its hot and very humid. And we both always wanted to move out west to arizona especally into Tucson. We got about 13 more years before retirement. If things goes well we hope to move to Tucson before then. So we would like advice as follow. (1) I'm not an educated man but I work hard on any job I ever done, So how are jobs there for a man like me?. (2) my wife health is not real bad but she does require specialist how's the health care ?. (3) are condos a good investment for a older couple?. (4) The cost of living here in Alabama is not bad. So how does arizona cost of living compare to Alabama cost of living?. (5) And how's the public transportation in Tucson?. (6) any other advice for us you would like to give us?. Thank you for your response.

[jamies]

Zombie thread but I'll bite. Also might do better with your question in the Tucson sub-forum.

Welcome - you sound like the kind of folks we need here in AZ. Especially in Tucsonifornia!

I live at the other end of the state but someone who shows up to work everyday, on time will have a job. AZ isn't known for great health care, especially the recent VA debacle, but the bigger cities I'm sure have sufficient care. Where I live if you get bit by a snake you'd better suck the venom out yourself, anything else you're just dead.

Cost of living I'd say is probably similar. We have cheap gas, inexpensive housing (mostly). Electricity in my area is actually not too bad. Yet. Can't tell you about transportation in Tucson. Where I live there is a bus, they say. I've never seen it.

Other advice? Well usually I end my AZ welcome speech with "buy a gun." But coming from Alabama I assume you already have a few.

[JGMotorsport64]

Phoenix and Tucson are very different.

I think they're both great (at different things)

If you truly love the desert, Tucson is unbeatable in beauty, has decent transportation, is moderately walkable near the core and has a beautiful University that has great programs. It has a small-town feel to it, but it's large enough to attract most amenities you need. The Santa Catalina Mountains and the Rincon Mountains are gorgeous. The issue of Tucson is that it has an undersized/underdeveloped economy with a lot of educated people wanting to live there. The City Proper and County are Liberal, the suburbs and east side are pretty conservative. It's old and has a lot of really cool old buildings and history. It was originally a Mexican Mining Town and has adapted itself to look and feel completely organic.

Phoenix is an entirely different ball game, Freeways and Automobiles with a better Light Rail network. It's a little warmer(but drier) than Tucson. It has all 4 major sports, a major sports University, Spring Training, Scottsdale (a good bar/clubbing area), Tempe (an Average Joe college town that's really fun), great Suburbs, a booming Core, excellent infastructure, world-class golf and Amenities. Phoenix has a decent economy that is always growing, but unlike Tucson it doesn't have much in the way of historical preservation there is history but not a lot of it to see. Phoenix was and is a farming town, so most of the development in the older parts literally looks like houses on plats of farmland it's pretty and a different look than most of Arizona. Phoenix proper is liberal, Tempe is liberal and Central Scottsdale is liberal. Mesa, Gilbert, Glendale and the newer suburbs are very conservative.