Phoenix VS Tucson...cleanliness, friendliness, jobs.... (Flagstaff, Catalina: crime, home, landscaping)

[AlaskaDan907]

So I know there are a ton of posts on this, but I though I would ask. I live in Tucson. Have been to Phoenix a couple times. It seems like Phoenix is better than Tucson in many ways. Tucson is crime ridden and dirty IMO. What do you think?

Also how do you think the economy in Phoenix is compared to Tucson and the friendliness of the people?

Any other comparisons? Thanks

[movin out of reno]

I use to be a professor at U of A and Phoenix is much nicer. When in Tucson I was always coming up to Phoenix to Hike, Explore or just meet up with friends. Phoenix also has a much better location as the gateway to Northern Arizona and The Rim.
The economy in Phoenix is much stronger with tourism, healthcare, tech, aerospace and of course construction.
I have found that people in Phoenix are much more engaged in the outdoors while the people I knew and worked with in Tucson just wanted to go to a bar on their days off.

[AlaskaDan907]

Originally Posted by movin out of reno

I use to be a professor at U of A and Phoenix is much nicer. When in Tucson I was always coming up to Phoenix to Hike, Explore or just meet up with friends. Phoenix also has a much better location as the gateway to Northern Arizona and The Rim.
The economy in Phoenix is much stronger with tourism, healthcare, tech, aerospace and of course construction.
I have found that people in Phoenix are much more engaged in the outdoors while the people I knew and worked with in Tucson just wanted to go to a bar on their days off.

Thanks. It seems Phoenix is a bit more progressive in terms of transportation, housing, and so forth than Tucson. I have been here for almost 10 years and it seems Tucson is falling far behind other places more and more each day.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by movin out of reno

I use to be a professor at U of A and Phoenix is much nicer. When in Tucson I was always coming up to Phoenix to Hike, Explore or just meet up with friends. Phoenix also has a much better location as the gateway to Northern Arizona and The Rim.
I have found that people in Phoenix are much more engaged in the outdoors while the people I knew and worked with in Tucson just wanted to go to a bar on their days off.

Why in the world would you go to Phoenix to hike? Tucson has some of the best hiking trails anywhere.

And my experience in Arizona was the exact opposite. Tucson was chock full of hikers, runners, cyclists while Phoenix area people seemed to prefer the more cosmopolitan lifestyle.

However you are correct that the Phoenix area has closer access to the more scenic and diverse areas of Arizona.

[eddie gein]

Sounds like you need to move to Phoenix.

[Ponderosa]

Phoenix is cleaner and more modern looking than Tucson. Tucson looks dry and dingy owing mostly to the water problems and prices they have there. Landscaping in Tucson is sparse and scraggly. As you get toward the Catalinas in the north though, the natural desert of Tucson beats anything you will find around Phoenix.

Tucson has no cross town freeway. If you have to travel east-west it is a nightmare.

Phoenix has more jobs than Tucson, but more people looking for them too. Economically, Phoenix is Arizona. Many people like me left Tucson to live in Phoenix because the career opportunities are superior in Phoenix.

Hiking is better in Phoenix. Phoenix has huge desert preserve areas and county parks right in the metro area. People from Tucson have a hard time getting their heads around this but it is true.

Gas is cheaper in Tucson - always.

Life seems more laid back in Tucson for whatever reason.

Tucson has a better University. It looks and feels more like a real university, too.

Tucson is a few degrees cooler than Phoenix in summer and they get more rain all making Tucson much, much more livable in summer than Phoenix where summer is nothing short of miserable.

Phoenix blows Tucson away for shopping.

Tucson has more Hispanic culture and feels southwestern whereas Phoenix is very midwestern.

[grmi66]

Used to live in Tucson as well and now live in Phoenix. I enjoyed it, but it was a hotbed of Gen-X & Baby Boomer slackers when I lived there. Not uncommon to see guys in their 40's with a college degree still working for $10-$12 an hour working at a bike shop, bookstore or at a coffee shop. Maybe because I worked at a bike shop I saw more of it, but after graduation the first thing I did was move out of town. I knew if I stayed I would get sucked into the slacker lifestyle.

Summers in Tucson are much better and other than a year or so, I lived with a swamp cooler instead of A/C. No way you could do that in Phoenix.

Traffic is a nightmare if you have to go crosstown in Tucson. Have plans to visit my parents on the eastside of Tucson later this week. Just dreading the 45 minute bumper to bumper route from I-10 to northeast Tucson.

In the end, jobs trump everything. The majority of the good jobs in Arizona are in Phoenix.

[jaredC]

Hello op, I moved from Tucson to up here in Phoenix about 14 years ago. When I did live in Tucson, I found the people much more friendly. But I guess it depends greatly on the area you live in. I lived near MountView HS. My neighbors all knew each other for years and years. We were all friendly. It wasn't uncommon for a neighbor to stop by to ask for a cup of milk or sugar. I remember my morning runs. People would wave at me and were generally much friendly. I think the crime was a bit high though, and may be in part due to the zero light pollution ordinance in place. At night could get pretty scary, however, in all my years of walking home at night I had never, not once had an issue personally. Here in phoenix, its a bit different. I have lived in my current neighborhood for almost 5 years and my neighbors are straight up hostile, not all, just a few. I do have some nice neighbors, so not all of them are hostile, but I found hostile neighbors to be a common theme from neighborhood to neighborhood that I would move into. As far as jobs go, the reason I did move to phoenix was the job opportunities. But I guess it all depends on the job industry you are in. Hope this helps, and remember, one mans opinion is just that, an opinion. So others that live in other areas may find different circumstances. Good luck on whatever you decide. One thing to note though, when I did live in Tucson, I visited Mt. Lemon often and camped there many many times, and I do miss having a terrain change just 30 minutes away.

[Jimrob1]

Phoenix has its share of crime and areas that one could describe as dirty also. Probably more than Tucson. The area is huge and keeps growing and growing. I've wondered every day. Do the developers and politicians ever consider, just what are the effects of such poor planning and constant sprawl development. It doesn't seem to stop. There is absolutely no way to get from A to B in much of the region without complete dependence on a car. Let me tell you distances are a very long way here. Tucson even though it has sprawl, is much smaller and compact vs Metro Phoenix. If that type of Phoenix lifestyle appeals to you then you should move up here.

I think there is friendliness here, but in all honesty it seems to be when I initiate it. The only place I ever hear people say hello (when its not job related) Is on a bike trail I go to. It's like that in much of the USA now though. People don't interact as much anymore in public. Some do but not enough. The phoenix lifestyle of walled in communities and way to much auto dependence, adds to that lack of interaction between people. The population in much of the area is so transient, coming and going by the month. That I rarely see the same people twice. That fact makes it seem like its not really a stable homey type environment. Again if you like that type of lifestyle. Move on up. Just remember visiting an area and living in an area. Well they can be two very different experiences. Always keep that in mind.

I'm sure there are probably more jobs up here, unfortunately there are a whole lot more people living up here. So competition is probably very tight.

[thenicepartsoflife]

I'm not much a fan of Tucson (I really liked Flagstaff), but I haven't ever lived there, but have driven down there about dozen times. It felt like it couldn't compare to Phoenix to me. Phoenix looks much cleaner and is much larger. I think Tucson has more of an independent college town vibe where as Phoenix has a big city/strip-mall haven/Never ending suburbs vibe. I've noticed allot more independent restaurants/shops and Tucson does seem more pedestrian friendly. I had a family member go to college down there and she really liked the Tucson over Phoenix. I'd say its Phoenix's more liberal, slightly hippy, smaller sister city, if Flagstaff doesn't fight Tucson for that title.

I'd pick Phoneix if I had to choose out of the two, even though I hate the republican politics up here and people here pretty much aren't that friendly (our neighbors anyway).