Memphis to Tucson (middle-class, crime, houses)

[Memphis Mom of three]

I'm looking for anyone from Tucson who can give me some neighborhood comparisons to Mempis. We may be moving to Tucson and would love to have an "insiders view" of the city. I've heard the Oro Valley is nice. What does it compare to here. (If anything) Any information would be nice: Schools, neighborhoods, churches, ---anything. Thanks

[Pearlbob]

What is Oro Valley? Is that something in Memphis?

[tigergal]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

What is Oro Valley? Is that something in Memphis?

The OP is asking if anyone here has also lived or is familiar with Tucson so a comparison can be made to assist her. Oro Valley is in Tucson and she is asking if anyone knows of an area in Memphis which is comparable to Oro Valley.

[Pearlbob]

That wasn't very clear at all. Saying "I've heard _____ is nice" doesn't make it sound like the poster was referring to something in his hometown. If he doesn't know that Oro Valley is nice or not, how can he compare that to anything in Memphis.

Regardless, I have no clue about Tuscon, but you can find good and very good neighborhoods all over Memphis and the suburbs.

[Kabluey]

Originally Posted by Memphis Mom of three

I'm looking for anyone from Tucson who can give me some neighborhood comparisons to Mempis. We may be moving to Tucson and would love to have an "insiders view" of the city. I've heard the Oro Valley is nice. What does it compare to here. (If anything) Any information would be nice: Schools, neighborhoods, churches, ---anything. Thanks

My personal opinion is not to make the transfer, but I don't know your specific situation so it may be a better move for you than for me. Actually, it was a great initial move. I've lived in Tucson for 5 years, and will probably move back to Memphis. It's very spread out; Oro Valley is about 30-40 minutes from the center city. It's sort of like a middle-class G'town. Transportation is horrible here, there's basically one interstate that serves as a half-loop around the main city, and it's undergoing major construction that's creating lots of congestion, construction that will last more than 10 years, I think (I-10), sports teams are leaving (they lost their AAA team to Reno, and one of the spring training teams is leaving and another is considering it). If you're coming into the city from OV, you will have to take streets, and I think there's more congestion on streets like 1st Ave and Oracle than streets like Poplar. But if you're a stick-to-the-neighborhood kind of person, then OV in and of itself is fine.

The weather is great except for the summer, and if you like to golf, there's plenty of it.

I don't live in Oro Valley but I have had to drive over there to meet a number of clients. It's a standard suburb. For me, it's just too far from anything remotely interesting in the area. Unfortunately, imo, the attitude in Arizona is the more sprawl the better. I've tried to join a young professional organization geared like Mpact to try to stem the brain drain and confront the negative developmental guidelines and atmosphere that seem geared to mimic the worst developments the west has to offer.

But prospects for change are sort of in a wait and see holding pattern.

Homes tend to be more expensive throughout the region than Memphis, overpriced as a result of policies that are permissive to absentee investors. This has priced a lot of locals out of being homeowners as the housing prices have outpaced local salaries.

The plus side is it's a buyer's market. Don't know when the market will rebound here.

I don't know if you've visited, but some interesting things about the area is how infill developments gentrify/diversify blocks. It's not unusual to see a trailer park neighborhood next to a nice subdivision.

Outdoors lifestyle is great here, I think I just may be missing Memphis after 5 years.

Feel free to ask me specific questions or pm me.

[gmunu]

I lived in Tucson for 28 years, and I've lived in the Memphis area for about 2 years now. I will try to give some similarities and differences between the two cities (can't say much about Oro Valley, as I've only been there once or twice...it is quite a drive to get to many parts of Tucson from Oro Valley)

Similarities:

• Population size is fairly similar (but demographics are very different)
• Tucson doesn't really have suberbs, but there are some rather upscale communities that are primarily on the outskirts, while the center of the city is largely older neighborhoods

Can't think of that many similarities

Differences:

• Tucson is more spread out than Memphis, and there really is no freeway to help you get around the city (unless you are just going from northwest to southwest Tucson)
• There are only a few schools (I'm thinking high schools) in Tucson that I would avoid, namely Sunnyside, Desert View, Cholla, Pueblo, and maybe Tucson High. The schools in the Northwest and East are generally pretty good, as are the schools in the Catalina Foothills district (north Tucson)
• Tucson is dominated in many ways by the University of Arizona, whereas Memphis has several colleges and universities. The university is certainly the largest employer in the city, although there is some industry
• Tucson is surrounded by beautiful mountains and a lot of desert. If you like hiking, there are few places better. Not much water to speak of, which definitely contrasts Memphis
• People generally aren't as religious in Tucson as they are in Memphis and much of the south, but there are churches of probably every denomination you could possibly want
• Unlike Memphis, there aren't too many places in Tucson that I would consider dangerous to enter into. The area north of downtown is not somewhere I would hang around too much, and some areas on the south(west) side are home to (primarily Hispanic) gangs

As Kabluey mentioned, houses in Tucson are generally going to be more expensive than in Memphis (a new 4 bedroom/3 bath home in a nice area might be over $300K), and the weather is considerably drier, with warmer temperatures than Memphis most of the year (but the lack of humidity makes it much more bearable).

Hope I've helped a bit

[Memphis Mom of three]

Thank ya'll for your input. Yes, this helps so much. An insiders view is always great. Thanks again

[Memphis Mom of three]

One more question for ya'll. What about Vail, Arizona? Does it compare to anything in the Memphis area? It seems the schools are good there. What's your input.

Sorry Pearlbob. I guess I wasn't clear in my questioning. We are considering a move to Tucson. My husband may have a job opportunity there. We are looking into the area, and we've never lived anywhere but the South! (Kinda scary.) So we are trying to get an insider's view.

Thanks for your help.

[Pearlbob]

haha, I was totally confused then!

Well heck, you already live in Memphis, and so I can't imagine hardly any city could be worse in terms of crime and schools. Tucson has to be better!! Good luck on your move!

Originally Posted by Memphis Mom of three

One more question for ya'll. What about Vail, Arizona? Does it compare to anything in the Memphis area? It seems the schools are good there. What's your input.

Sorry Pearlbob. I guess I wasn't clear in my questioning. We are considering a move to Tucson. My husband may have a job opportunity there. We are looking into the area, and we've never lived anywhere but the South! (Kinda scary.) So we are trying to get an insider's view.

Thanks for your help.