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Old 02-09-2009, 08:57 PM
 
4 posts, read 13,842 times
Reputation: 13

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I am a native Washingtonian, living back in the Seattle area...and cannot wait to leave...this time for good! I lived in Phoenix for a full year, 2 years ago and loved it...kicking myself for ever leaving! I have tried to move back, but even for a dentist the jobs are scarce. I have great job offers in Tucson and El Paso. Can anyone give me a comparison of one or hopefully both cities in relation to Phoenix? How much smaller? Safety? Housing? Direct Flights? Things to do-love hiking,biking,food,culture,outdoor living? Near by attractions? Ease of meeting people? Weather? Nearest body of water for boating? Nearest Winter skiing? These are a few of my ?...overall...Would you recommend it for a early-thirties professional woman? Thanks so much!
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:42 AM
 
Location: Arizona
123 posts, read 552,179 times
Reputation: 55
Personally, I would say Tucson is a beautiful small city, with great hiking in the Catalina Mtns and Saguaro Natl Park. Also love the Desert Museum. Skiing on Mt Lemmon while close is a little iffy with snow. Depending on what you are looking for it does not have all that a much bigger metro area like Phoenix would have, but you're close enough to enjoy any of it in Phx whenever you wanted. Phx has a much larger airport then either other city. You have lived in the Valley of the Sun, so you know what to expect. FBR, Super Bowls, Allstar games, major league sport teams, varied shopping, restaurants and nightlife and a bigger population with many more teeth . Certainly if water sports is on your list Phoenix wins hands down with a half dozen good sized lakes around the Valley for convenient days on the lake, like Lake Pleasant Regional Park. A couple hours to Lake Havasu and only a 4 hour trip to Lake Mead, Lake Mohave or Lake Powell for long weekends. Depending were you are in Phx you may be only a couple hours to some decent snow skiing at Snowbowl in Flag or Sunrise. Tucson or Phx also puts you in long weekend range of So Cal beaches or Vegas if that interests you. Don't know if you have been to El Paso, but it would be a totally different vibe with none of the above and none of the desert beauty. I would be concerned with all the drug related crime just over the border.
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Old 02-10-2009, 07:47 AM
 
Location: arizona on the border
687 posts, read 2,955,161 times
Reputation: 395
Never been to El Paso. Never heard anything good about El Paso.
If you liked Phoenix before, you'd like Tucson. But don't judge it by the freeway views. It has some beautiful areas, a tad milder climate than Phoenix(but then again, what's the diff between 106' and 112' ?!). Less hustle and bustle than Phoenix, but with all the shopping and scenery. Being a married old fart, couldn't tell you anything about nightlife. Contact Sierraaz on here. I think that poster is similar to you.
But I haven't heard anything good about El Paso.....
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Old 02-10-2009, 08:02 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
39,109 posts, read 51,340,810 times
Reputation: 28356
Quote:
Originally Posted by StillLookingToo View Post
Personally, I would say Tucson is a beautiful small city, with great hiking in the Catalina Mtns and Saguaro Natl Park. Also love the Desert Museum. Skiing on Mt Lemmon while close is a little iffy with snow. Depending on what you are looking for it does not have all that a much bigger metro area like Phoenix would have, but you're close enough to enjoy any of it in Phx whenever you wanted. Phx has a much larger airport then either other city. You have lived in the Valley of the Sun, so you know what to expect. FBR, Super Bowls, Allstar games, major league sport teams, varied shopping, restaurants and nightlife and a bigger population with many more teeth . Certainly if water sports is on your list Phoenix wins hands down with a half dozen good sized lakes around the Valley for convenient days on the lake, like Lake Pleasant Regional Park. A couple hours to Lake Havasu and only a 4 hour trip to Lake Mead, Lake Mohave or Lake Powell for long weekends. Depending were you are in Phx you may be only a couple hours to some decent snow skiing at Snowbowl in Flag or Sunrise. Tucson or Phx also puts you in long weekend range of So Cal beaches or Vegas if that interests you. Don't know if you have been to El Paso, but it would be a totally different vibe with none of the above and none of the desert beauty. I would be concerned with all the drug related crime just over the border.
What a great summary! I don't think it can be said better than this.

And yes, forget El Paso.
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Old 02-10-2009, 08:07 AM
 
Location: Goodyear, Arizona
945 posts, read 2,525,624 times
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I'm going to throw in my vote for El Paso. Living on the Westside (Redd Rd. area) is different than living in any other part of El Paso. Also, Santa Theresa, NM is quite nice. It's been a few years (5-6) since we have lived there, but we enjoyed it. I would make sure that it is still fairly inexpensive. If it isn't, it could lose my vote. Lots of great Mexican restaurants with very reasonable prices. Ruidoso isn't too far away for those mountain trips. We had a maid (everyone did) that was $45-50/wk and they stayed all day. Here I pay $95 for a couple of hours. I felt rich out there on SLIGHTLY above $100,000. We rented a new house for $900 (maybe it was $800). Here, incomes are higher, but everything costs more.
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:27 AM
 
611 posts, read 2,310,715 times
Reputation: 132
Since you love the outdoors and you loved Phoenix, then I would choose Tucson. Tucson is similar to Phoenix in many ways, but on a smaller scale. The scenery in/around Tucson is more beautiful than Phoenix with lots to do in just a few minutes drive. Even though we haven't lived in El Paso, we have visited there. Most of the land around El Paso is flat and truly desolate with nothing for miles. The closest beautiful areas around El Paso are the NM areas of Silver City, Alamogordo, Cloudcroft, Ruidoso, and Carlsbad and they are all quite a ways from El Paso. According to your preferences, I think you would like Tucson much more.
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Old 02-10-2009, 04:50 PM
 
Location: Arizona
2 posts, read 3,831 times
Reputation: 11
Having lived in the Phoenix area for over 40 years and visiting Tucson many times, I would say Tucson. Tucson is know for having better weather then Phoenix. The temps can very by ten degrees in the summer and winter. Tucson being warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. It is also a beautiful smaller city with lots of entertainment. It is spread out and not as conjested as Phoenix. Yes, Tucson is closer to Mexico but not as bad as Phoenix for crime.

M. McCracken
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:06 PM
 
4,235 posts, read 14,081,050 times
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if your choice is really between Tucson and El Paso, it's a no brainer!!....Tucson!.....El Paso, frankly, is an unattractive town....but, since it's a large city, I'm sure there are nice residential areas of El Paso if that's important....have been there a few times and it just seems desolate, somewhat dirty, and not full of civic pride.....but there may be more to the story....as someone here said, areas just N of El Paso in NM toward Las Cruces are very nice and may be a pleasant, short commute.....

Tucson, despite some comments here, is not much like Phoenix....more rain (it snowed last night, but no accumulation), lusher vegetation, much slower pace, less crowded, less pretentious, slightly more liberal, a little junkier on average, much closer to cool mountain country, less money swirling around....
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