Apartment and Location Suggestions (Tucson, Oro Valley: apartment complex, renters, HOA)

[robabeatle]

Just to note a quick typo^

Sam Hughes is just East of U of A

[acatalanb]

Originally Posted by robabeatle

Just to note a quick typo^

Sam Hughes is just East of U of A

Damn you're right! Thanks for the correction.

[bernasty]

Thanks for all the help, guys! one north fifth and academy lofts look AMAZING! I really like those. Too bad they don't have a pool. That would be the total package! I am still putting them on my list though.

[Prodigal Native]

Originally Posted by robabeatle

Maybe I am way off here but what about the southern portion of Sam Hughes district. You could take one of the feeder streets (Country Club) to aviation Hwy and then take that to Palo Verde South or jump on Kino. I think that would not be a bad commute but I never have done it. Plus it puts the OP near Reid Park, UofA, University Ave., etc.

I had a similar thought, but with his preference to not be surrounded by college kids I think he would want the far east end of Sam Hughes maybe even the Reid Park\El Con area.

I don't know about any of the apartments in that area and I certainly would recommend the north side of the park to the south side.

Alvernon makes the commute doable, but certainly not relaxing.

[Jukesgrrl]

The gated Condominium at Williams Centre is very accessible to Davis-Monthan and units are available for rent. I looked it up and the smallest bedroom is 705 sq. ft. and rents for $834. Each unit has a private patio or balcony in addition to a full-size washer and dryer and covered parking. Outside there's a heated pool, spa, fireplace, and a club room with a fitness center.

1 Bed 1 Bath Apartments in Tucson - Condominium at Williams Centre

I live in the NW suburb and could give you some tips about comparable places here, but I wouldn't want to do that as a daily commute.

Best of luck at the new job.

[bernasty]

Thanks again for the help. Williams Centre also looks attractive. I see that the commute would be 30 minutes in current traffic, which I am assuming jumps up to 45 minutes or so in rush hour. Does that sound about right?

From what I am seeing, to get into a relatively nice place, I will probably be driving about 30 to 45 minutes to get to work in the morning. Just trying to get an idea of what I am working with. I used to drive an hour and 15, so I guess I can deal with a 30 to 45 minute commute.

The Southwest really is a whole different animal than the Southeast. I am excited about seeing a new place, but it will take some major adjustments on my part! Tucson seems great though! Can't wait to get there.

[robabeatle]

good luck!

[coatimundi]

The problem is that Raytheon is in the least desirable part of town and is not near any reasonable housing of any kind. I'm not sure which office you're at, Hermanns Road or Palo Verde, but even the Palo Verde one is like this. There are a couple of really run-down trailer parks nearby and a couple of newer, sprawling housing developments along I-10 that would, unfortunately, be out of your budget (but they are 3- and 4-bedroom free-standing homes), but are still also 15 to 20 minutes away. If you're at Hermanns Road, the closest you can really get is Sahuarita, which is decidedly suburban. I didn't suggest it, because I think it would be worse for a 26-year-old than living in Continental Ranch. There's just so little to do down there. But even Sahuarita is a 15- to 20-minute drive to the Hermanns Road facility.
Someone suggested SunTran's express bus, and I really do think you should look into that. I rode the bus for two years and was amazed at how much more relaxed I was without doing the commute grind, even though I drove only about 5 miles round-trip anyway.

The Condos at Williams Center were actually the places that I had thought of but didn't suggest because they're under Scotia Group now. I don't know, they may be great. It's certainly a fantastic location. Traffic is really not as bad as people make it to be, particularly if you're coming from a larger southeastern city and comparing it to that. The streets are in a grid and run north, south, east, west with very little derivation, so there are always a number of possible routes you could take between two points, and you can tailor your drive based on traffic reports and past experience.

Hope that helps.

[breakingbad]

If I were you...I would live in the NW/Oro Valley/Foothills area regardless of the increased time it will take to commute. The quality of life in those areas far exceeds the annoyance of living close by but in a less than desirable area of town. I would skip the Star Pass area as well. I've lived all over Tucson and all over the country....trust me.

[robabeatle]

^ I respectfully disagree