Apartment and Location Suggestions (Tucson, Surprise: real estate, apartment complexes, how much)

[bernasty]

I just took a job at Raytheon and will be moving to Tucson in August. I am a 26 year old male right out of grad school, and will be looking for a 1 bedroom apartment.

I was hoping I could get some suggestions on apartment complexes that are within a 30 minute commute and in safe areas. I would prefer to spend $700 or less per month, but I may consider going higher for the right place. I don't really want to deal with people partying 24/7 and keeping me up all night, so I guess I don't necessarily want to be around a bunch of young college kids. Older grad students would probably be ok. I don't really want to live by a bunch of old people either because I won't know a sole coming out to Tucson. It would be nice to meet some cool neighbors.

I was looking at the northwest area and the west foothills because I assumed this would be an easier commute.

Some things I definitely want:
in-apartment washer & dryer
garage for my car if not too expensive

Can anyone give me some suggestions or maybe suggest some other areas of Tucson I should take a look at?

Thanks!

[coatimundi]

The garage will be your biggest hurdle, because it's just not in the culture of Tucson. If people have garages at all, they're typically not used to store cars. Cars require almost daily washing to keep clean, regardless of where it sits at night, because of all the dust. And washing a car gets very expensive when you either have to pay for the water you're using (rates go up on a graduated scale) or pay for someone else to wash it for you.
The plus is though that a lot of the large, corporate-owned apartment complexes in the more suburban parts of town do offer garages for tenants. I was going to recommend one place, but it looks like it's gone in the hands of Scotia Group, which is sort of a death sentence for apartments. The western Foothills and Northwest regions are not where you want to be if you're commuting to Raytheon and you want to live around someone other than middle-aged couples with kids. It's very suburban and, if I were 26 (although I'm that much older), I would not choose to live out there unless I wanted to actually purchase a house.
A lot of Raytheon people live on the east and northeast sides of town. For apartment complexes, there are a number that are in the east central area (roughly around Speedway east of Kolb) that would probably suit you well. You're not too far out of the city that way, but still relatively close to Raytheon.
I don't know if you're interested in Downtown at all, but it's a relatively easy commute to Raytheon and is, far and away, the best area for a 20-something to live in or around. I'm including the link to La Entrada as they're a nice complex, are in your rate range, and offer washer/dryer hook-ups as well as covered parking (again, garages are rare).

[Prodigal Native]

Originally Posted by bernasty

I just took a job at Raytheon and will be moving to Tucson in August. I am a 26 year old male right out of grad school, and will be looking for a 1 bedroom apartment.

I assume you are going to be working at the airport location?

The issue, IMHO, with working at Raytheon is that the further you get from the airport, the nicer the neighborhood. There are some OK houses near there, but most of the apartments... eh, not so much.

I would look downtown (coatimundi posted a nice looking place) and maybe east of the University (look for a couple of recent threads aimed at grad students). Most of your commute will be on surface streets, which is more of a hassle the further you get into town. These two options are probably best if you are looking for an active social life though.

Also, keep in mind that if you choose a place where you drive by the Air Force base you can run into significant traffic issues on Golf Links, especially at Swan and Craycroft.

[bernasty]

Thanks for the replies! Yes it would be the airport location, I believe.

How long of a commute would it be from downtown? I have heard that it is easiest to be close to I-10 for commuting to Raytheon. I see Entrada is pretty close to I-10...is it better to go that route and avoid the surface streets?

My coworker recommended the Springs at Continental Ranch in the northwest side of town. I am more of an outdoorsy kind of person. I like to eat out every once in a while, but I'm not huge on the downtown bar scene unless I'm with some good friends and we're celebrating something. I guess that's why I was looking at areas closer to the mountains. That's good to know though that I would probably only meet middle-aged couples out there.

I honestly don't know much of anything about Tucson, so your advice is really helping, and I really appreciate it.

Entrada looked really nice, but that would be on the upper limit of my budget and the pool area seemed a little small. Guess I'm asking for too much! haha I can deal without a garage or covered parking...not absolutely necessary, just would have been nice.

[coatimundi]

Downtown to Raytheon via I-10 would take 15-20 minutes. If you're not interested in a Downtown lifestyle though, then it probably wouldn't be worth it. It is more expensive.
My past experience is that people who live in Continental Ranch want everyone else to live there. It's almost like drug addicts trying to pull you in. But that's a 30-minute drive to Raytheon without traffic (and there's usually traffic in the morning and afternoon) and, yes, there are mountains right there, but there's very little hiking in them. There's hiking in the national forest north and east of the city, and at both units of Saguaro National Park. I wouldn't worry about this though: from Downtown, you can reach four trailheads in 20 minutes. Pretty much everywhere you live in Tucson is close to hiking.

[bernasty]

Ok, so I've done a little research, and a real estate agent in the area helped me out a little bit. She recommended the following:

Starrview at Starr Pass Apartments <- Seems nice, but a little out of my price range.
Finesterra Apartments <- Seems nice, but possibly a long commute?
Summerlin Villas Apartments <- Seems nice, but possibly a long commute?
The Springs at Silverbell <- Within my price range, but the reviews are hit or miss. Apparently it is owned by Scotia group and the construction is pissing everyone off and the A/C is inefficient causing extremely high elec. bills.

I found one called Stargate West near Starrview at Starr Pass. Anyone know if this is decent?

I've had a tough time finding apartments with good ratings that are within my price range near downtown.

[acatalanb]

^^^ bernasty, Starrview is flooded with U of A students that like to party. The place gets local news attention for their wild parties (with some gun slinging) every now and then.

I used to worked at all 3 Raytheon plants in Tucson as a contractor. I chose to live far away in a nicer place and drive long hours instead of living close by and get robbed.

Those apt reviews online can be rather inconsistent.

Foothills Apts - use to live here with front/back patio ... loved that breeze. Paid $600/month , $50-$60 utilities with covered parking. It's across a strip mall with all the things you need for daily survival - starbucks, chinese restaurant, safeway groceries, banks, gas station, pizza hut and yes, a mcdonalds.
Skyview Apts - this one has washer/dryer in unit. Friend of mine recommended this place. It's a block from that famous strip mall.
Both apts are in a quiet relatively safe place. It's also right by a mountain, so you get that sometimes mist by the clouds after a nice winter rain experience...very romantic. Bad news, it's about 40-50 minute drive to the Raytheon Airport. Tucson doesn't have a crosstown freeway. Surprise!

Harrison Park Apts - I used to drop co-workers (from another country) from another previous job here. They are satisfied and it's gated. Of course, IBM was paying the corporate rate of $2000 per month for them. Raytheon has a special express bus that serviced employees from this area (speedway blvd)...here's the Tucson bus site. Vehicle driving should take you about 30 minutes from here during rush hour.

[bernasty]

Thanks for the tips, acatalanb. Foothills and Skyview sounds really nice, I was just worried about a really long commute in the morning. A long commute in the afternoon doesn't bother me as much, but definitely bothers me in the morning. I wasn't able to figure out about how much Harrison park costs, but that seems pretty good too.

If this video on youtube is from the Starrview at Starr Pass apartment complex, I definitely DO NOT want to be living there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QRzYNtA1PE.

Pretty bad ass party, but I'm over that stage.

Edit: Actually, I don't think I was ever at that stage. I enjoy my peace and quiet.

[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.

[acatalanb]

Here's some links I conversed in this forum if you want to live close to the UofA, which is also 20-30 minutes from Raytheon. Drive around this area or check craigslist, you shouldn't have problems looking to find a place here since you will be moving in a few weeks.
Safe areas in Tucson Metro
Traffic, West Tucson, and other questions
Sam Hughes - historic neighborhood just west of U of A (what @robabeatle is referring)

Cimmaron Apts - shave off 5-10 minute drive from Foothills Apts (same road). Never lived here but I heard the walls are sound proof plus it's also walking distanced to a grocery store and other strip malls. It's also within your price range

btw, if there's a line under any word in this site, it's a link.

EDIT: There's going to be more good quality housing downtown next few years, so if you enjoy your job at Raytheon ( I think you will ), you can always move downtown in a few years where I-10 (besides downtown) is the fastest drive to Raytheon. I'm an urban guy. I like walking across the street or the first floor of a building to buy groceries or drink a cup of coffee. That's just me. Central Tucson will urban and it's backed up by this Tucson Group. Downtown is going to be the place for busy young professionals like you.