Has anyone lived in both Tucson and Phoenix? (Scottsdale, Chandler: appliances, hotel)

[Ponderosa]

I lived in Tucson and Phoenix. I always liked Tucson much better because it is smaller. I am now (stuck) in Phoenix because the basic problem is that PHX has the jobs and Tucson has the scenery (outside the city). You can't eat scenery unless you are a javelina, so many more end up in Phoenix.

Phoenix is prettier in town than Tucson, in my opinion. Both places have sub-divisions that look the same. If you woke up in one place or the other you wouldn't know it except for the Catalinas which dominate the northern skyline and the lack of sidewalks in Tucson. Phoenix has more in-town "mountains" and parks for better close-in hiking.

To me, Tucson looks pretty run down and dingy in most areas. Oro Valley is gorgeous, but much of the city is barren due to expensive water. Phoenix has grass and fountains, water-loving plants etc - things you just don't see much of in Tucson.

Traffic in Tucson is AWFUL. There is no cross town freeway and the lights are a mess. People who knock Tucson for voting down freeways should realize than when PHX had "only" a million, we voted against freeways too. Eventually, Tucson will give in. 'Till then, it will only get worse and worse.

Tucson is a long ways from water - lakes where you can boat, camp etc. There is also very little decent camping and outdoor activities there compared to the rim country north of Phoenix. Getting away from the heat is much harder from Tucson than from Phoenix. Summerhaven doesn't count. It's just a little place and half of the city is on the Catalina highway on the weekends.

In summary, if you don't need to work, have plenty of time to spend looking at red lights, prefer desert vegetation to imported plants, and don't often go to the high country to cool or to a lake to fish or water-ski, Tucson is your town. If the opposite of all that matters to you, then pick Phoenix and environs.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

Well, that's all that counts (the eyes of the beholder), isn't it...

GOOD ONE, SierraAZ! ! ! ! !

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Certainly. Although I'm aware that "looks" isn't everything when it comes to quality of life. That's why I'm asking for people to compare LIVING in each city. Anybody who lives in Tucson, whether or not you've lived in smelly phx, as long as you can compare, please help me out here.

Well, I haven't lived in "smelly" PHX. It does look polluted, but "smelly" would be a bit of an exaggeration, I'd say... My opinion (it's not mainstream, anyway) of Tucson's been already advertised enough here and on the PHX/AZ forums. Phoenix is hardly my ideal place by any means, but between the two I probably would've chosen Phoenix. Then again, just as you said, tourism and "immigration" are completely different stories.

A move is a move, no matter the distance. If I were to move, I'd get the heck out of AZ. Or out of the country altogether, but that's another can of worms and it's not relevant to your question. Unfortunately, money is an object for most of us and weighs heavily into decisions... Sounds like you haven't found a job in Tucson yet. Judging by what you like, Tucson may actually be a good fit for you. No, decent jobs are not plentiful, but you only need one, and if you find it, all is good. If you lose it and have hard time finding another, you can always go back to Phoenix or some other place. Since you like the desert and the feel of Tucson, why not give it a shot while it's still easy. Looks like you don't have family to take into consideration. Young and free - that's the time for adventures!

Whatever you decide, good luck!

[miamiman]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Has anyone here lived in both Tucson and Phoenix? I'm going be graduating from ASU here in Tempe next May and I'm thinking about moving to Tucson (among other places). I've been down there about 5-6 times and have explored a lot of the area. Every time I'm there I've loved it! To my eyes, at least, Tucson is so much more beautiful than Phoenix-- I love the lush desert vegetation, the big mountains, and the climate is so much nicer. Phoenix is so huge, flat, ugly, polluted, and hot, it's depressing. I am starting to hate it here. If you've lived in both cities and can compare the two, I'd love to hear about it.

I agree that Tucson has a lot more natural beauty than Phoenix, but aesthetically, Phoenix wins hands down. A lot of in-town neighborhoods in Tucson are filled with old, unattractive house, with the exception of a few (ex. Sam Hughes, directly to the east of the U of A). As you know, Tucson is MUCH smaller than Phoenix, which can lead to lack of choices when it comes to restaurants, nightlife, jobs, etc.

Many are fooled into thinking that there are 1,000,000 people in the immediate Tucson area (City of Tucson, South Tucson, Casas Adobes, Oro Valley, Marana, Green Valley, and Sahuarita), not keeping in mind that the Tucson metro area is counted by the Census Bureau as ALL of Pima County. That means population centers in Ajo, 120 miles to the west of Tucson, Sells, and the Tohono O'Odham reservation are still in metro Tucson population counts, even though they're some of the most isolated and rural towns in the country.

Tucson has some MAJOR development issues, as many local residents refuse to acknowledge that Tucson is growing at a moderate, but steady clip. There is an extreme need for a crosstown freeway here, just to travel across town faster. Residents are afraid a freeway will take away from the natural beauty, and once a freeway is constructed,they the city will be on the fast track to looking like Phoenix. Downtown Tucson is having the same issues, where a skyscraper hasn't been constructed in 22 years, due primarily to public opposition. As a result of the anti-development mentaility of Tucsonans, many parts of Tucson look as though they're stuck in 1973.

When I first moved to Arizona, I looked for jobs in Tucson, and found quite a few. It all depends on what your field is. Seeing as you're a college graduate, job competition for illegal immigrants will likely be non-existent. The people who I find have the most problems with illegal immigrants are the ones who have similar skill levels, and thus are forced to compete on that level. Unless you plan on working at a convenience store, as a landscaper, in construction, as a janitor, etc., it shouldn't be a major issue.

So you'll truly have to weigh how much you value living in Phoenix, dealing with more pollution, more people, and slightly hotter weather than Tucson, or whether you'll like Tucson, dealing with underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of entertainment, slightly cooler weather, and natural scenery.

I have, and would personally choose Phoenix. I might move to Tucson when they enter the 21st century, and learn how to effectively deal with growth instead of hiding in a corner and pretending it's not happening.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by miamiman

Many are fooled into thinking that there are 1,000,000 people in the immediate Tucson area (City of Tucson, South Tucson, Casas Adobes, Oro Valley, Marana, Green Valley, and Sahuarita), not keeping in mind that the Tucson metro area is counted by the Census Bureau as ALL of Pima County. That means population centers in Ajo, 120 miles to the west of Tucson, Sells, and the Tohono O'Odham reservation are still in metro Tucson population counts, even though they're some of the most isolated and rural towns in the country.

While it's true that the population of the whole Pima County is over a million now, almost 90% of it is in metro Tucson:

Tucson Metropolitan Chamber Of Commerce » Tucson Population Stats

Also, Tucson has such weird city limits that a good portion of the nicest areas are technically located in the county:

http://www.tucsonaz.gov/planning/map...ap_overall.pdf

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by miamiman

I agree that Tucson has a lot more natural beauty than Phoenix, but aesthetically, Phoenix wins hands down. A lot of in-town neighborhoods in Tucson are filled with old, unattractive house, with the exception of a few (ex. Sam Hughes, directly to the east of the U of A). As you know, Tucson is MUCH smaller than Phoenix, which can lead to lack of choices when it comes to restaurants, nightlife, jobs, etc.

Admittedly, I haven't seen all of Tucson, but I'd say I've probably seen a good third of it. I've explored Oro Valley, the Catalina Foothills, UA and its immediate surroundings, the neighborhood east of UA, 4th Ave, downtown, the neighborhood just south of downtown. So far I've really liked what I've seen. Earlier this year I drove down to Tucson on a Sunday and loaded my bicycle in my car, and bicycled around UA and going several miles east, on the 3rd St bikeway. I think I made it Craycroft rd, although don't quote me on that. I then went north to the wash-- is that the Rillito? With the neighborhoods I saw, I was really impressed. Almost blown away by how beautiful it was. The neighborhood immediately east of UA was nice-- some well kept 1930's era homes, but even farther east, I still liked it.

There seems to be a unique Tucson style, where people load their yards with desert vegetation-- not just with one or two dinky ornamental cactuses like in the newer neighborhoods of Phoenix, but with so much desert plants and bushes it looks like a desert jungle! Huge prickly pear patches everywhere, a bunch of junipers. I love that stuff. I also saw how many people have customized the original 1950s modest ranch homes, such as painting them "Mexican" colors. It felt like the city had some real character. I've done a lot of exploring around Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, and central Phoenix, and I haven't seen anything quite like the feeling I get in Tucson. North Scottsdale, north of the 101, Cave Creek, Carefree, and Fountain Hills, I'd say are very comparable with Oro Valley and the Catalina foothills.

As to unattractive homes, I don't see how Phoenix is any better. I can see how you'd find that to be so, if you lived in North Scottsdale. From my vantage point, here in Tempe, most of the homes here are pretty dumpy too. There are vast areas of Phoenix, hundreds and hundreds of square miles, that are basically ghettoes. It seems like everything here is either boring and squeaky-clean, policed by the HOAs, or it's a dump.

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Oro Valley is gorgeous, but much of the city is barren due to expensive water. Phoenix has grass and fountains, water-loving plants etc - things you just don't see much of in Tucson.

I totally agree, except I don't see that as a selling point. Despite all the "water loving" plants in Phoenix, there's not one decent park where you can walk around with tons of shade. All the good trees are mainly in people's private back yards. And yes, while a lot of people do plant grass in Phoenix, using wasteful flood irrigation, the grass here looks like absolute crap.

Tucson has some MAJOR development issues, as many local residents refuse to acknowledge that Tucson is growing at a moderate, but steady clip. There is an extreme need for a crosstown freeway here, just to travel across town faster. Residents are afraid a freeway will take away from the natural beauty, and once a freeway is constructed,they the city will be on the fast track to looking like Phoenix. Downtown Tucson is having the same issues, where a skyscraper hasn't been constructed in 22 years, due primarily to public opposition. As a result of the anti-development mentaility of Tucsonans, many parts of Tucson look as though they're stuck in 1973.

That I totally agree. I've experienced Tucson rush hour traffic before and it is really miserable. Phoenix wins hands down in the transportation department.

[ArizonaBear]

As I have opined on in the past; I am willing to bet that 25-30 years ago the Tucson area was really a neat place to live.

[vegaspilgrim]

Ok, so here's some more questions for me to help think things out:

Does anybody know what the going rental rates are for Tucson vs. Phoenix? If I moved there next year I'd be renting-- at least for several years. Say for a nice, newer apartment complex?

If you had to break Tucson and its suburbs into three areas-- 1) extremely nice looking, 2) middle of the road, and 3) ghetto-- which parts of town are which? (for Phoenix's equivalent, I would say North Scottsdale is group 1, Tempe is group 2, 32nd and McDowell is group 3; That's my frame of reference).

Is violent crime and/or property crime and car theft any more or less of a problem in Tucson versus Phoenix?

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Ok, so here's some more questions for me to help think things out:

Does anybody know what the going rental rates are for Tucson vs. Phoenix? If I moved there next year I'd be renting-- at least for several years. Say for a nice, newer apartment complex?

If you had to break Tucson and its suburbs into three areas-- 1) extremely nice looking, 2) middle of the road, and 3) ghetto-- which parts of town are which? (for Phoenix's equivalent, I would say North Scottsdale is group 1, Tempe is group 2, 32nd and McDowell is group 3; That's my frame of reference).

Is violent crime and/or property crime and car theft any more or less of a problem in Tucson versus Phoenix?

Simply put, VegasPilgrim, do you prefer a big city atmosphere or more of a "cowtown" mentality?

I have no strong ties to Tucson and could very easily afford to live in Phoenix but it is just not for me. I prefer the small town atmosphere here while enjoying a visit to the "big city" from time to time. Also, generally speaking, the weather in Tucson is slightly less severe in the Summer due to the higher elevation.

As far as crime is concerned . . . there are "safer" areas in both cities.

Good Luck!

[nikkj123]

If you have a choice of Tucson or Phoenix definetly take Tucson.....alot of people in Phoenix are there because they have to be ! Tucson is sitting by 12 mountain ranges in southern Az. all part of Coronado national Parks. Have fun