Tucson: The Ugliest City in The West? (Casas Adobes: housing, rent)

[a8472c]

Originally Posted by Mariposa8

Tucson has been very badly planned in the past 30 years due to what I understand is the extreme short-sightedness of some of its poliiticians. However it is nothing that isn't fixable, in another 20-30 years it could be gorgeous .. because its natural setting is beautiful, the mountains & sunsets second to none, the climate is dry and warm without the oven-like temperatures of Phoenix in the summer as the city sits at well over 2000 ft. Winters are mild but you can get some snow occasionally. There is even a small ski area nearby. What is not to like?? I've driven through towns in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas etc that have none of the above .. the most they can do is to build some nice parks .. but Tucson is blessed by natural desert & mountain beauty all around. I don't live there, but one day I might.
Maybe eric should take some long walks in the evenings, he might see a different city.

In 20 or 30 years, Tucson is going to be a complete disaster. Nothing is going to change. Most of the inner city businesses are going to be completely unsustainable when people start asking "why am I going to spend 2 hours in traffic to go to some bar, club, or restaurant?" The politicans, instead of building a cross-town freeway to alleviate the horrendous traffic in this city, honored the mafioso Ceser Chavez with all that tax money to win Hispanic votes... Tucson is pretty much controlled by the mafia, so I don't see how Tucson can improve.

[sickofIL]

In 20 or 30 years, Tucson is going to be a complete disaster. Nothing is going to change. Most of the inner city businesses are going to be completely unsustainable when people start asking "why am I going to spend 2 hours in traffic to go to some bar, club, or restaurant?" The politicans, instead of building a cross-town freeway to alleviate the horrendous traffic in this city, honored the mafioso Ceser Chavez with all that tax money to win Hispanic votes... Tucson is pretty much controlled by the mafia, so I don't see how Tucson can improve.

I'll bet that there are people that said something like this 20-30 years ago...

[osopaths]

I rarely see good comments from people on places they currently reside versus where they are originally from.

I would rather have family, mountains and sun, then no family near by, an all white population in Portland, with little sunshine through out the year.

I like Portland and do feel Tucson does not have man made beauty, but it doesn't mean I'd pick Portland. I guess the lesson is learn to appreciate where you're from.

And I'm a native Californian, living in Long Beach, CA, and I have lived in Portland, OR. I want to move, but people just seem to rant, more than help.

It's all relative and Constructive criticism does help.

[borborygmi]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I think Phoenix is far uglier than Tucson, setting wise, but Tucson is uglier in regards to man-made things. Tucson was unimpressive to the utmost extreme, but I dont think its the ugliest in the west. Id say that honor goes to Nogales, AZ or Gallup, NM.

My vote goes to El Paso, TX, with Phoenix a close second. Bakersfield, Fresno, Nogales, Winslow, Farmington NM, Gallup, and Las Vegas NV anywhere away from the strip are all right up there in terms of all around butt-fugly trashiness, IMO.

I wouldn't put Tucson quite in that same category- dirty, yes, but in terms of just generic nothingness and sprawl, there's far worse. At least there's a major university there, with some type of unique personality & culture that goes along with it. And the desert surroundings are quite pretty in Tucson, as opposed to some of those other places.

[Midwesterns45]

phoenix, now thats the ugliest city in the west. It's nothing but spiraling new suburbs/estates, golf courses, a boring and corporate like downtown with little or no nightlife.
Now I'm not saying that Tucson doesn't share similar characteristics but I do have to say that Tucson isn't as large, has a more small hispanic mexican town feel (near the downtown) is located in the heart of the lovely Sonoran desert.
Even though I think there are a lot of run down areas in Tuscon (particullary west of i10 and downtown just below A mountain) its a cool place to visit and ISN'T AN UGLY CITY!

[azhiker]

It continues to amaze me that people claim Tucson is ugly. On any given afternoon, from practically anywhere in town, you can look up an have a spectacular view of the mountains.

People are focusing on some of the worst residential areas? Please, get real. Every major city has them. Poor people have to live somewhere, and their housing is reflective of their income, but as far as physical beauty of a place is concerned, Tucson is beautiful. This time of year, I recommend driving all the way up Craycroft at around 6:30 or so in the evening. Just a splendid view, but even from the central part of town, say for instance, Tucson and First, at Himmel Park, the view is great.

There are so many hideous places to live. Tucson should never even be considered in that conversation. Just a crazy thread.

There are a couple of things that have changed in the last ten year that I don't like though. There is a good bit more of scummy gang writing in town than there was 10 years ago. Used to very rarely see any of that. Now there's pretty much, a result of the changing demographics. What a shame that people feel the urge to deface and ruin things they come in contact with.

[sberdrow]

doesnt anybody think that Yuma is kinda ugly. Aslo Blyth on the border.
Pretty cities: Seattel/Portland/Sedona/Ocean Side.

[Jason1980]

Nonsense. Sedona calls Tucson a "glorified truck stop," and that may be accurate. However, Rawlins is the butt ugliest town in the West and indeed the entire nation, I hope and would pray if I were religious. It is an unglorified truck stop amidst a sea of squalid trailer parks.

[sickofIL]

I think Tucson is beautiful too! Yes there are run down sections but as a whole I still think it is beautiful.

[azhiker]

Originally Posted by Wyo2008

Nonsense. Sedona calls Tucson a "glorified truck stop," and that may be accurate. However, Rawlins is the butt ugliest town in the West and indeed the entire nation, I hope and would pray if I were religious. It is an unglorified truck stop amidst a sea of squalid trailer parks.

I'd give someone a pass if all of their opinion of Tucson was formed by driving by it on I-10. There's pretty much no part of the I-10 Tucson corridor that is attractive, because I-10 runs along the desert floor, and the beauty of Tucson is how it is situated next to the Catalinas and Rincons. The Central area, and the East, and the foothills (and Oro Valley for that matter), are all really nice. It really is all about that proximity, and I-10 is too far out.

But then, aesthetics are a personal thing. I mean, to me, Tucson, doesn't even belong in the conversation when you've got places like Barstow, Bakersfield, Blythe, just any number of towns that lack any sort of charm whatsoever.

And who really cares what Sedona calls Tucson? That's like saying Yosemite thinks Sedona is an aging hippie trailer park on steroids. Not relevant (or even true).