Tucson: The Ugliest City in The West? (Phoenix, Pima: high crime, scorpions)

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

I don't think smog is any issue in Tucson... surprised you do...

I didnt say Tucson, did I?

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

I didnt say Tucson, did I?

Well, that's the Tucson forum and the thread is about Tucson... so I can't quite see how my assumption could be wrong.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

Well, that's the Tucson forum and the thread is about Tucson... so I can't quite see how my assumption could be wrong.

Sorry, guess I was confusing some people. True, this is the Tucson forum, but in that particular response I was referring to the development/destruction of the Sonoran Desert in general.

[Tim Rankin]

Thanksgiving trip '08: Albuq - Silver City - Tucson - Yuma - San Diego - Riverside - Blythe - Prescott - Sedona - Flagstaff - Albuq.

Each city very unique, with it's own flavor. The southwest has so much diversity.

In Tucson, we stayed only 1 night and saw the surrounding landscapes, the downtown & presidio, and the big-box stores lining E. Broadway. The next day's drive west through Sonoran Desert Nat'l Monument is really spectacular.

My impression of Tucson, overall, was a very good one.

Tucson is our biggest city in the uplands biome of Sonoran desert. There is no other place in the US like it. How can anyone not like the combination of unique desert plants that thrive there? I can understand someone being critical of the landscape west of Rt.85 to Yuma, but Tucson is a whole different rung on the ladder.

[AndyJ]

Do yourself a favor (not addressing anyone in particular): when the sun begins to set in Tucson, go outside and get to a place where you can watch the changing hues on the Catalinas and to the west and in the sky. I loved being out in early evening when I lived in Tucson, and I think the sunsets there alone are enough to exclude Tucson from the ugliest cities in the West.

[mortimer]

Steve-o complained:

> ... the old homes are putrid, ...

The you wrote:

> bulldozers plowing ... to make room for more ugly homes ...

You don't like the older homes, but also don't want to see any new ones. I'm guessing that *any* home is undesireable?

I tend to like the older homes from 1950 and before. Some are getting long in the tooth, but their design is more appealing to the eye than "Brady Bunch" era development.

> ... that will only create more smog and traffic and waste more precious
> water. Ugh. Mankind is retarded sometimes. ...

You are really talking about population growth rather than people in general. Everyone has to live somewhere and everyone has an impact. Some more than others.

No matter how clean and green you think you live, if there are a million others just-like-you living in the same vicinity, someone from outside is going to come in and say what a shame that "they" took a nice area and "ruined" it.

> ... Tucson doesn't destroy as much desert as Phoenix, ...

Yeah, well 5x the population will "destroy" 5x the land - all things being equal.

[slinky76bw]

You said it... and then some with the St. George Utah comment...

Any city is a better city having visited that place...................... Not to mention the population of people scurrying the streets makes you feel like you entered a bad episode of the Twilight Zone..

The whole state is pretty creepy... and .......a really great place to be from..

I am headed to Tuscon in January, I have never been...

But I have a job to do in that dust bowel for the next three years... and I am still looking for just the right place to live...

Yet, no matter where I look... I don't see anything that really compares to Washington State...

Yet....having said... that....

I can tell you, it's one more State added to my list of great places to be from....

I have had a gut full of SUV's covering the highways, splattered with bumper stickers demonstrating the family joy in having an honor student. The drivers dedication to saving all the Gay baby wails.... Only demonstrates there personal commitment to bing a Hypocrite..

While those liberal drivers, sucks up another Starbucks Coffee on one hand, and tries to stuff a Bagel, in their fat tree huggin mouths and simultaneously roasting another dubbie....
You can only imagine the driving conditions up hear. I compare it equal to Miami..

And.................. I really can't wait to see what kind of disaster is waiting for me in Tuscon.. It not only will be a scorcher in heat... but laughs too.. I am sure of it..
Slinky

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by mortimer

You are really talking about population growth rather than people in general. Everyone has to live somewhere and everyone has an impact. Some more than others.

No matter how clean and green you think you live, if there are a million others just-like-you living in the same vicinity, someone from outside is going to come in and say what a shame that "they" took a nice area and "ruined" it.

> ... Tucson doesn't destroy as much desert as Phoenix, ...

Yeah, well 5x the population will "destroy" 5x the land - all things being equal.

Well, deserts are extremely fragile, alot more so than most other areas. Not only are they extremely fragile, but the water supply is constantly low.

[mortimer]

Steve-o warned:

> ... deserts ... fragile, alot more ... ost other areas.
> ... water supply is constantly low.

My point was not *where* you build, but *if* you have more people entering the system, then you have to accept the fact that every time you look, more new housing development are going in -- everywhere -- including the desert.

It's not like you can say; "I've got mine. That's enough. No more. The rest of you have to live in tents."

Name me one environmental issue that doesn't have at its root, increasing amounts of people. One?

[jeff stratton]

Ah yes, Tucson, "The Old Pueblo", the place of my 'coming of age'. I lived there from 1975-2000, having immigrated from the Bay area, and then having raised my children, worked and retired with the City , and owned 3 homes there over that period of time; 22nd/Wilmot, Avra VAlley, and Speedway/Silverbell. My wife invested 40 years of her life there until we moved to Colorado. CAn we say "Old Pueblo Transit Co.", Myerson's Dept stores, Gentle Ben's, the original El Con and Jacome's??

My points are as follows: any city or town is bound to change with time, whether that is real progress or not depends on one's perspective. I read that most of these posts are focused on newcomers or old timers; i.e. comparing Tucson to other cities or comparing Tucson to itself way back when. If you agree that the past is the past, and that there is not a whole lot we can do to retrieve it, then let's deal with the Tucson of today. That Tucson is a metro area of 1 million pop., about 200 sq. miles incorporated, and surrounded by some of America's best scenery. Tucson is the LAnd of America's longest running non-mechanized rodeo parade the Fiesta de Los Vaqueros, the El Tour de Tucson (one of America's premier bike races), and the GeM Show, the world's, yes the World's, greatest gem and mineral shows, running over 40 years now. There are plenty of other events and venues that only Tucson can lay claim to, but these are some of the best.

Balance that, if you will, against a city of high crime rates, low wages but high housing costs, increased traffic and pollution, and an insular, liberal, political base where the former mayor would hand out hams to the homeless as they occupied the state and county government buildings, (late 1980's-early 1990's), and where the increasing desperation of local govt. to create another tax base, Rio Nuevo, is causing huge consternation . Yes, Tucson sunsets are spectacular, the smell of the creosote after a rare rain is pungent, and the food is excellent; MExican, East-Indian, Italian, eclectic, and cowboy steakhouses amongst others. BUt understand this is a city of immense contrasts, an Air Force base not far from a huge University, ghettos/barrios everywhere competing with multi-million $$ foothills homes, and impressive museums covered with grafitti. Tucson's proximity to Mexico down I-19 is telling, the crime patterns are most commonly guns,stolen cars and money going south, drugs and illegal immigrants come north.

This is a city where a dozen years ago 20+ cars a day were being stolen, home invasions and drug rips are now an everyday occurrence,and the homicide stats keep climbing. Snowbirds will brag about their winter holidays in Tucson, but the reality is that most spend their time in the Foothills or scattered in mobile home parks in Pima County, or near Old Tucson, miles from the real Tucson. Unfortunately there is a brain-drain from the U of A, and from medical complexes all over the city, yet Eegee's and Luke's are still thriving.

Tucson today, the real Tucson, is a southwestern metropolis experiencing many pains, eager to move on, yet wanting to invoke its glories of the past, a place where you can experience the best and the worst of life on any day, where you can enjoy mother nature or ephemeral pleasures by day and be burglarized or killed a few hours later. You quickly learn what parts of town you can hang out in, depending on your skin color, and the make of your vehicle. TAke a quick drive up A-Mountain, catch the incredible views and listen to the gunfire, far off and up close.

I could go on, but suffice it to say, by all means visit Tucson if you think you wanna live there, but expect to apply for a Concealed Weapons Permit soon. Ride your bike across town, but expect several near misses in traffic, until you are fatally run over. Enjoy the local chimichangas until you read the state is accusing them of being filled with horse meat. Enjoy those beautiful sunrises until they burn your eyes while stuck in endless I-10 traffic, and remember that the only way to get thru life along the border is to get a bumper sticker that exhorts "CACA PASA".