New to Tucson! (Peoria, Oro Valley, Payson: apartment complex, new home, transferring to) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

emiliehope · 08-31-2012, 03:30 PM

I am 19 years old and recently moved from Manito, Illinois, a very small town (they prefer village), to Tucson. I moved here alone with support from my parents and my best friend, who I now live with. She is a student at UA, while I'm attending Pima Community College. I have visited UA several times and have had a great time at the neighboring businesses around the school. PCC is great too, and they have a great teacher for my class that will most likely be my concrete major.

I moved here expecting sunshine all the time, but I came the week of the monsoon threats. It wasn't horrible, but it was cloudy and rainy quite often. Now, as many people have told me, it is sunny and one of the worst times of the year in terms of heat. I thought I wouldn't be prepared for the summers of southern Arizona, but I find it just as horrible as Illinois' summers. Sure, Illinois has humidity, but right now I cannot feel the difference between the two!

My friend and I moved into an apartment complex geared towards college kids. As you can imagine, there are parties and drunk people quite often. I'm not quite into that scene, but it's not like anyone has been bothering me, so I am content.

I'm fairly confident with my way around so far. I'm not quite sure what part of Tucson I live in (not the south, I know). I live on Wetmore, would anyone know what part of Tucson that'd be? North, Northwest? It's a decent area, however, I have fallen in love with Oro Valley. Back in IL, I worked in a clothing store in, for lack of better descriptive words, 'ghetto' part of Peoria. However, I loved my job and the people I worked with. The clientle was a different story. I was transfered to the same store in Oro Valley, and, although I've been there for a few days, I really enjoy it. My fellow employees are nice, but the customers are wonderful! So polite! I've only talked to people a bit older than me who engaged me in conversation and gave me some advice on living in Tucson. Hopefully saying so won't jinx it.

I've come across a few bumps, but I've only been here three weeks. I know everything will smooth out eventually, and I can fully enjoy my new home. Any other tips I should know about Tucson? Mostly, I'm concerned for my car. It has survived both IL winters and summers, but will it uphold in AZ? Any little things I can do to ensure its condition?

Thank you

robabeatle · 08-31-2012, 03:50 PM

Welcome. Wetmore is north.

moderngypsy · 08-31-2012, 03:51 PM

Welcome,

Glad to see you are enjoying the Old Pueblo! Cars do very well here bodywise since they do not rust. Just make sure to keep your oil changed ontime and check your filters and hoses regularly. Also, if you value the paint on your car make sure you wax it a little more than suggested. I let that lag and now I'm paying for it with peeling gelcoat.

We will start cooling down within the next four weeks with around Halloween being really nice. We can and do get snow here. Two years ago it was below 0 in some parts.

Just make sure you are aware of your surroundings at all times and you will be fine. Tucson is a wonderful place to live.

robabeatle · 08-31-2012, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moderngypsy

Welcome,

Glad to see you are enjoying the Old Pueblo! Cars do very well here bodywise since they do not rust. Just make sure to keep your oil changed ontime and check your filters and hoses regularly. Also, if you value the paint on your car make sure you wax it a little more than suggested. I let that lag and now I'm paying for it with peeling gelcoat.

We will start cooling down within the next four weeks with around Halloween being really nice. We can and do get snow here. Two years ago it was below 0 in some parts.

Just make sure you are aware of your surroundings at all times and you will be fine. Tucson is a wonderful place to live.

Surely, you must mean below zero Centigrade? And good for you for using metric.

Bummer · 08-31-2012, 05:48 PM

WELCOME, Emiliehope.

July and August are the "booger hot and humid" months for Tucson so, unfortunately, you picked right smack dab in the middle.

If you can make it until Labor Day you'll begin to feel the difference between here and Illinois. Once Winter arrives you'll really feel the difference and never want to leave. Unlike ModernGypsy, my only experience has been overnight low's in the Low Teens but I've only lived here since the late 90's.

I live near Wetmore and Stone . . . it is considered either North or North Central.

Once again, WELCOME.

Jukesgrrl · 08-31-2012, 10:37 PM

Welcome to Tucson. Hope you have a great experience at PCCC.

As for your car, I've found that cars here have their batteries and tires wear out faster than they do in most other places because of the high heat. So keep those two things checked.

Have a plan ready for if (more like WHEN) you get a dead battery at an inconvenient time. Also, get a regular place set up where you can get your tires checked and where you will buy new ones when you need them. I've had a good experience with the Discount Tire chain. They have fair prices and if you have purchased there they will check the tires for you and add air as needed. It also helps to have your tires rotated when you get an oil change. That will keep the wear even.

Good luck.

kwoody7 · 09-02-2012, 08:53 PM

Hello and welcome to Tucson,

Good advice on the car. Battery manufacturers have models for the North and South. My battery in the Explorer lasted three years after moving here from Mass. It was a total of 7 years old. The roads get pretty hot here and that is hard on tires. Keep them properly inflated. I've replaced my tires on both cars since I arrived here 3 years ago. I change my oil every 3 months in the Corvette and 3,000 miles in the Explorer. I run 1/2 and 1/2 antifreeze. It can get cold here. We had two days down in the teens a couple of Febs ago.

I have also lived in IL at Chanute AFB. You won't get the 3 day long snow storms here. It has snowed here since we moved. Very rare and melts as soon as the sun comes out. The mountains are snow covers a good portion of Jan and
Feb - maybe a little later. For me, that is close enough. I flew into Payson, AZ just after a snow there and I still hate snow.

I hope you enjoy Tucson as much as I have. All the best.

Keith

tom4416 · 09-03-2012, 05:36 AM

I'm not a resident there (yet) but have a lot of contacts that are members of the local Miata club. The sun is brutal on cars, both the exterior and interior. Couple of suggestions they have given me for when we do become permanent residents:

Buy and use a reflective windshield sunscreen - it will keep the car a bit cooler and keep the dash from cracking

Wax, wax and more wax. Formulas are starting to appear that have a sunscreen in them - gimmick or reality IDK.

Car cover - if you don't have covered parking, consider a quality car cover, at least for when you might not be using the car for several days. The car cover won't last but a couple of years but it's sacrificing itself for your car.

Use an interior treatment on your vinyl like 303 Protectant. Do not use Amor-All!

Vent fan - they sell a solar powered vent fan that goes into the side window and the window can roll up within an inch of closing and the fan is wide enough that it fills the gap to prevent rain/dust coming in. Will lower interior temps by up to 20 degrees by exhausting the interior air.

Tires - an absolute must to keep them properly inflated. A low tire combined with the high heat is a blowout waiting to happen.

Cooling system - flush and fill every 2-3 years.

Oil changes - in the summer months, follow the manufacturers recommendation for severe driving (usually 3-5K miles). In the cooler months, use the regular maintenance schedule. Synthetic oil should be considered as it is more resistant to thermal breakdown.

My limited observations have been that the people in Tucson are extremely friendly, courteous and helpful. I'm sure there are some that aren't but they seem to be few and far between. PCC is a great school, will probably be an adjunct professor finance when we move there as I'd like to keep my finger in the pie of education. Do your two years there and then consider transferring to U of A for a bachelors degree.

I don't know about social life for young folks - that was a LONG time ago for me but somehow young adults always seem to uncover the hotspots and settle into a routine of socialization that fits their personality.

Noah83 · 09-03-2012, 07:36 PM

Moving to Tucson in 4 months! I am sooo geeked!!!

Prodigal Native · 09-04-2012, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emiliehope

I am 19 years old and recently moved from Manito, Illinois, a very small town (they prefer village), to Tucson.

I moved here expecting sunshine all the time, but I came the week of the monsoon threats. It wasn't horrible, but it was cloudy and rainy quite often. Now, as many people have told me, it is sunny and one of the worst times of the year in terms of heat. I thought I wouldn't be prepared for the summers of southern Arizona, but I find it just as horrible as Illinois' summers. Sure, Illinois has humidity, but right now I cannot feel the difference between the two!

I was in Chicago last week and it was actually nicer than here which I did not expect. I have spend a fair amount of time in central Illinois and I know how the heat and humidity can be so I was doubly surprised.

Not to worry though, it will get nicer here in a few weeks - just wait for October when it to really start to cool off enough to open your windows at night.