Rancho Sahuarita to Basis Tucson (condo, co-op, transfer)

[Moving To Tucson]

Can someone help me find the home number for 2728?

I tried to find it online...

We leave for Tucson in about a month. Definitely hope it's still available for purchase when we get there.

Thanks. (If someone finds the number, please send it to me in a private message.)

[Moving To Tucson]

Just wanted to give an update....

I was able to find (with some help) the number for the homeowner, and she is a REALTOR. Craziness.

I called her and could tell she's ready to move... and she encouraged me to put in an offer no matter how low.

Anyway, we leave in less than 3 weeks, and we have about 3 friendly people to meet. I feel so blessed to have made a few friends beforehand.

Thanks to all who have posted to my thread. I will keep it open and send updates every now and then.

[Moving To Tucson]

Just a little over a week till we leave!!!

[beTucsonan]

Nice! I just did the trip to Pittsburgh and back to Pittsburgh to grab the last of my things, and it also looks like we have a 50% chance of moving just a block away from the house you are looking at on 6th Ave!

The there and back cross-country trip alone was a bit much, but being back in the Pittsburgh weather for a while really made me appreciate what we have here in Tucson. We are looking at a house in Sam Hughes, on 8th, and it's very nice. The only drawback is that it's a little small for us (I am a guitar player and need a lot of room for amps and guitars as well), so we may take a place that is the same price, but not nearly as nice, about a mile away where we'll get an extra 1000 square feet for the same money! Sometimes, sadly, quantity must trump quality.

[Moving To Tucson]

BajaAZ,

I hear you regarding "space"... especially with regard to music equipment. At different points in time we've had amps, guitars, a piano, a keyboard, konga (conga?) drums (the big ones... a set of four), harmonica set, rain stick, bass guitar, ... and some Indian instrument (not sure of the name).

I sold my piano a few months back. So sad. I got it for free, actually. A woman I knew was moving to Texas and said I could have it. My hubby and I ended up paying for it, though, over time... because we paid to have it moved three times. Almost $300 a pop.

Anyway, I got to tour 2728 and have decided that I may want to consider elsewhere as well. Sam Hughes was an amazing, amazing neighborhood......... no doubt about it..... but we fell in love with Presidio at Williams Centre. Not sure if you've checked that place out. I know you hate HOA's... and theirs is about 100/month. They have their pool open 7 months out of the year, lighting on each house at night, beautiful flowers/landscaping throughout, some mountain views from some homes, hot tub year round, etc. Just don't buy the home I want....

We also like a small condo near Basis. My hubby asks his boss in about 2 weeks whether he can get a job transfer. If his boss says "yes", we may go for a home in Presidio. If he says "no", our backup plan is the small condo.

It's funny, but I'm kind of rooting for the tiny condo even if my hubby gets a job transfer because we could potentially renovate it to our tastes and needs and then have no mortgage or such to worry about. Just put most of each paycheck into the bank... and enjoy life.

ANYWAY.... we had an awesome 8-9 days in Arizona..... and I will write about that in a separate message sometime soon. Can't wait to share.

Thanks for posting!

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by Moving To Tucson

..... but we fell in love with Presidio at Williams Centre. Not sure if you've checked that place out. I know you hate HOA's... and theirs is about 100/month. They have their pool open 7 months out of the year, lighting on each house at night, beautiful flowers/landscaping throughout, some mountain views from some homes, hot tub year round, etc. Just don't buy the home I want....

I had no choice but to check it out - they were building it back when I lived in the Sonterra apartment complex (now the Condos at Williams Center, or something like that), and they made quite a racket! They do seem like nice places, and that's not a bad little spot to find yourself in, not at all. And you don't have to worry about me buying your preferred house - we have moved into a rental in Samos, and are pretty pleased with it (typing this now from my guest house office/studio).

Originally Posted by Moving To Tucson

ANYWAY.... we had an awesome 8-9 days in Arizona..... and I will write about that in a separate message sometime soon. Can't wait to share.

Glad to hear it - looking forward to hearing what you thought of the place!

[Moving To Tucson]

My family's trip to Tucson....

We started with a drive from the Phoenix airport to Tucson - lovely. Saw lots of rectangular "boxes" in fields... we assumed it was cotton. Saw dust clouds.... and warning signs for dust clouds... ) and knew we were "not in Kansas anymore" (The Wizard of Oz).

Drove right to the home where we would be renting a room.... and went pretty much right to bed. The following morning we had a tour at Basis.... (awesome).... then lunch with our realtor. My realtor forgot that we planned to see homes on Friday and Monday, and instead had showings lined up for that day (Thursday). SO.... we got a head start: 2728 (of course), a small condo, and another small condo.

Being that my hubby hasn't yet asked for a job transfer, we're keeping all of our options open. Also, we have a tendency to live well below our means..... so 2728 was on the high end of the budget.... and the small condos are on the very low end (ie: they leave money in the bank).

SO...... Friday was more home showings (Presidio - 2 different homes). Saturday was gymnastics and Sabino Canyon and visiting a forum friend and his family (borregokid - thanks so much to you and your wife!). Sunday was University City Church (awesome worship and great message.... very encouraging).... then Reid Park.

Monday was some exploring and hanging out... then re-seeing the two homes we like (as I said before). We climbed up to the tippy top of A-Mountain at one point, and visited my hubby's potential future office near downtown sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday. We also spent some time at Barnes and Noble (my daughter is a super reader), Himmel Library, Himmel Park and Reid Park (we visited this park 3 times, I believe).

Thanksgiving was spent in both Himmel and Reid (back to back).... and our daughter made quite a few friends.

We ate out at a great Vietnamese place... Miss Saigon, I believe. Awesomely amazingly yummy food. I got the rice-paper wrapped veggies with shrimp... peanut sauce.... and a huge bowl of soup for my daughter and I to share.

My hubby made sure we had a variety of cuisines..... Indian, Thai, Italian, Vetnamese, Mexican, etc. Everything was really good.

We were surprised to see that the streets were not lit at night.... and that a bright blinking light flashes when an emergency vehicle needs to go through an intersection. Oh... and the left turn signal being after most red lights threw us off a few times..... and the green arrow that doesn't necessarily mean that the oncoming cars have a red light. (getting off of route 22, I believe, is where we encountered this).

We got lost on our way to GAP Ministries and ended up inside the border control area.... ) I jokingly told my hubby to turn himself in..... ) (My Indian hubby...)

Anyway..... really enjoyed learning about GAP. If you don't know what it is, please check it out and consider sending in a donation (items, money, whatever...). They help loads of kids and families each year in the Tucson area. They educate parents regarding parenting.... and help kids that have been abused/neglected... etc. Really great. They fed 2,000 kids for Thanksgiving. They had their chef start cooking turkeys a week in advance, I heard. Probably cooked, cut and froze it so that it would be ready.

Oh.... we also visited tohono chul park. We walked through all of the paths..... and enjoyed the desert scenery. Oh.... and I saw some kumquats in the "kids" area of the park and couldn't resist. I picked a bunch and ate them up. ) So yummy!

A-Mountain is a little gem. A great place to have lunch..... a quiet place most days, it seems. Not sure about that, but that is my guess.

Sabino Canyon was really nice as well.... another gem. I'd want to bring extra water and plan for a bit of hiking the next time I go, though. We hiked up quite a ways at stop 9.... a bit scary at times with my 7 year old.... but we were determined to get high enough to get a good view. )

The woman and daughter we stayed with were great. Very laid back and kind. Welcomed us like family.

The weather was much cooler than we anticipated. We definitely needed our jackets and pants. )

Oh, and people didn't honk at us like they might in Jersey. If we took a bit longer than usual to make a turn, people would just wait. Oh, and our realtor drove really slow.... and no one honked at her.

We didn't do any major trips/excursions. We originally planned to, but instead stayed local. I think we were just enjoying some time off together as a family..... in beautiful Tucson. )

So that was our trip. We visited Lee Lee's.... and drove around a lot...... but generally stayed central.

The air is really dry and we kept creaming up (lips, body...). Medicated creams were needed for my lips and hands.... and I drank a lot more in order to help my body out. My hair was still hand static even after using conditioner. ) So I'll have to figure that issue out...

It was funny to drive over a bridge..... but have no water underneath because of the drought or such. I loved the bike lanes that go under roads. So neat. I think I'm going to become an avid biker..... and shed 20-30. ) I was an avid biker some 5 years back. Love it so much.

Thanks to all who helped me out beforehand. ) Definitely helped take away a few of the "pre-visit" jitters. My family is so excited now about moving. ) It's a small city..... not overwhelming at all...... and a slower pace of life...... and I am so happy to have gone. )

Looking forward to becoming a Tucsonan.

[Moving To Tucson]

Oh.... saw loads of hummingbirds at Tohono Chul Park. Amazing.

Also loved having no Canadian Geese (or their huge droppings) in the parks. Instead, loads of duck/bird varieties.... small and large.... and unafraid of us.... making all kinds of sounds. ) So peaceful and relaxing. Reid Park's little waterfalls.... meandering "river" between both ponds.... so nice. )

The ice-cream truck's music got a bit tiresome near the kids play area.... but I'm sure the kids aren't complaining. )

So many happy people in general...... active....... moving around a whole lot more than people in NJ. People in Jersey rely on benches and such..... while their kids play. ) People here are often playing with their kids.... or chatting among themselves..... SO MUCH HAPPIER. So much less serious.

Just a joy to experience. .......

Also, we didn't experience any crazy drivers on the road, as some other forum threads mentioned. I'm sure they exist.... everywhere in the world.... but I don't think Tucson is worse than other places.

I did see one accident by the side of the road in town in the evening.... and it looked pretty serious. I know why the townships don't want to add streetlights, but somehow (when seeing such accidents) it feels like they are necessary.

Just a few more tidbits that came to mind. )

[azdr0710]

the streetlight thing: I'm sure traffic engineers decide on the need for streetlights in certain important areas where safety is a concern.....but, maybe you heard MovingtoTucson when you were out here, there's a strong concern about "dark skies" out here because of the important astronomy studies and observatories in the area...in fact, there are some city laws about lighting fixtures in new construction and remodels, etc....also, I've even heard that some areas don't like streetlights because it takes away from the more casual, "Western" vibe (too bright and city-like)

good luck....sorry I didn't get a chance to go "hang around" 2728!

[motormaker]

^^ Or could it be part of the "Dark Skies" program in So AZ?

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/d...nt?oid=3474337