Visited Tucson and Loved It (Oro Valley, Green Valley: RV park, HOA, crime)

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by dirtydan57

Yea, I am concerned about that. Just read a post somewhere in the AZ section about 117 in Phoenix!!! Yikes.

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in at an elevation of 1050 feet.

Tucson International has an elevation of 2450 feet.

My place is at an elevation of 3005 feet in Green Valley. On average, we are generally 10F cooler than Phoenix and 5F cooler than Tucson.

I never realized the difference in elevation until I rented a vehicle with an altimeter and drove around the southern part of the state.

[dirtydan57]

It was 40 when we left MSP and 100 in PHX. We got to our motel and went out for a walk and it was hot. The week we spent in Tucson was noticeably cooler and felt great. But we do have to spend a summer there to really know what it's truly like.

[ScaryTucson]

There are cooler places around Tucson higher in Elevation, Green Valley is a little cooler, but Vail is even a bit colder. There are some areas just south of Vail that go up to 3700, in a neighborhood called "New Tucson", at least that's what Google maps calls it. This is at the intersection of Sahaurita and N. Davidson Road, it's much cooler there than most of Tucson. There are a few neighborhoods even farther out that are on the side of the mountains themselves, some go about to 4500 feet in elevation, temps same as SV or Benson around there.

The temps are all over the place on the South and East Side, due to the elevation and temp inversions that form in the valleys near the mountains...

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by ScaryTucson

... but Vail is even a bit colder. There are some areas just south of Vail that go up to 3700, in a neighborhood called "New Tucson", at least that's what Google maps calls it. This is at the intersection of Sahaurita and N. Davidson Road, it's much cooler there than most of Tucson.

Sorry - going to have to cry foul here. Unless you are the most temperature sensitive person in the world you will never, ever be able to tell the difference between the weather in Tucson and the weather in Vail, Corona De Tucson, etc.. Is it a degree or two cooler? Maybe. Probably. "Much cooler?" No way.

[dirtydan57]

One of the hardest parts of deciding to move to Tucson, for us, really isn't weather. It is health care. We are extremely happy with our health care team here, family MD, eye doctor and dentists. Top notch health care is readily available to us here, so we find it hard to leave. I'd like to note that I have a chronic condition - diabetes. It is well controlled, but who knows what the future holds?

I was told most 'quality' health care facilities are 'where the money is' in northern Tucson. This makes sense to me so I'm sure it's all available up there. That is one big reason that area is of great interest.

The thing is, we like pricing and the layout of Green Valley more. It's not quite as densely built as Oro Valley communities. So I would really appreciate some input on the availability, accessibility and quality of health care in Green Valley. How easy are family physicians found? I know a new hospital recently came online there.

We also are somewhat interested in Copper Crest which is located a little west of Tucson Estates. The buy in cost is much lower, but it is a fair distance west of the city. So it seems that health care is a long drive and we wonder about ambulance service when it becomes necessary. I was also told St. Mary's is the place we'd have to go and that it isn't a very good facility. Is that true?

Can any of you folks shed some light on what the situation really is like in those areas? Thanks for the input, it really helps a lot.

[yellowbelle]

Originally Posted by dirtydan57

One of the hardest parts of deciding to move to Tucson, for us, really isn't weather. It is health care. We are extremely happy with our health care team here, family MD, eye doctor and dentists. Top notch health care is readily available to us here, so we find it hard to leave. I'd like to note that I have a chronic condition - diabetes. It is well controlled, but who knows what the future holds?

I was told most 'quality' health care facilities are 'where the money is' in northern Tucson. This makes sense to me so I'm sure it's all available up there. That is one big reason that area is of great interest.

I'll be honest. Medical care is probably the only aspect to living in Tucson that I do not like. Trying to get in to see a primary care doc as a new patient, even in the glorious season when the snowbirds have left, is literally a 2-3 month wait. (We have private insurance and no major health issues - just trying to establish care!) There's even a practice now that for the low annual fee of $1500 you get priority appointments and house calls if needed, while the non-paying folks wait in line for a cancellation. I'm not making this up.

While we've had some luck finally finding a pediatric dentist, orthodontist, chiropractor, we are still trying to find a PCP practice that is acceptable. While you may eventually find a provider you like, the medical office staff we've encountered at several places (including specialists' offices) have been consistently unprofessional and incompetent. For example, our pediatrician is great, but the office staff is a disorganized mess and have been for years.

Best advice I can give is that if you move here, start looking for your health care team immediately, well before you need it.

[ScaryTucson]

Originally Posted by beTucsonan

Sorry - going to have to cry foul here. Unless you are the most temperature sensitive person in the world you will never, ever be able to tell the difference between the weather in Tucson and the weather in Vail, Corona De Tucson, etc.. Is it a degree or two cooler? Maybe. Probably. "Much cooler?" No way.

Whatever, it was 73 here the other morning and 84 in Tucson!
That's 11 degrees.

You can definitely tell the difference. The average difference is 3-5 degrees, but sometimes it is much more. Usually at night it is easily 4-8 degrees difference, even though in the afternoon it is often only 3-5 degrees difference. Also depends on clouds, the higher up in elevation the more clouds you get which blocks the sun, also it cools OFF much faster at night.

Whether it's 1 degrees colder, or 10 degrees colder, it varies all the time. I just moved here so I've been watching the weather very closely. Right now there is a fluke and Tucson is cooler than Vail, but Oracle is also hotter than Tucson right now (early morning temp inversion), but it will switch back in the afternoon.

Depends on what part of Tucson, sure the part of Tucson around 3000 feet not much different.
Some of Tucson is under 2,400...

[loose cannon]

Tucson is a legitimate hipster town unlike the phonies here in the East. Neko Case lived there for a while, Calexico is there, and I think Robyn Hitchcock has property there. When I get my act together I may just come down to Tucson instead of Phoenix area, although I still love Septembers bar in Mesa.

[dirtydan57]

Originally Posted by yellowbelle

I'll be honest. Medical care is probably the only aspect to living in Tucson that I do not like. Trying to get in to see a primary care doc as a new patient, even in the glorious season when the snowbirds have left, is literally a 2-3 month wait. (We have private insurance and no major health issues - just trying to establish care!) There's even a practice now that for the low annual fee of $1500 you get priority appointments and house calls if needed, while the non-paying folks wait in line for a cancellation. I'm not making this up.

While we've had some luck finally finding a pediatric dentist, orthodontist, chiropractor, we are still trying to find a PCP practice that is acceptable. While you may eventually find a provider you like, the medical office staff we've encountered at several places (including specialists' offices) have been consistently unprofessional and incompetent. For example, our pediatrician is great, but the office staff is a disorganized mess and have been for years.

Best advice I can give is that if you move here, start looking for your health care team immediately, well before you need it.

Thank you for a candid answer. May I ask which area of town you live in?

[dirtydan57]

Originally Posted by loose cannon

Tucson is a legitimate hipster town unlike the phonies here in the East. Neko Case lived there for a while, Calexico is there, and I think Robyn Hitchcock has property there. When I get my act together I may just come down to Tucson instead of Phoenix area, although I still love Septembers bar in Mesa.

I like hipster.