Thoughts on moving to Tucson is it actually as ghetto as the stats say? Are there dust storms like phx? (Phoenix: low income, for sale)

[tfinvold]

Hello all I was considering moving to Tucson and after a good amount of internet research and for a myriad of reasons like no snow, low cost of living, familiar with other parts of southern Arizona as I used to live in Sierra Vista a number of years ago. I work from home and so does my wife so local employment won't be an issue. I figured we might try Tucson as there seems to be a lot more choices for homes and Sierra Vista has limited housing choices so I'm not entirely sure we would go back to SV at least not right now because we'd have to move from Utah.

I don't care about the politics of the town and I don't really have any affiliation one way or the other. I'm not religious or anything just a guy with a wife and two small kids. I just want to get out of the snow and really just want to leave northern Utah. I also used to live in San Diego for many years growing up as that's where I was from originally and I also lived in Flagstaff for a number of years so I have been around most of Arizona & California. I recently tried out Utah due to a wife's friend being in the area and recommended it and we hate it... and for a lot of reasons. So that's a little background on me.

I heard Tucson was pretty ghetto/crime ridden in general but I don't know if that's just a blanket statement. I've drove around a few times in Tucson a couple of years ago for a few shopping trips back when I lived in Sierra Vista mostly to go to the Natural Grocers on Broadway and I once bought car there but that's all I really know about Tucson. I didn't really see anything out of the ordinary the few of times I've been to Tucson, just a lot of homeless really. So I want to know are there any sketchy neighborhoods that I should watch out for? Do random sketchy/violent crimes happen to innocent people or are they just associated with druggies/criminals? I know and understand that random theft happens in most towns and its always advisable to lock stuff up but what I'm more looking out for is dangerous crimes. My budget is under $1100 (preferably for a rental house) so I wonder if there's any area that's a safe area of town that I could rent a house for that price range that isn't a run down shack? Are home invasions a problem there? Is the crime really as high as the internet statistics say or is it mostly just hot air? Also do you guys get a lot of dust storms like Phoenix and if so about how often? I know its a **** ton of questions but just curious as lot of these things I can't find much of any info online.

[Roli]

I moved back to Tucson in 1994. Being brought up here, I may have been a different person than most of you are. I lived here when the town was a lot sweeter and I happily did learn about O'odham and Mexican cultures due to meeting kids from those cultures as a kid. I bought an old adobe home (circa 1939) in the supposedly "bad" midtown area when I moved back, but I knew midtown was fine because I had family here. I have a teeny house (very unimpressive, but I am not at all interested in appearances) and quarter acre of land with a huge veggie garden hidden in the back. I haven't had anything "dangerous or criminal" happen in twenty-five years. In my opinion, the crime thing is overblown so that you can be sold a much more expensive home. My family and I can go to movies at the Loft in about five minutes drive time. We like craft beer, home made tortillas, independent movies, Fourth Avenue, live theater, live jazz, ethnic food and easy access to downtown and cultural events. Other people have other legitimate preferences that would not include anything on my list! They are NOT wrong people, just different from me. Their ideas of fun do not suit me, but they might suit you, so you have to decide this for yourself. Both worlds exist here. I think the rental price your listing is available. Show up at night and make sure nothing weird is happening near the home you will buy or rent. Just use common sense. If you aren't selling or using drugs, you're going to be fine. You have to decide about the neighborhood you would feel happy in.

[grmi66]

I lived way out on the east side near Mt Lemmon for a few years with my parents, then moved to the off campus apartments in mid-town popular with U of A students when I was in college. Plus was an urban planning major at the U of A. Left town in the mid 90's after graduation and moved back this past summer to the northwest side of town (about two blocks outside of Oro Valley in a county island)

My experience for what it's worth. First of all, both Tucson and Phoenix are not set up like many cities where the crime and low income areas are in a bull's eye and as you move out from the center it gets progressively better. In the same zip code you can have a trashy trailer park and a million dollar mansion with everything in between.

In regards to crime, my brother is a Pima County Sheriff's deputy. He told me to look at the crime stats and crime map for the actual city of Tucson within the city limits with caution. The new chief of police for the city of Tucson wants to portray a kinder, gentler police force along with dropping crime numbers. His solution is to game the crime statistics. A home burglary is now coded as criminal trespassing, breaking a window to steal items out of car are now coded as vandalism. Unless the police catch someone in the act with an armful of goods, certain crimes are being downgraded. The county's numbers are a bit more accurate and a good chunk of the Tucson metro area sits in the county, not within the city limits.

My wife and work from home as well, but do have to telecommute to Phoenix a couple of times a month. Plus Phoenix has the major airport, shopping and cultural activities that we can't find in Tucson. Living in the northwest part of town has us on the freeway in under 10 minutes and we can be in downtown Phoenix in 90 minutes.

Our home was a rental home in a nice suburban area before we moved into it. We were charging our tenants $1075 a month for a 4 bedroom house with a big lot. Though we did charge slightly below market rent because they had been there for 4 years and took very good care of the house.

The dust storms are generally an accumulation of all the dust from the farms that sit between Tucson and Phoenix. Yes it gets windy in Tucson, but I've never seen a wall of dust hit town like I did 2-3 times a summer when we lived in Phoenix. I have really bad allergies to dust, pollen and air pollution. Moving to Tucson has helped my allergies tremendously.

[bkolodzi]

I cannot speak to how "ghetto" Tucson is as I live about 20 miles south and I have never lived in a ghetto that I am aware of. What I can speak to is that I have not seen a "wall of dust" Phoenix type of storm in the 5 years I have been living here. As previously mentioned, most of that starts NW of Tucson in the open farm fields.

[Bygeorge]

You might look at Marana. I think the schools are better there. Crime lower. Access to Tucson and Phoenix. No idea what you can get for 1100 in a rental. I suspect something decent. Good luck.

Crime seems limited to certain areas and those that are usually poor. Also, it does seem UofA students get victimized likely due to being drunk and out very late and very vulnerable. Still, crime happens most everywhere. Just need to use commonsense and be aware.

Tucson has good shopping. Good medical. Really nice airport that is easy to use.

[SerSaguaro]

Lol...Tucson's no ghetto, but there's a lot of daytime traffic as it all has to go crosstown on the surface roads---so if ghetto/crime rap keeps the #s down I'm good with that. I personally think the crime stats are artificially spiked to allow for an increase in police presence simply bc certain interests want more police...everywhere=

[tfinvold]

It's likely a lot better than Utah as for air quality but it's good to know people's experience reflect the data. It wasn't really abnormally dusty in Sierra Vista and there was virtually no dust in Flagstaff but that's because the elevation was so high up. In Utah the drying salt lake shores blow this insane amount of gunk that coat any car in like 1 day with all kinds of stuff. I lived in AZ for years and didn't have the kind of crazy allergies I have in Utah.

Also I wondered if anyone know anything about the tiny little mining town called San Manuel on the backside of Mount Lemmon? I saw some cheap houses for sale there and figured I'd stop by even though its a bit out of the way when I swing down to southern AZ at some point. I had a sneaking suspicion the Tucson crime was out of proportion as it relies heavily per precinct as to what is reported. So if a town doesn't report it can make a town look artificially low crime etc.

[recycled]

I've been to San Manuel many times for a visit. It is over one hour north of Tucson, and 30+ minutes north of Catalina and Oro Valley. San Manuel is a former mining town. The copper mine and smelter shut down many years ago, and all the good paying jobs went away too. That is one big reason there are cheap houses available there. There are limited grocery store options, or any other shopping or service options. That means lots of driving trips to Catalina or Oro Valley.

If you like riding ATVs or driving jeep roads, San Manuel might be a good place, because there are endless dirt roads in the area. I don't know if the golf course is still open. Sometimes I did not see a single person walking around town when I have visited. That tells you how quiet it is. If you like star gazing, the night sky is usually very dark because there are no big city lights nearby.

[tijlover]

When I tell someone Tucson is a futuristic American city, the usual response:

"The roads, the side streets! They're awful!"

And my response: Tucson is a futuristic American city!

[Bygeorge]

Originally Posted by tijlover

When I tell someone Tucson is a futuristic American city, the usual response:

"The roads, the side streets! They're awful!"

And my response: Tucson is a futuristic American city!

You nailed it.