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Though a lifelong Long Islander, I’ve always been strongly drawn to the semi-arid landscapes of the southwest; parts of NM like Rio Rancho, but mostly to AZ. Denver was the furthest West I’ve ever been; I lived there for a year at a hospital for asthma when I was 13. But I will be looking to retire in a few years and before I pay a visit or two out there I hope to be able to compile some first hand facts from experienced transplants and natives.
I don’t pretend to be any kind of expert on criminology. And I’ve never even visited AZ, but from much of what I’ve read it looks like general taxes will have to increase substantially if Tucson and the rest of Pima County will ever be equipped for seriously reducing its obviously high crime rate-assuming they actually serious about ever doing so. I also hope that school taxes don't rise much more, although that will likely happen over the coming years due to continued over immigration (from ALL ages, ethnicities and economic classes)-thank you Obama AND Trump-and the COVID exoduses from high density coastal areas.
I'd love to buy a house for ~ $340K and retire there; desert landscapes there are so amazingly beautiful, though javelinas and poisonous wildlife seriously scare me badly. But if I’d be more likely to get murdered or have my house burgled than I am on Long Island then I'm out of luck. If Pima could just get that crime rate and the quality of health care a lot closer to the national average then maybe it could attract more investors and businesses, which would create better paying jobs, further reduce crime.
However, even if crime was not a serious problem, are there suburban communities in Pima with Albertsons and Walmart supermarkets selling organic produce (e.g. romaine lettuce, red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, red onion, Gorton’s frozen flounder and fish sticks, egg whites, et al)? Good quality medical and dental health care? Single family homes in the ~ $350K range but relatively low school taxes?
Two questions about water: I know that, like NM, AZ has its rain season. Is housing damage from flooding a big problem throughout much of Pima, or do most residential streets have culverts and storm drains to run the flood waters out into arroyos, and ideally into reservoirs?
Do most single family homes get their water from well water? If yes, is the water pressure usually good or is it often too weak? And if weak, is that likely because they didn’t drill far down enough?
Flood damage from seasonal rains in Pima County are rare, they do happen on occasion but extremely rare. I live in an unincorporated area of NW Tucson and maybe 2-3 times a year we get a rain heavy enough that I'm trapped in my subdivision for a few hours because the roads are flooded. The biggest impact is that the shortest route to shopping dips into a big wash that fills up with sand for a day. So I have to drive 5 minutes out of my way to a road that has a bridge over the wash.
In town and for all the suburban areas I know of, we all get our water from various governmental agencies. Maybe if you bought a 3-5 acre horse property way on the edge of town would you have to worry about well water.
Crime rate out in Pima County isn't anything I lose sleep over. Frankly I forget to lock my door half the time.
Tucson also has a fantastic medical school, so if top notch medical care is on your list try to find a doctor at the U of A.
Javelina run around my neighborhood at night and on occasion they don't do anything to humans. I bump into them while walking my dogs a few times a year and they simply turn and run away. Get a couple of rattlesnakes a year on my property, so I've quickly learned that I don't garden in blissful ignorance anymore. Alway use a rake to clean out under my bushes and not to stick my hand where I can't see it. Hit a rattlesnake with my lopers trimming some bushes last year and he wasn't happy. But give them space to escape and it's not a big deal. The snakes are out looking for packrats and mice, so if you do a good job of keeping those rodents away you won't have a snake problem.
There really isn't much crime in Tucson unless you deal drugs. I live in a supposed "high crime" area near Grant and Alvernon. Every day my street is silent and safe. In fact, crime in most of America is currently at historically low levels. If you watch a lot of TV crime shows, you might think the world is really depraved. They are selling you a bunch of hooey. Lead poisoning from full lead gasoline was probably the cause of the big crime waves in America. Lead in the air finds its way to the blood in children, goes directly to the brain, and causes violent behaviors and logic impairment. Once we took lead out of gas, the situation improved.
You really just need to come out here and see for yourself. It's all prospective. There are plenty of nice communities that border Tucson proper (Oro Valley, Vail, Green Valley/Sahuarita, Sabino Canyon, etc.). There's also several gated retirement communities with their own patrol service. I lived in the gated retirement community of Quail Creek for awhile, and felt safer there than any place I've ever lived.
As far a medical, you'll find more options in the Phoenix area. Mostly due to the size of the area. The larger the area, the more options. But Tucson has been catering to seniors & their medical issues since the 60's. So I'm sure you'll be fine here.
And Wal-mart does have a small section of Organic here. You won't find many Farmers Markets here though. Most that are advertised as such, sell mostly arts & crafts.
The crime in Pima county is concentrated in a few neighborhoods. Live a few miles east of Tucson and there is essentially no crime.
The real crime here is in the services the county peeps provide given the property taxes they collect.
No hates paying property taxes-AND especially school taxes-more than child free seniors like me. But like they say you usually get what you pay for. Here on Long Island, general taxes alone probably average ~ $3300/year for most single family homes-and most of those homes are under 1500 sq ft. Nassau County has ~ 2800 cops so even though pop density is high crime is not a big problem. When we had that bad storm here two weeks ago i was without power for ~ 36 hours; my sister's family lost it for a week-no thanks to PSEG who likes to outsource out of state repair crews. They got burned for that little escapade. Again, the REAL crime here is how child free people-especially seniors-get screwed out of thousands every year. I don't mind paying some school tax but it should be anywhere near what my neighbors pay with kids going public schools and their homes comparably assessed to mine.
You really just need to come out here and see for yourself. It's all prospective. There are plenty of nice communities that border Tucson proper (Oro Valley, Vail, Green Valley/Sahuarita, Sabino Canyon, etc.). There's also several gated retirement communities with their own patrol service. I lived in the gated retirement community of Quail Creek for awhile, and felt safer there than any place I've ever lived.
As far a medical, you'll find more options in the Phoenix area. Mostly due to the size of the area. The larger the area, the more options. But Tucson has been catering to seniors & their medical issues since the 60's. So I'm sure you'll be fine here.
And Wal-mart does have a small section of Organic here. You won't find many Farmers Markets here though. Most that are advertised as such, sell mostly arts & crafts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grmi66
Flood damage from seasonal rains in Pima County are rare, they do happen on occasion but extremely rare. I live in an unincorporated area of NW Tucson and maybe 2-3 times a year we get a rain heavy enough that I'm trapped in my subdivision for a few hours because the roads are flooded. The biggest impact is that the shortest route to shopping dips into a big wash that fills up with sand for a day. So I have to drive 5 minutes out of my way to a road that has a bridge over the wash.
In town and for all the suburban areas I know of, we all get our water from various governmental agencies. Maybe if you bought a 3-5 acre horse property way on the edge of town would you have to worry about well water.
Crime rate out in Pima County isn't anything I lose sleep over. Frankly I forget to lock my door half the time.
Tucson also has a fantastic medical school, so if top notch medical care is on your list try to find a doctor at the U of A.
Javelina run around my neighborhood at night and on occasion they don't do anything to humans. I bump into them while walking my dogs a few times a year and they simply turn and run away. Get a couple of rattlesnakes a year on my property, so I've quickly learned that I don't garden in blissful ignorance anymore. Alway use a rake to clean out under my bushes and not to stick my hand where I can't see it. Hit a rattlesnake with my lopers trimming some bushes last year and he wasn't happy. But give them space to escape and it's not a big deal. The snakes are out looking for packrats and mice, so if you do a good job of keeping those rodents away you won't have a snake problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roli
There really isn't much crime in Tucson unless you deal drugs. I live in a supposed "high crime" area near Grant and Alvernon. Every day my street is silent and safe..
Thanks a lot for replying; I really appreciate the details. Other concerns: Great to hear that crime is not a big worry in your area. I absolutely live for my expensive home theatre hardware, and even though well insured am not fond of neighborhoods with any reputation for burglaries.
How many miles are you from Tucson? How far to travel to the U of AZ med school?
And how far to the nearest Albertson’s or Walmart for fresh produce? I’m very big on making green/red/yellow salads, so I need a store selling romaine lettuce, red peppers, carrots, red onion and fat juicy cucumbers (not those thin, hard, dried up things please). And ideally Gorton’s fish sticks and flounder filets. How far from you are there stores selling this stuff?
How is the municipal water quality? Have any problems with the taste or clarity? Of course, using a Brita or other water filter system should eliminate drinking water issues. But how is the overall water pressure? Does it ever drop down enough to where you cannot enjoy a 15 minute shower in your bathroom?
Temp wise, is your area somewhat cooler than Phoenix in July? I heard Tucson might be ~ 5 degrees cooler. How far away are HVAC service companies in case your home’s central A/C fails?
The young Minnesota transplant in the video said she’s never seen scorpions in her six months in Phoenix, but she does get her home sprayed. How long will spraying keep scorpions and black widows away? Even if you own a single family home and have your home sprayed by a professional are you still likely to see those same bugs in your house?
And does the same exterminator also kill off rodents? How often a year might I need to hire them to keep snakes and all the above pests away?
USGS and NOAA maps indicate that earthquakes and tornados are not common in southern AZ and southwestern NM. But did you feel the quake a few years ago where Duncan in Greenlee county was the epicenter? Any damage from the tornado that appeared in Tucson, circa 2018?
Have you heard of homes falling into sinkholes? Hopefully not, if builders were wise and honorable enough to inspect and remediate land plots before construction.
But how often have you heard of sinkhole accidents on commonly traveled roads?
Last edited by Longislandmire; 09-01-2020 at 04:10 PM..
I live in (almost) Oro Valley in an unincorporated county island. From my house I am 10 minutes from two Home Depots, two Targets, three Wal-Marts, Costco, Lowes, four Fry's (Kroger), Sprouts (your best source of fresh produce and a local Arizona based company), Trader Joe's, Basha's and a couple more that I can't think off the top of my head.
Think I might have felt one tiny tremor from a quake, but so insignificant it wasn't memorable. Have never seen a sinkhole anywhere in my 30+ years of living or traveling to Tucson. Watched a couple of funnel clouds develop over my neighborhood and just stood there with a camera to watch it, so rare I had to get a picture. Wasn't worried about it touching down.
Depending on traffic, I'm 25 minutes away from the U of A.
I don’t pretend to be any kind of expert on criminology. And I’ve never even visited AZ, but from much of what I’ve read it looks like general taxes will have to increase substantially if Tucson and the rest of Pima County will ever be equipped for seriously reducing its obviously high crime rate-assuming they actually serious about ever doing so.
The problem is meth. But if you buy a house either up in Oro Valley, Green Valley, the newer part of Marana or east of say Pantano or north of River Road you are not going to be effected by crime that is in the central and south part of the city. Don't buy anything in Tucson proper west of Pantano or south of River Road. Yes there are good areas in that area but you are too close to the riff raff.
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