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I think your boundaries (unless you generalized too much) are way too restrictive. While I'm not somebody venturing into the City of South Tucson, for instance, there are plenty other nice and safe areas. Granted, one doesn't have much of a reason to go to some, but as it was mentioned many of the attractions and real natural beauty happen to be on the West side, and there's nothing wrong with this particular area.
First of all, let me assure you that I do not stick to my "boundaries" for safety reasons: First of all, Tucson does not feel particularly dangerous (one of the chief advantage of being a sleepy city is that it feels relatively safe), and, secondly, I am not easily scared / intimidated by my surroundings: I consider myself sufficiently streetwise to go pretty much anywhere and handle most situations quite well.
Also, I do not equate poverty with crime: In my opinion, poor people have simply been unlucky / disadvantaged in life. Their difficult situation can sometimes cause them to feel cornered, desperate or confused enough to break the law, but it is not their fault, and it is an exception, rather than the norm. Likewise, I do not equate alternative lifestyle choices with crime. Therefore, I do not usually avoid poor or alternative areas out of prejudice, fear or safety concerns.
I do, however, feel extremely irritated (vexed, actually) by UGLINESS, CHAOS and NEGLECT.
By no means am I implying that suburbia is the apex of architectural and urban beauty, but, at least, the area north and north-east of my "boundaries" does not resemble a) a Christiana-style hippie commune, b) an Indian bidonville, or c) a messy, run-down industrial dockyard! Unfortunately, albeit with some laudable exceptions, the rest of Tucson often tends to bring at least one of these comparisons to mind.
My second problem is, I suppose, that I am not "into" most of those attractions: Personally, I prefer doing something else. Natural beauty is different: I will go anywhere outside the city limits (the actual de facto ones, not the ones drawn on a map).
I have, however, attended a few concerts by the Tucson Symphony (although I have a subscription to the Phoenix Symphony, so I go there more often), and I have watched a couple of Ice Cats games, even if, of course, I prefer watching the Phoenix Coyotes. Occasionally, when I need something that can only be purchased at that location, I will even drive to (the nice, pleasant and well-designed) Park Place Mall.
Otherwise, I really have no reason go there.
Last edited by Julia_Italy; 12-02-2008 at 01:20 AM..
It's true that it's a relatively sleepy town. I totally understand how you can both like the place and find it not as stimulating as other places you've been to.
Don't get me wrong, sleepy town have several advantages as well: They are more relaxing and humane, they feel safer, they are not disfigured by too many ugly multilayer freeway interchanges, commutes are a little less time-consuming, rents are lower, social segregation is less marked, there are less sprawling suburbs, etc.
Therefore, I really like living here. There is more than mere excitement to choosing a city to live in.
Don't get me wrong, sleepy town have several advantages as well: They are more relaxing and humane, they feel safer, they are not disfigured by too many ugly multilayer freeway interchanges, commutes are a little less time-consuming, rents are lower, social segregation is less marked, there are less sprawling suburbs, etc.
Therefore, I really like living here. There is more than mere excitement to choosing a city to live in.
Completely agree with all of the above.
You might have read that the two places (of the many) I've lived in that I've liked the best have been Italy and Tucson.
Obviously they're very different, but in a certain way, Southern Arizona reminds me a little of Southern Italy... a little, mind you, in a rugged beauty/natural way.
I know you're from Northern Italy, but I wonder if you think that it is a little reminiscent of Southern Italy here. Probably a bit more similar to Sicily than anywhere else in Italy, but I guess a little like Calabria too. For me there's that bit of a similar natural/wild feel to the place that I like (just strictly talking the land).
I know you're from Northern Italy, but I wonder if you think that it is a little reminiscent of Southern Italy here. Probably a bit more similar to Sicily than anywhere else in Italy, but I guess a little like Calabria too. For me there's that bit of a similar natural/wild feel to the place that I like (just strictly talking the land).
Unfortunately, I have never been to Calabria, but Tucson does remind me a lot of Sicily. The residential architecture is rather similar (clay roof tiles, some flat roofs, stucco walls, etc.), and the vegetation as well. However, the fauna here is more (sub)tropical than in Sicily. Also the hot, dry climate resembles that in southern Italy, although in Tucson it is more continental.
Actually, I am extremely surprised not to have seen any prickly pears in Tucson's grocery stores! Do people eat them here? Their plants are very abundant, but I have not yet found a single prickly pear for sale anywhere!
In northern Italy they are a rare, exotic treat, but in Sicily they are ubiquitous. Besides eating them fresh, they also make candied prickly pears, prickly pear jam, prickly pear jelly, prickly pear juice, prickly pear liqueur, prickly pear wine, prickly pear honey (produced by bees that feed on prickly pear flowers), pickled prickly pears, and even a prickly pear sauce for fish and seafood!
Actually, now that I think about it, one of my classmates from high school, who was originally from Calabria, told me that prickly pears are very common there as well!
Have you visited Calabria? In that case, you know more about Italy than I do! Complimenti!
PS: I always tell my husband that, although Tucson is located in a desert, being here feels very much like being by the seaside in Italy, with all the shrubs, bushes, gravel and sand. I alway imagine to be able to raise my head and discern the blue expanse of the sea in the distance!
PPS: "Pickled prickly pears" is a bit of a tongue-twister!
Last edited by Julia_Italy; 12-03-2008 at 05:09 AM..
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Have you visited Calabria? In that case, you know more about Italy than I do! Complimenti!
PS: I always tell my husband that, although Tucson is located in a desert, being here feels very much like being by the seaside in Italy, with all the shrubs, bushes, gravel and sand. I alway imagine to be able to raise my head and discern the blue expanse of the sea in the distance! ...
Just a couple of times to Calabria. I lived in a suburb of Napoli. Mio bisnonno was from Auletta, fra Potenza e Salerno.
Good to hear I'm not the only one who sees a bit of similarity between the two (and someone from Italy, no less!)
I like your name, it is also the name of my sister. Like you I am originally from Europe. My coloring is very blond and green eys AND I have accent. I was born and grew up in Scotland and England. No one has ever tried to deport me from the USA on either basis.
I lived in Arizona near Prescott for 4 years and I now live in Idaho. I cannot wait to return to the desert, the heat and the blue skies.
I have lived in many area's of the US. My husband was a civilian but we were required to live on military bases. We were not always well treated there. Discrimination and ignorance is found everywhere.
I miss ANY sense of culture here in the potato farming region of Idaho. Nevertheless the people are hard working and good neighbors.
I would suggest you visit the Tucson area and most of all learn about yourself and what is important to you. I came here because my family were not "elite" they are working class. Education was and is important to me.
I am now a PhD and therefore would now be considered one of the "elite" in Europe. I teach college at the graduate level. I would never have been able to do this if I had stayed in Europe. Here, and in Tucson I am just another person. My social class does not define me.
Since I do not impress myself very much that is not important. I know too many hard working Americans with whom I am proud to share this country and the title "working class".
Do not look for Europe in Tucson, Perhaps you can look for me. You can drink your Expresso and I will drink my strong black tea and we can both get to know each other.
That is the truly beautiful thing about the Southwest, differences are not so important. Stereotypes are seldom true of any group of people.
Welcome Julia if you come, good luck if you choose to go elswhere.
Julia, like others have said, come visit first and see how you like it. As for the military, Tucson is a military town, our men and women in the military are honored and respected by the vast majority of us that live here and are thankful for their sacrifice and commitment to our country.
And yes it is very hot here in the summer, but no worse than Rome and Naples in August, but we have lots of air conditioning!
Here are a couple of links to help you learn more about Tucson and Arizona in general. Arizona Liesure Arizona Highways
Hi everyone! I have been reading this useful and pleasant forum for a while and I found it very interesting.
My name is Giulia (= Julia), I am 27 years old and I come from Udine, a mid-sized city located in Northern Italy, not far from the Austrian border. My husband of four years is a 30-year-old American from Arkansas serving as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force.
Before getting married, my husband and I lived together for three years, first as simple partners, then as an engaged couple. That means that we have lived together here in Italy for seven years, now. We both love it here in Udine: the slow and mellow Italian cappuccino-lifestyle, the low crime rate (1.3), the romantic ancient towns and monuments, the beautiful architecture, the Alps, the possibility to walk and cycle everywhere, the lack of traffic, the traditional city life, the very small stone houses that don't require much cleaning and upkeep, the clean, tidy and orderly neighbourhoods, the small shops and family-run restaurants, the cool, breezy and mild weather, the cheap and efficient public transportation, etc.
Unfortunately my husband's time in Italy is up and he is faced with a choice: He can either accept a new assignment in Tucson, AZ, or "get out of the military" and relocate here for good (or at least for approx. 5-10 years).
We are both pretty open to both options and money is not an issue for a series of reason (my job expertise, my family's financial standing, etc.). You would think that this would make it easy for us to reach a decision, but it is actually very confusing and stressful: Both options have a comparable number of pros and cons, and it is very hard for us to choose.
Above all, I would hate to disrupt my husband's career. He has no problem with it and is very optimistic, but I don't want to take advantage of his open-mindedness, flexibility and kindness.
Do you honestly think that a central European like me could like living in Tucson?
My concern is that, although I like the U.S. very much, I am not one of those foreigners who keep dreaming all the time of moving there. I am very fond of the U.S., but central Europe is a part my DNA and it always will be. However, it would not be totally unthinkable for me to live in Arizona for 7-8 years, after which my husband could retire and get a second career here in Udine. I have already lived abroad (in Ireland, Sweden, and Germany) and I am rather flexible and adaptable.
The problem is that all the places where I have lived so far are European and quite similar to my hometown. Tucson, on the other hand, feels more like a “pioneer border city” where life is very efficient, pragmatic, based on the car-job-mall formula based on the house-with-a-yard in the suburbs: very different from the continental, urban life I have always led. Do you agree with my naive and unfounded impressions or not? Do you think I would feel a little limited living is such an "artificial" and guarded environment with gated communities, gangs, fear of crime, fear of being run over if you cycle in the street, etc.? Or maybe it doesn't feel "artificial and guarded" at all, and my fears are completely unfounded?
Another concern of mine it that, although I have a very pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes, some racist people might take me for an illegal Mexican or an immigrant because of my (not too strong but still Latin) accent and discriminate against me or hurt my feelings. Do you think that is a possibility? How likely is it? Here in my town I am a respected member of the community and in Europe I belong the so-called cosmopolitan upper-middle-class, so I don't know how I would react if I was to be treated with racism or looked down upon: I would probably become very depressed. Did I mention that I am not very thick-skinned? I get easily hurt and I don't really want to have to prove that I am not "an immigrant." In fact, I'd rather skip that. Call me a "snob", if you wish, but I feel I have to be honest. :-) If I moved to a nice neighbourhood (I heard that Oro Valley is the place to be), would I still be met with racism? I am aware of the fact that my fear makes me a prejudiced racist too (what’s wrong with being taken for an immigrant?), but this is the way I feel.
Finally, how is the generalized attitude towards the military? My husband is certainly not a “grunt” and works in an office all the time. He is actually very calm, quiet, kind, gentle, polite, thoughtful, soft-spoken and conservatively dressed, but I have heard that some intellectual or wannabe-intellectual Americans look down on the military (especially enlisted) and think of them as uneducated, wife-beating, trigger-happy, poverty-level rednecks with fifteen children, a shabby, overweight, unemployed hillbilly wife and a cockroach-infested trailer home. This is the bleak picture that I have gathered over the years. Since none of these cruel stereotypes applies to us (and, hopefully, to nobody else either), I am afraid to face them because of my aforementioned lack of thick skin. Would we be denied access to the nicer gated complexes? Would people be afraid to lease us a house or an apartment? Would we be met with suspicion and prejudice? How is the situation? Please, be honest.
Sorry for bothering you with my overwhelming and probably exaggerated anxiety, and thank you very much in advance for your precious time and your kind attention. :-)
/Julia
Incredible! Unbelievable! I normally avoid participating in internet fora (I am a professional lurker,) but I HAD to reply to this question!
My name is ALSO Giulia, I am ALSO Italian (from Modena,) I am ALSO married to an Air Force service man (although we have only been married for a very short time,) and I ALSO live in Tucson (although I will only stay here for a short time, before we go back to Europe!) !!!!!!! The best part: I have ALSO visited Germany and Sweden, such a wonderful country! Also, we are almost the same age (I am almost 30!) Are you perhaps my secret twin?
Ti contatto in privato: dobbiamo assolutamente incontrarci, o almeno scriverci! Pazzesco! Che coincidenze assurde!!! )
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Occasionally, when I need something that can only be purchased at that location, I will even drive to (the nice, pleasant and well-designed) Park Place Mall. 
Coloring
