Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Tucson
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-09-2009, 05:41 PM
 
4 posts, read 31,378 times
Reputation: 21

Advertisements

I've been looking on a variety of different forums, and keep finding different recommendations about good places for grad students to live, so I'm wondering what people think based on what I'm looking for.

I'll be starting a PhD program at UA in the fall, and my musician boyfriend is coming with me. We would like to be far enough from the University to avoid the undergrad party scene and close enough that it's an easy bike or bus ride. My bf loves cities, so if there's a place that feels more "city like" that would be ideal. Safety is a bit of a concern, as I'll be walking/biking/bussing to and from school by myself, and he'll be keeping expensive guitars and amps in the apartment. We also plan on getting a dog, so having a park within walking distance would be great. And finally, we'll be living on a grad student and musician income, so cheaper is better.

Is this a very tall order, or does anyone know of the perfect place? I'll be visiting at the end of the month, so any suggestions are very much appreciated. Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-09-2009, 06:12 PM
 
2,842 posts, read 2,314,084 times
Reputation: 3386
Quote:
Originally Posted by movingtotucson View Post
I've been looking on a variety of different forums, and keep finding different recommendations about good places for grad students to live, so I'm wondering what people think based on what I'm looking for.

I'll be starting a PhD program at UA in the fall, and my musician boyfriend is coming with me. We would like to be far enough from the University to avoid the undergrad party scene and close enough that it's an easy bike or bus ride. My bf loves cities, so if there's a place that feels more "city like" that would be ideal. Safety is a bit of a concern, as I'll be walking/biking/bussing to and from school by myself, and he'll be keeping expensive guitars and amps in the apartment. We also plan on getting a dog, so having a park within walking distance would be great. And finally, we'll be living on a grad student and musician income, so cheaper is better.

Is this a very tall order, or does anyone know of the perfect place? I'll be visiting at the end of the month, so any suggestions are very much appreciated. Thanks!

Check out the West University Neighborhood area. It's one of the cheaper places close enough to campus to walk. Like any university area, it has its fair share of crime, so try to rent a house with bars/alarm if you can find one. There are some apartments opening up in downtown Tucson also, and they are building a trolley that will run to the UofA. So you may want to look there. Downtown is pretty sketchy at night though because there aren't a lot of people down there. Good luck with your graduate program!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-11-2009, 10:15 PM
 
4 posts, read 31,378 times
Reputation: 21
Thanks for the advice Spot! What about the area just north of West University? There are a couple of places advertised on Craigslist that are right along Speedway. I remember reading somewhere that NW of the UA is a bad area, but then others have said that anything south of Speedway is bad... any advice?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-12-2009, 01:38 PM
 
2,842 posts, read 2,314,084 times
Reputation: 3386
Quote:
Originally Posted by movingtotucson View Post
Thanks for the advice Spot! What about the area just north of West University? There are a couple of places advertised on Craigslist that are right along Speedway. I remember reading somewhere that NW of the UA is a bad area, but then others have said that anything south of Speedway is bad... any advice?
There are a lot of students in the area across Speedway North of West University, but it gets pretty sketchy the further North and West you go. If the place is within a block or two from Speedway it's probably okay, but I still wouldn't recommend it. I actually lived in that neighborhood for about a year while finishing my Masters and witnessed two SWAT team raids of my neighbor's place while living there. Another time I arrived home at night to find my yard taped off while the police were looking for bullet slugs implanted in the front wall of my house. Drug dealers and prostitutes were frequently walking around there at night.

The area East of Euclid, and North of Speedway is generally better though. You can find small houses in that area pretty cheap and it's certainly much safer than the area to the West. If you look at the UofA campus map, find the Business College and the Law School that are along Speedway and you should be fine in any area North of those all the way to Grant.

There are several safe apartments along Euclid that are predominantly student housing as well. A lot of undergrads learning how to drink live in those apartments though, so if you are looking for quiet they aren't the best place.

Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-12-2009, 02:53 PM
 
Location: 602/520
2,441 posts, read 6,977,862 times
Reputation: 1815
There is a renovated high-rise apartment building (One North Fifth) in Downtown Tucson on 5th Avenue and Congress. The buildings was formerly low-income housing for senior citizens, but has practically been rebuilt, and now houses many graduate students and young professionals. The buildings is within very short distance of several bars and restaurants, near two theaters (Fox and Rialto), is on the route for a future electric trolley (begins service in 2011), and is directly next door to the primary city bus depot. The apartment is well within comfortable biking distance of the university.

one north fifth : new. modern. urban. apartments.

Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-12-2009, 06:15 PM
 
2,842 posts, read 2,314,084 times
Reputation: 3386
Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiman View Post
There is a renovated high-rise apartment building (One North Fifth) in Downtown Tucson on 5th Avenue and Congress. The buildings was formerly low-income housing for senior citizens, but has practically been rebuilt, and now houses many graduate students and young professionals. The buildings is within very short distance of several bars and restaurants, near two theaters (Fox and Rialto), is on the route for a future electric trolley (begins service in 2011), and is directly next door to the primary city bus depot. The apartment is well within comfortable biking distance of the university.

one north fifth : new. modern. urban. apartments.

Good luck.

This high rise is actually pretty nice. There is one problem though. The City installed web cams downtown that can be controlled by the public online. One of them can look into the North Side apartments of this building. It has a zoom feature that lets people zoom directly into the apartments, so there is no privacy unless you keep your curtains closed 24/7. It's actually pretty creepy and I don't know why they don't take it down. I reported it to the apartment management, but nothing has been done about it. Here is the link to the website that controls the camera.

TransView.org - 4th Avenue Construction Web Cam
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2009, 01:29 AM
 
17 posts, read 51,599 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
This high rise is actually pretty nice. There is one problem though. The City installed web cams downtown that can be controlled by the public online. One of them can look into the North Side apartments of this building. It has a zoom feature that lets people zoom directly into the apartments, so there is no privacy unless you keep your curtains closed 24/7. It's actually pretty creepy and I don't know why they don't take it down. I reported it to the apartment management, but nothing has been done about it. Here is the link to the website that controls the camera.

TransView.org - 4th Avenue Construction Web Cam
Oh, Spot, don't you know? The best way to get something like that taken care of is to report it to one of the local news stations. Works like a charm.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-13-2009, 10:49 AM
 
68 posts, read 209,220 times
Reputation: 61
The crime in Tucson is minor compared to bigger cities. You should be able to live anywhere and be fine.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-14-2009, 05:06 PM
 
1,433 posts, read 2,968,667 times
Reputation: 889
Quote:
Originally Posted by ashmatical23 View Post
You should be able to live anywhere and be fine.
Wrong.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-18-2009, 11:29 PM
 
2,842 posts, read 2,314,084 times
Reputation: 3386
Quote:
Originally Posted by ashmatical23 View Post
The crime in Tucson is minor compared to bigger cities. You should be able to live anywhere and be fine.

This is definitely not true. Make sure you thoroughly check out any area you are considering moving to.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona > Tucson

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top