Don't Believe the Hype : Tucson, Arizona (Phoenix, Tempe: environment, real estate, tornado)

[ScranBarre]

After poring over this entire thread, I've come to the conclusion that a city is only a good place to call home if its own residents perceive it to be. What I seem to notice nationwide is that cities in which people, overall, are more optimistic about the recovery of their struggling towns, are also the most likely to rise from the ashes like the Phoenix (the legendary bird, not your sprawled-out metro to the north).

For example, Scranton was plagued from the 1970s to the late-1990s with abounding negativity from visitors and residents alike. The city's population dipped sharply during these few decades---Scranton has dropped from a peak population of 150,000 to a mere 74,000, or about 48% of its "heyday" status. College students were fleeing our area's many wonderful institutions of higher learning in droves upon graduation---highly-skilled workers became our area's largest "export." Parts of the Hill Section succumbed to gang warfare, and the downtown continued to decay into the streets. Overall, the situation looked bleak for Scranton, a city which was even named "Runner-Up" for the title of "Armpit of America" by a national publication. To many, Scranton should have just been abandoned, razed, and reseeded.

Now, just 5-7 years later, there is a new, exciting "pulse" in our city. Efforts by Mayor Christopher A. Doherty to tote his new "Restoring the Pride" campaign, as well as efforts by civic groups such as Scranton Tomorrow and the Scranton Jaycees (and more recently Rediscover Scranton), all meshed together to infuse a large sense of civic pride back into the community. Residents of the long-troubled Hill Section rallied together to take back their neighborhood, and, with the assistance of aggressive police saturation patrols, much of this neighborhood which formerly housed drug dealers from nearby New York City now houses young twenty-somethings, empty-nesters, married middle-aged couples without children, and even a growing number of families with children. Just a shift in the city's "mindset" helped greatly to transform the city from "slum" to "up-and-coming" in a brief amount of time. An old mill in the Hill Section was recently refurbished into a massive loft apartment complex, which is now nearly fully-occupied. Several new downtown projects will offer higher-end loft housing options, boutiques, cafes, coffee houses, etc., in addition to the projects that have been completed since 2000 to help the downtown to greatly recover economically. As a 20-year-old currently enrolled in college, I hope to be among the growing ranks of young professionals moving into the city as aspiring CPA who'd enjoy working at a downtown firm and walking just five minutes to my downtown apartment. (As opposed to my current 20-minute drive to get anywhere here in gridlocked suburbia).

Tucson sounds as if it is in a similar situation Scranton was in during the 1990s---Home to rising crime rates and residents who were pessimistic about the community's future. Nevertheless, all it takes is a few grass-roots community efforts to get the ball rolling on thinking positively about your city again and striving to help it to "bounce back." I've never been to Tucson, but after poring through this thread, I can see that it has some serious issues with the way its own men and women perceive it! Folks, as I've seen here in Scranton, optimism is contagious---Spread it around! Are there any efforts such as a "Tucson Tomorrow" or a "Tucson 2020" to organize people to take back their streets and improve the community? If not, then why not try to organize one to better the quality-of-life in your fair city instead of whining about "how bad it's become?" All that was accomplished from Scranton's thirty years or so of whining was mass abandonment of the city proper and the resulting unchecked urban sprawl in the surrounding countryside. As soon as the majority of residents started to gain more of a "Can Do" type of attitude, the city's potential flourished. (I've heard some arguments that the success of "The Office", which is set in Scranton, has helped, but I'm inclined to think that the recent successes of the city and show are not directly-related).

My synopsis---Stop your freakin' whinin' and start DOING! People in the Hill Section became fed up enough to DEMAND action, and now their property values are climbing steadily as a result of the improving image their neighborhood is garnering from new residents. If Tucson, in many of your opinions, is on the decline, then ACT! From what I've seen online, Tucson looks like a very attractive place to call home; sometimes OPTIMISM can obliterate a city's decline. Best of luck to you all in restoring your town's civic pride!

[azloafer]

These two cities have nothing in common as far as I could see on a visit last year. Maybe you know something that I don't. I don't know it all!

[swiss_miss]

I know i hate tucson!! its so boring here!!!

[6/3]

You guys in the Tucson forum are as depressing as the El Paso Texas forum. Maybe both cities could have the Tucson vs El Paso bowling tournament for a few laughs....

[ChrtnsMom]

My thinking is if you really HATE where you live...MOVE, get out... Dont trash a town because your stuck in it..either learn to love it or move on....

I am from Long Island NY and we got sick of the big city , I NEVER trashed it, we just stopped traveling into NYC, snd eventually moved here to Tucson.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Scranton was plagued from the 1970s to the late-1990s with abounding negativity from visitors and residents alike. The city's population dipped sharply during these few decades---Scranton has dropped from a peak population of 150,000 to a mere 74,000, or about 48% of its "heyday" status. College students were fleeing our area's many wonderful institutions of higher learning in droves upon graduation---highly-skilled workers became our area's largest "export."

It really is an apples and oranges comparison. During the same period that Scranton lost half its population, Tucson grew by 300%. Its problem is that TOO MANY people loved it during those years and megasprawl ensued. You can't really compare a city that has lost its liveability due to aging blight and one that has lost its liveability to new expansive development. You can revitalize a blighted downtown of a city that has actual structure, but you can't "de-sprawl" an urban county. For Scranton, development was the cure. For Tucson, development was the disease. Things can be improved, but when an urban center bleeds out over an area of 300 square miles of desert, people don't really feel invested in the full immensity of it as a single unit of hometown identity. That neighborhood 32 miles away isn't part of "where I live".

Perhaps peak oil will be the salvation of Tucson. Once the majority of the cars are gone from the roads and people have to walk and bike to get around, civility will return.

[ohnonothimagain]

I've posted before-and I still love Tucson regardless of all the negatives. Crime, yep. Illegals coming out of the woodwork, yep. Home costs spiraling out of control, oh yeah. Gangs, yes siree... But what town in the US doesn't have issues and problems ? If I could have found a DECENT job paying a LIVABLE wage I would have wanted to stay in Tucson. I lived there for 10 years and saw the town that I first fell in love with in the early 60's go downward into a city with real and very problematic issues. Arizona Governor Napolitano--Are you REALLY listening to the people of your state ? Get rid of the 800,000-900,000 or so Illegals living and working in Arizona. They are ruining the state-and 99.9% of the Legislators/Representatives/people in power don't want to be politically incorrect and shake things up-but Joe Arpaio has the right ideas with trying to get a handle on crime and Illegals in Maricopa County. Tucson will always remain my favorite place to live, but the gap between the haves and the have nots is widening every day. Sunshine 300+ days a year is a wonderful plus. Hot there-sure, but Phoenix is 5-10 degrees hotter with much worse pollution and overcrowding. Tucson never got a handle on how to control growth(or overgrowth), and now can hardly get out of its own way with more and more home taking over the Desert landscape and ruining the beauty of what once was--When Tucson grows to a point that it's a suburb of Phoenix...Then people will see that too much growth is bad too...Would I move back again if I could survive financially-yes I would. But when most salaries are between 7.00-9.00 an hour, and most employers REQUIRE employees to be Bi-Lingual to get employment; something's terribly wrong.

[lndcrz47]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Mammoth huh? Is that where you live now?

hello,yes,I moved here 2 1/2 years ago from Salt Lake City,love it,the mine(copper)is closed and the landscape is being returned to a natural state,property values have more than doubled since l moved here,still way below Tucson or Phoenix,there are a lot of retirement communitys in the area and only an hour from indian ridge in Tucson,it is a little laid back desert mountain town,my town

[june]

Originally Posted by Amybear

Well I suppose everyone has an opinion to share when it comes to Tucson..
Personally, I'm moving there in February of 2007 and I can't wait!
I love Tucson, and have for years. I currently live in the heart of New York City...I grew up here and lived here for 40 years so if you want to talk about crime- let's go..
In NYC I hear on the news every day about murders, assaults, people being pushed into oncoming subways, rapes, cops getting shot up, etc..constantly!!

You want to talk ghettos? Come to the Bronx. New York is filthy, expensive, over rated and overcrowded (8 million souls stuffed in one city is way too much for me)
So I think we need to put this all in some perspective...perhaps it depends on your frame of reference? If you grew up in Tucson and know of it the way "it used to be" ...then o.k.. go ahead and complain...
but traffic? Tucson? Please...
I've spent hours in nyc traffic and can tell you Tucson has nothing on new york for car congestion and aggravation.
I'm sure I'll get plenty of snappy replies to this post...
But I only say this in defense of what I find to be one of the most physically beautiful cities in this country (that YES needs more help for its law enforcement...gangs..etc)...but spend some time in some true rough and tumble urban cities....then you'll be running to get back to sweet little ole' Tucson..
Them's my thoughts
Thank You!

I agree with you Im also from NY Long Island and its turning into a slum. Tucson is beautiful and cant wait to move there.

[june]

Originally Posted by Julie'sTrulli

Thank you AmyBear and Amen! Sounds good to me! We have only two fur children as well--so schools etc. are not a concern for us, too. I don't care if I live in a shoebox as long as the place has a pool. The summer's I know are so hot! I'm looking forward to a change-- and likewise feel it will be a healthier lifestyle-- less stress- less condensed and crowded as the Bay Area-- Not s lop- sided standard of living, 3 quarters of your income here- goes to rent or mortgage!

I also have fur children Im moving to Tucson with to be exact 20 cats. Wish i could get a condo with a pool but i have to get horse property for all these animals. The shoe box house sounds good to me. Dont really want the responsibility of taking care of a home anymore but the fur people come first. See ya in Tucson keep in touch.