10 Reasons Not To Move To Tucson (Phoenix, Yuma: work, crime, snow)

[sickofIL]

I've been gone for a month as we went to Brazil to visit my in-laws. Tucson has everything to offer compared to Brazil. I can't imagine living in Brazil. (north-east coast where we were) I have been going there since I met my wife 11 years ago.

Temperatures...
Brazil constant 95 deg. and 75-85% humidity. Nothing like Tucson I would much rather have 110 degrees and low humidity. You you are sweating before you dry off from a shower in Brazil.

Crime?? In Brazil You cannot walk at night anywhere except to and from your car. When we visited Tucson I didn't feel threatoned anywhere we were. In Brazil you feel threatened everywhere anytime.

Traffic? Rush hour in brazil lasts from about 8AM to 7 PM. At it's worst you have bumper to bumper cars not moving with motorcycles speeding all around you. The people do not follow ANY traffic laws. As a pedistrian you need to watch out for cars because they wil not stop if you walk in front of them. They have NO patents for anything. If you slow they blow their horn and pass.

How about $5.90 gal for gas? Mininum wage is 360R per month (approx. $200)

It all depends on your point of view as to what is good and what is not. I still think Tucson is much better in many ways than here in the Chicago area. I just spent 3 hrs yesterday digging my wifes car out of the snow and ice from when we were gone. In my opinion, anyone that says that snow isn't that bad is out of their mind! The temp at O'Hare was 80 degrees colder when we arrived than what it was in Brazil. I can't wait to get out of here! Today it is raining and everything is ice with water on it. you cannot stand anywhere but the street. It's flooding everywhere now and is going below freezing tonight. Then it's going to snow tomorrow. The weather here stinks! (I really want to use a different word)

Creatures...here in the Chicago area there are ground hornets, paper wasps, yellow jackets, brown recluse spiders, DuPage snakes,(poisonious) rattle snakes are suppose to be here too but I have never seen one, carpenter ants, opposoms, racoons, outside of the city there are copper head snakes, poisonious) the northern suburbs has problems with coyotes every so often, and there are probably other things.

There was a kid that stabbed his mother to death last summer two blocks from me and he was hiding in back yards for two weeks. Most people were afraid to let their kids go outside. There is a regestered sex offender across the street from me and 3 more within 3 blocks. Wheaton has had problems with residential break-ins for the last two years. Vandalism is growing, gangs are growing (grafitti starting to show up) and Wheaton is an upper class suburb that didn't used to have much of anything happening. Nobody here will talk to you except for the ocasinal "Hello" while walking by. Oh, and DuPage county (where I live) has had a mysterious problem with PCP's showing up in well water. I have a well.

I could go on. So far, I haven't heard anything speciffic that wasn't an opinion that gives me any good reasons not to relocate there. Tucson has things that you could never find here (like things to do that you can actually afford) How does $100 to go to a museum or to the zoo sound for a family of 5? Granted, the Linclon Park Zoo is free, but it takes about 2 hrs. to get to, parking can cost as much as $25 and it is not a safe place to be anymore.

Just my opinion.

[sickofIL]

I forgot.....Ticks! Dear Ticks too. (rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) Mosquitoes, some with bird flu and West Nile, and here they are big.

[pureid]

Originally Posted by Idaho

10 reasons in random order:
1. highest skin cancer rate in the nation
WEAR SUNTAN LOTION (YOU SHOULD REGARDLESS OF WHERE YOU LIVE)
2. valley fever - it's real and can be very hard to recover from
VERY FEW PEOPLE ACTUALLY GET VALLEY FEVER-- SMALL DOGS WHO ARE LOW TO THE GROUND AND CLOSE TO THE DUST DO GET IT ONCE IN A WHILE
3. schools - worst ranking in the nation in graduating kids from high school
THERE ARE SOME AMAZING PRIVATE SCHOOLS THAT ARE AFFORDABLE (E.G., SALPOINTE)
4. very low wages for same work compared to other parts of the USA
THIS IS BECAUSE TUCSON IS A VERY INEXPENSIVE PLACE TO LIVE. COST OF LIVING IS VERY LOW.
5. poor representation in the state capitol - tucson is az's step child
NOT SURE ON WHAT GROUNDS YOU ARE BASING THIS STATEMENT.
6. termites - only 2 kinds of houses here - those that have termites and those that will.
ADOBE HOUSES DON'T GET TERMITES.
7. water issues are worsening with time - very long drought!
IT IS THE DESERT.
8. infrastructure (roads, etc) cannot keep up with the population boom
TRUE
9. & 10. Can't think of any more . . . other ideas out there?

NONE OF THE ABOVE SEEM LIKE VERY COMPELLING REASONS NOT TO MOVE TO TUCSON. I WOULD SAY IT DEPENDS ON YOUR LIFESTYLE, INTERESTS, JOBS, LOCATION OF FAMILY. IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS A PERSONAL DECISION. IF YOU LIKE LARGE URBAN AREAS WHERE YOU CAN WALK EVERYWHERE, TUCSON MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT. IF YOU LIKE THE BEACH, TUCSON MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT. IF YOU LIKE THE CHANGIN OF SEASON, THEN TUCSON MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT.

HOWEVER, TUCSON IS A MODERATELY-SIZED CITY WITH GOOD RESTAURANTS, LOTS OF OUTDOORSY THINGS TO DO, A DESCENT NIGHTLIFE, DESCENT SCHOOLS, AND A GREAT DEAL OF CULTURALLY DIVERSITY.

[odinloki1]

Originally Posted by pureid

NONE OF THE ABOVE SEEM LIKE VERY COMPELLING REASONS NOT TO MOVE TO TUCSON. I WOULD SAY IT DEPENDS ON YOUR LIFESTYLE, INTERESTS, JOBS, LOCATION OF FAMILY. IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS A PERSONAL DECISION. IF YOU LIKE LARGE URBAN AREAS WHERE YOU CAN WALK EVERYWHERE, TUCSON MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT. IF YOU LIKE THE BEACH, TUCSON MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT. IF YOU LIKE THE CHANGIN OF SEASON, THEN TUCSON MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT.

HOWEVER, TUCSON IS A MODERATELY-SIZED CITY WITH GOOD RESTAURANTS, LOTS OF OUTDOORSY THINGS TO DO, A DESCENT NIGHTLIFE, DESCENT SCHOOLS, AND A GREAT DEAL OF CULTURALLY DIVERSITY.

I find the cultural diversity to be false. Latino or white, thats it.

Restaurants are either chains or Mexican, anything else is lacking as well.

Outdoorsy things. Again the hot months are so restrictive because you can dehydrate so quick it defeats the point. For anything longer than an hour you need at least a gallon or two of water. In addition all the spikey and poisonous things take enjoyment out of the outdoors. I want to enjoy the environment, not spend half my time taking cactus needles out of my legs.

Who wants to wear 2-3 layers of sunscreen all the time and still feel like your skin is burning because the sun is so intense.

I miss Michigan, the cloud cover kept me from getting burned and kept the sun from burning out my retinas. Plus the climate was hospitable to life that isn't spiky or poisonous.

[koong]

It seems that this thread has many overaggressive views from both view points. I have lived in many various areas. I also lived in tucson for 9 years so I know what I'm talking about and will not slant this post either way.

Places I have lived: Small town Indiana, Manhattan, Dallas, San Diego, Chicago, and currently Indian Harbour beach, Fl.

All of these places have their ups and downs. All of them. I will say my slant, if one exists, is for small towns. In my opinion, my small town Indiana parents and friends wouldn't survive a year in Manhattan. But living in nice neighborhoods anywhere is better than bad neighborhoods in Tucson. I mean, Duh!

You can't really compare New York, Chicago, San Diego favorably to Tucson anymore than you can compare Tucson favorably to the small beach side community where I live now. So saying I lived in on the South side of Chicago and Tucson is wonderful. Duh. I did a tour in the Middle east, hell I'd live in a Sewer in LA before going back there. All relative.

Specifics are (all in comparison to everywhere I live):
1)I am a dirt bike fanatic. Most people in Tucson have never even been through the trails which would leave a hiker dead. There is some really cool stuff in the mountain ranges surrounding Tucson that haven't been destroyed by tourism like Sabino canyon was. Infinite exploration possibilities. Beautiful year round flowing streams back in the Galiuros.

2)Lots and lots of hiking, back packing, cliff climbing, mountain biking.

3)If you aren't fit enough to do the kinds of things listed above (there is no ocean for a relaxing day at the beach), then there isn't much else to do beyond the regular large city stuff. ie Bowling alleys, strip clubs, concerts, shopping.

4)Some areas are gorgeous, most of the civilized areas are at best, well landscaped but at worst, down right ugly.

5)If you aren't from the desert, the lack of green WILL eventually get you. You'll find yourself taking more vacations into Yosimite, Yellowstone, ...you know greener areas, while remaining less content with Tucson.

6)I would not wish the tucson school system on my worst enemies kids. I can tell you very specific horror stories from my fellow employees. But do your own homework. Look at Tucson schools on their standardized testing. The BEST Tucson schools are in the 40-70 percentiles. The BULK of them are in the 10-30 percentile. There are some good charter and private schools if you can afford them, but ALL of these schools have gangs. They do....and I don't care if you don't believe it. Sure, like I said, if your from some big Dallas school system or perhaps, Chicago and don't mind your kid watching his back and being bullied somewhat or alot, then Tucson will be fine. But from my background, any informed parent must HATE their children to send them into the Tucson public schools. In short, Tucson is not family friendly. This, by the way, is why I left Tucson and now live in a small town. I wanted to start a family and after my kids have gone off to college, I shall return to the Old Pueblo if that tells you anything.

7) It is HOT! Out of the 9 years I lived in Tucson, the heat was UNBEARABLE for 6-9 months out of the year. 2 of those years were fantastic! The 100+ temps didn't stay for but 3 months (the summer) those two years. Even still, I just simply adjusted my schedule to go outside in the evenings and early morning. I'm no heat lightweight either. I now live in Fl. But the attenuation here at sea level keeps the sun intensity way down compared to there. You'll get fried when its 50 degrees in the middle of winter in Tucson.

8) I saw more people die of cancer that I worked with than I have seen anywhere else. I never even thought about cancer until I went there and all my older co-workers were always having bouts with it. It was either Raytheon or Tucson. Since most of the cancer was retinal and skin, I blame Tucson.

9) Valley fever. Contrary to what an earlier poster says, pretty much everyone gets it. It is a fungus that lives in the colleche (sp?) layer of the soil. Dust storms churn it up. I always could tell a non native from a native because midwestern people would always go stand out in the dust storm and marvel at nature. Some of them would subsequently die from Valley fever. Almost everyone eventually gets it, but like chicken pox, almost everyone gets over it never to have another symptom. But 2% will get very sick and about .02 percent will die. Sometimes the deaths occur years later since you will carry the fungus the rest of your life once you visit Arizona. You could be 80 years old living in Boston and succumb to it from the visit to Tucson when you were 25 to go Mountain climbing. It is serious crap, and you better consider it. If your asthmatic, the dust will kill you also. The dry air and severe amount of dust along with thinner air will eventually get to most...although they won't know since its gradual. BTW, most Valley fever cases outside of arizona get dismissed as bone cancer and the patient dies when a simple anti fungal would have cured them.

10)You can own more land in Tucson than most other places. I lived on 5 acres in the middle of Oro Valley! Where else can you get that in a large city?

Then theres also the wages are low compared to housing costs, illegals etc and all the other stuff already mentioned.

So there you have it, the good and the bad in a 10 list format. As I said, based on the places I have lived, it is where I will probably retire after my kids are on their own. As stated, I moved away to raise my kids in a kid friendly environment. Keep in mind, I lived in what many consider the nicest part of Tucson and could have placed my kids in the best schools. The problem was, I saw toooooo many of my PhD co workers kids turn out mediocre because of what goes on in those schools. One child got hospitalized by an illegal alien bully. His kid was 8 and the illegal was 13 and they were both IN THE SAME CLASS. That's right, Tucson schools allow that kind of stupidity.

So I'd definately say, if you don't have kids and don't want any, have no breathing or major health problems when it comes to your immune system,then Tucson's benefits outweigh the negatives...especially for offroading.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by koong

7) It is HOT! Out of the 9 years I lived in Tucson, the heat was UNBEARABLE for 6-9 months out of the year. 2 of those years were fantastic! The 100+ temps didn't stay for but 3 months (the summer) those two years.

How do some of you come up with this nonsense is beyond me... 6-9 months! I can only wish it were true. It may possibly feel unbearable to YOU for this length of time! I can't wait for the winter to be over.

The links below, however, are the facts:

Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed


Tucson Arizona Weather History

Tucson Arizona - Climate/Weather - Maps - Statistics - Information

[koong]

and if you knew how to interpret what we say and the data in your links, you'd see YOUR facts align with what I said. First of all, If I were to average the HOTTEST day of the year I'd come up with 101 degrees or so, even though it peaked out at 118 degrees. It is not the average to which we refer, but rather the daytime Highs!

So now, go to your first link and it shows 143 days with extreme temperatures above 90. That's about 5 months. So even your data indicates hot weather 5 months out of the year.

Your second link states the highest temperature is 100.2 degrees. Since it has indeed been hotter than 100.2 degrees this link is either bogus or is, once again, dealing with the average maximum and therefore one can not conclude anything about the peak temps with the second link.

The third link actually points out it is dealing with average maximum and not peak maximums.

Also, non of your links have the same answers. So which to believe? Someone who lived there for 9 years or three web pages that don't agree with one another yet still does not refute my statements?

We don't come up with this stuff by interpreting data, We lived there and didn't stay indoors watching the TV during the heat of the day.

So to be fair and clear about this, the peak heat AND sun intensity (sun intensity inclusion is important since even on mild days the sun is more intense than most places is the USA) are unbearable 6-9 months on most years. But these 6-9 months are extremely bearable if you avoid peak sun intensity and temperature hours (10am-3pm). I'd also like to suggest anyone who finds Tucson Winters uncomfortable and can't wait until it ends is not in the majority on what's bearable and what's not bearable. If I'm wrong on this, why is the term "snowbirds" and not "sunbirds"? Oh yes, because the population of Tucson greatly increases during the Winter when people like the weather best, in general, of course.

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

How do some of you come up with this nonsense is beyond me... 6-9 months! I can only wish it were true. It may possibly feel unbearable to YOU for this length of time! I can't wait for the winter to be over.

The links below, however, are the facts:

Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed


Tucson Arizona Weather History

Tucson Arizona - Climate/Weather - Maps - Statistics - Information

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by koong

Also, non of your links have the same answers. So which to believe? Someone who lived there for 9 years or three web pages that don't agree with one another yet still does not refute my statements?

Let's just make it 12 months and get it over with. What do I know? I've only lived here for 11+ years and keep living here.

[mdtoaz]

Originally Posted by odinloki1

Restaurants are either chains or Mexican, anything else is lacking as well...

...I miss Michigan, the cloud cover kept me from getting burned and kept the sun from burning out my retinas. Plus the climate was hospitable to life that isn't spiky or poisonous.

Cloud cover is not a good sunscreen. You can get burned on a partly cloudy day - easily, because you usually don't feel it. I've only had sun poisoning once. It was in Maryland on a day that was partly cloudy, low 70's with a breeze. Felt nice at the time, but I paid dearly later on.

As far as the restaurants go... I can rattle off several non-chain, non-Mexican - Cuvee World Bistro, Feast, Las Candelas, Elle, Delectibles and Lovin' Spoonful just to name a few. Try Tucson Originals
for a comprehensive list of great eats in the area.

[1BadLineman]

I am relocating from South Carolina to Sierra Vista,AZ. I have found out that the schools are great I think they're 4th in the nation. The sunshine is great and the View are just beauitful, there are no trees , I think the Mountian Views make up for them. Even if you move some where else you are going to have animals and critters of some sort . I flew AZ about 3weeks ago and just thought is was amazing, the people are dowm-hearted / nice just like here in the Carolina's. You can't believe everything you hear. The Pay RATES are Much higher than other states , but on that note the cost of living is a little bit higher.