Tucson?? (Phoenix: high crime, hotel, university)

[flynncj]

Hello,
What part of Tucson has the most crime and the least crime?? What part of Tucson is the safest place to stay?? Any recommendation as far as staying in a hotel in Tucson?? I hear the population in Tucson might grow to 1,000,000 people in 2008. Is this true?? I hear that there is no inner city freeway. Will there be one as a result of the growth to 1,000,000 people when 2008 comes?? Any good places on attraction in Tucson? I know there's a University of Arizona. It looks really nice.
Please let me know.
Chris

[afvet]

Hi Chris,

A great hotel is the Arizona Inn on Elm Street. Their website is arizonainn dot com. It's in central Tucson near the university.

The high crime area is south Tucson. North and Northwest are the least, and the rest is hit and miss. The highway here is not useful and traffic is bad in town. Count on at least 45 minutes to get from one side of Tucson to another.

We are expected to hit 1 million but there are no plans to do anything about the highway. The university is nice and there is a museum and an observatory on campus that you can visit. There are a lot of places to hike, such as Sabino Canyon on the NE side of town. There are a couple "museums" that feature wildlife such as mountain lions and eagles and there is a small zoo.

There are some caverns and observatories outside of the city and the Biosphere 2 is about 20 miles north of Tucson.

[flynncj]

What is the climate for Fall, Winter, and Summer like in Tucson?? Are the people in Tucson friendly?? How are the drivers in Tucson?? Please let me know. I think Tucson is a lot better than Phoenix.

[afvet]

Summer starts in mid-late May with temps in the high 90s. Monsoon season starts in early July and lasts through August bringing what natives call "humidity". This July has had several days at 105 and a couple at 109/110, but I believe this is more comfortable than 85 in a humid climate(coastal VA, NC and SC). The monsoon season brings rain, usually in the afternoon or evening, and many roads flood. The storms often have lightning and wind causing power outages and damage.

Things start to cool down in September with nights becoming chilly, but afternoons are still warm (low 80s). I used AC until the beginning of November last year because the afternoons were warm even thought night temps got to near freezing or freezing. Winter is very comfortable with daytime temps in the 70s. I brought a winter coat from VA when I moved here and never used it.

I think the people are very nice and I've noticed a significant improvement in customer service compared to several east coast cities I've lived in. I don't think the drivers are better or worse than anywhere else I've lived. There are a lot of bicyclists here and most roads have bike lanes. We have occasional dust storms that can cause traffic accidents.