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I used to live in Tucson and moved to Phoenix, then to GA then to TX. I have to say that Tucson has nice people, great places to eat, great views, history and golf galore! I am now in CA and wish I was back in Tucson. Everywhere you live, there will be good things and bad things. Crime is everywhere. If I had my choice I would live in AZ. Not for the jobs though. There are not many companies in Tucson besides some CSR jobs and they paid 7.00 an hour back in 2001. If you waitress then you get 2.50 an hour plus tips. Tucson is the place for Hot hangouts. I would think owning your own business in AZ would be the best way to go. The business lic is easy to get, but it is downtown, and going downtown is not always a fun thing to do. Good luck to you!
The people who don't like Tucson most likely would complain no matter where they were.
That statement is patently untrue in my case. I have lived many places in the US during my lifetime, from Washington, DC, to Washington State. I'm capable of seeing positives and negatives in every place I've been. But of all of them, only in the western Pennsylvania hamlet where I was raised and Tucson have the negatives outweighed the positives in my personal experience.
I'm not going to bother making a list of all the things I don't like about Tucson since you obviously dismiss most comments you disagree with as "whining" no matter how legitimate they may be. But I'll summarize by saying I have many places -- from towns so small they lack traffic lights to large metropolitan areas -- to compare to Tucson and in my experience this is FAR from paradise. Yes, the landscape is very beautiful but what the humans do, or fail to do, to this place leaves a lot to be desired.
You are certainly entitled to disagree. Many people are in your camp. What I object to is the patronizing tone of remarks like "I think you missed the point, but that's okay." I didn't miss any point. The title of this thread is "Is Tucson really that bad?" My answer was "yes." Obviously yours is "no." I suggest we leave it at that.
I considering moving to Tucson in the near future hoping to make more than the $8 per hr wages paid in northern Florida, and perhaps starting a pt time home repair business making around $20 per hr in residential self employment. Are college grads just making minimal wage? Is the drug cartel violence as bad in Tucson as the news media portrays?? Do you feel safe?? or is the news media giving out alot of hype?
I'm not sure that Tucson is the place to move to if you're looking to bolster your pay. Jobs can be tough to find, and housing prices are high in relation to earnings. I have to warn you that there are a lot of people here willing to do home repair work; please be sure to really research your decision before moving. I see many posts in this forum from posters in the foothills area and Oro Valley, but those are expensive areas for a family to take up residence, and the pay here might not support a home in those parts of Tucson.
I'm an old retired chick, but consider myself still pretty up on things and young-at-heart. I've lived in Chicago and suburbs and boonies, Washington, D.C. and suburbs in MD, Shenandoah Valley, VA, South Carolina (ugh) and Wisconsin. I've been retired in the Tucson area (Green Valley, 20 minutes out of Tucson) for over 10 years, and mostly love it. I have a couple rental properties in Tucson, plus I spend a lot of time there, so I know the area pretty well. Tucson is an old cow town, lots of blue-collar, working-class folks with a few pockets of wealth. There is a small, permanent, uneducated, unemployable underclass; too many homeless people. Tucson is not a fancy town, altho there are upscale neighborhoods and shopping areas. Very down-to-earth, environmentally aware folks. Largest employers are Univ. of AZ, medical facilities/hospitals and Raytheon. The majority of jobs are service; construction used to be big, but has fallen drastically in recent years. The economy in general seems to have stalled. Jobs seem to be hard to come by right now and are generally lower paying than other small cities, but most folks seem hopeful that things will soon turn around. There's a big military base and Border Patrol/Customs headquarters. Many good medical facilities, including a huge VA hospital. We have a convenient airport. Rush hour traffic lasts about 15 minutes. Housing prices are reasonable; lots of foreclosures lately. AZ's undocumented worker population has decreased about 100,000 over the past year, and there are actually help-wanted signs in stores and restaurants again. I feel that people get along pretty well and are friendly; lots of transplants from elsewhere, college students and, of course, snowbirds. Like any good-size town, there are gang and drug problems (meth is common), but nothing like, say, Chicago. AZ schools in general are not great, partly caused by a right-wing legislature that considers education a low priority. Tucson's politics are much more moderate-to-liberal than Phoenix. There's lots of volunteerism. Cultural events are often furnished by the University. Lots of good restaurants, particularly Mexican and Southwestern (almost too many). Some good ethnic places; wish there were more. Our 30-year-old son lived here for a couple years and was not particularly happy. Not a lot to do, beyond bars, for that age; the music scene is pretty lame, altho he did enjoy the outdoor activities. Moved to LA; much happier there.
It takes some getting used to the desert. At first, all I saw was tan and brown, but now I appreciate its beauty and uniqueness. The 1st time I saw a huge, gorgeous flower on a cactus, I thought someone pinned it on to decorate it! I've seen more wildlife (coyotes, mule deer, bobcats, javelinas, rattlers, big skunks, gila monsters, lizards and more), rainbows and incredible sunsets than anywhere I've been. We get tired of the incessant sunshine and look forward to the amazing monsoon season. Of course, summers are unbearable (do NOT know how anyone works outdoors in July); the other 3 seasons are wonderful. I miss trees, but we're so fortunate to be near the mountains (20 minutes) and spend lots of time there in the summer. I miss water, but get to enjoy Rocky Point, Mexico, only FOUR hours away. There are terrific, very reasonable resorts on the beach and a great old fishing village. (The granddaughters from MT love to visit, and Rocky Point is their favorite place.) Another great thing about being here is it's a good starting point for visiting other western places and attractions: Sedona, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Bisbee, Lake Powell, incredible parks in UT (Zion, Moab, etc.), Silver City and Ruidoso, NM, Las Vegas, San Diego, LA, Palm Springs -- all are less than a day away. Two days to northern CA coast, MT, ID and more. It's a couple hours to Phoenix where we can watch pro basketball, baseball and spring training.
Now to the illegal workers that I've seen mentioned here. Not enough time to cover all the issues; it's complex. Have often encountered groups walking thru this area to get to Tucson and Phoenix, and have never felt threatened or frightened. (Drug runners are another story, but they're mostly in vehicles.) We've fed famished people and watched a young man so desperate for water, he drank from our bird bath. These are folks who need jobs. They are taken advantage of by some of the construction companies, restaurants and hotels. Their low wages also bring down other wages here. It's true they cost the taxpayers money for services and assistance, but studies have shown that they contribute more to the economy than they take. They are mostly decent, family-oriented, hard-working people.
All-in-all, it's good here. I can bike, hike, swim, and roller blade year 'round. I can ski in the winter (bet you didn't know that Tucson has a small ski resort in the mountains!), and go to the beach. Birding and star-gazing is incredible. Nice people, good food, great weather.
LOTS of good info in your post (all of it accurate as near as I can tell). The Sonoran Desert around Tucson is FULL of life - that becomes VERY obvious during even only a short stay.
Gvgranny you are spot on! You have a very positive outlook which helps so much on where a person lives. Lots of people always have something so negative to say about places. I think those people just need to be happy with themselves and life first. I think Tucson may not be the most exciting place for college grads. Most all my friends and I who will be graduating this year and next are looking to leave Tucson. I think that just is a thing of being young and wanting to be in a big city and "where all the action is". To touch back on eariler post the job market for college grads is nothing special. I work with a few college grads and they are getting paid the same as me in a retail job. People may just have to start out somewhere low and wait for the right time to get their career job.
I'm an old retired chick, but consider myself still pretty up on things and young-at-heart. I've lived in Chicago and suburbs and boonies, Washington, D.C. and suburbs in MD, Shenandoah Valley, VA, South Carolina (ugh) and Wisconsin. I've been retired in the Tucson area (Green Valley, 20 minutes out of Tucson) for over 10 years, and mostly love it. I have a couple rental properties in Tucson, plus I spend a lot of time there, so I know the area pretty well. Tucson is an old cow town, lots of blue-collar, working-class folks with a few pockets of wealth. There is a small, permanent, uneducated, unemployable underclass; too many homeless people. Tucson is not a fancy town, altho there are upscale neighborhoods and shopping areas. Very down-to-earth, environmentally aware folks. Largest employers are Univ. of AZ, medical facilities/hospitals and Raytheon. The majority of jobs are service; construction used to be big, but has fallen drastically in recent years. The economy in general seems to have stalled. Jobs seem to be hard to come by right now and are generally lower paying than other small cities, but most folks seem hopeful that things will soon turn around. There's a big military base and Border Patrol/Customs headquarters. Many good medical facilities, including a huge VA hospital. We have a convenient airport. Rush hour traffic lasts about 15 minutes. Housing prices are reasonable; lots of foreclosures lately. AZ's undocumented worker population has decreased about 100,000 over the past year, and there are actually help-wanted signs in stores and restaurants again. I feel that people get along pretty well and are friendly; lots of transplants from elsewhere, college students and, of course, snowbirds. Like any good-size town, there are gang and drug problems (meth is common), but nothing like, say, Chicago. AZ schools in general are not great, partly caused by a right-wing legislature that considers education a low priority. Tucson's politics are much more moderate-to-liberal than Phoenix. There's lots of volunteerism. Cultural events are often furnished by the University. Lots of good restaurants, particularly Mexican and Southwestern (almost too many). Some good ethnic places; wish there were more. Our 30-year-old son lived here for a couple years and was not particularly happy. Not a lot to do, beyond bars, for that age; the music scene is pretty lame, altho he did enjoy the outdoor activities. Moved to LA; much happier there.
It takes some getting used to the desert. At first, all I saw was tan and brown, but now I appreciate its beauty and uniqueness. The 1st time I saw a huge, gorgeous flower on a cactus, I thought someone pinned it on to decorate it! I've seen more wildlife (coyotes, mule deer, bobcats, javelinas, rattlers, big skunks, gila monsters, lizards and more), rainbows and incredible sunsets than anywhere I've been. We get tired of the incessant sunshine and look forward to the amazing monsoon season. Of course, summers are unbearable (do NOT know how anyone works outdoors in July); the other 3 seasons are wonderful. I miss trees, but we're so fortunate to be near the mountains (20 minutes) and spend lots of time there in the summer. I miss water, but get to enjoy Rocky Point, Mexico, only FOUR hours away. There are terrific, very reasonable resorts on the beach and a great old fishing village. (The granddaughters from MT love to visit, and Rocky Point is their favorite place.) Another great thing about being here is it's a good starting point for visiting other western places and attractions: Sedona, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, Bisbee, Lake Powell, incredible parks in UT (Zion, Moab, etc.), Silver City and Ruidoso, NM, Las Vegas, San Diego, LA, Palm Springs -- all are less than a day away. Two days to northern CA coast, MT, ID and more. It's a couple hours to Phoenix where we can watch pro basketball, baseball and spring training.
Now to the illegal workers that I've seen mentioned here. Not enough time to cover all the issues; it's complex. Have often encountered groups walking thru this area to get to Tucson and Phoenix, and have never felt threatened or frightened. (Drug runners are another story, but they're mostly in vehicles.) We've fed famished people and watched a young man so desperate for water, he drank from our bird bath. These are folks who need jobs. They are taken advantage of by some of the construction companies, restaurants and hotels. Their low wages also bring down other wages here. It's true they cost the taxpayers money for services and assistance, but studies have shown that they contribute more to the economy than they take. They are mostly decent, family-oriented, hard-working people.
All-in-all, it's good here. I can bike, hike, swim, and roller blade year 'round. I can ski in the winter (bet you didn't know that Tucson has a small ski resort in the mountains!), and go to the beach. Birding and star-gazing is incredible. Nice people, good food, great weather.
Ok so I finally read your whole post and I have to say, very well said! I completely agree with this 100%. Tucson is close to California, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada.The most beautiful states in the world!
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