Photos of Tucson (Phoenix, Oro Valley, Tanque Verde: high crime, home, job market) - Arizona (AZ) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Cliff Armstrong · 06-23-2007, 09:39 AM

Driving up the Catalina Highway to Mount Lemon, on the north side of Tucson. Taken June 2007. In some of the shots, you can see the city spread out below the mountains.

Cliff Armstrong · 06-23-2007, 10:05 AM

Tucson has some of the most spectacular mountain views anywhere. There are lots of homes in the hills around town that offer views of the mountains and views of the city. Compared to other cities, prices in Tucson are very reasonable although there are plenty of million dollar homes as well. Enjoy the photos. All of these are taken from people's yards and/or subdivisions. Cliff

whitem3 · 06-23-2007, 10:19 AM

Great photos Cliff. I've got to take that drive up the Catalina highway...

Zippy7fo · 06-24-2007, 01:44 AM

Beautiful pictures.....Thank You and I only ask that you continue to post more pictures...Breathtaking...

yukon · 06-24-2007, 08:45 AM

Holy cow. Gorgeous!

Off to scratch Phoenix from Relo List and add Tucson.

mdtoaz · 06-29-2007, 12:13 PM

As gorgeous as they are, the photos don't do it justice in my opinion. I love coming down the road from Mt. Lemmon at night and seeing all the city lights. It's awesome!!

And Zippy - we're moving from Baltimore to Tucson next month. I'll miss my friends, family, steamed crabs, Berger cookies and Fisher's popcorn... but that's about it. I've had a car stolen, been carjacked (a seperate occurance), had a good friend murdered and had my house broken into - all in Baltimore. And supposedly "nice" areas (Little Italy - car theft, Inner Harbor - carjacking).

Zippy7fo · 06-30-2007, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdtoaz

As gorgeous as they are, the photos don't do it justice in my opinion. I love coming down the road from Mt. Lemmon at night and seeing all the city lights. It's awesome!!

And Zippy - we're moving from Baltimore to Tucson next month. I'll miss my friends, family, steamed crabs, Berger cookies and Fisher's popcorn... but that's about it. I've had a car stolen, been carjacked (a seperate occurance), had a good friend murdered and had my house broken into - all in Baltimore. And supposedly "nice" areas (Little Italy - car theft, Inner Harbor - carjacking).

Sorry to hear...I keep telling people they have no idea how good they have it and that the crime in B-more/DC/Philly region makes Tucson look like a beginner city. Everyday on the news you hear about 2-3 people gettiing shot and killed over nothing. Enjoy Tucson people and just make it a better city because I truly believe that you guys have something specia. Just needs more cool factor to keep the young folks around after graduation...

mdtoaz · 07-02-2007, 05:56 PM

Well, you know what the old news slogan is... "if it bleeds, it leads."

3 weeks and counting... can't wait!!

jacksdad · 07-06-2007, 09:00 AM

Seeing all of these photos makes me want to move back (left in Dec. 06). The views from Mt. Lemmon are really great. Any of you that are moving there, you really need to make the trip up Mt. Lemmon.

Cliff Armstrong · 07-08-2007, 02:03 AM

RE: moving to Tucson and comments about Tucson from Cliff, who lives here.

I can certainly understand why people love and hate Arizona. On the plus side, there is incredible nautural beauty here and the weather is great for those who enjoy the outdoors. Tucson is a 1000 feet higher than Phoenix, is cooler in the summer and gets more rain, which helps a lot during the summer. For those of you who can't take the heat (literally), there's always San Diego and Baja, which are not far away. There's a pretty big environmental movement in Tucson...lots of green construction, co-op living and alternative communities. As you can see from the photos, the Sonoran Desert here is also pretty lush and green. Tucson is a fairly clean city, with character and old world charm that is very different from the bland, stripmall sprawl of Phoenix (I lived there for many years so I'm entitled). On the down side, there is no mass transit, very poor social services, and not much a sense of community. Arizona is politically conservative and libertarian; it's still pretty much "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" and each man/woman for themselves, the old, dysfunctional rugged individualism. So, it naturally follows that there isn't much sense of community, people pretty much stick to themselves, and it's not easy to get together or organize. For someone used to a pedistrian city where you naturally meet people as you move about, life in Arizona cities can feel a little isolating. Fortunately, however, Tucson has never been as conservative as much of the rest of the state. There is a movement afoot here that is very real and growing...Tucson is bringing its downtown back, focusing on keeping it on a human scale and pedestrian, and working hard to bring the younger, creative class in. What's happening on 4th Avenue and in many parts of "old downtown" are great examples of the direction in which the city is moving. Tolerance and diversity are promoted here. We just need more people with the right values and priorities to take us to critical mass...with the right people and the right energy, Tucson can easily be the next Portland, Seattle, or Austin. What is also powerful here is that it is a very spiritual area. There is something very spiritual, in a palpable sense, about the land here. It's not just the weather that draws so many tourists to Arizona.