Relocating to Tucson (Catalina: apartments, rentals, condos) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

(Free) · 09-09-2010, 12:26 PM

Hi all-I'll be relocating to Tucson soon for a job and like many others here I was hoping to get some tips about nice places/areas to live and meet people. Here some specifics about my situation to help narrow the field:

My job is about 1/2 mile from the Main U of AZ campus.
I'm single, 40, and have no kids.
I have a pretty open budget- My current rent in downtown Dallas is 1250/mo.
I enjoy live music, art galleries, independent little shops and the like but I don't much like suburban sprawl.

Any tips will be helpful-thanx in advance!

Bummer · 09-09-2010, 03:27 PM

Welcome to Tucson, Free!

I live in a "semi-city" environment a few miles North of the U of A campus (River Road and Stone) with all of the conveniences but few of the of the problems associated with living too close (students, parties and noise) to the university. My favorites . . . Bike Trail along the Rillito with lots of shopping plus various restaurants and bars easily within walking distance.

Be prepared to spend somewhere between $700 to $950 for a nice 2 Bedroom 2 Bath Apartment or Condo. I bet a 1 Bedroom 1 Bath Apartment would be considerably less. The Patio Homes in my neighborhood go for about that and include a 2 car garage if that's a preference.

Good Luck.

(Free) · 09-09-2010, 05:21 PM

That area sounds pretty much on the mark for what I'm looking for- particularly being able to walk to different restaurants and shops. The bike trail would be an added bonus! My understanding is that the city is pretty bike friendly? What kind of commute do you think could I expect? You can use U of A as your destination to make an estimate as my office will be just a few blocks over west. Is the West University area pretty crowded by the student population?

Bummer · 09-09-2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by (Free)

That area sounds pretty much on the mark for what I'm looking for- particularly being able to walk to different restaurants and shops. The bike trail would be an added bonus! My understanding is that the city is pretty bike friendly? What kind of commute do you think could I expect? You can use U of A as your destination to make an estimate as my office will be just a few blocks over west. Is the West University area pretty crowded by the student population?

The U of A is huge so there are plenty of students all around that area. Most students are harmless but I have no desire to live in a student area at my age.

As for a commute . . . being a "casual" bike rider, it would probably take me about 20 to 30 minutes to get down there but there's no telling which Farm Animal I would smell like once I arrived at the office.

Driving or even taking the bus would make more sense.

Jukesgrrl · 09-09-2010, 10:16 PM

Check out Apartments for Rent - Apartment Rentals and put zipcode 85718 in the search engine. The complexes on River Road (Altamira, Rio Cancion, Rio Vista) are popular with the post-graduates working at the Tucson Medical Center and professionals associated with the university. Going farther north within that zipcode -- up to Sunset/Skyline (same road, it changes name) -- you'll find things with even better views and close to the higher-end shopping/dining at La Encantada. There are some good complexes on N. First (Valley View) and N. Swan (Foothills). The condos within these complexes are not that different from place to place; most have beautiful pools, exercise facilities, and sometimes even tennis.

For more upscale living at a higher budget, La Paloma, Tierra Catalina, The Villas at Rancho Sin Vacas, Casas Elegantes are less generic but they are also popular with snowbirds and vacationers doing short-term rentals. That area is popular for biking and you're close to Sabino Canyon for hiking.

The Sam Hughes neighborhood (85719) is an older, established area of renovated homes that is close to the university, but not of it. Not that many apartments or rentals but it's considered Tucson's best in-town urban address.

Most areas in Tucson have bike trails and many major roads have bike lanes. To meet people for safe group activities check out the many options on Meetup.com's Tucson meetups. Someone's always putting together groups for activities that welcome newcomers.

Good luck with your move.

LordBalfor · 09-09-2010, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

Check out Apartments for Rent - Apartment Rentals and put zipcode 85718 in the search engine. The complexes on River Road (Altamira, Rio Cancion, Rio Vista) are popular with the post-graduates working at the Tucson Medical Center and professionals associated with the university. Going farther north within that zipcode -- up to Sunset/Skyline (same road, it changes name) -- you'll find things with even better views and close to the higher-end shopping/dining at La Encantada. There are some good complexes on N. First (Valley View) and N. Swan (Foothills). The condos within these complexes are not that different from place to place; most have beautiful pools, exercise facilities, and sometimes even tennis.

For more upscale living at a higher budget, La Paloma, Tierra Catalina, The Villas at Rancho Sin Vacas, Casas Elegantes are less generic but they are also popular with snowbirds and vacationers doing short-term rentals. That area is popular for biking and you're close to Sabino Canyon for hiking.

We spent 2 weeks in a Tierra Catalina condo a couple of years back (we'd rented it as a vacation rental on VRBO.COM) and thought the place was terrific - nice units, in a nice complex in a VERY NICE part of town. I took several photos of the complex and interior of our unit and placed them online for others to check out. If the OP (or anyone else) is interested they can find the photos on pages 5/6 of my Arizona album - which can be found here:

lordbalfor's photos and albums on webshots

Ken

(Free) · 09-11-2010, 01:36 PM

Thanks for these posts y'all!

Lordbalfor- Great photos of AZ in general. The Tierra Catalina condos do indeed look nice. I guess they are situated in the foothills area? While they aren't too far from where my office will be located (8 miles) I'm wondering if I will have to struggle with much traffic driving into town (the West University area) every morning- I'm no stranger to jams having lived in cities like Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas but I'd like to avoid sitting in a car as much as possible. While in San Antonio, I lived 7 miles from my office but the commute took an hour! Boy was that horrible. Of course, if I have to drive an hour because that's the closest nice area then so be it

Jukesgrrl- Thanks for the links and suggestions. I checked out the Meetup.com site and there does look to be a lot of happenings going on.

I also wanted to ask you folks about the public transportation there- is the system any good?

LordBalfor · 09-11-2010, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by (Free)

Thanks for these posts y'all!

Lordbalfor- Great photos of AZ in general. The Tierra Catalina condos do indeed look nice. I guess they are situated in the foothills area? While they aren't too far from where my office will be located (8 miles) I'm wondering if I will have to struggle with much traffic driving into town (the West University area) every morning- I'm no stranger to jams having lived in cities like Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas but I'd like to avoid sitting in a car as much as possible. While in San Antonio, I lived 7 miles from my office but the commute took an hour! Boy was that horrible. Of course, if I have to drive an hour because that's the closest nice area then so be it

I also wanted to ask you folks about the public transportation there- is the system any good?

You are quite welcome.
The Tierra Catalina condos are in the Foothills area just east of the intersection of N Campbell Ave & East Skyline Drive (right around the point where East Skyline is renamed East Sunrise) in a very upscale area (the La Encantada shopping complex is on the NW corner of that intersection). If you end up living there, I would take Campbell down to the university area. Either that or cut over to Swan and follow that down south. Sadly I can't tell you about public transportation.

Ken

ginalu · 09-20-2010, 07:26 PM

Okay i am going to throw out my opinion... I have lived in Tucson for 23 years and have lived in pretty much every area there is to live in Tucson, I have been a student and a bicyclist here as well. I really think you should check out around the downtown area and the west side of Tucson. There are all kinds of little barrio neighborhoods (check out barrio anita, barrio blue moon, barrio historico, barrio viejo) they are full of culture and history and for $1200 a month you could rent the best house on the block. Tucson is really bike friendly, downtown is right next to the U of A, the barrios around it are 10 minutes tops to ride to, if you live on the west side, about 20 minutes tops to ride, speaking of the wets side, I recommended that area because you can get the serene desert and yet be 5 minutes (driving) away from downtown & the U of A. From east to west it goes U of A (central), Downtown, West side. If you have anymore questions for me or want some links let me know. I don't think what you want is the north side, its a bunch of chain restaurants, you do need a car on that part of town- the established bike path is constantly crowded w/ rollerbladers, dogs, kids ect.

acatalanb · 10-02-2010, 08:02 PM

If you get tired of living around parties and students but want to be close to amenities, I would suggest living in Swan Rd/Sunrise Dr area. There's an apartment there called the Foothills Apts that's quiet, safe and professionally maintained. I paid $628 per month for a 650 sq ft apt. Close by are banks, a safeway grocery, restaurants (fast food and high scale), gas station, starbucks etc... It's located right by the base of a mountain and has bike trails nearby. The downside, of course, is you have to drive about 20 minutes to the UA area.