What Part of Town Feels Like the SF Bay Area? (Phoenix: rentals, lofts)

[David Lewis]

Hello City-Data Tucson Forum,

This is my first post, but I've been following this site for some time. I find the conversation here to be some of the best on the net when it comes to learning what different locales are really all about.

I'm considering a move to Tucson, and am looking to lease in a gay-friendly, walkable part of town. Having a washer/dryer in the unit and a garage available are important to me. If anyone has a tip or two for places to contact, I would be much obliged.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

David Lewis

[mir86]

do you mean gay-friendly when you talk about similarities to the bay area? because as far as that goes, mid town would be good for you. West of Country Club road, between Broadway and north to Grant or even Ft. Lowell would be more gay-friendly I would think. You can mapquest those streets and see where it is on the map. Since that area is more urban, I would stay north of Speedway to be safer and as east as possible. Very few complexes have washer/dryer in unit here, but they are around. You just have to double check and they are likelier to be in the nicer pockets of town.

I grew up on the east side which is more conservative so maybe someone else can elaborate better, but I do know that central Tucson is a bit more liberal/gay-friendly/urban for a town this size, with our 4th avenue and U of A nearby.

If you're looking for scenery like the bay area..uhh...not so sure where you could find that here. the nice parts of Tucson looks more like San Diego than anywhere in the Bay area. No victorian style homes, no bodies of water nearby, and definitely not much green. My best friends mom used to call AZ very tan. I hope you're prepared for the ugly, tan scenery here in the valley! nice scenery is up the mountans (Mt. Lemmon)

[David Lewis]

Thank you, mir86, for your reply and for the good info.

[Bummer]

I lived in The City for a few months many years ago, David . . . in my opinion, there is no place in and around Tucson even slightly similar.

As for where to live . . . before anyone is able to answer your question properly they really need to know where you plan to work since commuting in Tucson can be a booger.

I live very close to the Tucson Mall (Oracle and Wetmore) which is very convenient to most everything. The few rentals in my immediately area all have washer dryer hook ups plus two car garages and usually rent in the $800 plus range.

Does this help?

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by Bummer

in my opinion, there is no place in and around Tucson even slightly similar.

I'd second that.

I live very close to the Tucson Mall (Oracle and Wetmore) which is very convenient to most everything. The few rentals in my immediately area all have washer dryer hook ups plus two car garages and usually rent in the $800 plus range.

Sometimes I wonder if you're a landlord, Bummer!

[azdr0710]

might be some info for you here....

Wingspan - Southern Arizona's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center

as mir says, stay near the UA area and areas N and E of it up to a couple miles....S and W of it, though somewhat historic, may be junky/student-oriented/noisy....all this is in general....

there are all types in Tucson, as any large city has....liberal to conservative....redneck to tree-hugger....however, the city is generally regarded as slightly more liberal than the rest of the state, very unpretentious, and still possessing a small-town feel.....you may wish it was as cosmopolitan as SF, but it won't be.....

[sierraAZ]

I've no idea of any area of town being more gay-friendly than another (Tucson is quite liberal in general), but if you really have to live here, you might feel better around Swan & Sunrise or Campbell & River. At least there are some nice places within walkable distance in all 4 corners of them. That's in case you insist on more upscale living arrangements. Otherwise you might do OK around downtown and 4th Ave. They have been separated forever, but will be connected at the end of August. Some revitalization of downtown is going on as you'll find out on other threads on this forum. There are some downtown lofts you might wanna look into. It's also right by I-10 if you'd like to go to Phoenix more often.

[David Lewis]

Thanks, Bummer. I work from home, so living in a walkable area is important; getting out a bit means a lot when one stares at paper and screen a good number of hours each day.

Maybe this is a Mac thing, but I only see one "Post Reply" button at the bottom of each page. I see a "Quick Reply" icon in the bottom-right corner of each reply. What is the correct way to respond to individual replies? I'm writing you utilizing the "Quick Reply" icon in your post.

Thank you.

[David Lewis]

Thanks, azdr0710. I spoke with them today.

[David Lewis]

Thank you, sierraAZ, for the update. I am impressed your posts, on this site alone, have been read almost 8.5 million times. Are you an author?