New to Tucson seems great so far (Phoenix, Mesa: rent, car insurance)

[PNG12977]

Me and my fiancee just relocated to Central East Tucson by Speedway and Harrison from Ft Lauderdale, FL. She is an RN, I work for Comcast. She is making about 10% more and I am about 5% more, while our rent went down $130 a month for a nicer apt than we had over there. Plus our car insurance premiums went down over 33% and gas is about 30-35 cents a gallon cheaper. The only thing we miss is the beach. Is Rocky Point (Penasco), the closest/best place to go from Tucson?

[borregokid]

Ever wonder who fills all those hotel rooms in San Diego. People from Phoenix and Tucson. Its a haul from Tucson but a lot of people fly there for a few days if they get the right airfare and hotel rates. Its about 365 miles driving so if you take off in the morning you are there in mid afternoon. There are the beaches, zoo, old town, museums, Balboa Park. Rocky point isn't that great.

[Bummer]

CONGRATS and WELCOME to Tucson, PNG.

Many years ago, I spent a few years in Ft Lauderdale and understand exactly what you mean by "missing the beach" but that feeling will fade after a few months.

In no time (especially after Labor Day when the weather returns to normal) you'll stop "comparing" Tucson to back there and begin to love this place even more.

Once again, WELCOME and Good Luck.

[tom4416]

We had a place in St. Augustine for several years, right on the ocean and I enjoyed it very much. Then the whole flood insurance program went to heck and it became increasingly apparent that beach front living was eventually going the way of the dinosaurs or available only to the rich. Even back in Maryland we lived on the water and I've been on it or around it all my life. I don't miss it nearly as much as I thought I would and we will probably spend a couple weeks each year in San Diego.

As for Puerto Penasco, my in-laws own a place there and while the town itself still seems relatively safe, I wouldn't take the drive down unless I was in a caravan of several cars (which isn't hard to arrange since just about any American you see at the border station is going to Rocky Point so just tag along). Even though the stay there would be free, I'd rather stay in the US and pay for a place in SD.

[actinic]

Originally Posted by PNG12977

Is Rocky Point (Penasco), the closest/best place to go from Tucson?

Unfortunately yes. As you've discovered Tucson isn't exactly geared toward beach lovers.

[Jukesgrrl]

For folks from the East who have never made the drive from Tucson to San Diego, do it at least once because the terrain is fascinating.

Once off I-10, you exit to I-8 to go due west and are driving through tribal land. It's undeveloped, so you're looking at one of the most dense collections of saguaros and ocotillos in the world. The very accessible Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is a short detour off this road and well worth an hour of your time and the couple of dollars admission fee.

The scenery gets monotonous between Gila Bend and Yuma — and if you don't have a full tank of gas in Gila Bend, you might want to get one. As you near Yuma you climb mountains for awhile and then descend into a town was largely built to provide for local military installations. This is the best place on the drive to stop for food because it's the only location with a lot of choices. Yuma's 16th Street runs perpendicular to I-10 and puts you in the center of town. There's a mall with a couple of sit-down restaurants if you exit to East 16th Street. And if you cross I-10 to West 16th, it's wall-to-wall gas stations and fast food places. There's also a casino (Quechan Casino Resort) at the farthest west in the series of Yuma exits, just at the California border. It has a sports bar, a steakhouse, and a cafe for dining.

To my mind, the portion of the drive west of Yuma is quite a sight. I never saw actual sand dunes in my life until I happened upon them on my first drive to San Diego and no one had mentioned I would see them there. I guess if you've seen one sand dune, you've seen 'em all, but if you never did, it's educational. I mean it's not Saudi Arabia, but there's nothing like this anywhere I ever lived before. If you want to stop, there's an exit for Royla Dunes Park.

If you didn't eat or get gas in Yuma, the exit at El Centro, California, an Imperial Valley farming community, is the next place to do it. Choices close to the highway are McDonalds or In and Out. And, of course, tip your hat as you go by El Centro High School, since it's the place where Sonny discovered Cher. Right before El Centro, you can hook up with state highways for another side trip. The highway north to Brawley leads, in about 25 miles, to the Salton Sea, another unique geographic location (something called an endorheic rift lake, located directly on the San Andreas Fault). You can stop at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge — I'm not kidding about the name, he was a Congressman, too, remember?

After El Centro, you start to ascend in elevation for more dramatic terrain that no one could build a farm on. Be ready to downshift as you drive through some amazingly dramatic rock formations. I've never seen a map that designated this area with a name, but it's really interesting if you're not a Western native who's blase about boulders. After the rocks get more normal in size, you're in the Cleveland National Forest, created by President Theodore Roosevelt. There are exits to the San Diego County towns of Pine Valley, Descanso, and Alpine, all of which are rural villages with pretty scenery that look as if they belong in another world from San Diego, the ocean-side city.

From there, you're headed through the suburbs of El Cajon and La Mesa and the traffic gets heavy. Exit at I-5 if you want to go into downtown San Diego. Staying on I-8 takes you straight to the Pacific Ocean and towns like Mission Beach and Point Loma.

Your high school geography teacher will be very proud that you saw such a varied and interesting part of the United States.

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site
https://plus.google.com/107832246479...ut?gl=us&hl=en [Royla Dunes]
Salton Sea SRA
Cleveland National Forest - Home
San Diego Beach Communities | San Diego's Coastal Neighborhoods

[atlaw]

Head to San Carlos. Closer than SD. Traveling down is safe, no issues, great food, good beaches, great fishing and a large US expat community.

[ZonaZoo]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

For folks from the East who have never made the drive from Tucson to San Diego, do it at least once because the terrain is fascinating.

Once off I-10, you exit to I-8 to go due west and are driving through tribal land. It's undeveloped, so you're looking at one of the most dense collections of saguaros and ocotillos in the world. The very accessible Painted Rock Petroglyph Site, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is a short detour off this road and well worth an hour of your time and the couple of dollars admission fee.

The scenery gets monotonous between Gila Bend and Yuma — and if you don't have a full tank of gas in Gila Bend, you might want to get one. As you near Yuma you climb mountains for awhile and then descend into a town was largely built to provide for local military installations. This is the best place on the drive to stop for food because it's the only location with a lot of choices. Yuma's 16th Street runs perpendicular to I-10 and puts you in the center of town. There's a mall with a couple of sit-down restaurants if you exit to East 16th Street. And if you cross I-10 to West 16th, it's wall-to-wall gas stations and fast food places. There's also a casino (Quechan Casino Resort) at the farthest west in the series of Yuma exits, just at the California border. It has a sports bar, a steakhouse, and a cafe for dining.

To my mind, the portion of the drive west of Yuma is quite a sight. I never saw actual sand dunes in my life until I happened upon them on my first drive to San Diego and no one had mentioned I would see them there. I guess if you've seen one sand dune, you've seen 'em all, but if you never did, it's educational. I mean it's not Saudi Arabia, but there's nothing like this anywhere I ever lived before. If you want to stop, there's an exit for Royla Dunes Park.

If you didn't eat or get gas in Yuma, the exit at El Centro, California, an Imperial Valley farming community, is the next place to do it. Choices close to the highway are McDonalds or In and Out. And, of course, tip your hat as you go by El Centro High School, since it's the place where Sonny discovered Cher. Right before El Centro, you can hook up with state highways for another side trip. The highway north to Brawley leads, in about 25 miles, to the Salton Sea, another unique geographic location (something called an endorheic rift lake, located directly on the San Andreas Fault). You can stop at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge — I'm not kidding about the name, he was a Congressman, too, remember?

After El Centro, you start to ascend in elevation for more dramatic terrain that no one could build a farm on. Be ready to downshift as you drive through some amazingly dramatic rock formations. I've never seen a map that designated this area with a name, but it's really interesting if you're not a Western native who's blase about boulders. After the rocks get more normal in size, you're in the Cleveland National Forest, created by President Theodore Roosevelt. There are exits to the San Diego County towns of Pine Valley, Descanso, and Alpine, all of which are rural villages with pretty scenery that look as if they belong in another world from San Diego, the ocean-side city.

From there, you're headed through the suburbs of El Cajon and La Mesa and the traffic gets heavy. Exit at I-5 if you want to go into downtown San Diego. Staying on I-8 takes you straight to the Pacific Ocean and towns like Mission Beach and Point Loma.

Your high school geography teacher will be very proud that you saw such a varied and interesting part of the United States.

Painted Rock Petroglyph Site
https://plus.google.com/107832246479...ut?gl=us&hl=en [Royla Dunes]
Salton Sea SRA
Cleveland National Forest - Home
San Diego Beach Communities | San Diego's Coastal Neighborhoods

Wow.

You're the best.

[ohnonothimagain]

PNG- Welcome to Tucson. First I have to say I'm jealous of you. Why? Because I lived in Tucson for 10yrs, and now live on the East Coast. In NJ. In Southern NJ. Where going to the beach means leaving at 7am to beat the traffic and the congestion to find a spot. Where you have to have beach tags to just sit on the beach. Where it's crowded like crazy in the summer. So maybe Fort Lauderdale was a nice beach area for you. You both will do just fine in Tucson because you already have jobs-which is an accomplishment in Tucson. I loved the mountains that circle Tucson. For me that was the plus that surpasses any beach or other area. And as been mention here previously-I think you'll eventually forget the beaches. Or at least have road trips to So Cal or even Mexico..And while road trips are easy due to highway accessibility, I always found enough to do right in Tucson. Or weekend trips to Phoenix.. I had heard horror stories that NOBODY goes to Rocky Point unless they take a gun-even if it means the possibility of jail time in Mexico. Friends routinely slept on the beach in tents, and were always afraid of being robbed/raped. Don't have a clue if that's true/false, but that was enough to keep me from wanting to see any beaches in Mexico. Why take the chances? I suppose that there's plenty of place's to stay in Rocky Point, but I'm sorry that I don't know what it's like down there...Speedway and Harrison is one of the nicer neighborhoods from what I remember, and Tucson is indeed an acquired "taste".. I fell in love with Tucson in the early 60's and to me it will always be my home even though I was born elsewhere. The Desert has a beauty that is so hard to define. I've been gone since 2005, and miss Tucson every day. You don't have to shovel sunshine. May God bless your journey and adventures there..