Please help in choosing a kid friendly community. (Tucson, Sierra Vista: HOA, houses)

[pack66]

Afternoon all, thanks in advance for your help. A little background first: back in 99/00, I lived in Sierra Vista with my wife. I thought I would hate Arizona as I was moving from Hawaii, but ended really enjoying the area. We didn't visit Tucson much, but I recall liking it when we did. Fast forward to today and my company is moving us to Tucson for work. I now have three kids, ages varying from toddler to 13. In doing research, it seems that Oro Valley and Vail probably meet our needs the best:

1. Great schools.
2. Safe area.
3. Nice houses.

I will be working near downtown, near the Museum of Contemporary Art. I've found some houses in those areas that look OK, but I'm concerned about commute times. For example, I found a house in Catalina, but according to Google maps, it's about 30 minutes from work. Would it be better to find something closer, like near Mountain View HS, or stick to near the interstate like Vail or Marana?

For reference, I want a house with a nice view that makes me glad we made the move... My wife wants a pool, but we both demand great schools.

Thanks again for your help.

[borregokid]

I really like Tanque Verde which has its own school district. I also like the area around Sabino High School and the attendance area. Indian Ridge at the intersection of Sabino Road and Tanque Verde I think would be pretty nice. The homes are older but they are all on big lots. The Tucson Country Club next door is also very attractive. I like those two neighborhoods because you are so close to every major store and lots of restaurants. Indian Ridge is kind of a throwback to the old days when kids walked to their friends houses. They have a community pool so no need to have your own pool. Safeway, Albertsons, and Costco are within a stones throw.

[pack66]

Thanks borregokid. I'll that are again. I didn't see anything earlier as I recall most homes there were out of my price range.

[Jukesgrrl]

If you're needing a house under $200,000, I'd check out North Ranch (zip code 85742), which is located off Thornydale Road at Linda Vista, between Oro Valley and Marana. North Ranch is a well-established community with mature landscaping and many community activities geared to active families. It has a couple of pools, a rec center, tennis facilities, a basketball court, etc., which is an amazing amount of stuff given that the HOA dues are in the $50/mo. range.
Tucson Home Search Results[]=North+Ranch&lotsize=acres&display=list

It's also right across the road from Arthur Pack Regional Park, which is an excellent Pima County park with a shaded playground, soccer, basketball, and softball courts (some of which are lighted), a hiking trails. Arthur Pack is also the location of the Crooked Tree Golf Course, an affordable public course with desert landscaping that many Tucsonans consider one of the best public courses. It even has a restaurant in the club house.
Arthur Pack Regional Park - Pima County

North Ranch is served by Ironwood Elementary, Tortolita Middle, and Mountain View High Schools, part of the Marana School District. You can access information about those particular schools here: Marana Unified School District
I know teenagers from two different North Ranch families and I'm very positively impressed by how they turned out, if that means anything about living there.

Being on Thornydale gives you pretty quick access to I-10 for your commute to town and the Ina/Thornydale area about two miles to the south is one of the major shopping meccas for the NW suburb (Costco, Target, Lowes and HD, many supermarkets and restaurants).

There are several other developments in that zip code where you could get a four-bedroom house in that price range. Including Cortaro Ridge, Linda Vista Ridge, Linda Vista Estates, and The Bluffs. Not all of them will have as many recreational facilities as North Ranch and not all homes in that area are in the same school district (I know kids from The Bluffs go to Canyon del Oro High School). Of course if you have more money to spend, there are plenty more lovely homes in 86742 to choose from.
Tucson Home Search Results

Good luck.

[homebeyer2013]

Eliminating all of TUSD will help narrow it down for you.

[pack66]

@Jukesgrrl, thanks for the information. Right now I'm probably looking to up my budget a little. I've seen some interesting houses near Catalina State Park and Hohokam Park. I've been told not to look at older 2 story buildings as the 2nd floors get really hot during the day. I'm also focusing on the Wilson and Coronado K-8 middle school districts.

@homebeyer...tell me something I don't know.