Moving into your great city Tucson! How easy would it be? (Catalina Foothills: best neighborhoods, crime rates)

[Junyces]

Good morning, i hope someone can provide good information. My wife and I as well as two children grades 5 and 8 have a great opportunity to relocate to your beautiful city tucson, which We know very little about. We are moving from Philippines, which is in asia. Can some one share:

- good school districs - i heard tanque verde is a good district, is that correct?
- my office will be located near the intl airport. In your opinion what are good neighborhoods to raise my children in? (Up to an hour away from airport?)
- we hope we do not offend anyone in this forum by asking this queation. Considering that Asian population is very small, do you think my children will have challenges blending in school?
- is Tucson near any lake big enough to sail in? Bonus question...

We appreciate in advance any information you may help provide, many thanks.

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by Junyces

- my office will be located near the intl airport. In your opinion what are good neighborhoods to raise my children in? (Up to an hour away from airport?)
- Considering that Asian population is very small, do you think my children will have challenges blending in school?
- is Tucson near any lake big enough to sail in? Bonus question....

If you are giving yourself an hour to commute you can basically live anywhere within the metro Tucson area that you like, so the question will come down to things like budget, and personal preferences. I tend to tout the downtown area as the best part of Tucson to live in, but I don't think that applies where children are involved. Without knowing more about what you would like your neighborhood to provide, I'll let the folks with families weigh in on what the best neighborhoods are.

I do not believe you have any issues regarding your being Asian. I grew up with best friends who were Filipino and Vietnamese and never noticed that they experienced any undue hardship over it. Mind you, that was in the 1980's, but I can't imagine the situation has devolved since then.

Regarding the sailing, most Tucsonans go down to Mexico for that, but there are some lakes which are large enough to sail on. None of them closer than a couple of hours away, and San Diego, California - which is excellent for sailing - is about 6 hours away. Here's a link to the Tucson Sailing Club: Sailing in Tucson, Arizona, San Carlos, Mexico, Sea of Cortez - Tucson Sailing Club

Best of luck with your relocation, and welcome to Tucson!

[Junyces]

Thank you very much suckson for your response. Very good to know we will blend in, thanks for the links and we are looking forward to the move.

In terms of budget, we can be flexible. You mentioned you are not familiar with children matters and we will wait hopefully for more feedback, but would you have ideas on what areas have good school districts?

[borregokid]

Its unusual to see a boat in the Tucson area. Every time I see one I stop to pause and think where do they go to find water?
Vail, Catalina, and Tanque Verde school districts all rank with the top 10 in the state. Take a look at Zillow for where the better schools are. They tend to be on the north and east side. Within the Tucson School District there are some decent schools. As an example Fructhendler Elementary and Sabino and Sahuaro High Schools on the east side. Unless you move near one of the schools more than likely your kids will be bused to and from school. You could live in the Tanque Verde area but find your still in the Tucson School district. I like the area around Tanque Verde and Bear Canyon road. There is a park, library, shopping and restaurants. Use google maps and you can "drive" anywhere in Tucson and get a look at the neighborhood.

Ratings and Reviews for Pima County AZ's Best Schools - Zillow School Information

[jsrinaz]

Commuting from Vail to the airport would be quite easy, and the schools there are quite good. Property is relatively cheap, too. The Catalina Foothills and Tanque Verde area are expensive, though very nice. Your children should have no problems--people may assume they are Latino. A quick search, however, shows that there are 40,000 Filipinos in Arizona, so finding community organizations should not be difficult, and Southern California with its huge Filipino neighborhoods is not too far either. As far as sailing goes, the desert is too dry for lakes. You may find the Ocean, particularly San Diego (6 hour drive) to be the closest place for recreational sailing.

[Junyces]

Thank you for your comments. The school districts in the area you mentioned are indeed top ranked. There are filipino groups in the area as well. Very good information. What type of entertainment are near or around these areas? Malls, theaters, museum, fine dining, etc?

How far are these areas from downtown? I did not mention earlier that our favorite hotel is the arizona biltmore. We got there once a year, too bad we did not expore much outside of it. Is this hotel near as well?

Several folks mentioned near or in down town area is nice to live in, but i take it no good school districts there? Is this a good assumption?

How about cost of living? I know california is expensive...

I know, lots of questions...big decision for us...we appreciate all your valued feedback and comments.

[Junyces]

We appreciate everyone's feedback. Many thanks.

How about the weather? We are used to 90 to 100 degrees, naturally the desert may be similar but extremely dry? How cold does it get and how many days in the year is it hot vs cold? Not sure if i asked that properly.

Any hazzards like huricanes tornadoes, flash floods? Lastly, how is the crime rate?

Thank you for your comments as well borregokid. I have heard of california delta, lake havasu and others that are large enough to sail in. Just not sure how near or far they are from tucson.

You are right, the schools you mentioned are indeed ranked 9 or 10. Good to know that there are good enterntainment near or around tanque verde, it is one of the areas we have shortlisted.

[Salpointe59]

I have to ask, most of my Filipino friends are Catholic, if that is so and you have the funds your school problems are solved. Few public schools in Tucson equal the Catholic schools academically, or in athletics.
That said my own son who is with an MLB team lived in Vail and his kids attended the Vail S D.
Stay out of central Tucson as the worst academically performing schools in district 1 are there.
Here is what I advise my own relatives.
Catholic schools if possible.
Then, Sabino and University in District 1. Canyon del Oro in the Amphi District. Catalina Foothills in the foothills area. Vail if south of Houghton Road.
Do NOT live near the airport unless you are a Blood, Crip, Cartaloonie, or MS13. If you are then go for it.

[Junyces]

Hmm..very good suggestion. We will explore catholic schools. My kids go to international school now where we are, but we are catholic. I wonder what kind of tuition can be expected...tha ks fir your suggestions, we will explore other areas you've mentioned.

lol- i guess we are not worthy to live in airport area based on the demographics you mentioned. I wonder if that is the reflection of the workforce as well...

Regarding crime rates. I hope i do not offend anyone, an organization called neighborhood scout has a webpage that pretty much says tucson is not safe to live in due to very high crime rate. They scored it a whopping 6 with 100 being the safest. I think this is extremely high for a small and beautiful city. Their stats at least based on data they shared looks legit. What do you think? Do you agree? Tucson residents, please do share your thoughts.

It also ranked the safest areas, on the top is casa del oro, followed by e saddle brooke, el camino del cerro, el rita and tanque de oromin 5 th place. Do you agree in this ranking as well.

[Jimrob1]

quote=Junyces;36211611]Hmm..very good suggestion. We will explore catholic schools. My kids go to international school now where we are, but we are catholic. I wonder what kind of tuition can be expected...tha ks fir your suggestions, we will explore other areas you've mentioned.

lol- i guess we are not worthy to live in airport area based on the demographics you mentioned. I wonder if that is the reflection of the workforce as well...

Regarding crime rates. I hope i do not offend anyone, an organization called neighborhood scout has a webpage that pretty much says tucson is not safe to live in due to very high crime rate. They scored it a whopping 6 with 100 being the safest. I think this is extremely high for a small and beautiful city. Their stats at least based on data they shared looks legit. What do you think? Do you agree? Tucson residents, please do share your thoughts.

It also ranked the safest areas, on the top is casa del oro, followed by e saddle brooke, el camino del cerro, el rita and tanque de oromin 5 th place. Do you agree in this ranking as well.[/quote]


It's probably true for most of what you listed. I'm new in Tucson and just started a part-time job today. The job is not at but in the region of the airport. From the crime problems I was told about that impact this job, and the danger I would be in. I most likely will quit it on Monday morning. Which is a shame because I need a part-time job, but I will just have to get another one elsewhere in Tucson. I was aware before moving here, that the Tucson area was listed with a very high crime rate. It's like anywhere though, some areas are better than others. My part-time job just happens to be in an area, with more crime and type of crime than I can deal with. You just have to research and choose your area wisely, like anywhere in this day and age.