Regarding moving to Tuscon, AZ.......Insight needed from you locals! :) (Phoenix: apartment, crime)

[Stefos1]

Hi everyone,

So, my NH experience has been bad to low average insofar as things to do, dating and career expansion is concerned and I'm considering getting a job in Tuscon should the Fed. Gov't offer it to me.

I would appreciate any insights into the following areas:

1. Location to live in & cost

I need a "doable" place around $850 to $1000 a month.
1 bedroom, 1 living room, 1 bath, 1 kitchen.....I'm single.

If that's not the right price, please let me know what is!

2. Dharma practice

I am a Dharma practitioner and wanted to know if both Buddhist & Hindu temples/groups can be readily found in Tuscon.

3. The dating scene

New England is very "hardened" insofar as the outlook of women are concerned toward
dating someone.....IE.: A clean cut look with some vestiges of Hipster (Big beard or slightly more than normal beard) and tight skinny jeans OR a clean cut "younger executive" look with collared shirt, dress slacks and dress shoes. LOL.........it's true, that is the scene here.

If you don't have those looks, you're out, in their minds.

How open minded are women in the Tuscon area to date insofar as a guy not falling into the New England "mold" I mentioned above? (Yes I do realize this a very broad question)

4. Fun things to do

N.H. has a lot countryside with it's mountains and mosquito infested lakes and woods.
Although I appreciate it....it's not me.

I am into martial arts and I want to get to know the Native American nations there, particularly the Hopi nation. I also want to experience the red rocks and wide open spaces of Arizona.

What is there to do in Tuscon?

Thank you very much for any and all insights.

Stefos1

[Stefos1]

Can anyone give me understanding about Tuscon folks?

I've been very straightforward.

Thank you!
Stefos1

[beTucsonan]

Originally Posted by Stefos1

1. Location to live in & cost

Location is wide open depending on what you like. In your price range you will be fine. A max budget of $1000 for a 1-bedroom will get you into any part of town you'd like. Your options will range from the Downtown and University area which is the city's only real truly urban, walkable, dense and active area to suburbia, surrounded by mountains and nature and the option to live in resort-like apartment communities.

Originally Posted by Stefos1

2. Dharma practice

No idea. I know there's no shortage of new-age, hippy, spiritual, etc., folks around here but I couldn't tell you the specifics.

Originally Posted by Stefos1

3. The dating scene

I don't think you'll have any trouble with folks around here needing you to "fit a mold." This town definitely takes all types.

Originally Posted by Stefos1

4. Fun things to do

Well you mention the Hopi Nation and the red rocks, both of which are located in Northern Arizona, not Southern Arizona. Otherwise, there's no shortage of fun to be had here: hiking, bicycling, a great local music scene, a food scene garnering national praise lately, a solid arts community, plenty of local beer, wine and spirits, lots of easy but exciting road trips, proximity to Mexico, etc..

I'm getting the impression you haven't visited yet? I'd definitely recommend you do that before deciding to take a job here. It's a great town, but it's not for everybody.

Originally Posted by Stefos1

Can anyone give me understanding about Tuscon folks?

I've been very straightforward.

Patience, it's worth mentioning, is a key to enjoying yourself in Tucson. It's a relaxed sort of a place.

[Bygeorge]

You have been at this moving thing since 2012. San Diego, San Francisco, Cleveland etc. Evidently you are stuck in NH for some reason. It is my advice that you thoroughly research CD stats on the many towns and cities. Also research the Tucson site since many of your questions have been covered by answers elsewhere. I think most people live in Tucson for the climate, their job or their choice of universities. Otherwise it is just another city with congestion, crime, poverty, hot summers and occasional rattlesnakes and bee swarms. There are plenty of places with a better quality of life. Matter of choice. Good luck in your national search to find a place other than NH which you call home for at least five years or so.

[bkolodzi]

The only piece I can answer for you is the one not answered above. I know there is a Buddhist temple in Tucson. We have a neighbor in Green Valley who is a Buddhist and just last week she took my wife to the temple for a talk about the 7 things Buddhist need to work on (or something like that). So the good news is that piece of what you are looking for is covered in Tucson! Please check out the links below for more info.


Home
Kadampa Meditation Center Arizona Meditation and Buddhism in Tucson
Home

[Contentix]

Originally Posted by Bygeorge

You have been at this moving thing since 2012. San Diego, San Francisco, Cleveland etc. Evidently you are stuck in NH for some reason. It is my advice that you thoroughly research CD stats on the many towns and cities. Also research the Tucson site since many of your questions have been covered by answers elsewhere. I think most people live in Tucson for the climate, their job or their choice of universities. Otherwise it is just another city with congestion, crime, poverty, hot summers and occasional rattlesnakes and bee swarms. There are plenty of places with a better quality of life. Matter of choice. Good luck in your national search to find a place other than NH which you call home for at least five years or so.

Bee Swarms? Interesting!

[Contentix]

Originally Posted by Stefos1

3. The dating scene

New England is very "hardened" insofar as the outlook of women are concerned toward
dating someone.....IE.: A clean cut look with some vestiges of Hipster (Big beard or slightly more than normal beard) and tight skinny jeans OR a clean cut "younger executive" look with collared shirt, dress slacks and dress shoes. LOL.........it's true, that is the scene here.


Thank you very much for any and all insights.

Stefos1

How old are you?

Also, Tucson has the University of Arizona and quite a larger mix of people in that area. I'm in NYC, which is supposedly the best place for single men and I can tell you it's still not easy...you really just gotta try and be the best version of yourself, wherever you are.

Good luck! I love Tucson!

[Stefos1]

Originally Posted by Bygeorge

You have been at this moving thing since 2012. San Diego, San Francisco, Cleveland etc. Evidently you are stuck in NH for some reason. It is my advice that you thoroughly research CD stats on the many towns and cities. Also research the Tucson site since many of your questions have been covered by answers elsewhere. I think most people live in Tucson for the climate, their job or their choice of universities. Otherwise it is just another city with congestion, crime, poverty, hot summers and occasional rattlesnakes and bee swarms. There are plenty of places with a better quality of life. Matter of choice. Good luck in your national search to find a place other than NH which you call home for at least five years or so.

Hi Bygeorge,

Your response to me was not the best way to say "Hey, How are you?....this is Tuscon."
I felt it was a bit abrasive....but I digress.

I visited Cleveland and other places because the Fed. Gov't was offering me a job.
I didn't go because I was fascinated.

Arizona is fascinating to me actually and different, much different than New England.

California is expensive and I can't afford to live there........that's my conclusion.
I've spoken to people living there and I've assessed my income as well......not happening.
The taxes, expenses, crime and cost of living is too much.
Cleveland is a cheaper version of N.H. and is boring AND has lake effects snow..N.H. has enough of that........all set.

Better quality of life is relative to the person.
I do plan on taking a brief vaca there to see what's happening.

The Northeast is very expensive to live in actually....other parts are just too strange for me (I.E. Maine, a very weird territorial place)

Thank you,
Stefos1

[Bygeorge]

My advice still stands. Do your research. Opinions by others are just that, opinions. Some will say that Tucson is "heaven". Others will say the opposite. Half full and half empty. Do come in late June or July to experience the heat. That is often a deal breaker. For others it is the homeless population, crime, awful traffic congestion. The metro area has around a million people and they mostly drive 3 cars at the same time. The windshield repair business is booming always. Of all scorpion species, we have the most poisonous. When you go to a public park, watch your feet due to rattlesnakes. People get bitten out here. Like any city, there are desirable areas to live and places you would not want to be anytime of day. As I said, people live here due to climate, work/retirement or school. Again, the same advice. Research the numbers. I always shudder when people ask about a "social scene". Who knows? Some people make friends easily and others cannot get a conversation going over free beer. Socializing is not a location based pastime but a complex process based on personalities, temperaments, interests and even good hygiene. If you interpreted my reply as abrasive, then that says more about you than me. I did my research on your posting history. I want to know what people are about over a period of time. Happiness and contentment are rarely connected with a geographical location. You bring those two things with you or not.

Again, good luck to ya.

[Jukesgrrl]

If you take weather completely out of the equation and Cleveland is too boring for you ... I don't know how Tucson could be any better. Cleveland is a real city. Tucson is a big college town surrounded by retiree enclaves. It chooses to remain such for the immediate future, given the low-budget, no-growth policies of the county commissioners and city council.

Cleveland has all the urban amenities: professional sports teams, big museums, good restaurants, constant national-name entertainment options, three Buddhist temples. The only thing it's missing is a desert and mountains. Plus it places you very close to many other cities of size. When I lived in Pittsburgh I would drive to Cleveland for a concert and drive back the same night. The only place you can drive to and return the same day in Tucson is Phoenix. San Diego is about a seven-hour drive. Tucson has only college sports and D-league hockey and soccer, a few small museums, good food in a smaller number of restaurants, home-grown or touring company entertainment (big names go to Phoenix), three Buddhist centers. I've spent plenty of time in both the Cleveland and Tucson airports and neither one is better than the other, Cleveland just has more flights.

Plenty of non-American-traditional religions of all types in Tucson. Your housing budget is almost lavish for a one-bedroom rental. If you wanted to live in a brand new resort-style complex, you could. You can spend almost every weekend of the year hiking or biking.

You will need a decent car, of course. Things are very spread out here, given Pima County is the same size as the entire state of New Jersey. The work commute to Boston that many in New Hampshire do would probably be considered average in Pima County. I can tell you that what most people in Tucson consider acceptable daily dress would be seen as totally sloppy anywhere in New England. People here wear shorts to church. I always laugh when I see TV ads for the casinos. They show model-looking thirty-somethings in cocktail attire excitedly enjoying their gaming and dining. Go there and you will see boomers who are wearing whatever they wore around the house that day and the casino coffee shops look like orthopedic clinic waiting rooms. I don't do the singles scene, but I'm sure you can access some dating website to check out what's available in Tucson. Most of the partnered long-time Tucsonans I know met their significant others through work.

Check out the Meetup website for Tucson. It will give you an idea what kind of activities are available here, even if you don't want to participate.