Moving to Tucson area

[Saguarogirl507]

Condos here in my complex seem to be selling like hotcakes right now. Although I don't know who is buying them. Investors or snowbirds? I do know quite a few of my snowbird friends have already decided they are not planning on coming out this winter. Sometimes I feel like I am on the Titanic.

[Miss Jean]

I'm in Green Valley about 25 miles south of Tucson. The state as a whole is semi-opened up and the governor said he will not mandate lockdown again. That is, not as locked down as before, but still most public places require masking & staying 6 feet away from others. Tucson was always more locked down than other parts of the state... so it can vary by city or town.



Where I am you can shop anywhere, go to restaurants, get haircuts, doctor's appointments for anything, etc. if using a mask. Indoor dining OK too. But people seem pretty relaxed here compared to some states - never much of an attitude that you'd need to mask up to go outdoors (in fact early on the governor was recommending unmasked outdoor recreation - tho eventually got bullied into changing that by big city mayors). Locally we used to have to wait in a line to get into Walmart in Sahuirita but no longer. Schools are still locked down in some areas (do you have little kids in school - if so check that, it varies a LOT by school district). My understanding is churches are now opening up too. Nursing homes still locked down totally.

[Miss Jean]

Originally Posted by steiconi

You do realize that people leave Tucson for the summer if they can, right? It's been in the 100s lately; highest I've seen so far is 108. But it's a dry heat...

Of course, people leaving means there are more rentals available, and probably cheaper. Electric rates are pretty reasonable here, so running the AC isn't as expensive as some places.

If you don't like sky noise, stay well away from the airport and military base. We're about six miles from the airport, even further from the airbase, and get some jet noise, occasionally rattle-the-windows loud.

The city of South Tucson looks low income, and some people say it's dangerous.
I've only driven through, so don't know if that's true.

Search this forum for "crime" and you'll see a lot of info and opinions.

One thing that has surprised me (I'm in Green Valley, a bit south of Tucson and at somewhat higher elevation) is how cold it can get here (in the mornings especially) in winter... I've had a few days this winter when it was colder in GV than it was where my family is in New Hampshire. So don't forget to bring warm blankets or something for your bed. It often warms up by mid-day even when it's down in low 30s the night before.

Right now in fact we have a winter storm warning in effect for Thursday and it may even snow a bit. However, most of the time when it snows it's just a little bit and gone in a day unless maybe you are at higher elevations where you live. I understand sometimes Mt. Lemmon has road closures from snow and the Madera Canyon area I believe can get snow when it's snowing up in the Santa Ritas. From where I live (just a bit off the frontage road, in Desert Hills II area) you can see that snow if it happens.

I also took a landscaping class from GV Rec and was told some years (not often) it can get down to about 10 degrees F at night, damaging citrus and also the saguaro cactus ... which may die but you may not know it for up to 10 years later.

[Miss Jean]

Originally Posted by xz2y

Thanks for posting. Are there areas on Tucson that you would avoid for renting or buying? It's good to hear first hand experiences from people who moved to the area from other locations.

Rumor has it ... stay away from South Tucson, also the area around Mission Road south of the San Xavier res. Both have high crime and active drug cartel activity (so says the Border Patrol). That being said, I've met a few people here who grew up in or now live in South Tucson who say there are parts that community that are fine to live in; the problem being that if you are not local you'd have a hard time figuring out where those areas are. It can vary by as little as one city block.

When I first moved here in August 2019 I was so nervous about what I'd read about crime in Tucson and South Tucson in particular... I avoided the Tucson Spectrum mall. However, now I go there most frequently as my "closest to me" mall and have had no problems at all, except that I only go in the daytime.

I have personally found that local people (as opposed to the Snowbirds) are friendly and that people in service businesses are very polite and helpful to me, which as an older disabled person I have especially appreciated. I don't have much in common with Snowbirds other than my age and since most of them seem to come from the Midwest they are very cliquey and not friendly to people who live here year round. It may make a difference if you are Hispanic or not (I'm half Hispanic, so I fit into that community and tend to be comfortable in places that ARE mostly Hispanic).

I find even the young people are usually friendly and polite... IF you are polite to them. I've observed some older retirees can be cranky, impatient and rude and generally not nice to service people. In contrast, I appreciate getting help when I need it and I let people know that; as a result I often feel like I'm treated like somebody's favorite auntie or something.

Overall renting before buying is a really good idea. I'd recommend renting for a year if you can, just to get a feel of the place and where you might feel most comfortable. I hope this helps!

[Miss Jean]

Originally Posted by xz2y

LOL Today is our first day of reaching 90 here in SE Michigan. Heading outside now to soak some of it up! Definitely not a dry heat here.........plenty of year-round humidity and my arthritis doesn't like humidity or cold weather. LOL

Good to hear that electricity rates aren't too bad. Michigan electricity rates are high, along with other things like car insurance, the highest in the country.

Yup, I'm aware people leave in the summer, but I won't get out there for several months, and with the virus issues, things won't be "normal" for probably another year. Just a guess.

Sky noise: I live next to a large university hospital with a helicopter ambulance.......I'd had my fill of "sky noise" at all hours of the day and night. LOL I would definitely want to avoid being in the flight path of a military base in Tucson.

Just for the record on noise... and yes, I moved here from an area in VA that occasionally would get flyovers from Langley AFB (although I was not in their normal route)... so I know it can be difficult unless noise doesn't bother you.

I know you said you are looking mostly in the north part of Tucson. But... where I live in Green Valley, about 25 miles south of Tucson... I live less than a mile from the freeway and originally I was worried about that being noisy (I had lived near a freeway in CA before and not fun). However here the noise only happens during early AM and evening commutes. By the time I want to go to be it's quiet as can be and the noise has NEVER woken me up when sleeping. Occasionally I can hear the train (they have an active rail line the runs along the east side of town, near the pecan plantation and I suspect the Tucson-LA Amtrak line runs there also. I can here that a bit but not bothersome. I understand some of the retirement communities in Tucson you can hear trains, also around GV you probably can hear them in Quail Creek and La Postada, maybe some of the other communities east of the freeway. I did, however, got woken up here once by coyotes.. they sounded like they had jumped over my fence and were in the backyard.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Miss Jean

Occasionally I can hear the train (they have an active rail line the runs along the east side of town, near the pecan plantation and I suspect the Tucson-LA Amtrak line runs there also. I can here that a bit but not bothersome. I understand some of the retirement communities in Tucson you can hear trains, also around GV you probably can hear them in Quail Creek and La Postada, maybe some of the other communities east of the freeway. I did, however, got woken up here once by coyotes.. they sounded like they had jumped over my fence and were in the backyard.

The train is a freight train that runs between Nogales and Tucson. The AMTRAK stays up in Tucson.

Originally Posted by Miss Jean

Rumor has it ... stay away from South Tucson, also the area around Mission Road south of the San Xavier res. Both have high crime and active drug cartel activity (so says the Border Patrol). That being said, I've met a few people here who grew up in or now live in South Tucson who say there are parts that community that are fine to live in; the problem being that if you are not local you'd have a hard time figuring out where those areas are. It can vary by as little as one city block.

The area you are describing is part of the Tohono o'odham Reservation. I think that there are parts of South Tucson that are fairly safe and have nice residential areas. I would visit an area that I am interested in and do research before writing it off.

There is an undercurrent in Tucson (just like in Chicago) where a lot of people like to say "north side good, south side bad). It is a lot more complicated than that. My experience has been that I have had fewer problems in South Tucson than I have had in the Tucson Mall area and the central business district.

Originally Posted by Miss Jean

I have personally found that local people are friendly and that people in service businesses are very polite and helpful to me, which as an older disabled person I have especially appreciated. I don't have much in common with Snowbirds other than my age and since most of them seem to come from the Midwest they are very cliquey and not friendly to people who live here year round. It may make a difference if you are Hispanic or not (I'm half Hispanic, so I fit into that community and tend to be comfortable in places that ARE mostly Hispanic).

I find even the young people are usually friendly and polite... IF you are polite to them.

That is very true. I have been all over the city and generally find that people are friendly, especially the young people. I do not think that I open my own door more than about 40% of the time even though I do not need the help.

I have mixed emotions about the snowbirds but increasingly, more of them are from the PNW and California than they are from the Midwest. Where snowbirds have a very bad reputation is in the medical arena. They are used to seeing a doctor TODAY and there are not enough medical resources in the area to support that. I schedule all my appointments to avoid December - March appointments.