..And here comes the Californians (Phoenix, Tucson: fit in, real estate, apartment)

[ArniBoy]

The occurrence of California license plates around Tucson is almost shocking. I have never seen so many. My wife is in real estate and it aligns with what she is seeing as far as clients and new buyers, most of them buying with cash.

I welcome new folks to Tucson, but hope they contemplate the reasons and policies they left behind in California.

[grmi66]

Our family's real estate agent has told me that 75% of her successful home purchasers the past year were from out of town. The newcomers to Tucson are not dependent on local jobs or wages. Personally, we moved back down from Phoenix and getting paid Phoenix wages while paying Tucson home prices. Which for right now are still a third of what home prices 100 miles up the road are.

Really hurts a lot of the friends that I know have lived in Tucson their entire life. Have many friends where one spouse manages a local retail store and one has a low level health related job like a medical technician. Live a typical low stress Tucson lifestyle, not getting rich but at least able to afford a small house in a decent neighborhood.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by ArniBoy

The occurrence of California license plates around Tucson is almost shocking. I have never seen so many. My wife is in real estate and it aligns with what she is seeing as far as clients and new buyers, most of them buying with cash.

I welcome new folks to Tucson, but hope they contemplate the reasons and policies they left behind in California.

My biggest worry of Californians coming to the Blue Island of the Southwest is they'll make it more conservative, like they've done in Las Vegas, which was a conservative city to start with, and now even more conservative, voting down anything that would raise their taxes, even though it would have benefited the local populace. The exception to that is voting for any tax increase for more police protection.

[ArniBoy]

Originally Posted by tijlover

they'll make it more conservative,

Yeah, I sure hope so....

[Woody01]

Originally Posted by tijlover

My biggest worry of Californians coming to the Blue Island of the Southwest is they'll make it more conservative,

You bet they will.....I and every Cali refugee I know are ultra-conservative.....fleeing the horror that CA has become. We're bringing our money, guns and votes to AZ......

[snebarekim]

Originally Posted by tijlover

My biggest worry of Californians coming to the Blue Island of the Southwest is they'll make it more conservative, like they've done in Las Vegas, which was a conservative city to start with, and now even more conservative, voting down anything that would raise their taxes, even though it would have benefited the local populace.

What does or does not "benefit" the local population is often very subjective. Once taxes go up, do they ever go back down? Rarely.

I am a Minneapolis, Minnesota transplant into Arizona, bought my retirement home a couple years back. Doing my part to prevent AZ from turning the shade of blue you desire for sure. I personally would welcome California conservatives that are escaping the oppressive environments back further west.

Originally Posted by tijlover

The exception to that is voting for any tax increase for more police protection.

Is that the case in Tucson and surrounds?

Look at Minneapolis and the entire defund the police/war on police movement there. Crime is crazy high now in my hometown, and with the current mayor and city council there is no end in sight to the anarchy.
California conservatives may indeed know a good thing to fund also, like good policing. In a city of laws, there are those that do not respect the law, so it requires law enforcement.

[tijlover]

Benefit the local populace! Do you realize that Las Vegas is the last big city in the country to even have an Art Museum? And with all the money that's in that city! Wealthy people moving to Las Vegas for one reason only: no state income tax! They don't even live there full-time! A Wal-Mart heir lives there!

Las Vegas is also the last big city to even get one light rail line in that city. Before I left there, RTC was all agog over building a light rail line from the Airport to Downtown. Voters rejected it! Rapid Bus Transit instead.

And yet, they did everything to get that $2 billion Raiders Stadium built, the biggest white elephant ever built in that city, financed by tourists with a surcharge on room taxes. And what benefit will that be the local populace?

[snebarekim]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Benefit the local populace! Do you realize that Las Vegas is the last big city in the country to even have an Art Museum? And with all the money that's in that city! Wealthy people moving to Las Vegas for one reason only: no state income tax! They don't even live there full-time! A Wal-Mart heir lives there!

Las Vegas is also the last big city to even get one light rail line in that city. Before I left there, RTC was all agog over building a light rail line from the Airport to Downtown. Voters rejected it! Rapid Bus Transit instead.

And yet, they did everything to get that $2 billion Raiders Stadium built, the biggest white elephant ever built in that city, financed by tourists with a surcharge on room taxes. And what benefit will that be the local populace?

Art museums? Private art museums are built where there is a desire to. One not far from my home as a matter of fact. Progressives sure do spend a lot of energy focused on other people's money.

No tax payer coercion required.

Light rail? Good Lawdy, can you choose any bigger of a money pit in many cases?

The idiots in Minneapolis are now promoting more light rail and bicycle lane splitting schemes, requiring raising taxes again, while anarchy and crime are driving people away.
Any body that can read knows the cost over runs and red tape these projects become nearly everytime.

Does Tucson need a light rail?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY-mlcgFCc4

[tijlover]

Light rail, undeniably, leads to development, one only has to look at Tucson's light rail line, and view all the housing developments that have occurred at the rail stops once it was built.

If you view any light rail system in this country, development is sure to follow any rail stop. An apartment building was under construction along the Green Line in Mpls.-St. Paul before the line was even completed. I've ridden the light rail lines in Salt Lake City, Dallas, Denver, Portland, L.A. and I've seen it for myself. Rail stop areas can become mini-cities along the way.

City streets, highways, interstates all have to be maintained with taxpayers dollars, they're as much as money pits as light rail. The car-centric refuse to admit that.

[grmi66]

The last thing this forum needs is yet another discussion about light rail. Arizona proudly is a car culture. Let's bring this back to the invasion of all things California.

This topic hitting very close to home, the house next door just sold to Californian's. Young couple that is barely 30, sold their cramped CA condo and was able to drop close to $350,000 on a huge house with a pool and guest house. The same house in SoCal would at least a million bucks. They appear to be liberal, will be interesting how they fit into a neighborhood of conservative retirees. Most of my other neighbors tend to be retired military or retired Raytheon employees.