Tucson vs. Austin?

[azmom05]

Green Valley is beautiful. Very green with lots of golf courses - great place to retire! In Tucson itself, I would suggest Oro Valley (N. Tucson). It is really pretty - very deserty (lots of wildlife - roadrunners, quail, bunnies, etc.). I don't know much about Rio Rico...sorry about that! Good-Luck! :O)

[lolligrump]

Hi everyone! I lived in Tucson and surrounding area for over 40 years. Moved to Austin and loved it for 6 years, and now I'm in North Carolina around Raleigh.
Miss the mountains around Tucson, but not the dirt. Miss the hill country and culture in Austin. I pretty much liked everything about Austin! Now for North Carolina - who knows. So far, ( its only been one week), I like it here too, except I miss my two adult kids still in Austin.

[Guitar Maestro]

I've lived in both, and both are great towns. For me, the real difference is the weather. Tucson is dry, Austin is humid. What that really means is that Austin is greener, while Tucson is browner, and Austin has a lot more rainy days and bugs.

It also depends on what you think is pretty, and what you lke to do. Austin has a lake, Tucson has mountains. I think Tucson has a lot of New York / California types, and Austin is, well, Texas.

[sunnydaze]

I think Guitar Maestro has it right. I've also lived in both and enjoyed both towns very much. Austin's real strengths are cultural: arts, food, live music and a difficult-to-describe quirkiness.

Tucson's advantages are physical: mountains, lots of sunshine, not much humidity, desert surroundings (if you like that type of environment) and closer to national parks, the West Coast, etc.

Just a matter of priorities.

[mc2r]

I'm moving to Tucson this month on a job transfer. I lived in Austin for 4 years and was in the best shape of my life. Austin offers a lot of outdoor activities to keep you busy and in shape. It may be a little over rated but overall you'll never be bored.
I've never been to Tucson but my research is gearing me to Vail.

[Mudd]

Having been to both places (my parents moved to Austin last year after 17 years in Tucson), it's a no brainer. Austin hands down. MUCH better educational system, nicer people, nicer weather (that's objective, depending on your view of humidity), less crime, lower property costs, higher property taxes but no state income tax, and a huge chunk of the additional property tax goes towards their schools. Income is commensurate to cost of living, with many higher-end (i.e. non burger flipping) employers.

And then you have Tucson. Some of the worst schools in the nation, the weather prohibits you going out of doors for 6 months of the year, the people are under educated, and far too many of them don't speak English. The cost of real estate is ridiculous (CNN just rated it the 4th most over rated housing cost in the country). Tucson's mayor has flat out said that Austin should be the model that Tucson strives to be like. Fat chance. Tucson has few high paying employers, with Raytheon the most obvious exception. It's a military, university, and retiree town at best; an illegal immigrant, crime, and drug riddled hole at worst. But hey, at least it's no El Paso.

[a bohemian muse]

i just got back from visiting austin the first week in april. (austin was my 1st choice of cities to move to) & i loved it.

why? well, i'm 34, i love live music, i love the bustle of an urban town, but don't like the hassles of big cities. austin is a great size, easy to get around, tons of fun things to do, both indoor & outdoor. i personally like the feel of college towns & this one fits the bill.

yes, traffic is an issue, but every mid-sized city has traffic. you can't avoid it. yes, it's humid like a sweaty armpit, but that just means you'll enjoy the green-ness of the landscape & it's only like that when it gets ready to rain anyway. what city doesn't feel humid when it's about to rain?

BUT...i'm headed to tucson. why? well, that's where my husband took a job - but i can see myself LIVING in tucson, and VISITING in austin because though austin is a fun town, i'm a homebody when it comes down to it & i can see myself being more relaxed in a place like tucson than in austin because i'd constantly feel like i have to go out in austin because there's so much to do & see.

if you want to do a long weekend & have fun for just a short spurt, then visit austin cause it really is a great town, and if you want to do more family living, slower paced living, try tucson. but that's just my opinion. some folks don't like rocks & sand, some folks don't like urban living - i'd check out both. they are both really worthwhile cities.