What do you like/dislike about living in Rancho Sahuarita? (Tucson: middle-class, waterpark)

[fruitypebbles]

We visited the community recently, and really liked it. We currently live in Tucson and have two toddlers, and we'd like to move to a more family-oriented community with better schools. We are also looking at Vail school district, which obviously has wonderful schools, but no communities that we like as much as RS.

RS seemed great, but it's pretty isolated and south of Tucson. If you live there, or used to live there, please share your experiences! Are the people friendly? Are the schools good? How about preschool options? What are the worst problems in the community?

Thanks!

[nickw252]

I am temporarily staying in the area and am not crazy about it.

First, it is pretty far from Tucson (driving there every day is a hassle), it has poor water quality from the mines (arsenic in the water), there really is no town/community feel since it's all cookie cutter snout-houses and retail is confined to strip malls and big box stores.

Although these are my gripes with the area, I don't have children so the benefits of a good school system isn't real important to me.

[sevilla]

We live in the area with two toddlers and have lived here for 6 1/2 years. There are pros for sure--the park and trail systems and the clubhouse and waterpark and associated activities are amazing for a young family to have nearby. The neighborhoods (generally, not always) are filled with families, a lot with young kids, which is nice b/c it's so easy for children and parents to make friends. There is a strong network and presence of stay-at-home moms, too. I also like that it's not a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses feel to the place--it's very kick-back and real and very middle-class. Almost everyone is from somewhere else, too, which is really neat in that it is that much easier to make friends b/c everyone is open to it/needs friends, too. Everyone I know knows their neighbors' names, and is most often friendly with them, which is unusual to me b/c I grew up in PHX where that is not the case! The cons to me are that the homes are "cookie cutter" and yes, the distance to Tucson. Now, to get to Tucson is not so bad--I'd say 18 mins from my home to Tucson--but it's the distance to, say, the mall or La Encantada or something that's tiresome. Luckily, w/the Spectrum shops on I-19, we've got a lot more closer to us, though, and most medical stuff is avail down here. We're getting more here all the time, too.