City of Tucson

I read this site 2−½ years ago when I was moving from Philadelphia to Tucson for a new job. The negative comments were so depressing that they made me determined to love this place, unlike all the naysayers whose posts I read.
I fell in love with Tucson from the start. It’s not perfect. No place is. Yes, the economy struggles, the poverty rate is too high, education inconsistent, and homelessness is a serious problem. But I have met the most amazing people as I work alongside them to address some of these social issues. I find that there is a level of kindness in Tucson that is a marked contrast from many East Coast places that I have lived. I make a concerted effort to be more kind myself, and find that others’ kindness in return is more abundant and deeper — you reap what you sow.
When the triple digit heat begins to wear on me, I remind myself how much more miserable are my beloved Philadelphia’s heat waves (95 degrees, 95% humidity). While I miss lush green forests and running rivers elsewhere, I have an appreciation for the sage green desert flora and the tenacious will of the desert fauna and flora to survive in the Tucson desert. I revel in the spectacular sunsets, often pulling my cover over on my way home from work just to drink in my surroundings. Tucson is an incredibly beautiful place.

Tucson.
I am here because my job is here. Tucson is boring and full of boring Mexican food. Everywhere you turn, another Mexican restaurant — they are all the same. It’s really hard to come by a good restaurant. All you have to do is appeal to drunk U of A students or retired white people. Doesn’t take much to get them excited about a Sonoran hot dog or burrito.
There are homeless people at many corners — I can, off the top of my head, tell you a couple intersections to go to right at this moment if you want to find some homeless people. There are all sorts of strange creatures that try to inhabit your home — snakes, scorpions, big spiders. It becomes a necessity to add onto your cost of living a home exterminator.
A lot of people have pools! Pools are great! Wait, don’t get too excited — you will find dead mice in your pool. You can spend about ½ hour outside anyway before you start sweating to death in the winter.
Tucson is close to Phoenix. Great. Tucson is driving distance from Vegas and San Diego. Great. Why not just live in those places then? Why be stuck in a desolate land of poverty?
Tucson spends their money unwisely… if they even have any. Streets are a mess (especially Grant Road) and many areas are run down.
Good things: dark, no street lights means seeing stars in the sky, beautiful sunsets, minimal traffic in comparison to many places. But, everyone here sucks at driving. Like really bad.

Please refer to Stephen E.‘s review on Tucson for the most accurate description of this city. I have lived in Tucson for most of my life and recently moved. I agree completely with his review.
Tucson is really a corrupt town; city managers have strange priorities including keeping Tucson transportation virtually nonexistent out of fear of making it into «Phoenix» (heaven forbid). Getting across Tucson can take literally over an hour and the drive itself is uncomfortable due to impoverished roads. City managers used tax dollars to create a trolley to nowhere… literally…spent a fortune to install a trolley that takes all the college age drunks from one bar to another in a 5 mile radius downtown instead of fixing the main roads or installing a monorail/​train system for the tax paying workers in the city. In Tucson it is a mortal sin to not support the University of Arizona (Wildcats) or say you like Phoenix. City managers do not do anything to nurture small businesses. It is not uncommon to have a business close its doors overnight. Tucson public schools are among the worst in the country and crime is rampant.
Look elsewhere to live. If you like the warmer, drier climate check out the surrounding areas around Phoenix. Chandler, Surprise, Glendale, Peoria and Scottsdale have so much more to offer and are by far safer and are without the corruption that surrounds Tucson.

The city of Tucson is kind of interesting to me. At this time there is alot of construction. The streets are a bit confusing probably cause I have no clue on where I am going. Best place I have eaten at is Roma’s and I love the Indian fry bread out by the San Xavier church. Weather still feels the same as Phoenix. It’s a bit closer to Mexico. And the drive is boring. Oh and there are a lot of highway patrol out. That’s it.

Here’s an honest, and detailed, review about Tucson. I’ve lived in San Antonio, Phoenix and have visited frequently, as I have family in these cities, Dallas, Austin, and Houston. Tucson is perhaps the most boring town I’ve ever been in. Again, I am talking in terms of young adult fun since many older people would like Tucson as they would like hiking, biking, and looking at the desert. Here’s a run down of positives and negatives.
Positives
–Has some great local businesses, like Bookmans and Casa Video to name a few, that are just straight up awesome. Casa Video has to be the best movie rental place in the world.
–The weather is fantastic at least two-​thirds of the year. I know the heat is bad, but coming from Texas, the dry heat makes a tremendous difference.
–In terms of cost of living, it is relatively cheap.
–Mexican food is extremely good, but then again so is any place near the border (Phoenix, San Antonio, LA, etc).
–There are some local restaurant gems that are worth trying (Little Anthony

I will rate the surrounding areas a 5. This is some of the best of the best of the desert. The city itself is a 2. The place has so much potential, and you can find small gem areas in town, but for the most part, it is a let down. We were here for a few weeks and tried hard to find things we liked. We found some, but actually found may more things we didn’t like here.

I’m going to be brutally honest.
Tucson is a HOLE, you fill in the first part.
Cops everywhere on weekends, run down, dirty and pure chaos is how I’d describe it.
It’s close to Ft. Huachuca and the U. Arizona so I imagine quiet a few people have no choice but to be there for a few years and I’m sure there’s better parts of it that I didn’t see but everything that’s anywhere within a few miles of the freeway is a wasteland.

I get it but not everyone does.
I moved to Tucson in 2002 from New York City. I was not a trailing spouse or military. We came of our own free will with a desire for a simpler life and shorter winters.
It’s 2014 and I have never looked back. Why?
#1 Natural Surroundings: This is the desert you have seen in nearly all Western movies. If you stand on a trail in Saguaro National Park, stop and look around and aren’t stunned by the unique beauty around you then get thee to a large city or forested town instead. Tucson happens to be in the prettiest patch of the Senoran desert with incredibly healthy Saguaro forests. Without this special beauty do you think that the world famous Canyon Ranch or Miraval Spa would be here?
#2 Great for exercise nuts (like me) For outdoor lovers and year round exercise nuts like me Tucson is a special paradise. I cannot think of another city with trail heads up into mountains surrounding it to the extent that Tucson has. I can run outside all year round and breathe in a city that has some of the cleanest air of any in America. We are second only to Boulder, CO for bike lanes and have a huge cycling culture.
#3 Cost of Living: On Manhattan our 400 square foot apartment was $ 1200/​mo. In Tucson the 1700 square foot house we built is $ 1200/​mo. The gas is the cheapest in the state and close the the cheapest in the country. Groceries are low too.
#4 University Town feel. The University of Arizona lends a very positive flavor to Tucson. It has some top rated programs notably, Consumer Sciences, Astronomy, Mining and Dance which is competitive with Julliard.
Are there negatives? Of course.
The best jobs are limited to healthcare, defense contracting and the University. Other that that the economy is not very diverse which creates a large low wage base that is perfect for call centers.
There is more ugly sprawl and strip malls than in most other cities.
Yes it’s hot for a long time but I look at it as our winter, you stay in doors more often or get up early to be active outside. From July to September we get monsoon rain that brings beautiful lightning storms and can bring the temps down to the 70s and the desert blooms with flowers and fruit of the Prickly Pear.
Do I miss all the culture, food, museums and excitement that New York had? Sometimes. But I was always fighting crowds, struggling to get exercise outside and could not see the reality of home ownership either.
No place is perfect and Tucson has more than it’s share of flaws. But, then I walk outside and look up at the mountains and realize that no place else feels like home.