Gridlock and Heat Matter - 3/18/2024

I was reading the reviews for Tucson, and after living there for 6 years, I feel the need to weigh in. There are many pros in Tucson: access to recreational areas, college town opportunities, free (or nearly free) activities, diverse shopping, outdoor activities (winter), and reasonable cost of living. There are also cons in Tucson: the very hot summers (that keep you locked up after 9:30 a.m.), the very poor road conditions in many areas of town, the overabundance of roads with lights (that make any commuting unpleasantly slow unless you are on the 1 interstate, the dust, no neighborhood cohesiveness. I would highly recommend outdoor places like Sabino Canyon, Saguaro NP (East and West), various hikes in and around town, and The Loop recreational trail (it's paved, and great for walking and biking). But I would only recommend these places on winter days, or on summer days only before 9:30 a.m.; otherwise, it's just too hot, and maybe downright dangerous. There are many great places to have breakfast like Bisbee Breakfast Club and LeBuzz coffee shop, but once again, if you want to eat on an outdoor patio, you won't want to do so in the summer after 9:30 a.m. We tried various spots around town for evenings out, but we never found a special go-to place. We just weren't that impressed with what was offered. We were disappointed (but should have expected) that there were no great patios for eating out in the evenings (sunset viewing, etc.). I am sure this is because evenings from June through October are not a great time to be dining outside. Most patios (if they exist at all) are on the east side of the restaurants. We did love events such as the Festival of Books, the Fall and Spring Markets on 4th Street, and the Gem/Mineral Show. There were free lectures and other activities at the U of A that were educational and insightful. The Huckleberry Bike Path (aka The Loop) is real treat if you want a place to bike or walk away from traffic. It is well maintained, and it's a great way to get from one area to another by bike. Keep in mind though, that it's open to everyone, so if you are into biking, you must beware that clueless children, pedestrians, skateboarders, novice cyclists, pets, and homeless folks (who sometimes have camps along The Loop) may be wandering around without regard to your safety. Bike defensively. We found the folks in Tucson to be pleasant and friendly superficially, but we did not find it an easy place to cultivate true friends. (But that was just my experience.) Anyway, after living in Tucson 6 years, there is much good I can say, but I felt like the reviews failed to mention two significant deficits. 1. The constant gridlock caused by the preponderance of lights on EVERY major road, and 2. The inability to enjoy outdoor activities for 5 1/2 months each year because it is just too hot to be outside after 9:30 a.m. Hope this information helps!

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No Longer a Nice Little Town - 2/1/2024

I spend considerable time in and around Tucson, and I've see it rapidly going "downhill" since 2020. It's definitely not the nice town I remember from when I was a Univ. of Arizona student in the very early '70's. The big negatives: an increasing crime rate and how "the city" is doing a poor job handling the homeless population. I persuaded my girlfriend who lives on the east side to sell her home and move with me to Sierra Vista. Property crime is now through the roof, and together with violent crime, is rapidly going eastward; east of Kolb Rd. and now Pantano. The city wants to keep "free" bus transportation in place, but all that does is give some of the homeless the freedom to shoplift around town, and to scare the low- income elderly away from using the buses. And Tucson drivers have to be the worst in the nation; there are way too many car crashes for a town of half a million people. Red-light running is epidemic, and those intersections with double left-turn lanes cause many accidents. Sometimes I think that they drive "better" in Sonora, Mexico than in Tucson. The "mayor" talks about cultural heritage and diversity, but she should be making the case up in the State capital for more funds to get the mentally-ill homeless off the streets. I know a wealthy couple which had lived up in the Catalina foothills, but several years ago they decided that Tucson was too .... deteriorated... for them to continue living here. So they sold their home and moved to Colorado. Drive around Tucson and you will see that any building with a "for lease" sign is behind temporary chainlink fencing; the homeless move in around ( and sometimes inside ) those buildings if they only have plywood covering the windows. My girlfriend had a part-time job driving office records around town, and after a year and a half she was too unnerved to continue with that job; she complained about all speeding and reckless driving she encountered. It's really sad for me to think of what a nice little town Tucson was back in the early '70's. But I guess this is a common story. It is worse now in many formerly-nice cities. If looking to relocate, you'd do better in Marana or Vail. Just sayin....

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Surprisingly racist for such a "liberal" town... - 6/27/2023

Almost eight years and this place still hasn't grown on me. Or my spouse. The summers are oppressive, and the winters (thanks, climate change!) are now wet even though they're typically dry. Our allergies (we're coastals) are on high alert here - year-round. In the past, doctors recommended people move TO the desert to escape seasonal allergies. Nope, not here! The city (and I use the term loosely) is a strange mélange of trying-to-be-a-hip-college-town-with-snowbirds but fails miserably. Near the university, there's a pathetic attempt at life: 4th Avenue, University & Downtown. Merchants here treat you differently than other places because they're chasing the almighty dollar. But that's it. If you're a traditionally-aged college student, you might enjoy it. Otherwise... ...there are endless rows of strip malls. Smoke shops. Massage parlors suspiciously open at night with curtains drawn shut (can you say "human trafficking?"). And seedy bars (enter Dirtbags - their tagline is "...a part of growing up."). Lastly, there are the hoity toity who live in the Foothills, and don't even deign to live/shop/dine/recreate there if you're not from there. (to be more direct, Brown and Black need not apply) On that final note, this is the most racist town I've ever lived in. Ever. My spouse and I are at the higher end of middle class, and I've been followed/trailed in stores more times than I care to recall. And before you ask if I wear gangbanger clothing, the answer is a resounding "NO." Nine times out of ten, I'm sporting business casual or on the weekends, an eclectic combo of "mom" wear meets hippie meets urban chic. Oh, and lovely, unsolicited comments from randos, also. Did I ask you to negatively comment on my language (I'm bilingual), my skin color (caramel brown), or my hair (think Tia Mowry)? And there are very few protections or city regulations to safeguard tenants. Unless you consider 82/86 degrees Fahrenheit a livable, indoor temperature and have five (business) days for the landlord to fix it (after you've given them what is considered to be "legal" notice). And P.S. landlords can raise your rent to their heart's content. No rent controls here. Welcome to the Old Pueblo!

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MUGGY SUMMERS WITH RAIN 90% OF THE DAYS / EVENINGS - 8/31/2022

This is my 2nd summer living south of Tucson, after living in Metro Phoenix for 8 years. During the Tucson area summers--I feel that I am in Houston, TX or Jacksonville, FL because of the muggy / humid monsoon days. My Dehumidifier never stops running! I will be leaving this area within the next 12 months to find a more "comfortable" location!

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1 star for Tucson - 11/15/2021

I've been living out in Tucson since the end of Summer August of 2005. At first i thought Tucson was great. I think that was the "honey moon phase" where everything here is fun, new and exciting. That lasted a year or two before i started to see how Tucson really is. Seems most positive reviews for Tucson are from people vacationing or visiting here as one reviewer "A" mentioned and did a great job explaining. Tucson itself is okay but more leaning towards bad then good. I lived over on or by Sabino Canyon, Fairfield on the foothills, across from the loft movie theater on Speedway in the neighborhood behind book-mans and Zia records, and downtown. The people over on Sabino Canyon, downtown, and foothills kinda came across as stuck up, dumb and judgemental. Be prepared to be judged based off what you look like and what you have. I say hi to people as i leave my apartment most won't even say hello back and just look at you. It's a very awkward interaction when you say hi and they don't say hi back. Granted this wasn't everyone but majority seemed like this. If you weren't stuck up i noticed a lot of people into drugs and alcohol. This is not EVERYONE again though. Anyone else that isn't those two types only comes across as a person you'd be friendly with in high school but wouldn't hang out with if you had spare time. So after years and years of making attempts to socialize i keep to myself now for the most part. This brings me to another point I've never been in so many fights until i came to Tucson. What's up with random people being mean in public. I've never had so many negative interactions with random people in public or at private parties. I didn't know who these people were but they ran their mouth anyways. This isn't everyone but the ratio is high where it's noticeable. Locals blame people that come here from California for ruining Tucson.. people from California blame the locals for ruining Tucson. Well it's both. People that move to Tucson from California are the rejects that can't make it in California or elsewhere so they come to Tucson cause it's cheaper. They then jack up the prices of the houses for everyone else. I don't really see a problem with the peoples attitudes from California though seems people who were born and raised out of state that move here to Tucson seem to have way better attitudes then the locals that are born and raised in Tucson. The city itself isn't that great. It's the worst things of a city and the worst things of a town combined making it a very bland mix. I can describe Tucson in few words. Strip malls and restaurants. No tall buildings you'd expect in a real city besides a few downtown. People don't mind their business either which is very small town like. Public transportation is a joke. No trains, subways or anything like that. They have a tramcar downtown that only goes to a very limited parts of downtown Tucson and not all around. So if you don't have a car you're basically screwed here. There's a bus too but that doesn't run all night so you gotta leave early if you take that. I'm currently living downtown cause it's the only part of Tucson that feels like a real city. Prices for rent are going up a lot. I witnessed the gentrification of downtown Tucson over the years. Downtown is slowly becoming a haven for rich old people trying to be trendy and collage kids only. It it's own little world. Weather is okay. Summer you're gonna hibernate. Winter feels like a east coast Springtime. There's outdoor stuff to do on the outskirts of the city if you're into that. Like hiking and camping. I enjoy that. People make a point there are good restaurants here. Yes there are but what city doesn't have good restaurants and more restaurants compared to the surrounding areas. I mean Tucson does have better restaurants then surrounding areas of baron desert..... compared to a real city though Tucson is slacking. Diversity between races.. its dominantly white and Mexican with other race groups sprinkled about. Tucson is more diverse then Vail or other areas in the middle of the desert with barely anyone living there but compared to a actual city city no. Diversity between people styles like punk, hippy, grunge, metal, etc etc... aren't that great. It's mostly people who think they're a dollar store version of Eminem. So if you're not into the ghetto trash life style you'll won't be disappointed here. Or happen to live in the rich areas you're with a bunch of stuck up people. There's no happy middle. There's a museum downtown and another out in the desert. I don't think they're selling points to moving out here. They're nice to visit once. I don't know how many times you'd wanna do that. Most good cities have this stuff and do it better though. There's tons of cheap drugs here. I started a habit of drinking almost everyday for years cause there's nothing else to do. Thankfully I've over come that and I'm doing better. Tucson will destroy your soul if you're not careful. Arizona is 50 out of 50 for education. And It shows how people act out here. All the good concerts go to Phoenix and rarely come to Tucson. There's a couple good acts but that's nothing to all the good bands that play in Phoenix. I do have to admit i did enjoy going to the Railto theater in Tucson. It's a small venue so you're more up close with the artists then far away at a stadium concert but barely any decent acts. Roads suck. They're always doing construction and take a super long time doing so. I can't find my happy medium here. I've given Tucson so many chances over the years and it's failed. I've moved a couple times thinking maybe it's just this particular area in Tucson that's bad. Nope! If you're considering living here I suggest visit for a couple months before deciding.

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Unsafe high crime area - 11/11/2021

This is a sanctuary city. Quality of life has gone down substantially. This is due to open borders with high crime and gangs.

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A Decent Mid-Sized City with Plenty of Sunshine - 11/9/2021

I have lived in Tucson for 15 years, and my parents have lived here since 1985, so I've seen Tucson double in size over that 35-year period. I think many of the reviews I have read on this site are exaggerations that contain some truth but are too extreme. The growth has had positive and negative effects. Tucson is a decent mid-sized city with a large public research university, a very affordable and extensive community college, several large hospitals, an Air Force base, and a very large military contractor. After that, you have many small businesses, retail centers, and warehouses. Tucson is considered an inland port city. If you are in health care or work in a field that caters to wealthy senior citizens, there are many jobs here. Tucson is a college town, a military town, and a retirement community. It's a place full of contradictions. It has a thriving multi-cultural scene (Western America, Native America, and Mexican) of writers, visual artists, and musicians. We have wonderful resorts, a lot of public tennis courts and both public and private golf courses, and many hiking trails through the beautiful Sonoran Desert. If you love horses, you will be among many like-minded people. If you like guns, you will be among a lot of like-minded people. The downtown has many restaurants and bars, along with a decent convention center, several hotels, several theaters, live music venues, a few museums, and a music hall that features a world-class symphony. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Tucson has active drug-related gang violence on the city's southeast quadrant, and crime is a growing concern here throughout the metro area. Tucson sits at about 2,300 feet above sea level, but you can drive to Summerhaven in the Catalina Mountains in about 30 minutes (from the base of the mountains) and you'll be above 8,000 feet and temperatures will be 25 to 30 degrees cooler. If you go, don't forget your sunglasses, a hat, plenty of water, and sunscreen. The sun is very intense here, especially at that elevation. The mountains and the desert are very beautiful and colorful here. An abundance of wildlife and a great variety of plants thrive in this desert. The summers are terribly hot; we experience 100-degree-plus days from May through September. Autumn and Spring seem to last about two weeks each, and the Winters are usually pleasant during the days (highs around 65-70) and quite cool at night, sometimes going below freezing. The sun shines 360 days here. We go weeks here without seeing a cloud at times. Sunsets are breathtaking. Half our rain usually falls during the annual monsoon, which is basically July and August. June is the hottest and probably the dryest month (think single-digit relative humidity). Those summer storms can be dramatic and intense, with hundreds of lightning strikes, heavy winds, and downpours that can cause the many washes (usually dry river or creek beds) to overflow, and flooding is common in lower-lying neighborhoods. In summary, this is a beautiful place to live, but if you are accustomed to forests and grass, you will need to adjust to the surroundings. Unless you are a professor, a research scientist, an educational administrator, or a physician, you will probably have a difficult time finding a job that pays more than $15 to $20 an hour, and many people work in retail, restaurants, bars, nursing homes, a large Amazon warehouse, and at numerous large call centers for less. I work as an adjunct faculty member for the community college, and my wife is a teacher at a local elementary school. We do OK here, but housing, groceries, and health care are getting more expensive. Like many places in America, the growing disparity between the wealthy and the working poor is depressing and worsening year after year. Tucson is a wonderful place to visit, probably a great place to retire if you can handle the heat, and a pretty average place to find work or have a career. Coming here from working in Washington, D.C., was an eye-opener. But I was tired of the big city that was growing even bigger. We don't have natural disasters for the most part, although the threat of wildfires is real, and anyone who plans to live here for the next few decades will need to be concerned about water. Water is expensive here, and the Colorado River is drying up. Running your air conditioning nearly continuously from May through September gets expensive too unless you have a small house. You must have an automobile here unless you live in the city center where sideways, bike lanes and buses are available. It's not horrible here for most people, but it's not paradise either. It's a decent mid-sized city with abundant cultural opportunities, limited career options, excellent restaurants, lots of live music, and a car-dependent transportation situation.

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High crime, dangerous - 8/11/2021

Very high crime, and American citizens are second class now.

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Retirement dream - 8/1/2021

I've lived here for over 30 years. If you're near retirement age or retiring this is the place for you. Beautifully 55 + communities with fantastic curb appeal and landscape. Pensions, SSI aren't taxed for the most part. Cheap places for downsizing. Great place to bring grandkids to see cactus and javalinas. Never gets very cold and it's a dry heat. Another nice thing is that there's no natural disasters you have to worry about. No tornadoes, no fires or floods, no hurricanes. If your pool is heated you could swim 8 months out of the year. 6-8 hours from Vegas. 45 minutes from Mexico. Lots of trails. Very bike friendly but a couple die every year from being hit by drivers. College basketball and football games at the U of A. Tour de Tucson. If you're anyone else then you're treated like garbage second class citizens. Lots of poverty. There's a new homeless person at the street corner every day. Most of the city lives in poverty. K-12 Schools are terrible. They can't find enough teachers and some teachers don't even have a background in education. Most of the jobs are deadend call center or retail jobs. Think of Tucson as domestic offshoring. Everyone who works is worn down and under paid. The population is getting alot older. The recent board of education over the colleges reports negative growth for K-12. Housing like the rest of the country is poor. It's worse here because new home buyers are competing against elderly looking to downsize with cash offers. New houses and houses built within the last 10-15 years are built extremely poorly. 6 months out of the year it is over 100. The sun is really hard on everything. Kids toys break down from the sun. Most plants die from the harsh sun. If you don't have a pool it's unbearable during the summer. Think of the sun like -20 degrees below. Landscaping consists of rock pebbles that's it. No one goes out during the summer. Traffic is poor because too many grandpa's on the road. And no, we don't have a real street car. The street car goes probably half a mile. The public transportation is not reliable or an option for 99% of us. It's really hard to find specialty doctors. Most of the doctors are near retirement age. One of the pluses is the community college is dirt cheap even including books. Everyone is friendly. Big city small town feel. Unless you're retiring I wouldn't move here.

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Tucson is under rated but it is a beauty : - 5/19/2021

I have been living in Arizona almost half my life, with 13 years in the Phoenix Area, and 10 years in the Tucson area. Tucson has been under rated for too long. I didn't gave it a 5stars because, I strongly think, there is no 5 stars rated big city in this world. Everywhere has its Pros and cons. So is Tucson. The Pros : 1. Naturally beautiful Desert, Savanah and Forest Metro (A) The high desert at elevation 2,100 feet to 2,500 feet. ( B) The Savanah at 2,600 feet to 5,000 feet elevation ( C) Pine Forest above 5,000 feet. 2. A flourishing Performing Art Industry 3. A leader in Scientific research 4. Less expensive to Live in many areas. 5. More friendly inhabitants 6. A growing Engineering Industry 7. Gastronomy Capital of UNESCO 8. A Big city with a small town feel 9. A college Town 10. A Vibrant Aerospace Industry 11. Down Town Night life especially in the Central district, and the south. (A) Casinos, Clubs, Sports bars etc. 12. The Gem Show 13. PGA Tour, Ice Hockey, Tour De Tucson Bicycle competition, Festivals of Books, Beer, Jazz etc. 14. Beautiful suburbs of Oro Valley, Casa Adobe, Catalina Foothills, Rita Ranch, Saddle Brooke, Oracle, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Vail, Cortaro, Marana, and more.

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Love living in NW Tucson - 4/28/2021

NW Tucson is amazing. Great views.. great people.. lots to do and just 4.5 hours from sitting on the beach in Mexico. Housing prices are a huge plus compared to the rest of the country and the opportunities for small businesses are everywhere.

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A City in Desperate Need of Quality Leadership - 3/8/2021

In 2003 my wife and I bought a house, that we intended to be our retirement home, in Tucson in the extreme northeast part of the town. (Actually it is in the county of Pima about 16 miles east of downtown). We were attracted to this part of the area because we believed it is the most beautiful part of the Tucson area. Although we did not retire until January 2018, we visited our Tucson area home many, many times through the years and, in fact, often stayed weeks at a time during all times of the year. So, I can confidently state that in the past 18 years we've come to know Tucson extremely well. With that background, I turn my attention to my review to assist those persons considering a move to Tucson. First, let us consider the weather. It is a desert so expect it to be hot, very hot from about mid-May to mid-October. If you enjoy warm to hot weather, the first two weeks of May and October are bearable. But boy, June, July, August and September are doozies. Before buying our Tucson area house I did online research about the area's weather and it stated that the average highs in June, July, August and September were 99, 98, 97 and 97 respectively. I remember telling my wife, "Hey, we like hot weather we can live with those highs." I have no idea where those numbers come from because normal highs throughout summer are consistently in the 105-108 range, and often hotter. So know that unless you are coming from places like Phoenix, Las Vegas or Palm Springs you will consider the long, long Tucson summer to pretty much be unbearable. Consider that because Arizona has no time change, that in summer first light appears at about 4:45 a.m. In order to survive summer you had better be a morning person who can get up at 5 and goes to sleep early. Before I turn my attention to other aspects about what it's like to live in Tucson, it is surprisingly a foodie town. The restaurant scene is quite robust (at least before the virus hit, hopefully that will return) and impressive. Also, if you enjoy hiking, as I do, during 8 months out of the year you'll have spectacular places in which to hike. The other 4 months you have to start your hike no later than 6 a.m. and be done by absolutely no later than 10 a.m. when it usually hits 95 to 100. Although I live 16 miles outside of central Tucson, I have always been a downtown type person because the most interesting parts of a town are often there. While the downtown area leaves much to be desired for a city of over 500,000, it nonetheless has its interesting aspects, such as historic commercial building and residences, and some terrific restaurants and bars. Near central Tucson is the separate city of South Tucson (it's only about 4 square miles) where lie the best Mexican restaurants in the area. Also close to central Tucson is 4th Avenue which is an interesting throw back to the hippie 60s. I've always managed to have a good time going there and hanging out. One of my favorite things to do is go into its thrift stores to buy beautiful high quality used Hawaiian shirts for 10 to 12 bucks, then walk across the street to have a fabulous Italian meal at one of Tucson's best old time restaurants, Caruso's. With all that fun one can have in Tucson then why the one star rating? Well, it's because Tucson is a backwards town. There is a reason that each year the U of A may mint another 5,000 plus degreed persons, but most have to leave town to get more than a minimum wage job. The folks who have been running the area for decades (think the mayor, city counsel and county board of supervisors) seem to be obsessed with keeping it "The Old Pueblo". I cringe every time I either see or hear those words. That attitude has kept Tucson a low wage and under developed city. There seems to be no stomach for making changes to Tucson to advance and improve the lives of its citizens. The current mayor, Regina Romero, seems to be a perfect fit for what Tucson is and wants to remain. While I am a Latino and am proud to see the local population vote in the first Latina mayor, unfortunately Ms. Romero is not the person for the job. She seems to be more interested in being a political activist than in leading the charge for productive change, such as how to bring in companies that will keep U of A graduates in town, or even doing something as seemingly small as provide funding for bus pull outs so they don't tangle up traffic. Instead, during the pandemic she had a large banner that stated "Black Lives Matter" placed on the City Hall building and approved those same words to be written on a downtown street. Then when a citizen applied for, and was granted, a permit to paint a blue line in front of the central Tucson Police Department building to show support for the PD, Ms. Romero contacted the City Manager and had him deny the permit which had already been approved. It finally took the City Attorney to step in and inform EVERYONE that it was inappropriate to be painting ANY political messages on city streets. Boy, what a no brainer decision that was. My point being that Tucson leadership will continue to poorly serve the true needs of the area's residents. And finally, I turn my attention to the part of Tucson that I know will have me moving from it in the new couple of years, and that's its lack of a freeway/expressway system to facilitate the movement of vehicles in-and-around town. Tucson has housing and development that is about 20 miles by 40 miles, or in other words 800 square miles (yikes!). When I first arrived in 2018 Tucson to live full time, I naively purchased two annual passes for one of Tucson's wonders (and it is), the Desert Museum located west of Interstate 10. Well, it took me 75 minutes of hard core surface street driving, with innumerable signals that were not timed and drivers going 5 to 10 miles an hour under the speed limit to get there. When I arrived, I was exhausted. It was a rough and tough 75 minutes back home. Needless to say I didn't bother to renew the annual passes. Interestingly, I recently purchased a book from one of Tucson's true treasures, Bookman's, which is in the same strip mall as the magnificent Beyond Bread and across the street from the best margaritas in town, Casa Molina--see I can say nice things about Tucson-- titled "Tucson, The Life and Times of an American City". The book was written by C.L. Sonnichsen, and dated 1981, 40 years ago. Please bear with me as I quote certain passages from the book's chapter entitled, "The Price of Progress: Tucson as Metropolis": As World War II faded into history, Tucson entered a new era--a new world. It began changing from a small city to a metropolis, and its problems and its advantages changed as a result. And the growth did take place, increasing steadily as the century progressed and the Tucson city limits moved toward the horizon: 32,506 in 1930; 36,818 in 1940; 45,454 in 1950; 212,892 in 1960; 262,933 in 1970; 331,506 in 1980. It was astonishing; it was incredible. Tucson, was always of two minds about progress and expansion. Not even planners and city officials could foresee that Tucson would boom as it did, and consequently held back when they should have gone all out to restrain somersaulting subdivisions, lay out adequate highways and arterial streets, and protect the desert environment. THEIR LACK OF LONG-RANGE VISION, EXCUSABLE AND NATURAL AS IT WAS, LAID A HEAVY BURDEN ON THE CITY, ITS OFFICIALS, AND ITS CITIZENS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE CENTURY. (emphasis provided) Ever-increasing expansion went on, restrained but never controlled by the planners. One result of the exploding population bomb was the impossible traffic situation. The "Comprehensive Regional Plan" of 1959-60 was supplemented by a transportation study a first stage of which was com- pleted in 1965. It proposed to upgrade the main arteries and build enough freeways to take care of the problem up to 1980. This was the time for decisive action. Settlement was sparse, and land acquisition along the routes was easy, but the officials did not strike while the iron was hot, and they lost their chance. Citizen participation in the planning process actually hindered positive action. Nobody wanted a freeway to go past his place. Nobody wanted a bantam interchange on his corner. The ideal seemed to be a country road winding past a house on the foothills. Without realizing it, perhaps these people were agreeing with Frank Lloyd Wright that "to look at a cross section of any plan of a big city is to look at something like a fibrous tumor." They did not choose to look. The foregoing was written 40 years ago, I mean 40 years ago. It would seem that some of the area's leader would have awakened to the traffic and planning issues raised by Mr. Sonnichsen in his 1981 book, but their was no awakening. In those 40 years, little to nothing was done to improve the traffic situation for the area's 800 square miles of development. Sadly, I've spoken to many, many Tucsonans who are quite happy with the current state of affairs. They seem to be plenty happy with just staying in their little place where they live and aren't interested in getting involved in anything to improve the town. I haven't even touched on Tucson's high crime rates and extremely poor school districts. To sum up, if you are wondering if you are the Tucson type, ask yourself if you want to part of the C- crowd, and if that doesn't bother you, then come on down to Tucson. I for one have made up my mind that I have had my fill with mediocrity.

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Crime on the rise everywhere - 1/2/2021

I was stationed at DMAFB in Tucson, AZ in 1992. I lived in Tucson for almost 14 years... it was a wonderful city to live, but very hot for my taste. The crime in 1992 was not that bad, however, it increasingly got worse and worse. After serving in the military for 22 years and living in several different cities, I can say crime has steadily increased in every U.S. city equally. Judges and laws have got to get tougher on criminals. Im talking China tough on criminals. Life in prison for any violent crime.

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Once tolerable but not so much now - 10/9/2020

I've resided in Tucson for about a dozen years and have watched a city whose economy that much to be desired to begin with deteriorate that much more. This in the face of sharply escalating apartment rents and housing prices thanks overwhelmingly to the never ending onslaught of Californians relocating here on a daily basis. The cost of living here is sharply increasing for many goods and services as well. Pay here even for many white collar jobs is abysmal, consider this..the average income in Tucson hovers around $32-36K per year depending on if you work in the city or somewhere else in Pima county. The University of Arizona, Tucson's largest employer averages only slightly over $36K a year, or put another way..25% less than Phoenix and $17K below the national average. Add to that high property crime and vandalism, and throw in quite a bit of violent crime also. Don't stop there, Tucson now has its fair share of traffic congestion, not like LA or Houston granted but since there is no main highway or major road that traverses the city you're left with backed up city streets. Let's not forgot the people. Tucson used to be a town filled with mostly low key easy going friendly people, those days are long gone. Increasingly you will find rude self absorbed people that will walk all over you and take advantage of you in an instant. Lastly Tucson is warming virtually every year, 12 of last 14 have been the warmest on record. Don't believe me, ask the researchers in the U of A Dept of Atmospheric Science. Tucson even a decade ago was tolerable but that ship has sailed. Basically Tucson is turning into another Phoenix while Phoenix is turning into another LA. As for me I'm looking to relocate to...of all places West Texas, not a great area but arguably better than watching Tucson quality of life go down hill that much more every month. Do yourself a favor bypass Tucson, there are so many other habitable places to reside.

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Tucson really is Toosad - 9/6/2020

Just a short warning about this place. This is coming from a multiple degreed straight man who lived in Toosad for several years. Some of this has probably changed I have not been there in several years, but I can only imagine it's gotten worse because the population here is just not very good. If you just want a place with hot, sunny weather and little or no winter and have an independent income AND have a partner, it offers good weather (if you like hot and dry) and relatively inexpensive living costs. But that's all you'll get. Tucson, also known by locals as Toosad is infested with snakes, not the slithering kind but the two legged kind. Has one of the highest social deviance scores based on suicide, alcoholism, divorce and crime of any city in the Nation. Very high AS*ho*le quotient, just a lot of bad people who will F*ck u over in an instant. No moral compass to speak of. A corrupt city government who just want to be left alone to exercise their incompetency. Corrupt lawyers who violate client confidentiality. A police state with a lot of bad cops on the take from mafia type businesses such as strip clubs, slumlords, etc. Several of them have been charged in past year for serious crimes. Lots of drug activity and crime, but mostly confined to certain areas, but spreading all over the city. Lots of shootings. Schools suck, AZ has a rep for having the some of the worst schools in the Country. Toosad is a lot like Mexico in many respects. Dirty, run down, corrupt and low standards. Lots of slumlords that the City refuses to do anything about their taking advantage of tenants. Be careful who you rent from. Be prepared for them to try to rip you off in one way or another. Taxi companies with no regulation-you're on your own here, the local morons in gov. will do nothing for you. Formerly home to mafia don Bonano and it shows. University that really sucks unless you are in one of the few majors for which there is a research interest. Emphasis is on their stupid athletic teams,and research for profit, not on education. Discriminatory against older students, it's like a movie version of what a university should be-a place to party for young people, nothing for anyone that does not fit into the mold they want. Teaching sucks. Campus cops routinely violate civil rights of non students on campus. The lawyers in this town are scumbag liars with no ethics. There are some good ones but not many. Hard to find a good doctor or hospital here. Lots of incompetence and non-professional behavior across all professions in Toosad. Veterinarians with no ethical standards-they care about money, not about your pets, with some noteable exceptions. On the plus side. Lots of supermarkets to keep the prices reasonable. Lots of health clubs-try finding one that is well managed and clean. Not far from the mountains or from Mexican border (if you don't care much about your safety). Very spread out with not much of a highway system. Traffic bad and rapidly getting wors as is the air pollution. Don't come here to raise kids if u value your children. Employers treat you like you're an illegal immigrant mostly. Unless you have special skills that are in demand. Wages are low. You will feel like a minority here if you're white and not Hispanic. In sum, it's a crap City for anyone who has any values.

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Do not move here - 7/29/2020

I’ve lived in Tucson off and on for 17 years and this place is a living nightmare. Poverty stricken, hot, and dirty. People who are native seem to have the motto of why do today what you can put off to tomorrow. Education here is a nightmare, the streets are terrible, and the people are two faced. After just having a baby me and my family are now relocating to New England so our daughter doesn’t grow up in this meth ridden **** hole. Oh and be careful where you park your car, you have a good chance of it ending up in Mexico.

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One of the worst if not the worst place in the US - 7/2/2020

This whole city is a total slum from one end to the other. Extremely boring too. And way too hot. Only places that compete with being as bad and as boring as Tucson is Carson City Nevada and Lake Tahoe.

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Tucson is a Nice Friendly Place - 6/9/2020

I live in a retirement community east of Tucson , The People in Tucson are Much Nicer than people in Phoenix ...Drivers in Tucson are more easy going and not do up tight compared to Phoenix . Construction Manpower in Tucson is very similar to Phoenix in Regards to Job Skills ...Roads , Tucson is working on .

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A much nicer city than I remembered - 4/4/2020

I just moved back to Tucson after 15 years, and it's surprisingly nice. The roads are a disaster, let's get that out of the way. More like wagon wheel ruts. But the people have been, for the most part, friendly and on the ball except for some East Coast jerks that are rude, loud, uncultured and all about themselves. Not people from NY city, I'm talking about the NY state people. My old memories of Tucson were that it was a good city to do business in, and that's still true. Coming from New Mexico, where things were so messed up on every level, it's refreshing to finally find a city that is "normal". Yes, there's crime in bad areas, but it's nothing compared to New Orleans or Albuquerque. The food is still really good, and there's lots of variety. Drivers are bad, but again, they were worse in NM. Right now the weather is gorgeous, and should stay that way until Sept or June, when the town becomes an oven. Well, it's the desert. Surprise! I am always amazed at people who write on here about how hot it is in the summer. These are the same people who move to Florida and complain about the humidity. Yes, the desert is hot in the summer, and the deep South is buggy and humid. Who knew? The houses are neat here. In many neighborhoods, no two are alike. Lots of big, big back yards, and the cost of housing and the cost of living is dirt cheap, especially considering what you get. Spend some time getting to know the areas though, because the bad ones are ghetto for sure, and you can be going on Broadway and things are all yuppie and clean, then around Swan it tanks and there's bands of riff raff, mostly at bus stops, who are truly sketchy. So knowing where things drop off will save you a lot of trouble later on. Even having lived here before it's taken me a month to get a feel for things because of the way the city sprawls. I don't much care for downtown or the cookie cutter area out on Oracle, and the city bus terminal downtown is more like a refuge camp, but 4th Ave is still neat. The low cost of living means there are still "characters" here, the type of folks like musicians, artists, etc that were priced out of places like San Francisco eons ago. I like it here. It's liberal (for Az), and you get all the good NM stuff like beautiful sunsets and mountain views w/o being overwhelmed by drugs, criminals and trigger happy cops.

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Tucson a place to be happy and well! - 1/30/2020

Tucson is friendly and beautiful! You can see mountains anywhere in the city. It is surrounded by 4 mountain ranges. The restaurants are fantastic; above the norm because Tucson is a tourist city. Sunshine for 360 days.

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