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Seeking advice from year round Tucson residents

Seeking advice from year round Tucson residents

Old Apr 17th, 2014, 03:20 PM
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Seeking advice from year round Tucson residents

We have visited Tucson briefly for the past two winters and have arranged a month next winter.we have been taken by surprise in terms of our affection for Tucson. Ideally we would like to snowbird there but realistically cannot probably afford to do so, so to our surprise we are considering moving there eventually from our current home on New England.

Concerns: summer heat
Politics( we like the progressive bent of Ma)
We are two women who are married but our marriage is not recognized in AZ

If you live in Tucson year round or have spent lots of time there I am interested in your thoughts about the above concerns.

I know about CityData; I would love to hear from Fodorites also.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 03:47 PM
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What, specifically, is the nature of your concern about the heat beyond the fact that, yes, it's hot?

Politically, Arizona is a patchwork of leanings. Tucson is more liberal than Phoenix, in general, as is Flagstaff. I lived southeast of Tucson for 25 years, until recently, in an artists' community which, as you might imagine, was left-leaning. But, of course, conservatives live there too. So, again, what exactly is the question?
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 04:16 PM
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The nature of my concern is whether folks who come from cooler climes find that they indeed adjuster not.
And how people cope.
Do you just stay inside in the summer?


I know that Tucson is more left leaning than much of AZ. I am wondering, again, what the experience might be like for someone from the norteast. Is it hard to find like minded people?
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 04:37 PM
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In the hottest months, May & June before the monsoon begins in July and it cools a bit, like in other hot places, people tend to go from one air conditioned place to another. But other people thrive in the heat. I'm not sure it matters where one is from, some love the heat and some don't. You need to try it and decide for yourself.

Tucson is, I'm sure you know, a university town, and benefits from it regarding attracting a large variety of people. There's a thriving artists' community, lots of environmentalists, a very outdoors-oriented place. I think it matters more what your interests are than where you're from. Arizona is full of people from the east, you know "some of my best friends there were Easterners". But I'm still at a bit of a loss to point out more than the obvious.

Again, I suggest you give it a try, and give yourself an out after a period of time. If you've been there and liked it, are considering living there, then you must have a sense of the place and figure it might be worth a try. Tucson is a very nice town but it's always difficult to say what elements would make up sufficient appeal for an individual (or 2).
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 05:07 PM
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I lived in Tucson for sixteen years but it's been almost that long since I moved away. I do go back frequently to visit. Just came back a couple weeks ago.

It is hot during the summer and summer lasts a long time. It gets to 100 or plus degrees about 100 days each year. The good news is that there are places within driving distance to escape the heat. Mt. Lemmon would be the closest place and it's about 8,000 or so feet high so it's lovely during the summer.

I thought Arizona was way too conservative when I lived there although, as mentioned above, Tucson is much more liberal than most of the state. The joke used to be that Tucson should secede and form Baja Arizona. The state has gotten much more conservative since then. I don't miss that part either.

However, it's a nice area with lots of beautiful places to visit, lots of great restaurants, and people are, by and large, laid back.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 06:18 PM
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I don't live in Tucson but I'll tell you what finally allowed me to adjust to the brutally hot and humid southern summers after moving here from the northeast: reverse your thinking about seasons. If you can tell yourself that you'll be spending a lot of time inside during the summer and doing most of your outdoor activities during the other seasons, you'll be fine. You survive the cold NE winters, right? It's easier to deal with the heat because there isn't shoveling, ice, burst pipes, etc.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 07:26 PM
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You should arrange to spend time there in the summer. A couple of weeks. It really is the best way to see.
Before I moved to NM; I spent time here in summer and winter to see first hand what it's like.

We are in a severe drought here in the SW. I haven't seen monsoon rains in many year. I would venture that Tucson isn't in any better shape and truly, I think it is hot there for more than May and June. We were there for 5 days in July a few years back and it was HOT. We did our outside stuff (walk, hike etc) so that we were done by 7 am and it was already hot.

Everyone reacts differently to sustained high temps. And yes, it is a dry heat, but so is a blast furnace.
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Old Apr 17th, 2014, 07:33 PM
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Of course it's hot more than just May and June.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 07:01 AM
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My friend Mac started 2 weeks ago as a Lookout on Mt. Lemmon.
It is much cooler at higher elevation than down in Tucson.
In the past 2 weeks it has been above 95* several afternoons with humidity in the single digits downtown.
I think the key to living in Tucson in the summer is to have a good air conditioned car and leave for a higher elevation in the morning when it is tolerable. Return after sunset.
Mac took some great pictures of the lunar eclipse from Lemmon Rock lookout.
Looking for a more liberal climate at the same latitude, would mean looking in New Mexico.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 08:52 AM
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thanks all. we certainly wouldn't move there without an extended summer visit.

Any idea of yearly AC costs?
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 09:57 AM
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"...yearly AC costs?"

If you manage your house temps well it need not cost an arm & a leg. Windows open to cool the house overnight, close them in the morning, AC for several hours in the late afternoon, open up again when it cools down outside. So the cost varies widely, depending on how attentive you are. My costs were modest, I'd rather spend my money on travel. If you like a refrigerated house 24 hours a day then it will cost a lot.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 10:04 AM
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Summers..we mostly leave,visit family and friends in northern states, and we also have an apt in NY where we spend a lot of the summer. However we now have a terrible time dealing with east coast humidity after spending most of our life there. Think of AZ summer as your MA winter. You will spend most of the time inside. That is when I do major projects,and read more than in the winter. However, you can walk into any restaurant and get a table, easily find parking spaces in comparison to winter high season. The worst month is June. The monsoons come in July through September, late day and evening thunderstorms that break the heat. The humidity rises up to 50%. Phoenix is as much as 10 degrees warmer as they have allowed artificial ponds and lakes, increasing humidity and therefore less cooling at night. We dislike Phoenix and avoid it except for the Mayo Clinic. Tucson has good medical facilities but it is wonderful to have Mayo so near for a consultation and it was a big consideration for us.
I would take a summer day in Tucson over one in Florida. Dry heat is so much more tolerable.
Early mornings and night time the temperatures in Tucson are much lower. You can eat outside after dark
even though it has been scorching hot during the day.
Politics. Yes,Tucson is much more progressive and Pima County too. Both have gone Democratic in the presidential elections since we've been here.The state government drives me crazy, an embarrassment. There has been a backlash in the state after the latest attempt to discriminate towards gays and lesbians. They are also defunding public education, both schools and universities. If reasonable people would vote in the primaries , the extremists would be driven out.
There are plenty of right wingers in the area but we have found a compatable group of friends, a mix of liberals and thoughtful conservatives. I was always considered a moderate where I've lived before;now I am called a liberal and more here. The concealed weapon carry law is one I don't like at all.
Every place I have lived has had it's pluses and minuses and you learn to look at the good things. Like our former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, native Tucsonan. The city came together after the shootings and showed a good and very strong side as the community dealt with the tragedy. One of the trauma surgeons who treated the victims is running for the state house of representatives. But be prepared every time the state legislature makes the national news to receive emails from well meaning friends telling you to move out of AZ.
If you align yourselves with programs at the university, take courses and attend cultural events there, you can have a good experience. There is a thriving theater and art scene downtown too. Good local chef owned restaurants. Strong Mexican culture.
Yes you can head up to Mt.Lemmon to cool off. Sadly, the picturesque town of Summerhaven at the top burned almost to the ground in a major fire in 2003. They have rebuilt homes and businesses but the landscape is still barren up there. The ski area was untouched. It's a very pretty and interesting ride up with major changes in vegetation as you climb.
Hope this is somewhat helpful. You can read the Tucson Daily Star online at www.azstarnet.com to keep you up to date.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 10:05 AM
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Our water bill is our highest price utility.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 10:26 AM
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Mme perdu, no we would not like a refrigerated home. Here though most folks we know use AC in summer months we do not except in my wife's studio, to keep humidity down.

Is anybody willing to say what their monthly electric bill is?

And water bill?
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 10:32 AM
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Happytravlr, thanks for concrete answers. We would not be able to spend the summer away, hence my concern. We could go away on vacation for a few weeks but we would be living one place. In many ways we would prefer that to be here in MA and a couple of months in Tucson . Not sure if that will work. my body felt so much better there and I could swim outside.

Friends think we are crazy to consider, mainly due to the fact that we would not be married, a big deal to us.

So we are considering.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 10:42 AM
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It's not that I'm not willing - it just wouldn't apply as I was higher, not as hot as Tucson. Also, about the water, it depends hugely on what sort of garden you have. Lawns within Tucson, I believe, are illegal, but there are still those who pour the water on what they do have, the only way to have a lush landscape, even with natives. I was in a rocky hillside so just had bright flowers in pots for interest so used relatively little water. And no more electricity for cooling than I did with the occasional electric heating in winter.

I don't believe you can go by the habits of others regarding water and electricity use. If you're a good manager, which I suspect you are, you'll likely spend less on cooling than most easterners do on winter heating.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 10:52 AM
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Right about the water, xeriscape to save on irrigation. Container gardening too. No lawns!!
Have to look at our electric bills but they are lower than heating costs in the north were.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 11:28 AM
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My DD went to the University of Arizona for four years and it did take a while to adjust to the hotter temps. It is very hot (over 100) from around May thru October. And summers of course are brutal IMHO. But, she adjusted after a short period of time to the heat and when she came home she found that the temps in our town (which are around the low 70's year round) were "freezing cold."

So you will adjust over time and it won't bother you as much. But the summer's are difficult and a lot of people from Arizona do "summer" in San Diego to get away from the heat.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 11:34 AM
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I expect they would be, especially this winter's !
Just trying to figure out costs.

I was very surprised to see how few residences had solar panels in Tucson. Many many more here in a way less sunny clime. Seems silly.
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Old Apr 18th, 2014, 11:36 AM
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Jubilada - wondering, why Tucson? There are other, more temperate places to live to avoid winter and no more or little more expensive.
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