Hi all,

I will be traveling to Tuscon and Phoenix sometime in the next month for job interviews. Does anyone know a good, albiet cheap place to stay? Also, as I am thinking of relocating, does anyone have any suggestions as to which sights to see?
Thanks

Lived in Tucson for over a year and really liked it. if I had to decide between Phoenix and ucson, I would have to say Tucson.

It's a small town that is growing more an more every day. The people there are great. Traffics not too bad. The Best Mexican food in the States. And the mountains are beautiful.

I would take advantage of the scenery and go hiking in Sabino Canyon. I would tour the Desert Museum, and make sure you have dinner at Mi Ni Ditos (spelling is bad, sorry), just ask for the best mexican resteraunt in town. They have great margaritas.

I hope that helps. There is a lot to Tucson.

Jim McIntosh;Webmaster/HereHuGo.com
The Travel Search Engine
http://www.herehugo.com

Phoenix: Heard Museum; Wedding Cake House; Phoenix Art Museum (it has real art in it, goldangit); Phoenix Zoo; Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden; Old Town in Scottsdale. North of Phoenix: Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona. Take a jeep tour of the desert. Sit outside for dinner, or coffee, or a drink - when everyone else is scurrying indoors, we come outside. Have a drink at the Arizona Biltmore, outside. They also serve high tea.

If you have a choice choose Phoenix. It's a "real city" as opposed to Tucson which is nothing more than a small hick town with no plans for growth (despite the fact it is growing in all directions). The streets here are inadequate for the traffic (and if anyone says traffic is light they don't go out during rush hour, especially in the northwest side of town where stops at lights are routinely 3 and 4 turns of the light and getting on/off the freeway (I-10) can take 30 minutes because the railroad tracks, and the ever popular Union Pacific trains, run practically on the on and off ramps of the freeway (they delight in running trains through this city at the height of rush hr too). Tucson seems to be run by a bunch of "good ole boys" who want to make money off the developers but not enhance the road infrastructure, etc. It's a very backward city in that regard - it might be nice if you are retired here but it's not that great otherwise. The housing market in Tucson is such that you can buy a place for less than in other areas of the U.S. but in general salaries are much lower here than in other places, including Phoenix. Unless you are guaranteed a good salary don't even thing about moving here - most companies seem to think that $7 an hr. is a livable wage (and you cannot qualify to buy a home on that no matter how you budget). Everything - except housing - -costs as much (or more) than other places with car insurance being particularly high due to the high number of accidents on the road here! Fun place, huh? Seriously, the c.o.l. is not cheap at all and you cannot, despite what people will tell you, live on the views or the scenery. The weather is ungodly hot in the summer, with 105 and up temps. Despite it being a "dry heat" 105 or 108 can be very very hot. Air conditioning is an expensive luxury in the desert.

As for cheap places to stay, like every other place Tucson and Phoenix have their fair share of Econolodges, Super8's, Motel 6, etc. Just pick up an Auto Club book and take a look if you have access to one. Best Westerns are all over the place too, as well as all the other chains, i.e. Comfort Inn, Hampton Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, etc. etc.

There are plenty of sights to see - but if you are job interviewing don't get lost in the sightseeing phase of life. Take a good hard look at the surroundings, check out places you might want to live, find out about commute times, talk to local people. The sights will be there when you move (if you do), but you can make a terrible mistake if you don't check out the important things first.

Oh yes, for the time being we am stuck here but we are making plans to relocate in a year or two. if this sounds negative I am sorry, but if you are considering living here you need to know some facts and sometimes the brutal truth is negative!

Thank you for the replies. I am applying for medical residency programs and will actualy be interviewing in both cities. I am from LA- so the cost of living certainly is attractive. But, I must say, I enjoy the ammenities that LA has to offer. I will be sure to check out the ins and outs of both cities.
Thanks.

Alisa: I did my internship (int. medicine) in PHX before moving on to the Mayo Clinic in MN (now there's a contrast for you), and returned to PHX to practice. Ellie's comments are worth considering carefully. If you're not from the southwest, you may be attracted by PHX's weather...it is, for me, far and away PHX's greatest asset. Due to the weather, outdoor activities can be pursued most anytime (excepting summer mid-days). But...I don't think PHX has a whole lot else going for it considering it is now the 7th largest metro in the country. Restaurants are OK but not what they should be for a town this size. Cultural activities are limited, again IMO, for a town this size.
Last I read, for every 13 people who move to PHX, 10 leave within 3 years. Still, it is growing at an astonishing rate, and cost of living, pretty average 10 yrs ago, has really taken off.
It's not for everyone. Many come here seeking something that they evidently don't find. On the other hand, a residency allows one to test drive the town without a commitment.
Sorry to sound so cynical. I just see a lot of people looking for something in PHX that's not here.
LA is, of course, an entirely different ballgame. Best of luck.

Brad,

Thanks for the reply. My boyfriend and I are "couples matching" and he is going into IM.
Thanks for the reply. We do want to settle in the west somewhere (sounds very pioneer!). Thanks for the info.
Hmmm...mixed reviews on Arizona from this message board. I will have to check it out.

Alisa,
Me again -- I'm from "The Valley" myself which is probably why I found Tucson so frustrating - there is virtually no culture, museums, sporting events (unless you are a UofA Wildcat fan) or anything else for that matter!! Phoenix has much more going for it that way. If you are from LA you probably would be better off in Phoenix, it is more of a city. Since you are in the medical field I doubt if the terrible salaries paid to most folks in Tucson would be affecting you (lucky) and you probably will find apartments/houses cheaper here but car registrations, car insurance, house taxes, etc. are as high or higher than CA. Food prices are pretty standard all over the U.S. - one item may be higher, another lower, it averages out. Clothing is about the same and the same stores that are in CA are here with the same prices. Please don't get caught up in that "pioneer" feeling about AZ, it's not the west of old cowboy movies (well, maybe way back deep into the mountains). It's a state that is growing very rapidly (lots of telemarketing jobs and low paying service industry jobs) with a few decent ones scattered here and there. While I have a semi-decent job I feel for those in this city that have to work 2 $6/hr. jobs and still can't make ends meet. The education and poverty levels are not a pretty picture. I know I sound grim, but it's a fact of life here, there are many problems, most brought on by a lack of realizing that AZ is growing and needs to get into the 21st century - they are mired back in the 18th here most of the time.
I hope you make a wise choice on your move and wish you the best of luck.

hi alisa -

in tucson i think the best hotel for the $ is the courtyard by marriott, williams centre. you can usually get a rate around $50 a night and it is very well kept. they have a somewhat small but very nice outdoor (courtyard) pool area and a pretty decent fitness center. plus the staff is very friendly which gives it an even nicer atmosphere. the location is good if you need to be near central tucson (a short drive to u of arizona or downtown) but not so great if you need to be on the north side.

Compared to NYC or Boston or Chicago or San Francisco, Phoenix is low on the cultural scale. That will probably change in the future; for now we only have an opera company, a ballet company, a symphony orchestra, and several theatres; we only have had Phantom of the Opera, and Cats, and Rent, and Tapdogs; we get only second-rate performers like Bette Midler and Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones. In exchange for our mediocre culture, we get fantastic weather - something those other cities can't brag about, and never WILL be able to brag about (cultural performances can improve; weather zones won't). I ride my bicycle to work; my dinner guests for Thanksgiving can have cocktails by the pool after a swim; I can actually see the costumes worn by trick or treaters. And, last but not least, virtually nothing is cancelled due to rain!

Elvira: thought proud Phoenicians might respond to my somewhat gloomy comments. Having lived on the east coast and Chicago, I may well have a different set of expectations, from a cultural standpoint, than many who move to or grow up in AZ. I try to keep this in perspective, but am careful to point out that for a city this size PHX is not in the same league, culturally, as the US's largest cities: NY, Chic, LA, Phila, Seattle, SF, ATL, Boston, DC, etc. (Houston...hmmmm, maybe). As you point out, this may well change as $$ continue to stream into the Valley, and PHX is certainly the youngest of the large US cities. I'd wager it's gathered it's first 2 million residents faster than any city in world history.
But, you must admit, Elvira, there are many cities in the US which are quite a bit smaller than PHX which offer considerably more in the way of culture, restaurants, etc (e.g. MPLS, New Orleans, perhaps even Santa Fe). So far, the weather's the key draw. A valuable commodity to be sure. Can't buy great weather.
Alisa: what is it that you and your boyfriend consider important as you prepare your rank list? I can offer some advice about the quality of the training programs in PHX and Tucson (but not LA), depending on what you're hoping to do with your careers/specialize in(I presume not academics...PHX is the largest city in the US without a medical school, so no university hospitals). Hate to be stereotypical (believe it or not) but I think midwesterners are AZ's most satisfied immigrants. SoCal's acclimate well also, it seems.