Retiring to Tucson
 

I've vacationed in Tucson and am thinking about retiring there. I'd appreciate comments from residents and tourists about what you like or don't like.

Thanks.

Are you ready for 112F in mid July? I know.. It's a dry heat.
The Sunset Limited stops there 3 nights a week. You can be in Los Angeles the next morning.

My sister tried living there and didn't last a year.

Too hot in summer and too cold for her in winter.

Go here for better info:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/

My sister lives in Sun City Oro Valley and likes it a lot. Plenty of things to do and good mountain view. Close to shopping yet out of much of the hustle and bustle.

PRO: a university town so access to good sports, theater, dance, lectures, seminars on campus.
Good chef owned local dining scene.
Local Theatre, including ATC, , Opera, Symphony
Medical school equals a teaching hospital.
Mayo Clinic only a few hours away.
Dry heat, really. After living in humidity all my life, it is now very hard to deal with humidity when we go back east,or to Europe, Asia.
Small, easy to manage airport.
Drive to Mexico to the beach, 4 hours.
Drive to border, 1 hour.
Low taxes, state and property.
Mt. Lemmon so you can see snow and fall colors by driving up there.
Tucson and Pima County are a Blue Island in a very Red State.
Best thing- it's not Phoenix.
CON:
No waterfront
No real urban core, have to fly to SF or Chicago, NYC. Phoenix is sprawl.
These are hard for me to be away from....
Summer heat although everything has a/c. You get summer cabin fever. We usually leave for most of the summer.
There is a streetcar downtown, but otherwise, you are very car dependent to get around.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. HappyTrvlr, your impressions coincide with mine during my visits there.

I am single, no kids, so I can live anywhere I want, but this has been a much harder decision than I thought. I grew up in NC, and while most of my friends are there, I'm not sure I want to go back (traffic, crowding, humidity). I live in KS now, and it's an incredibly safe place, but the weather is hard (today it's 70, but last year this time we had snow; it can be 112 here in the summer with 70 percent humidity) and the economy is a wreck.

Because I'm single, I have one income and I don't have lots of money to spend on a house. Some of the places I'd like to live -- San Diego, Santa Fe -- are just way out of my price range, and prices in Tucson seem affordable. I'm also looking at a place where aging will be easier -- other retirees, good health care, one-story homes, airport, manageable traffic, cultural events that don't involve sports. And I would like to be within a few hours drive to the beach.

I am a "blue" person, and I realize I'd be living in a red state. One of my concerns is that I can find a place to fit in and a place where my gay brother will feel comfortable when he comes to visit. I have a friend who lives there, who assures me I won't feel out of place, but any feedback on that will be appreciated, too.

Thanks again, everyone.

The good thing is that Joe Arpaio is no longer Sheriff of Maricopa County.
If you are looking for fellow "blue" people look at the 8 counties of Oregon that went for Hillary.
Check the Oregon coast anywhere north of Newport.
Portland has great healthcare with a teaching hospital.
The TriMet system in the Portland area is good too.

Well, Tucson is a blue enclave in a red state, so you AND your gay brother will not feel at all out of place.

The comment about 112 in the middle of July is not really true. June is the hottest month, with temperatures "usually" around 100-105. It is fairly unusual for temperatures to get over 110, but it certainly does happen. But June is also usually dry, with humidity around 5%-10% during the day. July and August are usually cooler, with highs right around 100, but with higher humidity and monsoon storms. I have lived here for 50 years and I can tell you that, when I would visit my parents during the summer after they moved to North Carolina (New Bern),I was miserable with the humid heat and the bugs -- and it didn't cool down after dark like it does here.

Happytrvlr gave you a very good list of pros and cons. I will add, about Mt. Lemmon, it is about 30 degrees cooler than Tucson during the Summer, so great to drive up there for a day or to camp there over a weekend.

I agree with MikeP about the weather--he should know, and he does. It's not nearly as hot as Phoenix, and there are places you can go to escape the heat. We lived about an hour south of Tucson and as I recall you could drive straight to San Diego in about 12 hours (we never did, so my details might be off) and see the ocean. Mt Lemmon is grand.

We've lived in Kansas and a lot of other places, and loved southern Arizona weather the best.

As for the blue/red thing, I think that in pursuing your own particular interests, you will find yourself around like minds. For example, volunteering for the Nature Conservancy meant that we were around fellow liberals a lot. I, too, think your brother would feel completely comfortable in Tucson, which is pretty cosmopolitan.

San Diego is about a 7 hour drive from Tucson, so pretty easy to get there for a long weekend in the Summer. Or Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point) Mexico is about 4 hours, as HappyTrvlr mentioned.

Oh, and Winter here is a definite plus.

You WILL fit in. We attended a Blue Election Night Party( which became very blue.). There are at least two gay couples in my neighborhood who are totally accepted as they should be. I have several friends from NC as well. No worries,Babarn. Just don't decide to move to Phoenix, quite the opposite to Tucson.

MikPinTucson, thanks for writing. Btw, I used to live about 30 milieu from New Bern. Do not miss the humidity!

We retired to Tucson about 1999 or so but when the grandchildren started arriving we moved back to Colorado. We loved it and the heat really isn't that big of deal. It seldom got much over a 100 and if in the shade even temperatures in the low 100's are bearable.

We used to go to San Diego every Thanksgiving. It's easy drive and thinking it took less than 7 hours in fact I think it took us about 6 hours and we never go over speed limit.

We looked at Tucson real estate and I'd take a very hard look at the property tax rates. 1.027% of market value may not seem so cheap to some folks; sales tax is what, about 8% now?

We have found property taxes to be rather low Some neighbors complain about them but we pay a third of what we paid in Chicago.

My daughter went college in Tucson (go Wildcats). She grew up in San Diego, but loved Tucson including the weather Sept thru May.

Most people from AZ spent part of the summer here in SD or LA.

Since it seems you are somewhat independent why don't you try renting for a year?

It is a beautiful city with lots of charm and surprisingly lots of culture and stuff to do. Has a nice small town feel as well.

Nanabee We is right suggesting that you rent before buying. We did that for almost a year before buying.

Have you considered Albuquerque? Colder winter than Tucson but far less winter weather than Santa Fe which was on your list. Similar sized cities but Albuquerque has a good freeway network so easier to move about whereas in Tucson it's common to have 45 minute drives to cross town one end to the other.

I prefer Tucson, but if proximity to Santa Fe is a goal, Albuquerque makes a lot of sense.