does anyone live in or near tucson? apartment questions

long story short. my wife and i live in ohio. she has friends in tucson. we are thinking about moving.
they said we can shack with them for a bit till we get settled.

so first thing i do is look at the jobs out that way. it seems like there is no shortage of work in my field.
quality control/manufacturing/machining/metrology......

then i look at apartments and i am in total disbelief.
im looking on tucson craigslist and im seeing amazing looking apartments for 700 a month and under.

see we were going to move april first and for 650 in our area it is total junk # garbage compared to what i am seeing in the apartment pics from tucson.
700 a month and we are talking 14 foot vaulted ceilings. hardwood floors. pools. spa...gym...mountain views...

i dont get it.

what am i missing.

im ready to sell all my # and fly out there like right now....

is tucson ragged out? the apartments look amazing.....i cant believe it actually...

i dont understand how apartments so nice can be so cheap.

jobs seem to pay about what i make now. apartments are about the same prices but far nicer.
is gas like 10 bucks a gallon? food expensive?

im just not seeing the negative here.


thank you

see what im saying

tucson.craigslist.org...

tucson.craigslist.org...

wow! that can`t be right.
I`m going to keep an eye on this thread.

originally posted by: Tardacus
wow! that can`t be right.
I`m going to keep an eye on this thread.

i know right.

its not just those two either. pull up craigslist. theyre all amazing like that...

the jobs are paying too.

i have to be missing something

a reply to: TinySickTears

I have lived in Tucson since 2004. Been surfing ATS for while, it was this questions that made me join. LOL

Living in Tucson is interesting. The bulk of the jobs are with The University of Arizona, Raytheon and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

Housing is relatively cheap. The cost factors are mainly location. Usually, the lower the rent the area is not that great. Higher the price you are in the nicer parts of town OR near the University. (Slum lords taking advantage of the students)

Food is reasonably priced, fruits and veggies are not quite up to what I grew up with in California.

Gas is about $2.10 a gallon.

Car insurance rates are some of the lowest in the country.

The public school systems are not great... I think Arizona is as low as 49 of 50. However, you choose to live in the Vail school district, it is supposedly one of the greatest districts in the country.

The summers are HOT. Not quite as bad as Phoenix, but it is hot. Then you have the monsoon season, HOT and humid. This is between July and early September.

Tucson drivers SUCK!!! They are quite possibly the worst drivers I have ever encountered. During the winter, the snow birds(retirees who come for the winter weather then go back north for the summer) come to town. They drive 10 under the speed limit. This is probably my biggest gripe with Tucson.

Second gripe - Tucson does not have an infrastructure to make getting around town easy. To get from one side of town to another, it is stop and go because all we have are surface streets. A 5 mile trip can and will take 20- 30 minutes.

Third grip - The Tucson City Council is ran by a bunch of retards who cannot get the city up to par. Our roads are in disrepair, they want to raise taxes to fix the roads. They have done this in the past, and the roads are still bad. Not buying it this time.

That is a quick gut reaction to your question. Let me know if you have others.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yeah... You are missing something.... You're using Craigslist. Go by the local Tucson papers, apartment rental agencies and search out employment by calling around asking lots of questions about jobs.

Last I heard.... Overall it's expensive even for a halfway average apt. or home. Why don't one of you go visit a couple weeks and check it out in person.

Last I knew from a family member and his family living there.... lovely place.... but lower rents aren't in the best locations and can be a good distance from anything. Lots of jobs but a great % are temps or until contracts are completed.

TST? Why not check with Arizona unemployment office? And perhaps housing too? You can use your public library for searching. Good luck eh! And keep up with me, huh?

Best.... MS

a reply to: Beowulf110

can you look at those two links i put up and tell me if you recognize the area? they do not look slummy at all.

i appreciate your feedback...thank you

i will trade ragged out #. 6 months of terribly cold winter and no scenery to speak of for everything you just mentioned in an instant.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

just using craigslist cause i just started looking.

so things like the links i posted are not legit?

my wifes friend is going to call me tonight at 8 so we can chat it out and i can ask her some questions. depending on what she says i will start doing things like what you said.

we might do the quick trip too.

maybe have my mom watch our daughter one weekend and take a quick few day trip out there to scope it out

I don't like what I'm reading, looking around the net. Massive crime rate in Tucson.
Housing prices are stable at the recession price still.


I pulled a couple for you...

11/21/2016 Warning - Cowtown Camouflaged as Up and Coming Cit Tucson is still in the Great Recession / Depression that started in 2008. Home prices have gone nowhere for the most part and the city has fallen apart. It can't afford to even keep up its streets. Empty store fronts everywhere and major thoroughfares look terrible. Not ever a professional city and what was on its way up is still heading down, as other Sunbelt cities get their acts together. Tucson shouldn't even be there. There is no industry, no economy - just a university and an air force base. If you are thinking about moving here, you really should think twice. Most of us who are stuck here who can't sell our still underwater homes can't get out.

Tucson has had how many years to figure itself out and get itself on the right track or any sort of track? Something like 300 years, right? Tucson is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited cities in the country. This may be an old city but is also the most clueless and backwards place you'll ever live. It goes beyond ignorance. Tucson has fallen behind if not fallen out of the race completely because it hasn’t wanted to change and grow. For years, it has shun growth and now no one wants it. There are too many other cities who got their acts together. Yes, it’s that simple. Yet, Tucson remains arrogant in its ignorance. It just assumed growth would happen anyway, so it didn’t plan or prepare, it didn’t fill city hall with professionals who knew what they were doing, it didn’t feel there was any need to jump out in front and steer the ship… So, now it’s caught completely by surprise, like the emperor without his clothes, when the music stopped. And now Tucson finds that nobody wants it. Now, when Tucson most needs it, it can’t rally, change and grow. It is being taken for the joke that it is as it risks irrelevance in the 21st Century. I doubt Tucson will remain in the top 150 cities much longer. There in no economy here. Large companies have all gone elsewhere. Shame on Tucson. Shame on the citizenry of Tucson who have let this city become the mess that it is. This place is only good for those who isolate, for the dying and vultures who want views. Cheapest real estate in the Southwest now that it has fallen completely through the cracks and can't come back. In fact, almost the cheapest and worst kept housing stock in the country. The place is diseased.

Yikes

Haved lived in Tucson on and off for 50 years. The place is still the same do-nothing, going-nowhere cowtown that it always was. Am always thrilled when my job allows me to move somewhere that has some life and energy to it. The next move will be outta here for good. Nice people but but the town is in a permanent rut, lots of poverty, horrible neighborhoods with jumbled up infill housing, and a lot of junk homes. The city does nothing. It's either corrupt or permanently incompetent. The city council does nothing. The place is rotting and nature allowed to run its course. Not a place for anyone who wants a social life or culture. Best thing about Tucson is that Phoenix is 100 miles north

That was just a quick search.

a reply to: Mandroid7

sounds crappy but good for those who want to isolate and for people who want views.

thats my wife and i.

a lot of my views and opinions have a lot to do with where i have been for the last 20 years.
i hate it here.

same deal. jobs are leaving. companies closing.
we used to have the steel mill and a couple ford plants. gone and gone.
there used to be several foundries around here. gone

crime....lots of it
roads....terrible

here there is no view of anything and the weather sucks.
even if i gain a view and good weather i feel like i will be ahead of where i am now

a reply to: TinySickTears

Hey TST? We've spoken before so you know what I'm sayin'.... I'd "Greyhound" it to there and and check it out first for sure...I know the whole place IS awesome!

a reply to: TinySickTears

I personally would not live down there. It would not fit for my family.

But that area is good. When you are that far south in Tucson you will want to stay west of the I-19. East of the I-19 is the old and rundown side of town. Now if you want to do some people watching for a little... Grant and Alvernon is a great intersection to hang out. You will see some interesting characters there.

When it comes to Cragslist, during my rental searches, the poster will post pictures showing a newer look. Not always the case, but I have experienced it.

I hear you. Sometimes you need a change. Don't bother bringing any winter gear. This year I hung Christmas lights in shorts.

a reply to: Mandroid7

I agree with most of what you posted above. However, I do not feel as passionately as stated in the articles.

For the most part, housing is bran new build or dilapidated from lack of care. However, there are some great nuggets out there. I was able to get a house pretty cheap with a little bit land. The house has great bones that will last forever so long as it is maintained. In fact, there has been a recent push of people buying houses cheap, fixing them up and flipping them. As this continues, it should help bring back the pride of the neighborhoods to keep their houses and yards nice.

Crime is prevalent. But it is usually gang related and tend to stay in their zones, if you will. Crimes like car break ins or house break ins can and will happen. Just arm up and get an alarm system. I have a SimpliSafe system and love it. I have been mugged twice walking around town at night in the 14 years I have been here. Now I am armed.

Phoenix is a quick two hour drive. Immediately, you will see what a city with proper planning and desire to grow looks like. It is almost traveling to another country.

Las Vegas is 6 hours away and Grand Canyon is about 4 hours away. There is plenty to do around Tucson. 4th Ave Street happens twice a year, The University has regular events, hiking in Sabino Canyon. Kitt Peak (Telescopes)

The articles you were able to pull up quickly paint a really bad picture. Tucson has its faults, but it is not as bad the articles state.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Check out this site to tell you "where" in Tucson you would want to locate:
www.neighborhoodscout.com...

To find apts. see: www.apartmentfinder.com...

a reply to: TinySickTears

You have good reasons for leaving, Ohio pretty much sucks from everything I've heard and been told.

Problem you may run into in AZ however is jobs..............don't think they make much of anything in AZ.

I dunno...........good luck. If jobs are your thing, might want to think of Texas.

a reply to: Beowulf110

I def didn't cherry-pick those articles, it was a trend.
Just putting it out there. As a investor myself, I have perused the Phoenix market quite a bit.

I have a thing about getting "trapped" in a city due to the local economy.
Everything I have read screams a red flag to me , for what it's worth.
There is no upward trend there.

The fact that you have been mugged twice and think it's normal, just buy a gun, pretty much confirms the internet reports about crime rates.You shouldn't need a handgun to travel.

neighborhood scout quotes...

With a crime rate of 74 per one thousand residents, Tucson has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. One's chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 13. Within Arizona, more than 97% of the communities have a lower crime rate than Tucson.

For Tucson, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Tucson is one in 152.

I love the isolation, hate the city, I am buying a house in the country with no neighbors. Difference is, it is outside of a thriving city, Tucson is not thriving, crime stats aside.

That is a pretty big risk to take your life or wife into imo.

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: TinySickTears

You have good reasons for leaving, Ohio pretty much sucks from everything I've heard and been told.

Problem you may run into in AZ however is jobs..............don't think they make much of anything in AZ.

I dunno...........good luck. If jobs are your thing, might want to think of Texas.

ohio does suck.

i looked on craigslist and indeed and from that quick search it looks like there are jobs there in my field.

ive always been confident i can get a job....ive picked up some pretty good skills over the years through the foundries.
i still have all my tools too. have not worked full time as a mechanic in a long time(only side work in the summer) but i kept my tools in case i ever had to go back to it.
if there is manufacturing i am good to go.

i cant stop thinking about it

a reply to: TinySickTears

You've been thinking about Tucson for awhile, TinySick... you've been hexed by one of our brujas, I'd think.

Well, it isn't as good as it seems... those apt's you listed are on the far South West side, near the AF base and thus you'll have jets over head all the time, and you're looking at a long drive into what passes for the city, but is really a huge strip mall... and the pics were snapped when it first opened, before the rabble came in and "methed" it up and I bet those apts are loud, crappy and we have cockroaches that one can saddle up and ride.. .they rival Florida's.

All the animals bite or sting, and so do all the plants. The dust carries Valley Fever... a fungal infection that can be fatal and it used to be talked about but I guess the chamber of commerce hushed it up, but it's a BIG FACTOR in the Southwest.

The economy is always iffy to poor, the roads stink, there's little culture, the summers are horridly hot and last half the year and people joke (mostly true) that the city is filled with marginal people who's cars broke down and they lack the resources to leave.

We have one of the highest rates of insanity, drug addiction and poverty in the U.S.. with the least resources to fix it.

We have the best schools and the worst schools... the class split is pretty obvious and the rich live in the hills overlooking the city, watching the plebeians choke on smog from above. I will say that having a posh house in the hills with a pool and gorgeous night views of city lights makes this town very nice, but if you aren't well off then it's cheap motels and alley stink.

I've been here for most of what passes for my life, though, and I'm not sure if its a broken spirit or love that keeps me here... or the mild winters, but there are many major drawbacks.

Also, this city-region is WEIRD ... hard to explain, but trust me... w e i r d... though being an ATSer, you're likely weird, yourself. It's also VERY laid back and casual... for the most part.

I'd strongly suggest spending a couple weeks here before moving.. .you'll get a more balanced view. And truly, the summers are miserable... ever sear your hand on a car door handle? 114 in the shade? The cooling bills are astronomical.

I will say that despite its drawbacks, it likely beats most rust belt towns, though, and if you manage to get out to the mountains around the city you will fall in love. .. and might get murdered by drug mules.

I wish we could nominate a "post of the day"!! Because Baddogma's would be nominated for sure!!

Any "extreme" environment has its good and bad points. I think BD nailed the description of Tucson as far as my bestie would say too. He's from there and I have heard all the stories. I lived in Phoenix for a year back in the day and know that everything BD has said is true.

I live in Alaska and yeah, spend time in a new place first before moving there. Only way to know for sure.

Good luck!!

My dad lives in Tucson, and I have visited him there. Compared to Seattle, EVERYTHING is DIRT CHEAP (at least that was my experience). It is a good experience to feel sunshine every day, even if it was hotter than Satan's BBQ, and to be able to see the Milky Way, meteor showers, and UFO's is worth the cost of AC. Dad moved to Tucson because Seattle was too cold for his new wife (from Malaysia), they like it (mostly), but the new wife apparently gets bothered because some locals think she's Latina instead of Asian. He sold his house here in Seattle and bought one 3 times the size for 1/4 the price.

Things I liked: cost of living 1/2 of Seattle, desert environment, close to Area 51, no traffic, mostly friendly people (not as snobbish as city-folk), lots of interesting stuff to do (caves, airplane graveyard, Nogales, Meteor Crater, cactus watching)

Things I didn't care for: Dust. Dust. Dust. Rock chips in windshield. If I lived in Tucson, I would definitely want to park in a garage, or at least have an inch thick reflective car-cover... I think there's a reason most of the vehicles are white... the unfiltered sun just wreaks havoc on paint-jobs.

If I could afford to move, I would. Tucson would be a good fit for me, but it probably wouldn't suit everyone. The heat didn't bother me like it did in California, and I never had a problem with biting flies (also California). Sure, there are scorpions and tarantulas, but that's what grasshopper mice are for! (one of my favorite rodents)