Anybody live/lived in Tucson, AZ?

TyphoonSe7en

TyphoonSe7en

100+ Posts
Thinking about grad school there, looking for info that I know Hornfans can provide
How is the town, living there, people, etc....
 
Awesome weather during the winter though. And the summer isn't that bad- yeah it's 110 but they don't have much humidity. I'd rather have 110 and 20% humidity than 100 and 80% humidity (which is what we get in Austin quite a bit).

Great place to do outdoorsy stuff. I like the desert though. And UofA has its share of hot chicks.

But with all that said, I think I might off myself if I had to live there more than a year. Every business is a chain, and the whole city looks like one gigantic Taco Cabana. And as said above, no green.

And beware of snowbirds. All kinds of people from the midwest have winter homes there. Almost as bad as Florida.
 
I spent my elementary school years there. Hated it. I'm going there this month for a business/golf retreat, and I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what it's like now but for the most part I'd prefer to go somewhere else. It does have some redeeming qualities, like the nearby mountains and the unique desert environment, so it has some things on my current home in West Texas, but I have my doubts as to whether I'd like to live there now. I'll report back after my trip at the end of the month.
 
I loved Tucson. Then again, I've lived a bunch of places and I loved Champaign, IL as well.
biggrin.gif


How old are you? Grad school there would likely be a lot of fun. They have a LOT of good looking women there, and assuming you're in normal grad-school ages, that might be a nice draw. If you're older, or married already, that may not be a big deal. Alright, my thoughts on some other things...

Weather - Yea, it's ******* hot. I prefer the summers there because of the lack of humidity though. Playing golf in Tucson in 110 temps is infinitely better than Austin at 95. The one thing I hated about summers there is that they last forevvvvvver. It'll be October and still hot, but in the spring/fall the nights cool off and it's quite enjoyable. The winters are great. Cool nights, warm sunny days, no rain...what else could you ask for? You'll even get the occasional storm that will dust the mountains with snow.

Edit: I forgot to mention MONSOON season. You won't believe there are MONSOONS until you're in one. Holy ****. These are in July/August.

Living Areas - Yeah, there are a couple areas around campus that are kind of seedy/shady, but there are also some nice areas as well. If you can afford it, the Sam Hughes area would be my first choice. It's right across Campbell Ave. from campus (on the basketball stadium side) and there are a lot of nice older homes. It's a great neighborhood. Some other areas around campus aren't as nice. One thing that makes all the areas look seedier is the lack of grass in the yards. People usually feel a bunch of unkempt yards = seedy. I do myself. You just have to get over that thinking there, as there's not much grass anywhere other than the golf courses.

You can also live in one of many apartment/condo projects around town. The traffic there can be heavy during rush hours, mostly because they have no highways, but it's nothing compared to Austin. If I were going back for grad school though I would find a house somewhat closer to campus.

Nightlife - It's not bad. There is University Ave., right off campus, that has a couple places. Gentle Bens is usually a younger crowd. My gf worked for 3 years at Frog & Firkin, which has a great patio, good food, and usually good looking staff.

There's also 4th Avenue, which is their version of 6th Street. There are a few decent places to go there. One of my favorite places to eat is on 4th - BisonWitches. Great sandwiches.

If you want an older crowd, you have to drive 10-15 minutes outside the city center to find the older bars. I didn't do that much. I'd rather look at the hot 18-22yo girls, sue me.
smokin.gif


There is also a downtown area with a few places to go, but I didn't really go down there too much.

Eating - Surprisingly, there are quite a few good restaurants there. If you want some recs, just let me know.

Recreation - There is more than they get credit for. The golf is fantastic, if you like that. There are a lot of hiking trails up in the mountains that people love to go to. It really depends on what you want to do.

There is spring training there, if you're into baseball. There is snow-skiing up on Mt. Lemmon, if you REALLY need a fix. Mt. Lemmon is also a great place to go in the summer. You drive up and the scenery changes from desert to tall pines pretty drastically. You'd never think you were in the desert when you're up there. The little town, Summerhaven, was pretty messed up by fires a few years ago but I think they are almost all rebuilt. There is a place up there with great pies.

The zoo there is pretty cool and it's in Randolph park, right off Broadway. That park has 2 golf courses, the spring training stadium, the zoo, and general park land. It's not bad, and the golf courses are usually in great shape. They used to play an LPGA event on the Randolph North course, up until a year or so ago. First time I played there I shot 67, my career low.

If you spend any time there you also have to go out to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. I like zoos and that kind of stuff, so I loved it. You'd never imagine the wildlife that lives both in the desert and up in the mountains.

Honestly, for grad school, it's a great place to go. Maybe you won't like it and won't ever want to return, but it's fun to live in a place that is so different from what you're used to. I don't have too many negative things to say about the place, but like I said I've liked everywhere I've lived.

If you go there expecting to be disappointed, you're probably going to be disappointed. If you go there and seek out some of the unique parts of Tucson and let yourself have a good time, you're going to have a good time.

Oh, one other note - It's pretty hard not to dislike the place as you drive in from the airport. What a MISERABLE route that is, so don't let that get you down.

I also forgot to mention that within a 20-30 minute drive of town there are a couple of casinos. Slots, poker, and blackjack. The Casino Del Sol is actually VERY nice and looks a lot like the Paris in Vegas on the inside.

And you have Phoenix and all it has to offer within a 90 minute drive.
 
I disagree. I can think of nothing that Phoenix has over Tucson. Phoenix is much hotter than Tucson. There is much more crime there as well. Arizona is a better school than Arizona State...
 
Tucson has always seemed like a decent place to attend school if you're into that whole desert thing.
On the other hand, my brother-in-law (San Francisco native) attended ASU for grad school and absolutely hated Tempe/Phoenix. He and my sis hauled *** to Dallas as fast as they could after graduation. Good luck on your decision.
 
Tempe/Phoenix sucks unless you just HAVE to have pro sports. It IS a lot hotter, there's no arguing that. And yes, there is a big difference between 105 and 115.

Phoenix is the Houston/Dallas of Arizona. Tucson would be the Austin. If you want big city and need big city amenities, go to ASU. If you want a smaller town with more outdoor stuff to do, go to UA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top