Hey guys.
Me and my family has lived in a Commie state for a long time and I think we finally had enough. We keep thinking about moving to Arizona, since our last vacation there in August. We are thinking about Tucson area. I’m looking for recommendations. I’m interested in moving to a neighborhood with descent schools since my son is ten and been doing great in school and newish built houses. We are also open to buying some land and building there as long as it will not financially overload us. I know prices have gone crazy lately. Just looking for some input from those who know the area. Any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.
I think most of the forum members live up here in the Phoenix area.
Im not sure but I think buying land anywhere near Tucson is going to be pretty expensive. Rule of thumb in Az is land near the big cities or up in the forests is going to be pricey. Though there are some places up north and east of Payson where land is pretty affordable, but you arent near any big cities.
We’ve vacationed in Tucson twice in the past 3 years (June most recently) and during the weeks we were there we also thought about moving there. What hooked us was the people, the topography/scenery, the food, and new places to go within 3-5 hours by car or motorcycle. Good luck on your research, let us know how it goes.
Thank you guys for your responses. We are not yet set on any exact location at this time other than Tucson area. Also buying land is one of the options not a requirement. I’m just looking for areas with lower crime rate and hopefully better schools that are more dedicated to teaching students and less into indoctrination (if there’s even such a thing anymore). Just trying to get a general idea what is what around there. Thanks.
You think you can handle the heat? Because that alone would keep me out of Arizona. I’d move to Texas which doesn’t have it nearly as bad for the heat, but the high humidity sucks there.
Ill take 115 degrees with 15 percent humidity over 95 degrees with 80 percent humidity any day.
I know Tucson has some rough areas but I do believe they are in the lower income areas. Im assuming with land being an option, you arent looking at those spots.
I have a couple friends down there. Ill message them and ask them about the areas to look in.
Either way you’re trapped inside and can’t really do anything outside in the Summer. I’m picking the place where I won’t get 3rd degree burns on my hands from touching the door knobs from inside the house. 
And the Winters are usually nice in Texas anyways since humidity isn’t really noticeable when it’s 50/60 degrees outside.
Thank you for your replies guys. To answer some of your questions we are looking for some nicer areas. Heat will not bea problem as we spent 2 weeks there in a Summer with temperatures being 102 -104 and a couple of days 110 to 112 and being outside most of the time. Other than drinking an ungodly amounts of water we did not find it extremely uncomfortable. I just felt in love with Saguaro park area. Plus it looks like I can find a job doing the same thing I do now easier in Tucson then around anywhere else in AZ.
Wow, I got to experience a lot of hot days up here in Washington this year with a lot of them working outside in the high 90s, which made anything in the 80s seem (somehow) pleasant. But the one day that reached 111 degrees was completely unmanageable… I couldn’t even open my eyes all the way.
Some people are built different.
Housing sucks in Tucson right now based of off what I’ve heard my house hunting friends say. Just the nature of the overall housing market, coupled with Tucson’s expansion in the past decade or so. Lot of folks willing to pay cash over asking, it sounds like, based off of my friends’ experiences getting outbid.
Tucson is also a fairly left-leaning city. I am originally from Texas, and usually describe it as being the Austin of Arizona (left leaning, casts itself as being quirky). Phoenix would be like Dallas (big, no character, shit traffic).
I don’t know about schools since I don’t have kids, but there is expansion noticeable in the NW side, close to Marana, where a number of newly built/in development neighborhoods are springing up.
You don’t duck hunt do you? Personally I can tell a difference between winter in the Deep South and being cold some where that isn’t as humid. This humidity gets in your bones and makes everything feel wet. I really liked the northeastern region of Arizona. It was really pretty and had greenery.
Nope, I don’t hunt anything except for online sales on guns and ammo. I’m not against hunting, it’s just not my kind of hobby and I don’t do well with the sight of blood.
Here in Washington it’s usually pretty high humidity all Winter long (99% for a lot of it and the Spring too), but I never venture outside too much in the Winter here (way too cold for me). But when Spring rolls around and it’s in the 50s and 60s with 85% to 99% humidity I don’t really have issues with that and that’s basically what a Texas Winter is, like Spring in Washington.
I’d definitely need nice greenery though. Coming from Washington I need some forests around me and that’s another reason I’ve liked the looks of East Texas… Just not a fan of desert locations and scrub brush.
I’m not moving yet, but I like to think about it sometimes.
^^^Without question, you can have that hot, humid crap.
If I was moving to AZ, it would be in the north, something like between Flagstaff and Prescott.
This. Prescott is gorgeous but housing is high, of course everywhere from Arizona to the Canadian border is out west.
From my buddy:
Stay away from Tucson city limits. Corona de Tucosn, Sahuarita, Marana and Vail are all good areas. I live west of Tucson in the county.
You know like a third of Az is forests?
It’s not Washington type forests (my sister lives in Yelm) but it’s decibel not desert.
That is actually surprising to me… I had to go look at Google Earth to check it out and there is indeed a green strip forest-like terrain running East to West through the middle of the state. I always thought that Arizona was just a big & flat, sandy, dry desert with a big canyon running through it. It’s still too hot there, but it’s nice to know it has more inhabitable greener areas.
C-GRANT thank you for your suggestions. We will definitely check those places out. Nether me nor my wife have any inclination to live in a city. We are looking for more of a suburban feel where your property can be at least 100ft away from your closest neighbor. Also since we are still open to where we can move do you guys think that moving closer to Phoenix is a better idia? I just don’t want to end up in a same type of environment as we have here in Illinois. Thanks again.
Tucson has always seemed pretty liberal to me. If you are looking for land check out around Florence, we camp south of there and it’s pretty nice there in the winter. Anywhere in the low desert will get hot in the summer. I have a small house in Clifton Az. (SE AZ) that needs to be finished that I would sell (health issues wont let me finish it). It sit on the San Francisco River and looks out to nothing but mountains as far as you can see.