Looking like Tucson this summer...some more questions (Glendale, Oro Valley: appliances, houses)
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I looked at river rd. on the map...it is pretty north of town...and I thought perhaps around the University would provide the most culture and fun things to do on my few nights off of work? Wouldn't living in river rd. be a pain to get to work everyday at the university medical center and going to the VA hospital??? I will be working a lot at the VA also...I will have rotations to fulfill there also. Wouldn't it be better to live between the two hospitals so I can get to work faster?
I think you'd be better off living somewhere in midtown for an easy commute. Sam Hughes or Blenman Elm neighborhoods are very nice if you can afford it.
Tucson is a great place to start your career - the cost of living is relatively low, the people are friendly and easy to meet, and yes, there is a bit of nightlife. Downtown is the place to go - it is staging a big comeback, especially with the younger crowd. (Rio Nuevo notwithstanding ).
Also, Mt. Lemmon is about a 45-minute drive from the base of the mountain and Lake Roosevelt is located in the Tonto National Forest. Google it and you'll find all the info you need. Good luck with your decision.
MDCB, I know what you are going through. Two years ago, our family moved from San Diego to Tucson after living in SD for almost 40 years. Acclimation to the climate happens sooner than you would think. Mt Lemmon is a godsend in the summer as it is often 30 degrees cooler up there and is an hour to an hour and a half away depending on where you live.
I would stay away from the central area of town which would be from Ft Lowell to Grant and Oracle to Park as that is where most of the crime is in my experience.
So many restaurants to choose from with great Sushi, Mexican and other Ethnic foods. Breakers water park is nearby and I have heard good things about tubing on Salt Lake.
Tucson is built for Air Conditioning so there are lots of places to go inside to escape the heat.
Hospitality is great hear. One of the first things I noticed is that people look you in the eye an smile here when you see them walking down the street or down the aisle at a grocery store. It really is a big town that acts like a small town.
My other options for moving include SF, Portland, or Tampa....any comments there would be appreciated also.
If you can handle the gray skies, check into Portland. It is a young city, OHSU has a great program, and there are water "sources" around (albeit cold ones). Hood River is 45min away (great kite boarding- some of the best in the world), coast is 1hr the oppisite direction (they wear wetsuits while surfing there). The summers are phenomenal- but if you are looking for a warmer climate- Tucson is the way to go.
MDCB, if you went to SF, would you get paid more? Personally, I dislike SF, the people aren't really friendly. Tucson is better than SF in this regard. I also don't like the weather in SF either(too foggy and the water is cold... doesn't feel like California). SD, I wouldn't even think twice about moving there.. it would be a done deal.
I wouldn't entertain Tampa, or anywhere in florida.. too beach oriented and not alot of diversity in terms of things to do.
Tucson is pretty nice (I am entertaining UA). I've been looking into it and Mt. Lemmon looks really cool (ski in the desert!!). Very outdoorsy and I've seen some nice places that could be rented that look like resorts. The COL is really low and you could live really nice on 48K. And being a single guy, I'm sure you would appreciate the females of southern Arizona. I saw plenty of great looking girls even in small towns like Bisbee.
Choose wisely, you will be spending your peak years in whichever place you do choose...
If you can handle the gray skies, check into Portland. It is a young city, OHSU has a great program, and there are water "sources" around (albeit cold ones). Hood River is 45min away (great kite boarding- some of the best in the world), coast is 1hr the oppisite direction (they wear wetsuits while surfing there). The summers are phenomenal- but if you are looking for a warmer climate- Tucson is the way to go.
Love the font on "phenomenal"!!
I do like Portland quite a bit...but yes, I am concerned about the weather. I was up there in December and yes it was rainy and cloudy most of the days. But a few days it was very sunny and I could see Mt. Hood from the top of one of the beautiful parks in town. The nature is such a trade off.
I feel as though the trade off is culture...lots in Portland (young crowd, good rock music, good microbreweries, powell books, etc.) but the weather is yucky as mentioned above.
Tucson has great weather, but the culture sector is lacking.
MDCB, if you went to SF, would you get paid more? Personally, I dislike SF, the people aren't really friendly. Tucson is better than SF in this regard. I also don't like the weather in SF either(too foggy and the water is cold... doesn't feel like California). SD, I wouldn't even think twice about moving there.. it would be a done deal.
I wouldn't entertain Tampa, or anywhere in florida.. too beach oriented and not alot of diversity in terms of things to do.
Tucson is pretty nice (I am entertaining UA). I've been looking into it and Mt. Lemmon looks really cool (ski in the desert!!). Very outdoorsy and I've seen some nice places that could be rented that look like resorts. The COL is really low and you could live really nice on 48K. And being a single guy, I'm sure you would appreciate the females of southern Arizona. I saw plenty of great looking girls even in small towns like Bisbee.
Choose wisely, you will be spending your peak years in whichever place you do choose...
Hey dude! When are you going to be moving to Tucson? If I get the job, I will probably move mid to late June.
Yes, I will be getting paid more in SF. About 10-11K more...but that may not be enough to offset housing cost differences!
You don't like SF? Whats not to like? Stunning scenery, moderate climate all the time, incredible architecture, incredible culture/food...just super expensive. Yes the water is cold...I don't think of SF as "warm California"...it is a big near world class city...most of them have moderate to cold weather (except places like Houston/Miami). But it is a cold that is moderate...classy sweater weather.
As far as "friendly people" I think that is CD forum's weakness....I think there are crappy/grumpy/spunky/good looking/intelligent people in most places...just have to be able to access/avoid them. I am sure there are a group of people you would like to hang out with in SF...probably just haven't met them yet.
But yes, there are extremes/stereotypes that are "true."
I fear that about Tampa also....I just think it is too much of a beach culture? The residency program was pretty good...the hospital sits on a beach/water. Beautiful views from the hospital...lol.
But again, we can complain that Tucson is too desert oriented and not much else going on.
As far as I understand, skiing on Mt. Lemmon is very rare..and even if there is, the runs are very short. Would you buy skiis/snowboard for a few days of skiing a year? Also, I think the resorts/places to stay burned down??? However I think some private property owners rent up there. I think the closest "green nature"/camping would be Tonto National Forest?
I did really enjoy my hike to seven falls though...was great!
Someone please correct me on those last few thoughts if they are not true.
Peak of my life? LOL...I am going to be an intern next year...my life and its peak are going to be over! lol
Thanks for the thoughts...it gives me new insights before I have to make up my mind.
Tell me more about the AZ girls...
Moderator cut: copyright violation
Only if these girls were physics majors....lol!!!
Last edited by Kimballette; 01-25-2011 at 07:28 PM..
Reason: copyright - please post original material only
Hey dude! When are you going to be moving to Tucson? If I get the job, I will probably move mid to late June.
Yes, I will be getting paid more in SF. About 10-11K more...but that may not be enough to offset housing cost differences!
You don't like SF? Whats not to like? Stunning scenery, moderate climate all the time, incredible architecture, incredible culture/food...just super expensive. Yes the water is cold...I don't think of SF as "warm California"...it is a big near world class city...most of them have moderate to cold weather (except places like Houston/Miami). But it is a cold that is moderate...classy sweater weather.
As far as "friendly people" I think that is CD forum's weakness....I think there are crappy/grumpy/spunky/good looking/intelligent people in most places...just have to be able to access/avoid them. I am sure there are a group of people you would like to hang out with in SF...probably just haven't met them yet.
But yes, there are extremes/stereotypes that are "true."
I fear that about Tampa also....I just think it is too much of a beach culture? The residency program was pretty good...the hospital sits on a beach/water. Beautiful views from the hospital...lol.
But again, we can complain that Tucson is too desert oriented and not much else going on.
As far as I understand, skiing on Mt. Lemmon is very rare..and even if there is, the runs are very short. Would you buy skiis/snowboard for a few days of skiing a year? Also, I think the resorts/places to stay burned down??? However I think some private property owners rent up there. I think the closest "green nature"/camping would be Tonto National Forest?
I did really enjoy my hike to seven falls though...was great!
Someone please correct me on those last few thoughts if they are not true.
Peak of my life? LOL...I am going to be an intern next year...my life and its peak are going to be over! lol
Thanks for the thoughts...it gives me new insights before I have to make up my mind.
Tell me more about the AZ girls...
Moderator cut: copyright violation
Only if these girls were physics majors....lol!!!
Yo! I actually just got an interview with UA for next week. We'll see how it goes. If I moved, it would be late july. SF is nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there (actually, I have a wedding to go to in SF this summer as well as family up there). Its too cold and foggy. I'm a little more into beach vibe (whether it be South Beach or Santa Monica) or the warm weather of the desert. SF is not worth the price of admission IMO (yea, 10K won't do you much in SF, rent will be about $1,500 for a dinky apartment in the city). I like teh Vibe of Arizona and So Cal.
As for AZ girls, Its nice that the state has a big mexican population, b/c those girls are awesome. But they have lots of cute caucasian girls too. It seemed, no matter what town I was in (Bisbee, Douglass, Sierra Vista, Tucson) there was always some sort of eye candy.
As for skiing, I already spent about 2K on ski equipment last year so I'm set. Mt. Lemmon is a stone's throw away from metro Tucson... go a few miles out of the northern part and you are in a whole new world. Its a pretty cool place.
I don't want to **** off people in this AZ forum by bringing up california all the time, but If I got into a school in SD, I would probably choose that over Tucson... But Tucson is nice as well. I personally loved driving in the rural desert roads and seeing old homes with old rusted pickup trucks... It looked like a slice of Americana, reminds of how great this country is.
I do like Portland quite a bit...but yes, I am concerned about the weather. I was up there in December and yes it was rainy and cloudy most of the days. But a few days it was very sunny and I could see Mt. Hood from the top of one of the beautiful parks in town. The nature is such a trade off.
I feel as though the trade off is culture...lots in Portland (young crowd, good rock music, good microbreweries, powell books, etc.) but the weather is yucky as mentioned above.
Tucson has great weather, but the culture sector is lacking.
I still dont understand how you've concluded that Tucson is lacking in culture. You obviously haven't spent a lot of time in ALL parts of Tucson, or places in Southern or Northern Arizona that's only a short driving distance. Portland may have a different kind of culture than we do, but we have so many transplants and people from other countries that flock here that there's no way that Portland beats out Tucson in culture. I just can't believe that considering so many different types of people choose Arizona to start over, retire, better their quality of life, etc. Portland can't compare to that. It''s a totally different animal.
The only way you could say Tucson is lacking in culture is if you spent your entire experience going from working at the hospital to just hanging out at the area around the University. THEN I could see you thinking Tucson is lacking in culture.
Where do you come up with this strange conclusion?
Having lived in both places- I could see how some would argue that Portland might be a better fit for a younger person. Personally- I would chose Tucson, but like most things- it is all a matter of PREFERNCE. Its like someone asking where should I live- well, what is important to you. One answer doesn't fit all...
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