Occasionally we invite guest writers to share their experiences with our readers. Caleb Pape moved from Michigan two years ago. Here is his story. He has written an insightful ebook as a guide to others that might follow in his footsteps. As a newcomer to Tucson, I found it pretty much spot on, answering the most relevant questions prospective Tucsonans have about their new home. You can purchase it at the end of this short story.
My wife and I moved from Michigan to Tucson about 2 years ago. I talked to as many people as I could to prepare myself for the massive climate and cultural shift that I was about to experience. People told me about the heat, bugs, snakes, the heat, the UofA, cactus, dry rivers, where to live and the heat (again). Well they left out a lot of important information! Tucson ended up being a great move, and I absolutely love it here. However I don’t want anyone else to have to go in blind like I did. I wish someone had told me about…
1. How cold it can get! Plenty of people told me that Tucson was basically like living on the surface of the sun in the summer, no one told me about winter. It turns out that from about November to February it gets pretty cold when the sun goes down – we’re talking 30s and 40s! This consequentially shortens pool season, it’s not nearly as long as you would think.
2. How beautiful it is. I think people who have lived in the west for a long time forget how incredible it is to have a huge clear sky full of stars and sunsets and views of mountains 40+ miles away. I’ve been here for 2 years and it hasn’t gotten old yet!
3. Variety of terrain. Tucson is located in a valley which is what you would expect – pure Sonoran desert. There are lots of cacti, hard brown dirt, very little grass, coyotes, giant bugs and snakes. However an hour drive up Mount Lemmon is a whole other world – pine trees, mountain streams, bears, even a ski slope! An hour drive to the south is flat ranchland – acres and acres of long wavy grass on flat(ish) land with cattle grazing and the occasional vineyard.
4. The economy is not that great. Most people work for either the UofA, Raytheon, are in the military or a call center. Outside of healthcare there aren’t many firms in lucrative industries like finance, technology or energy. Most of the successful people I know built their businesses elsewhere and moved here for a pleasant place to live.
5. Getting around town takes a long time. There is only one highway – the i10 – that runs along the western edge of town, the rest of the city is laid out in a grid pattern. Navigating is quite easy, but we don’t have an adequate highway system. It takes an especially long time to get from the east side to the west as it is (often congested) surface streets all the way. Be very strategic about where you live and work as you could end up accidentally wasting a lot of your time in the car.
6. There are basically no natural disasters to worry about. We don’t have tornados, earthquakes, blizzards or hurricanes. The worst we get is flooding in low-lying areas after our summer thunderstorms (called “monsoons”).
7. The resorts. We have about 10 very high end resorts in and around Tucson. They attract a lot of tourism, especially wealthy people from California. What does this mean for the average guy like me? Amazing deals in the summer! Suites that go for $400-$500 a night in peak season can be had for $100-$200 in the off season. Call up the resorts in June-August and ask if they have any local specials.
8. Housing layouts. There are almost no basements in Tucson. They tell me this is because the soil is too hard to dig. I’m a big fan of basements so I found this annoying. The tradeoff is that homes usually have some kind of outdoor living space. A nice covered patio can add major livable square footage to your home. I am writing this on my laptop outside right now – it’s the end of January, 70 degrees and sunny. The view is tough to beat!
9. The weird neighborhood dynamic. People in Tucson are friendly – of all the places I’ve lived they are among the nicest, most helpful and generous. However there’s an attitude I’ve found around most neighborhoods that is unlike the Midwest, South or Northeast. Houses are built with cinder block fences and gates. People don’t tend to go out of their way to meet their neighbors. There are no block parties and kids don’t play out front very often. The exception is Halloween which is a great time. I didn’t mean for it to turn out this way – but all of my friends live elsewhere, I only know a few of my neighbors.
10. The food scene is awesome! There are so many independently-owned local restaurants here that are simply amazing. We have everything from fine dining down to incredible food trucks.
