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OK, Arizona folks

JCT

Member
Time to weigh in and tell me just how great it would be to live out there...

Husband and I are considering dual job offers at the U of A, jobs for 2 academics are as scarce as hen's teeth these days, so we are seriously considering the move from NYC to Tucson.

I'm from SoCal originally and we love vacationing in the Southwest, sure will be easier to visit the parks without the near cross-country drive...

Anyone else do something wild like this?

I'm still getting used to the idea.... :eek:
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
We bought our home in 2001 and moved here fulltime 2004. While we travel extensively we always come home to Tucson. We actually feel we're home once we spot the first saguaro.

The summers take a little getting used to however the area is a great place to live.

My suggestion is simple - go for it! :D

Don
 

Terry

New member
I lived in NYC for more than 20 years (in SF now) and through most of that time also had a home in Arizona. The lifestyle is quite nice in AZ. Not sure where you live in NYC but just being able to to come home from work sit outside, BBQ dinner, etc. is a very nice change of pace. Summers are hot but that is when you get away (not sure of teaching schedule).
 

jlm

Workshop Member
NYC can be intoxicating in a way that will make other smaller places seem a bit limiting. But that is intoxication, after all. Been here since '81, Oregon before that. Can't seem to escape.
Be prepared for a completely different political climate, and of course, you will probably start carrying.
Good luck
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I have been here 35 years and lets just say my wife and i would move to NYC in a NY minute. LOL

She was born here and i am a import from NJ. Don't get me wrong it is a wonderful exciting state with lots of amazing places to go and shoot actually with a very nice culture. Its the west and it is still pretty dang wild and as John said our politics are certainly different and IMHO not any better either. I'm a little sour on that note but hey we always had a very DIFFERENT governor than anyone else, so what else is new. Yes that was a snide remark. I'm very non political too if you can believe that after that remark. LOL

Welcome to the West and Tucson is actually a great place to hang out . I spent 8 years there and did enjoy the more laid back attitude. Its also visually more appealing than Phoenix via the desert.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Tucson and Phoenix are only 100 miles apart by distance yet further in many ways. Tucson just reached 1 million about a year ago while Phoenix did that years ago. The Phoenix area has always reminded me of Los Angeles which is not always a good thing either.


  • The Tucson area normally is 5 to 10 degrees cooler than the Phoenix area.
  • The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a 5 hr drive
  • Sedona is about 3 hrs
  • North Rim is about 7 hrs
  • Page AZ is less than 8 hrs where you'll find the Goose Neck, Slot Canyons and Lake Powell.
  • Going a slightly different direction and less than 7 hrs will get you Monument Valley and Valley of the Gods.
  • And Moab is about 9 hrs away.
Of course the more GetDpi folks that move to the Tucson/Phoenix area the better chances we can start get-togethers like Jack does in the Bay area.

Can't forget about the sunrises or sunsets here either.

All the about was offered from a landscape photographers view. Tucson is also rich in culture and the cost of living isn't all that bad either.

We did 14 very long years in Chicago before fleeing here and wish we had done it sooner.

Best of luck in your decision!


Don
 

jlm

Workshop Member
a large part of the attraction of the southwest is those long distances and vast panoramas linked only by a dirt road
 

jonoslack

Active member
Ben - In the west and southwestern US we tend to judge distance in time of travel versus the distance. Yeah, we're odd that way :rolleyes:
:ROTFL::ROTFL: Hi Don - I don't think he was concerned about the hours bit, but the just bit and the 9 bit!
Time is a sensible way to judge distance . . . . (at least I think so), but considering a 9 hour drive to be close is a bit of a strange concept!

all the best . . . the sun is shining here and it's about to be the weekend - hooray!
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Plus a few stops. When I was much younger 35 years ago when i drove out here from NJ it was a non stop drive. Two drivers of course but felt like a road race. Never drove back either and never will. LOL
 
R

richard.L

Guest
AZ is very different from NY/C.

if you are social, your association types will change. If your politics are conservative, then you will find more friends.. if not, there's always golf, or, landscape photography.

There is plenty of land, but no one walks. The car is essssssential !

I say this as a frequent visitor to AZ and a new resident of TX, which has even greater tendency to right turn only signs. Too bad I'm so used to driving on the left. :)

best of luck.
 

JCT

Member
I knew this was the right place to ask!

And I don't know, Guy -- I kind of suspected you might be a tri-state guy. There is no doubt that yanking me out of New York (we live in Lower Westchester, about 30 mins from Manhattan) after almost 30 years and my husband (50 years) is a tough part of the decision. We love NYC and go downtown often, but I remain a westerner at heart (my father grew up in Phoenix) and these types of job offers are so rare that we had to take them very seriously.

The "hours to destinations" is a key parameter -- we used to have more time in the summers to hitch up our trailer and drag the kids and the dogs out west for 3-4 weeks, but that has been harder of late. Probably the first tip-off to the fact that we may not be "regular" New York City types is that we actually own an RV and a diesel pickup truck.... :D The ability to take off on a 4-day weekend and pick some of our favorite destinations is pretty enticing as compared to having to build our entire summer around getting the time off.

It's funny but the photographic opportunities are definitely part of the allure -- I have vascular problems that preclude photography for most of the Winter and part of the Fall in the east and while I know I don't want to go out seriously in the summer, it feels like I might get more photography in out in AZ.

The faculty at the U of A is "known" for it's collegiality, since most folks are transplants and don't have much family around. I find that appealing as I have never been fully comfortable with the "feel" of our NY town -- filled with very wealthy bankers and attorneys, I think the laid-back feel of Tucson might be nice. And yes, the politics, well, it's not like NY can really brag about our last 2 govs and our legislature is quite nutty. Supposedly Tucson is the most "blue" area in the state -- not saying much, but adding a couple of NY blue types can't hurt. We would be worried about the schools, BUT, this move is timed around our youngest's departure for college -- what freedom to not have to pay attention to school district!

That's cool that you had a house in AZ, Terry -- the living outdoors lifestyle that you mention is a plus for me, and mentioned by my U of A colleagues all of the time. This was one of the hardest things for me in raising children in the East -- they are always inside, totally different for me in growing up in LA. And it took me years in NY to learn to wear socks ;). May have to unlearn that.

I was just looking back to when these negotiations started last summer - lots of emails with "no way I'm moving to Tucson from NY" -- the tide is slowly turning.

Feels like an adventure...

JT
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
I have been considering somewhere in the area but probably not in Phoenix.
Really I am thinking of something like a winter residence near Flagstaff or perhaps Billings, or maybe near the Flatirons.
I just can't make up my mind LOL
-bob
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
BTW the Uof A is a awesome school. Farthest drive time to there issube 40 minutes from the outskirts of the city. Obviously the foothills area is one of the high rent districts but Tucson has many types if neighborhoods or none at all that you may enjoy. Yes you need a car no question but it still is a city that is not overcrowded either.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
:ROTFL::ROTFL: Hi Don - I don't think he was concerned about the hours bit, but the just bit and the 9 bit!
Time is a sensible way to judge distance . . . . (at least I think so), but considering a 9 hour drive to be close is a bit of a strange concept!

all the best . . . the sun is shining here and it's about to be the weekend - hooray!
I figure it takes 9 hours to get to an airport, find parking and finally get through security so I'm ahead of the game by driving :ROTFL:
 
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