Berna Oreshan
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1650 E River Rd Suite 202
Tucson AZ, 85718
Tucson Named Top City to Retire
by Money Magazine
The city of Tucson, AZ
Median home price: $156,000
Population: 541,811
Percent of people over age 50: 28%
State income tax: 4.54%*
Education: University of Arizona
You probably know that Tucson has 350 days of sunshine or at least have a pretty good idea of that. It has more than two dozen golf courses designed by the pro's like Tom Fazio and Jack Nicklaus. It even has some of the best southwest cuisine this side of the border. It may even be better than south of the border.
What you might not know is that Tucson is surrounded by four different mountain
ranges that are just beautiful. They catch the shadows and color in the late afternoon just before the sun sets. And there is even skiing at nearby Mount Lemmon just about a 1/2 hour away. The city has a wealth of historic places to explore, from the 19th century St. Augustine Cathedral to the old homes and store fronts in El Presidio. Just outside of Tucson, you can visit missions and archaeological sites, including the petroglyphs
at Signal Hill and the reconstructed dwelling as Dankworth Villagea d old mining towns like Tomestone and Bizbee are nearby.
There are over 150 hiking trails up in the Catalina Mountains. There are waterfalls and even a large, deep, cool pool to jump in after a nice 2 mile hike calles Romero Pools in Catalina State Park.One cool activity that you can do during the warm summer months is take a cool class at the University of Arizona. It is the first University in the State and it was granted to the CIty of Tucson so that the city would allow them to move the capital to Phoenix. A weather class would be a great thing to learn about. Better yet, maybe you can find a course on natural disasters as you won't see many of them in Tucson so you will have to educate yourself for what the rest of the Country goes through.
MSN Named Tucson the Fourth Most Livable Bargain Market to Purchase a Home in the Country.
Tucson, Ariz.
If you like the desert, yet you still want a little bit of the old west, very freindly people and a place that does cool down in the evening during the hot summer months, Tucson might be the place for you.
Although it's just an hour's drive from the Mexican border, its higher elevation makes for slightly cooler temperatures — only one month with an average temperature over 100 degrees — and much less air pollution than its big neighbors to the north. Phoenix never seems to cool down during the summer but let those monsoons winds come around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, drop lots of rain rather quickly but for a very short time and that makes for wonderful evenings in the 70's in Tucson. Tucson did total over one million people in 2008 but some how, it still has the feeling of a smaller, slower-paced town, locals say, and many of its residents walk or bike to work as there are lots of bike trails along major roadways and in the more rural areas. Alternative energy is one of the drivers of the expanding local economy; the city receives funding from the Energy Department to integrate more solar panels in its homes and businesses and when our Country has become too dependent and oil, especially from other nations, solar energy has become an up and coming project. Other major employers are in aerospace and defense, bioscience, logistics and, of course, the University of Arizona, which is based here. When the weekend rolls around, there are plenty of opportunities for recreation, with a large number of parks, cycling routes and golf courses around town. And in winter, there's always skiing at Mount Lemmon, a 9,000-foot peak just north of town. The town has several theater companies, an annual symphony season, lots of Farmer's Markets and a major folk festival in May.Add all of that to the numerous resorts that are here with lots of activities and nice restaurants, if yu get bored, you aren't being creative. If you can't figure out something to do that is fun, you can always go to The Breakers Water Park or drive to Phoenix for a day trip. Sports buffs might bemoan the dearth of professional sports teams in Tucson, but its University of Arizona Wildcats are perennial Pac 10 conference contenders in football, basketball and baseball. Oh, soccer has become quite a childhood sports here where Tucson hosts an annual Soccer tournement where all teams from around the country come to play. And many will appreciate its blend of cultures, with three out of 10 residents having Mexican ancestry. Of course its proximity to Mexico also has its downside, namely that a large share of its law enforcement's resources go to combat illegal immigration, rather than to deal with other types of crime. But mostly, the illegals pass right by Tucson and head toward Phoenix where there are more drop houses and a larger city to give them shelter from law enforcement.
Cons: Hot summers, higher property crime, smaller airport with fewer direct flights, less high-end shopping than in nearby Phoenix. Pros: Just about everything is air-coonditioned including your car so you reall don't feel the heat as much as you would think. The snow birds come starting November and don't leave until March or April and they really help support the businesses in Tucson. Population: over 1 million
And, Tucson sponsors the worlds largest gem show which really helps the economy. You can't find a hotel room anytime during February because the tradesmen have taken them all.
Affordability index: 3.71
Unemployment: 9%
Job growth: -2.1%
Median home price: $167,710
Home price appreciation: -9.1%
Cost-of-living index: 94.6
Average household income: $45,194
Average commute time: 26.3 minutes
Percent of commute times over an hour: 4.7%