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I've lived here for about a season. Spring in Arizona isn't quite what it is in cool climates. It stops raining and the temps start get above 100F (38C) almost every day which can last into October. It was an unusually cool spring here, and the first temperature above 100F wasn't until after the 1st of June. Most days it's a little cooler here than it is in Phoenix, not much, but enough to be noticeable.
Moving from a bigger city to a smaller one takes some rethinking. In Phoenix there were four grocery stores within a mile and a half of my house that just served the neighboring two suburbs. Here there are about four the same distance away that serve a big chunk of the city. (For perspective there were no grocery stores within a mile and a half of the house when I was growing up in a St. Louis suburb.) In Phoenix, the idea of a trip downtown (as for jury duty) was daunting. I still think of it as daunting here, but the distance is a lot shorter. It used to be that Tucson didn't have many of the same chain restaurants that everyone else had, but that seems to have changed. I'd mention chain stores other than groceries, but thanks to women shopping on-line more and more those seem to be failing everywhere.
The area I lived in near Phoenix had its Mexican restaurants, of course. But in my particular area there were about twice as many Chinese-American/Thai-American places as Mexican. Here I'd say there are about three times as many Mexican restaurants as Asian. They vary in size from a food truck semi-permanently parked on a lot to your typical sit-down place, and they tend to be quite busy, the way some "American" restaurants like Mimi's Cafe and Cracker Barrel were in Phoenix. Come early or be prepared wait.
When my sister and her husband moved here many decades ago, they complained about having problems getting services, car repair, plumbing, electricians etc. The problem seems to have gone away, but you still don't have the choices for that kind of thing you do in a bigger city.
I spent a day up on Mt. Lemmon in the nearby National forest last week at a family gathering. In town, it happened to be the hottest day of the year till then. Up at the campsite, 6000 ft (about 1800 meters) above the city, it was extremely pleasant the whole day. As I've said before, the mountains here are prettier than those around Tucson, partly because they are much taller. The mountains really close to Phoenix, don't give any relief from the heat. People there talk about going to Flagstaff or Sedona, both hours away, to beat the heat.
Tucson is noticeably poorer than Phoenix. Some distressingly large areas, I knew from earlier trips are going down hill... Houses here are no cheaper than they are in Phoenix. So the job situation must almost always border on critical for the local economy. Phoenix has a little more wiggle room. Unlike the Phoenix area, the roads here are in pretty poor shape. There are no highways to get you across town faster... On the other hand, Tucson is hillier. That means it's not as practical to build everything so close together and hence Tucson has far more natural open space, giving better air quality along with nicer drives... Folks in Phoenix, the area being the home of Arizona State University, will say bad things about the University of Arizona in Tucson, but don't seem to have a lot of negative feelings toward Tucson itself. On the other hand folks in Tucson really despise Phoenix in general. Mention you are from Phoenix to a random person and you will hear a nasty word or two about the place. The two cities are different, but I like them both in their own ways.
I'm getting used to my smaller house. There is plenty of space in the rooms though I do miss having all the closet space I used to have.
Moving from a bigger city to a smaller one takes some rethinking. In Phoenix there were four grocery stores within a mile and a half of my house that just served the neighboring two suburbs. Here there are about four the same distance away that serve a big chunk of the city. (For perspective there were no grocery stores within a mile and a half of the house when I was growing up in a St. Louis suburb.) In Phoenix, the idea of a trip downtown (as for jury duty) was daunting. I still think of it as daunting here, but the distance is a lot shorter. It used to be that Tucson didn't have many of the same chain restaurants that everyone else had, but that seems to have changed. I'd mention chain stores other than groceries, but thanks to women shopping on-line more and more those seem to be failing everywhere.
The area I lived in near Phoenix had its Mexican restaurants, of course. But in my particular area there were about twice as many Chinese-American/Thai-American places as Mexican. Here I'd say there are about three times as many Mexican restaurants as Asian. They vary in size from a food truck semi-permanently parked on a lot to your typical sit-down place, and they tend to be quite busy, the way some "American" restaurants like Mimi's Cafe and Cracker Barrel were in Phoenix. Come early or be prepared wait.
When my sister and her husband moved here many decades ago, they complained about having problems getting services, car repair, plumbing, electricians etc. The problem seems to have gone away, but you still don't have the choices for that kind of thing you do in a bigger city.
I spent a day up on Mt. Lemmon in the nearby National forest last week at a family gathering. In town, it happened to be the hottest day of the year till then. Up at the campsite, 6000 ft (about 1800 meters) above the city, it was extremely pleasant the whole day. As I've said before, the mountains here are prettier than those around Tucson, partly because they are much taller. The mountains really close to Phoenix, don't give any relief from the heat. People there talk about going to Flagstaff or Sedona, both hours away, to beat the heat.
Tucson is noticeably poorer than Phoenix. Some distressingly large areas, I knew from earlier trips are going down hill... Houses here are no cheaper than they are in Phoenix. So the job situation must almost always border on critical for the local economy. Phoenix has a little more wiggle room. Unlike the Phoenix area, the roads here are in pretty poor shape. There are no highways to get you across town faster... On the other hand, Tucson is hillier. That means it's not as practical to build everything so close together and hence Tucson has far more natural open space, giving better air quality along with nicer drives... Folks in Phoenix, the area being the home of Arizona State University, will say bad things about the University of Arizona in Tucson, but don't seem to have a lot of negative feelings toward Tucson itself. On the other hand folks in Tucson really despise Phoenix in general. Mention you are from Phoenix to a random person and you will hear a nasty word or two about the place. The two cities are different, but I like them both in their own ways.
I'm getting used to my smaller house. There is plenty of space in the rooms though I do miss having all the closet space I used to have.