Tucson, Az

I lived in Tucson for five years when I was a kid in the early 70's. I would not want to raise a family there. If we had stayed, Lord only knows how we would have turned out. We were smoking cigarettes on the playground in elementary school, and my older brother and sister were introduced to sex and drugs (hard drugs) in junior high. There's no telling how it is now. But then, maybe it was like that in any fairly big city. Still, as a parent, I would never want to go back.

I was born in Tucson and have lived here for all 30 years of my life.....

I like it, personally..... the weather is beautiful (69 degrees was the high today) , however it can be brutal during the summer (110 degrees is normal)and all my family and friends are here, so perhaps I'm biased....

Yes, I suppose there's as much crime as there is any other fairly big town, but I personally have never been of a victim of crime (Thank God).

As far as education of children goes, well, Arizona cames in almost last in the nation (but there are charter schools and magnet schools and if you've got the money for it, private schools).

RN's generally make about $20 an hour (+ overtime, time'n'half,etc) from what I hear.... I'm only a first semester nursing student.

Hospitals...well, I prefer St. Mary's or St. Joseph's because they are more patient-focused, however University Medical Center brags a 1:4 ratio (because they won't admit anyone else and let patients spend a day or two in emergency).

I'm doing my clinicals at Northwest Hospital and while they've got the latest in technology, there's a "coldness" about it and while I know that healthcare is a business, they really seem to focus on the "bottom line". The other hospitals I don't know about.

Hope this has been helpful!

oops

Originally posted by peggysue

I lived in Tucson for five years when I was a kid in the early 70's. I would not want to raise a family there. If we had stayed, Lord only knows how we would have turned out. We were smoking cigarettes on the playground in elementary school, and my older brother and sister were introduced to sex and drugs (hard drugs) in junior high. There's no telling how it is now. But then, maybe it was like that in any fairly big city. Still, as a parent, I would never want to go back.

I'm with you. Wouldn't want to live there again. But I hear tell there have been some improvments, all be it lots of new buildings and cosmetics and such.

I haven't been there since the early 80's but I have some family members there now.

But good luck in your endeavors!

I was born and raised there. I'm in another state, now. I really miss Tucson, but then, it IS my home-town. It can be a bit rough around the edges. I left my high-school because of a bad gang problem there.

I worked nursing homes though agency in Tucson. I worked every one in town and never saw one w/ decent staffing, or a DON who was a decent person.

New grad starting pay is around 19 to 20 per hour without diff. I would say work at UMC since the ratio is 1:4 (and they stick to it

!!), also they are a magnet hospital and since they are also a research facility they are more high tech (computerized charting, which I think is very important). The Carondolet network has ratios around 1:6, 7, or 8 depending on which shift and how the day is going...and no computerized charting, they also do not have weekend diff as all employees are required to work a certain # of weekends a month. I think that a lot of the hospitals offer a seasonal program where you work for 9 months then have 3 off (I have heard that a lot of UMC nurses do this). I do not know anything about the schools though. Tucson is not my favorite place, as to whether or not it is a family place, I think so. I feel like there are a lot of families and older people and really no 20-30 single higher education crowd (IMHO). It seems like a lot of people I know who went to school here went to private school.

Tucson has great weather 9 months of the year. The other 3 are really hot, but you do get used to it after a while.

Salaries aren't that high, but the cost of living is reasonable compared to the East and West Coasts. My brother and sister-in-law bought a 2500 sq ft house with four bedrooms in a nice area for about $150,000.

Schools are very spotty. If you live in a nice area, such as the Foothills, they are fairly good. But if you live in a more middle class area, the schools are terrible.

I think University Medical Center is the best hospital in Tucson. What it's like working there I don't know, but my father had prostate surgery there and was very happy with the experience.

I think Phoenix is more family friendly than Tucson. The schools are better, less poverty and more families. Tucson is great if you are retired!

How would you compare FLagstaff (living, hospital, crime etc) with Tuscon?

We are considering a move to AZ- and both Tuscon and Flagstaff appeal to us, however we are not "big city" types so Flag is more appealing.......

Any input appreciated J.

Me and wife have been in Tucson now for five months. Initially we signed a 13 week contract at University Medical Center and extended the contract to six months since we didn't want to trudge through any ice and snow this winter. When we first arrived in town around the end of September the mercury was above 100 degrees. Now; however, daytime temps are 50s to 70s and at night it dips into the 30s. In a nutshell: beautiful. I can tell you that UMC is a magnet hospital with a 1:4 ratio. It's a teaching hospital and I've been treated well here and maybe we'll come back. Don't know anything about schools since I don't have kids. Lots of stuff to do here, but since the summers can be miserably hot we'll be looong gone.

How would you compare FLagstaff (living, hospital, crime etc) with Tuscon?

Flagstaff is very cold and it snows!!! It is a neat town to visit, but I wouldn't live there because of the weather. It has that small town feel, so you might like it, but if you are moving to AZ for the weather, go to Tucson instead.

What is the tax base in AZ like? I am used to being heavily taxed here in Canada. I am currently making 26 dollars an hour, but with all the deductions, my take home every two weeks is-----about 1200 dollars.

Thanks JMP