TUCSON, ARIZONA - Page 4

triodegradable · November 2nd, 2012, 06:32 PM

Wow , Tucson looks really good ! I wish I can go one day ! Greetings from Argentina !

seabeeman · February 18th, 2013, 03:54 AM

Which is worth visiting? Phoenix or Tucson?

triodegradable · February 18th, 2013, 06:59 PM

yeah , i wanna know the same

Cal_Escapee · February 18th, 2013, 07:27 PM

They are quite different and you may or may not want to visit either depending on what you expect.

Phoenix is one of America's largest and fastest growing cities. Its model is Los Angeles but without the ocean or the film industry. In other words, it has a lots of sprawl and freeways and, until recently, not much of a downtown (that's changing some). But due to its size, it does have urban things like nightlife and some innovative dining and shopping and so on, especially in some wealthy satellite areas like Scottsdale.

Phoenix was settled by white Americans and the Mexican/Hispanic influence is still fairly muted (there's some there but it's not especially historic and it's not the dominant cultural theme).

Tucson is smaller and older (it was an indian settlement for hundreds of years, then a Spanish one) and more culturally Hispanic (being less than 100 miles from the border). The dominant industry here is the U. of Arizona (along with some aerospace--i.e. Raytheon Corp.--and the military at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base). It has a downtown but that downtown has been rather stagnant since the 1970s and it isn't notably walkable. The area near the University (4th Ave) is more walkable and has most of the nightlife oriented toward younger people. Tucson has less shopping, less of everything than Phoenix because it's just smaller--it's fundamentally a large sprawly college town with Mexico down the interstate.

Both cities have nearby mountains that offer some attractions (hiking, even skiing in some winters). Tucson is higher (2500 ft or so) and therefore slightly cooler, summer and winter. Because it is smaller, Tucson is more associated with its desert location--it is easy and fairly quick to get out into the desert and there are a number of desert attractions near town (Saguaro National Forest, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, some cave systems). There are also a number of high end desert resorts near both cities (e.g. Tucson's "Canyon Ranch") and plenty of golf near both.

Phoenix is the better base for visiting northern Arizona attractions like the Grand Canyon and Sedona, but Tucson has interesting nearby places like Tombstone (old west town--a little"Disneyfied") and Bisbee (sizable Victorian mining town with deep mines you can still tour.

***desertpunk*** · February 18th, 2013, 08:45 PM

Phoenix has better Jewish delis, Tucson has better Chimichangas.

triodegradable · February 19th, 2013, 02:34 AM

hahah gotcha !

November 2nd, 2012, 06:32 PM	#61
triodegradable Buenos Aires-Argentina Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Buenos Aires Posts: 2,754 Likes (Received): 158	Wow , Tucson looks really good ! I wish I can go one day ! Greetings from Argentina ! __________________ LESS IS MORE ... Mies Van Der Rohe

February 18th, 2013, 06:59 PM	#63
triodegradable Buenos Aires-Argentina Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Buenos Aires Posts: 2,754 Likes (Received): 158	yeah , i wanna know the same __________________ LESS IS MORE ... Mies Van Der Rohe

February 18th, 2013, 08:45 PM	#65
*desertpunk* Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: ELP ~ ABQ Posts: 29,633 Likes (Received): 1363	Phoenix has better Jewish delis, Tucson has better Chimichangas. __________________ We are floating in space...

February 19th, 2013, 02:34 AM	#66
triodegradable Buenos Aires-Argentina Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Buenos Aires Posts: 2,754 Likes (Received): 158	hahah gotcha ! __________________ LESS IS MORE ... Mies Van Der Rohe

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February 18th, 2013, 03:54 AM	#62
seabeeman Build & Fight Join Date: May 2012 Location: Malibu Posts: 581 Likes (Received): 92	Which is worth visiting? Phoenix or Tucson?

February 18th, 2013, 07:27 PM	#64
Cal_Escapee In Search of Sanity Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Francisco/Tucson Posts: 1,121 Likes (Received): 486	They are quite different and you may or may not want to visit either depending on what you expect. Phoenix is one of America's largest and fastest growing cities. Its model is Los Angeles but without the ocean or the film industry. In other words, it has a lots of sprawl and freeways and, until recently, not much of a downtown (that's changing some). But due to its size, it does have urban things like nightlife and some innovative dining and shopping and so on, especially in some wealthy satellite areas like Scottsdale. Phoenix was settled by white Americans and the Mexican/Hispanic influence is still fairly muted (there's some there but it's not especially historic and it's not the dominant cultural theme). Tucson is smaller and older (it was an indian settlement for hundreds of years, then a Spanish one) and more culturally Hispanic (being less than 100 miles from the border). The dominant industry here is the U. of Arizona (along with some aerospace--i.e. Raytheon Corp.--and the military at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base). It has a downtown but that downtown has been rather stagnant since the 1970s and it isn't notably walkable. The area near the University (4th Ave) is more walkable and has most of the nightlife oriented toward younger people. Tucson has less shopping, less of everything than Phoenix because it's just smaller--it's fundamentally a large sprawly college town with Mexico down the interstate. Both cities have nearby mountains that offer some attractions (hiking, even skiing in some winters). Tucson is higher (2500 ft or so) and therefore slightly cooler, summer and winter. Because it is smaller, Tucson is more associated with its desert location--it is easy and fairly quick to get out into the desert and there are a number of desert attractions near town (Saguaro National Forest, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, some cave systems). There are also a number of high end desert resorts near both cities (e.g. Tucson's "Canyon Ranch") and plenty of golf near both. Phoenix is the better base for visiting northern Arizona attractions like the Grand Canyon and Sedona, but Tucson has interesting nearby places like Tombstone (old west town--a little"Disneyfied") and Bisbee (sizable Victorian mining town with deep mines you can still tour.