Q: I would like to move to Arizona and rent a house for a few years. I am trying to decide between Phoenix and Tucson, anyone want to give the pros and cons of each in regards to cost of living, crime, traffic, and social scene? I am in my twenties, and would prefer living out in the desert, but would like to be less than an hour from a city.
A: so you want to live in the desert? well the desert doesn't really have much to offer. Everyone pretty much refers to Tucson as the armpit of Arizona. There is not really much there. Its like a a small old ghetto version on phoenix. Personally i would say if you are going to move to arizona just move to a surrounding city of phoenix. if you really want to live in the desert you can get a great deal on a house or apartment living on any outskirt of our urban sprawl because of the housing market crashing right now. so many people would be happy to live w/ you if you want to live far out from the city. there are also plenty of job in the metro phoenix area. the economy it pretty good right now, and if your looking to buy a house you can get an amazing deal right now. As far as crime goes just done leave anything of value in your car(stereo) cause it will eventually get stolen. besides that crime is fine. social scene: downtown tempe and scottsdale are where its all. besides that there are pretty much a million bars and places to eat everywhere.