This is the view from where I live in Oro Valley
They say you can’t go back…
So what am I doing here in the desert reliving my lost youth?
Good question.
We only go around once (theoretically) and while I’ve built more than my fair share of snowmen and snowballs over the years, a change of scenery just felt like a needed, good thing.
And you might be surprised how quick and easiy it is to put Bill Self and KU basketball in the rearview mirror with a simple zip code change.
The flip side of that being that tons of things have changed since I last lived in Tucson.
Oh I’ve been back with my kids and friends, but I’ve generally revisited places like the U of A, 4th Avenue, downtown, Hacienda Del Sol and the like.
Ah but now I’m living large in Oro Valley, a subburb the equivalent of say Leawood.
A place I NEVER knew existed when I was running around in school or visiting years later.
With one huge exception…
Oro Valley is actually beautiful, with close up views of the Catalina Mountains and more.
Visually speasking, nothing in KC comes close.
So yeah, while in some ways I sold out, I did it in style.
This is the resort they have me staying at in the wake of my garage fire
I’ve even tried to take the local daily, the Arizona Daily Star… in vain.
I ran into a middle age Hispanic dude the other day who told me it was a left wing rag and suggested if I wanted something antiquated like a daily newspaper I should get the one from Phoenix. the Arizona Republic.
Fat chance.
No way I’m gonna subscribe to a newspaper a couple hundred miles away in a sterile city like Phoenix with a population of nearly 5 million (as opposed to Tucson’s barely one.
That said, Tucson’s newspaper – for all its warts – is far better than KC’s.
It’s bigger, way more straight down the line newsy and less pushy opinionated. Plus, unlike KC’s Star it still has all of its news sections intact and advertisers. However, while I can buy the Star for just over 100 bucks a year, I can’t touch the Tucson paper for less than 30 bucks a week.
So even though my pal at Overhead Door thinks of Arizona’s Star as a far left rag, it reads like the Wall Street Journal compared to KC’s.
Just one problem…
The development where I live in- Oro Valley (catchy, huh?) – is so new hardly anybody can figure out where to0 deliver things to.
Seriously.
So while one day I may yet get it (unless the KC Star editorial; board migrates out here)….
But enuff about me…
Just trying to catch up a bit, while I do wait for my Covid hangover to go away and I get more fully back into the swing of things!
Know what though?
I never thought I’d stoop to this level, but the weather here so blows KC’s away…
(There, I said it)
Interesting views as I had a tenant who moved here from Tucson to be closer to his kids and grandkids. Long story short he hated it here. As having been in Tucson myself in the summer I was shocked that someone would like the heat. Last year alone was awful as a friend has told me. He is wintering in Taos right now. But the former tenant claims once you get use to it and adjust your lifestyle around it it’s great. My grandparents sold out in 58 and went to Phoenix and I only visited once in the summer and learned my lesson real quick even as a kid. Wonderful place to visit in January I found and that is what I/We did for the next 36 years in a row.
Different lifestyle out there for sure and great if you like looking at rocks all the time. Hope you like it, as moving to me is a fate along the lines of being mentally and physically tortured for days on end.
Hey Super Dave…
You’re right about a couple things.
In terms of weather, it’s pretty nice in then fall, winter and spring compared to the Cowtown. And it does get hot, 100 to 115 degrees in parts of the summer (but don’t forget, I generally visited in mid-late July in what’s called the “monsoon season” and some cooler temps are available.
Then again, KC can easily hit the high 90s, low 100s with ridiculously high humidity, whereas in TUCSON the super dry, low humidity makes it far more tolerable. So basically, I’m okay with the temp changes.
The area you really nailed though is moving is a bitch!
The packing, selling, planning is not exactly fun and the moving itself, apartment living, house shopping, buying furniture and moving and decorating can be a pain as well.
Ah, but once the job is done and you look around at the incredible beauty and sample the food and cultural differences, it’s more than worthwhile.
Having lived in Vegas I can confirm that the big difference in the weather it is much, much more mild in the southwest compared to KC..except for July and August which is oppressive most everywhere. I’ve lived in both KC and Oklahoma City and the Midwest weather is just too wild. I’m not complaining too much about snow and sleet but man I hated when it rained all day. That’s beyond annoying, just miserable. OKC had a lot of crazy windy days too. But hey, I’ve lived in Florida and Honolulu, the weather can be really bad in these places too. Honolulu can get really hot, humid and nasty in Aug/Sep/Oct until the trade winds finally start blowing in late Oct, then it’s great for about 7-8 months. So much rain and heat and humidity in Florida summer I even lost my car/motorcycle/condo in a hurricane south of Miami.
Hearne is correct, Tucson weather is very nice compared to KC. I will say when Tucson gets cold at night(low 40’s) it feels pretty chilly due to the low humidity..so 45 will feel like 35. Most of the winter days in Tucson are likely to be sunny and in the 60’s, not like the soul crushing 30’s/low 40’s in KC. I grew up in mid-west weather so I was used to it but man, there’s a whole new world out there. I even think the cold reputation of mid-west families is partly due to the weather. Go Chiefs 2021!
Interesting…
I know the humidity makes heat feel far worse but… I never thought about lack of humidity making temps seem / feel cooler?