UofA/Tucson housing Forum

[sundevil77]

I'm headed down to Tucson to check out the housing situation tomorrow. I'm looking for info from either current U of A students or anybody that has lived in the Tucson area.

First, I'm definitely not interested in living in campus-run housing. I really want to avoid the "dumpy" parts of town and stick to areas that are safe, reputable, and have quality things to do nearby (shopping, movies, hiking, etc.). I commuted 25 min. every day to ASU so I don't mind a 15-20 min. drive, although I'm not opposed to living closer.

Any advice or insight is appreciated. I'll probably make a few trips down there so please keep the comments coming!

[Charles Barkley]

I'm interested in this as well.

[Ronaldo]

I did my undergrad in Tucson and lived there for about 7 years...

I lived 3 mins. from the university (I had a car), my parents purchased a small house sort of like a "loft" on 1st (Euclid) & Broadway more less. If you are willing to rent a unit there and willing to pay more for housing it is a great place to live, especially since it is so close to the law school. It is very quiet, probably all or most have families. My brother just graduated from the U of A Law School and lived there for all the three years.

Other housing option that I like, which is less expensive and pretty nice is called "Sam Hughes". They are close to the university and college bars/restaurants.

Another option is housing near "La Encantada Mall". It is around a 30 min drive from school but very very nice area. Probably the best area in Tucson. If you are willing to pay the price and willing to drive, it is worth it.

Let me know if you have any questions, regarding anything of Tucson.

[steven3579]

Finisterra has some really nice apartments on the speedway.

[ohnowtf]

First off, Tucson is spotty. There are nice neighborhoods dispersed throughout town, and you can quickly go from "nice" to "dumpy".

My recommendations:
Foothills area, which begins around River Road/Campbell. Go East on River from that intersection and you will find apartments... Some reasonably priced. Advantage is you are near shopping/groceires. 15-20 minute drive to campus, more or less, depending on traffic.

Another user mentioned La Encantada. There are not a lot of affordable places by the mall, but if you go west towards Oracle road, you will find more options. This is approaching "Oro Valley". You can get to campus fairly quickly from oracle/ina. Rush hour on Oracle can be a nightmare though, so be warned.

I personally love the far west side. There are more houses than apartments, however. Look at the greasewood/speedway area. Moreover, there are some nice condos near the J.W. Marriott that are occasionally rented out.

There are some options in 'central' tucson. Look at the Swan/Ft.Lowell area. There are some nice areas tucked away along Ft.Lowell between country club and swan...

[Ronaldo]

First off, Tucson is spotty. There are nice neighborhoods dispersed throughout town, and you can quickly go from "nice" to "dumpy".

My recommendations:
Foothills area, which begins around River Road/Campbell. Go East on River from that intersection and you will find apartments... Some reasonably priced. Advantage is you are near shopping/groceires. 15-20 minute drive to campus, more or less, depending on traffic.

Another user mentioned La Encantada. There are not a lot of affordable places by the mall, but if you go west towards Oracle road, you will find more options. This is approaching "Oro Valley". You can get to campus fairly quickly from oracle/ina. Rush hour on Oracle can be a nightmare though, so be warned.

I personally love the far west side. There are more houses than apartments, however. Look at the greasewood/speedway area. Moreover, there are some nice condos near the J.W. Marriott that are occasionally rented out.

There are some options in 'central' tucson. Look at the Swan/Ft.Lowell area. There are some nice areas tucked away along Ft.Lowell between country club and swan...

Great description of housing in Tucson

[trkmantis2]

I'm looking for housing in Tucson as well, so thanks for the info.

Since I'm out of state, I just had a friend who's a PhD student @ UA mail me a large student housing guide. He said it's widely available on campus and very useful. I bet you could find something like that on campus pretty easily.

I can live anywhere, but ideally I'd like to be around other grad or professional students who don't party like rock stars 24/7.

Frankly, I'm kind of curious, is there an area where most law students live?

[GordonCole]

I'll agree with previous people that Tucson can be pretty mixed up city neighborhood wise. You can't really categorize large swathes of central Tucson with a broad brush. You might have a half a million dollar house a few blocks away from a terrible apartment complex full of meth addicts.

The Foothills is the biggest contiguous nice neighborhood in Tucson. Everything there, at least east of 1st Avenue, north of River, east of Sabino Canyon, is generally upscale. The commute from the Foothills won't be too bad as long as you're west of Swan. Someone mentioned it taking 30 minutes to get from the U of A to La Encantada, it's more like 20 unless there's horrible traffic. I'll also disagree with the area around La Encantada being the best area in Tucson. Unless you spend an inordinate amount of time shopping at Williams Sonoma and Brooks Brothers, there's not too much going on. But I seem to remember there's an apartment complex that abuts the mall directly to the north. Also, there's some apartments scattered around River & Campbell and Swan & Sunrise.

But if it were me, I would look elsewhere. Sam Hughes is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Tucson. It's pricey but you may be able to get something cheaper the further east you go from the U of A. Just keep west of Alvernon. The advantage of living in central Tucson is that you're going to be much closer to the U of A, 4th Avenue and the places that make Tucson unique.

But generally if you're looking for a nice, non-sketchy neighborhood:
-Don't live in South Tucson
-Don't live in a big apartment complex near the U of A (constantly drunk undergrads)
-Don't live right near the I-10
-Don't live right near an intersection with a check cashing store on every corner

[sundevil77]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice. The foothills area along River Rd. had several apartment complexes ranging from decent to extremely nice. We didn't get a chance to search out west, but that'll probably happen on our next trip. I also went to the Sam Hughes neighborhood, but didn't see much in the way of apartments. It seems like most of the Sam Hughes area is covered by single family residences. Does anybody know of rentals in the Sam Hughes area? It seems like a decent area and I'd like to check it out more.

[ohnowtf]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice. The foothills area along River Rd. had several apartment complexes ranging from decent to extremely nice. We didn't get a chance to search out west, but that'll probably happen on our next trip. I also went to the Sam Hughes neighborhood, but didn't see much in the way of apartments. It seems like most of the Sam Hughes area is covered by single family residences. Does anybody know of rentals in the Sam Hughes area? It seems like a decent area and I'd like to check it out more.

There are just a few apartments on the edge of the Sam Hughes neighborhood. There is a decent sized complex at country club and 3rd or 4th st. In addition there are a few apartment buildings on 6th street, just west of country club. Check craigslist for guest houses in Sam Hughes. Moreover, you might find some 2 bedroom houses/duplexes south of 6th street between campbell and country club. You could drive around the neighborhood just west of the medical center (stay south of grant, north of speedway, and west of dodge). It is a nice neighborhood (nicest near campbell, and more modest as you go towards dodge). Like Sam Hughes, however, it is mostly single family residences, but you might be able to find a guest house, duplex, or a decently priced 2 bedroom.

[DANY_09]

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