25 OTHER Things I’ve Learned Since Moving to Tucson

In today’s Caliente section of the Star, there is a promising-ly titled article “What I’ve Learned About Tucson” by Coley Ward, a new Caliente reporter who’s been in Tucson about a month longer than I have. The article was an enjoyable read, but….

Let’s just say I’m not a 20-something white male vegetarian, etc. I’m a just-barely-40-something white female non-vegetarian from New England (I claim the whole region, having lived in three of its six states and spent considerable time in the other three) who knits, writes and reads compulsively (not always in that order, but often simultaneously), loves her bike almost more than life itself, and moved here so her partner could accept a call to be Associate Pastor of a liberal, mainstream Christian church. With all that in mind, here’s my list of 25 OTHER Things I’ve Learned Since Moving to Tucson:

1. When it rains in the desert, it RAINS. I haven’t seen rain like that here in Tucson since I lived briefly in Florida. And bear in mind, we moved here AFTER last summer’s monsoon, so I’m talking just about the WINTER rainy season.
2. I guess I can’t fault you for wanting to have a lawn, even in the desert, but have some wisdom about watering it. I have seen more people, just in my neighborhood, who either: a) overwater their lawns to the point where the street floods, sometimes predictably every afternoon; or b) water their lawns at, say, noon — umm, isn’t that when the sun is at its highest — just sayin’. Come to think of it, maybe I CAN fault you — that’s my water you’re wastin’, too.
3. And on the subject of water, I have never lived anywhere where people seemed (in general) to be so blasé about such an essential — and scarce — natural resource. Back in New England, the drought the SW has been experiencing would have inspired mandatory water conservation ages ago.
4. Lagging left turn signals — ’nuff said.
5. There are at least 10 ways to get from any point A to any point B — none of them direct.
6. The Sonoran Desert Museum is a great place to take any visitor who just wants to “see the desert”. And a membership in the Museum (a highly-recommended thing) makes it a great place to spend an afternoon you just don’t want to spend inside.
7. You can download tons of classic movies, documentaries, kids programs, travel videos, audio books, and more, all for free, with your Pima County Library card.
8. Homeowners associations may not be, by definition, evil, but they can be a pain in the keister — witness the recent dust-up over the Continental Ranch HOA and the garbage contract. (In the interest of full disclosure: we live in Continental Ranch, but as renters have been able to watch most of this as disinterested observers — though it bugs me that I now pay more for less service under the new WM contract.)
9. Your friends back home don’t always like it when you call them from Tucson Electric Park on a sunny March day while they’re digging out from under 18 inches of newly-fallen snow.
10. But they’ll be sure to ask YOU about the weather come July!
11. 4th Avenue is a great place to kill a few hours (and a few dollars). Don’t miss the Spring Street Fair, April 4, 5 and 6.
12. Tucson is a fabulous place if you love to bike. Tucson/Pima County has been given a gold-star as a bicycle-friendly community by the League of American Cyclists. Get your copy of the Tucson Metro Bike Map here or pick one up at any bike shop.
13. Don’t even think about going near TEP when the Cubs are in town to play the White Sox.
14. But DO think about going to TEP and/or Hi Corbett to catch some spring training games. When else are you or your kids going to be able to be that close to bonafide superstars?
15. “Tucson casual” — gotta love a city whose attitude towards fashion is function-over-form.
16. It takes no time at all for anyone inclined to be a sports fan to become a UofA fan here. I think they put something in the water.
17. 340+ days of sunshine a year is GREAT, but I’ve learned to appreciate the cloudy ones, too.
18. You don’t know dry skin until you’ve lived in a desert — we now have bottles of moisturizer in every room, both cars, and all our purses and knitting bags. (Which reminds me….)
19. Most of the people you will meet in Tucson (at least at first) are not from here. In fact, most of the people you meet in your first months here will be from the same part of the country you just left — odd that.
20. Hiking and more hiking. Whether you’re just looking to spend some time outside enjoying the scenery or are searching for a physical challenge in the great outdoors, Tucson has a lot to offer.
    
21. There are few sights more spectacular than the desert in bloom, and a few great places to see it (well, aside from just looking around) are: The Desert Museum; Tohono Chul Park; Tucson Botanical Gardens; and Picacho Peak State Park.
22. I don’t really miss snow at all.
23. That old saw about Arizona being good for people with allergies — hogwash! (Though our dog will attest to the wonders of Arizona for creatures with arthritis.)
24. Contrary to what anyone tells you, it does get COLD here in the desert. Okay, maybe not freeze-your-fingertips-off cold, but cold-enough-to-add-an-extra-blanket-to-the-bed for sure.
25. If Kevin O’Neill is offered a head coaching job anywhere else in the NCAA, he’d be a fool not to take it. (BTW: I think this may have been one of the classiest things any NCAA basketball coach has done this season.)

So, what have you learned, about Tucson or yourself, since moving here?

Cheers, Sandy