Originally Posted by moving-to-AZ

Let's see. since the cost of living is significantly lower in Tucson (I pay $750 for a nice 1-bedroom in Denver) there's 2 of us, looking in the price range of $700-$800? Probably looking for a larger complex---we're planning on buying a house some day in the future. Thanks for the response.

$700-800 might buy you a decent 1-bedroom, but not 2-bedroom. I was paying $725 (as recently as last month) for a 2-bedroom, 980 sq.ft. decent, good location, but nothing I'd call NICE. There are some better-looking complexes on the North and Northeast side (I'm not really familiar with NW), but I'm not sure what all of them look like inside. They all have really small balconies/patios and don't allow grills on them (very few places do anymore, if any). The newer places generally have paper-thin walls and are noisier. I've seen just as many complaints from their management as from other places. The North part of town seems to have scorpion problems.

There are some nicer places I've visited, but can't think of exact names and locations:

- one is on Tanque Verde, East of Bear Canyon, almost across the street from the Lakes at Castle Rock

- another was somewhere on Sabino Canyon Rd (was gonna turn into condos, but didn't)

- there's one on the right-hand side of Kolb Rd when you're coming from this weird for newcomers intersection - Kolb changes name to Grant and Wilmot changes name to Tanque Verde, so technically this complex is tucked in the angle between Wilmot and Kolb

- there are 2 newer complexes on Harrison Rd, between Speedway and Broadway

- oh, there are also these casitas - Tucson Rental Homes Rates They have models. I've seen them. The casitas look really nice, but are extremely small. This company has properties in some nice locations (with garages) and some not so nice (without garages). I believe I read about them building on the NW side. Check it out. The not so nice ones have only evaporative coolers. If you've lived here, you'd know you don't want that. One of their attractive features is the backyards. They look like townhomes. Yet, many complain of them, too.

What can I tell you. there are complaints of all of them. That's apartment living. It has advantages and disadvantages. At least make sure car theft is not too bad. Management changes frequently and things can change dramatically. Somebody was asking me on another thread why I don't presume the name of an apt complex was changed just because the new one sounds better. Well, I could presume so if it were an isolated case, but that's the routine. It happens because they change hands a lot. I also believe it's done so people can't track the bad reviews. I'd avoid HSL properties, but unfortunately they own half of the complexes in Tucson.