"Tucson Is Great... You Don't Know Who The Rich People Are."
I was recently chatting with a co-worker with whom I hadn't worked with yet. We've both been at the company over a year, but paths hadn't crossed. Now we work together a little.
They'd moved to Tucson about a decade ago from a different country. From a big city in a different country.
I didn't ask what brought them here... But I did inquire as to how they liked Tucson.
"I love it here," they said. "Tucson is great. No one is uppity. You don't know who the rich people are in this city so much. A lot of them could be your neighbor, and you wouldn't know it. They seem like everyone else."
I agreed.
"For the most part, the wealthy people here seem to be good at avoiding the 'lifestyle creep' thing Phoenix and other big cities have."
And it's true.
Sure, we have the wealth show-offs who live in the neighborhoods at the base of the mountain. But for the most part, everyone keeps it relatively toned down here.
It's why I like Tucson. It's healthy for me mentally.
And for it's healthy for my bank account. Things here are more expensive than they were a few years ago, but they are still much cheaper than other places.
And other than to teach/take yoga, walk George, and pick up groceries... I do not feel compelled to leave the house to keep myself entertained.
(Note: I'm not fully sure if that is bad or good.)
I do crave a walkable city from time to time... Daydreaming of getting an apartment in Boston, NYC, or Toronto. And keeping the Tucson house as my getaway. Actually, if I hadn't adopted George, I probably would have already moved back to one of those cities.
But full time there isn't what I need. Not right now, anyway. Nor is the lifestyle creep I know I succumb to when I live in these cities.
I do, from time to time, see myself as an older woman in one of these big cities.
We will see.
For now, I'll enjoy the simplicity of the four o'clock afternoon sunshine streams on my table while toidy up from my work day.
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