Anyway, my future humble abode is located in the midtown area, in an "up-and-coming" neighborhood, whatever that means. I like the house, and I am excited about becoming a first-time homeowner, despite the ample annoyances of the house-buying process.
At least, I was excited, until reading the newspapers throughout the last several weeks.
First, there's the nasty little crime problem Tucson has. As we noted in The Range last week, and as Vicki Hart elaborates on this week in Currents, our fair city has recently been revealed to have the worst crime rate in the country. The cops and city officials soothingly counter: Well, that's just property crime. (They don't note that the murder rate is up, too.)
Ahem. These reassurances are not soothing.
Then there's the little matter of Tucson's deteriorating roads and the fact that the city estimates its "unmet needs" carry a nearly $4 billion price tag. Yes, that's a "b," as in billion. The roads in my new neighborhood--and the roads in your neighborhood, I am sure--suck, to put it nicely, and it's freaky to think the city has no idea how it's going to fix the problem, other than perhaps raising taxes.
All this has me experiencing some angst about my home purchase. But I am going ahead with it nonetheless, because despite all its problems, I like this town--and if you can't invest in something you like, what can you invest in?
