Yesterday, Tanya and I bought a home in Tucson. A mobile home.

The big living room. Tanya looking at all the furniture still to be moved out.

We’ve been in Tucson for about fifteen months and have agonized over whether Tucson is the right place to be, whether to buy a house here, and where such a house should be.

Part of the problem has been that we came from Boulder, Colorado, where we were spoiled. In Boulder everything is so accessible. From where I lived I could walk to the downtown Mall in 20 minutes, and to the University in 20 minutes. A 5 minute walk to great hiking trails. A long list of great climbs to ride within minutes from Boulder: Flagstaff, Magnolia Road, Sugarloaf, 4 Mile Canyon, Sunshine Canyon, Olde Stage, Lee Hill, Left Hand Canyon.

The kitchen: huge with lots of cabinets.

Tucson metro area is maybe ten times as big as Boulder, and the building density is a fraction of the density in Boulder, so everything is much further away. There aren’t as many good bike rides (excepting of course the stupendous Mount Lemmon).

What makes Tucson appealing though is that it’s great in winter and we don’t have to shovel snow or worry about burst water pipes. And the friends we’ve made are wonderful.

The Arizona room

So we agonized. I’d sold my house in Boulder and we’d moved here because that was the only way I could afford to quit my job. But did we want to live in Tucson? Should we try somewhere else? We even thought we should try living in Girona, Spain, a place about the size of Boulder and a hub for cycling. Buying a house seemed too much of a commitment for a place we weren’t sure about.

So instead, we bought a mobile home.

Tanya and our new friend Kathy looking at our new home.

Three things made the decision easy. First, the price was right. Second, Far Horizons East has a great community, with clubhouses, swimming pools, classes, movie nights, and other get-togethers. Third, buying a mobile home just doesn’t feel like as much of a commitment as buying a house. So we can commit to Tucson without feeling that we are committed. We are uncommittedly committed.

(We don’t even get to move into our new home yet because we leave for New Zealand soon for three months, and the previous owners are still moving out.)

Links and Other Clicks

You can read about the Far Horizons East community here.