A question on the Tucson, AZ area

[hamerfan]

Hi everybody,
First off, sorry for the cross-posting. I originally posted this in GD, then the Health forum, then I thought this is where this question belongs. Here goes:
My wife has severe asthma/allergies and doesn't get along with mold. We live in the Midwest where allergens and high humidity really hurt her.
We've read the Tucson area has good air for these problems. Does anyone from the Tucson area care to comment? Good or bad, I welcome all responses.
We will be down there this July for several days, but that will not be a great representation of the area as a whole.
Thanks to all,
dumpbush

[atreides1]

1. My wife did well there

My wife and I were stationed there from 1997-2005 when she retired, she has allergies and while stationed there the effects were not as prevalent as they are now that we live in Virginia.

[Kali]

2. NO way.

Google those topics. A dry climate is actually worse for allergies and besides that we are in a major 20 year drought, undergoing huge amounts of land disturbance due to development (read: horrible dust, also look into Valley Fever)

My husband, who was born and raised in Tucson has been suffering since January with all kind of allergies and respiratory problems. He wears a dust mask all day long. I'm not talking about some sickly office worker, this is a guy who works construction, is a stone mason. I have never seen him like this. He even broke down and went to the doctor - trust me that means it was serious. Doc said yep lots of allergies and such this year.

July may bring more humidity, but for a lot of people the heat itself can aggravate these problems. After the summer rains comes the molds and allergens for folks who suffer fall allergies (grasses and chenopod species, ragweed etc) (that would be me) which is more consistent year to year.

My advice to you would be to try and make several trips out for more than just a few days and at different times of the year before making a major decision, especially if for health reasons.

[hamerfan]

3. Good advice, Kali

I think we will try to make several week-long trips over the next year, in different seasons. This is a big step for us. We both have good jobs, good health benefits, family here. We are doing this for health reasons, first of all. We went to this web site:

www.bestplaces.net

and looked at the air quality of several areas. Tucson came in at 87 out of 100, far higher than any other area (higher is better). I'd hate to jump out of the frying pan...
I only know Missouri is not where we need to be. It's cheap to live out here for a reason. No one wants to live here!
So, back to the drawing board. My Mom is from the Douglas/Bisbee area, and I lived down there for a couple of years as a kid. Wow, horned toads squirt blood out of their eyeballs!, is the extent of my memories there. We would try to leave as small a footprint as possible there, as the ecosystem is probably already overworked.
So, thanks again....:pals:
dumpbush

[AZBlue]

4. It will depend upon what her allergies are.

For example, both my mother and I are allergic to mold and are from the east coast, where of course that was a real problem. Mold's not an issue here. However....there are many many plants here that are a problem for us both. My allergies are far worse here than they ever were on the east coast and so are hers (she lives in Tucson, I live in Phoenix). Orange trees are prevalent here and are a real problem, as are many of the other desert plants you find in this area.

As for a dry climate, yes, it's drier than the east coast, but it's not as dry as it used to be here. Too many swimming pools and too many yards with non-desert landscaping combined with the rapid growth make it a bit more humid now.

I would check the average humidity levels - to be honest, I don't even know that! I would also find out what exactly your wife is allergic to - if you can, go to an allergist and have the tests done. Tell them you are thinking of moving out here and see if they can add anything that's specific to this area. Then you'll be able to better tell if her specific allergies might be helped by a move out here or not.

One final thing to note - definitely think about Tucson over Phoenix - allergies are must worse in Phoenix than Tucson and the smog here in Phoenix is some of the worst in the nation (Tucson doesn't have the smog problem because it's smaller and not in a valley).