I’ve lived in Oro Valley since 2012, with my wife and kids. My wife and I both grew up in Chandler, and I lived in a neighborhood that was a county island, which meant large lots, some with farm animals, and some simply with people who valued their space. When it came time to settle down into a place of my own, I wanted something that had some of the features of the beloved homestead of my youth (we like to call it the “Nicolson Ranch”), and my wife wanted to make sure we were within a five minute drive to the grocery store and a good school.
My wife and I both still remember the moment we first saw Oro Valley. We had been living temporarily in another part of Tucson while I started my job and we were still getting to know all of the areas. We’d been invited to a birthday party for a coworkers son, and as we drove over the hill on La Cañada, we both looked at each other and knew- Oro Valley felt like home.
We love the gorgeous mountain views, the lush desert surroundings, the fact that there are still coyotes around (when I was a kid there were coyotes in Chandler sometimes too, but not these days!). We love that we can go hiking and biking easily, that there are great parks nearby for the kids, and that it’s easy to get to the grocery store (and not too far from downtown if we want more excitement every once in a while!).