AARP has named Tucson the number one place to live for the "active adult" community, alias the "mature adult" community. Looking to a simple life, Tucson garnered top kudos over all other places in the nation.

And indeed, Tucson is a grand place to live. I willingly traded months of  grey, drizzly weather...and shoveling snow for a couple of months of "dry heat." Early mornings are perfect for a meandering walk and after dusk lends itself to upbeat outdoor concerts.

Tucson has integrated culture which makes it a vibrant community, blending it's history as a part of Sonora Mexico prior to the Gadsden Purchase, with that of Native American culture, and Chinese culture. The white man found Tucson with the advent of the railroads and brought with them new ideas of architecture, lumber, and eastern accountrements.

Tucson is rimmed with mountain ranges; the Catalinas to the north-northeast, home of the nation's southermost ski area; the Rincons to the east; the Santa Ritas to the south, and the newest mountain range, the Tucson Mountains, to the west. The topography is different in all the areas, but all provide interesting and diverse hiking paths and birding areas, one of the criteria of the AARP study.

Combine that with exceptional cultural activities, it's own Symphony, a myriad of live theaters, the Center for Creative Photography which houses the Ansel Adams collection, the Tucson Museum of Art, DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, and excellent small galleries, Tucson is making it's name in the art and music world.  With one of the best Jazz Societies in the United States, a vibrant Blue Grass Society, Chamber Orchestras, Pops In the Park, citizens can toe tap to any rhythmn.

As someone enthusiastically once said to me, "the healthiest I've ever been is when I lived in Tucson."  There are various sports activities, Senior Olympics, city owned tennis courts, golf courses galore, an assortment of classes offered by Parks and Rec, and classes in all types of activities ranging from Pilates to Weight Training to Salsa dancing at Pima Community College.

Combined with the bragging rights of 360 days of sun, Tucson offers its inhabitants low cost activities, the beauty of the desert, affordable housing in comfortable communities, local produce at Farmer's Markets, a plethora of volunteer activities, and excceptional medical facilities.

AARP really nailed it correctly! Tucson is the place to live!

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There is no holiday tradition like preparing for the main meal served on Christmas Eve, which for my family is preparing tamales. I can't believe I am going to admit this, but making tamales is one of my favorite things to do for the holidays. When I was younger it was such a chore, but as I've gotten older I've realized that it's not making tamales but rather than the company who you make them with.  This year my grandmother, mother, six aunts, two uncles and I got together and made 59 dozen! All for family and friends to enjoy this holiday season! Preparing for this is a lot of hard work and takes all day, so we get started very early in the morning. It doesn't bother me that it takes the whole day because it gives us plenty of time to catch up on what we are missing in each other's lives. My family always makes the red chili beef tamales as well as my grandmother's recipe of ground beef tamales. The ground beef tamales are so delicious that they have become more popular within our family than the red chili. I hope to continue this tradition with my own two daughters.

If you don't know anybody who makes tamales but still want to sample what many hours of work and family tradition tastes like, try a tamale at one of Tucson's many amazing Mexican food Restaurants like Carlotta's, Guadalajara Grill, El Charro, or Mi Nidito. They're always better when they're made by friends and family!

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