The climate

It's the desert, so temperature swings about 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit between night and day. Warm winters (80 in the daytime in November), hot summers (70's at night, 100+ in the daytime), some humidity only two months a year during the Monsoon Season (July and August) when sunsets are all shades of red and pink (very pretty) and the desert is in bloom. It rains only during monsoon and in the winter (but when it rains it pours; no drizzle here). Mostly, it's bright and sunny with blue cloudless skies. Because there is not a lot of humidity (and few clouds), daylight is typically unusually bright; you will probably need sunglasses.

The geography

Tucson is in the valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. From campus, the view of the mountains to the north towards the Catalina Mountains is probably the most impressive.

Outdoor recreation

Hiking, mountain biking, street cycling. Not sure how close mountain climbing is... There is camping close to Tucson too. Hiking Sabino Canyon (http://www.sabinocanyon.com/)  in late October is a lot of fun.

Culture

Tucson has an orchestra, an opera house, and world-class visitors (which in the past have included Momix, Yo-Yo Ma, Barrueco, and Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, among others), which mostly perform on campus. Tucson also has a cool chamber music society that also has regular visiting performers and has also in the past commissioned original works. One Friday nights you can get some tapas at a restaurant downtown called "Casa Vicente" and hear good flamenco guitar playing.

The campus is great. It is well laid out and pleasing in terms of architecture and landscaping, and it is well maintained. Together with University Blvd and 4th Avenue, this part of town is filled with pedestrians and bikers, as well as restaurants and stores next to each other.