Is Tucson a good place to raise kids?

I don't live right in Tucson, but I live fairly close and know it pretty well.

The truth about Tucson is this:  Is is great for some people but not for everyone.  It depends upon what you are looking for.  

Tucson, like many southwestern cities, is a sort of suburban city.  In that sense, it is similar to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and even Los Angeles.  Very little mass transit, very few high rise buildings.  Lots of suburbs.  Miles and miles of suburbs.  It has a good (although not huge) art museum, a very good university, some good restaurants, and some mountains nearby which are fine for hiking and, to a limited degree, skiing in the winter.  There are quite a few students here, and there are quite a few retired folks here.  But there are also plenty of families.  You'd fit right in.  Just don't move into a retirement community and don't move into the university area.  

But the suburban thing.  To me, that's what stops Tucson from being more than mediocre.  There are very few places you can just walk to (unlike cities such as New York, Boston, or San Francisco) and public transportation is not very good.  So, you've pretty much got to drive to get to where you want to go.  Of course, it is an awful lot cheaper to live in Tucson than in a real city such as the three mentioned above.  

Don't worry about articles that say Tucson is one of the worst cities or one of the most dangerous cities.  It absolutely is not.  If you are okay with long hot summers and don't mind using the car to get everywhere you need to go, you'll do fine in Tucson.  To my way of thinking, it isn't some place I could possibly love.  However, if your Mom is here and you want to be near California, it is a reasonable choice.  You could do a lot worse, that's for sure.

Good luck to you!

Yes! Tucson is a great place. Like every city, it has it's bad areas, so drive around before you decide on where you wanna live.

Yes. Tucson is good if you can take the heat of the summers.