West University

Of all the neighborhoods in Tucson, West University might be the one best suited for the older student who pines for frequent nightlife yet wants to live close enough to campus to walk or ride a bicycle. There are so many places to go in this classic neighborhood. On the east end there is Main Gate Square. Within blocks of Main Gate Square, there are several bars and coffee shops including, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Cafe Paraiso, Jamba Juice, Johnny Rockets, Gentle Ben's Brewing Co., Frog & Firkin British Pub and the Guinness owned bar aptly named the Auld Dubliner. Just North, on Euclid, there is a large apartment building, formerly known as Arizona Commons #I, which was recently converted to Campus Walk Condominiums, which is geared solely for the college student. Going west on University Boulevard (which has a wide bike lane for cyclists) there is a plethora of older homes that have been adapted to rentals. Some of these are three-quarter century old boarding houses. While younger students dominate the east end of the neighborhood (closest to the university) the west end is more eclectic and has a wider range of people from hipsters, musicians and teachers and everything in between.

Among some of the many places to go off University Boulevard and 4th Avenue include Time Market (which has Gatsby's Woodfire Pizza inside) the Epic Café, Magpie's Pizza, the Casbah Tea House, North on 4th Nightclub, the B Line, Worldwide Wraps, the Chocolate Iguana, Bumsteads, Brooklyn Pizza, Delactables, Dairy Queen and the famous I.B.T's with live music in the back patio which is a hit with the gay crowd. In short, if you are into pizza, beer, pubs, live music and people watching, this place is hard to beat! Also, don't forget about the 4th Avenue Street Fair that happens in March and December and attracts between 350,000 and 500,000 people for the 3-day-festival.