Both my sister and parents live in Tucson. My sister is a professor at the University. It is a big town, but I would say it is very bike friendly. There is a lot of traffic so you have to be ready for that.

If I were going to live in one of the larger towns in Arizona, Tucson would be my pick. It is desert living so it is pretty darn hot in the Summer and quite nice in the winter. It can get cold, i.e. 32 or so at night in some areas. The downtown, and campus areas are a little warmer, the northern parts of town, a little cooler.

There are good restaurants in Tucson, but I don't know about Indian. I really don't like Indian so I would not know if there is a good restuarant. Since it is a fairly large town, I would guess you could find at least one good Indian food restaurant.

The desert in the Tucson area is really gorgeous. When it flowers, it is absolutely breathtaking. I would say that the cost of living is middle of the road.

There is a fair amount of good cultural things to do in Tucson, but it still has some small town feel about it. Much different than Phoenix. I would never live in Phoenix.