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Tucson??
I figured most of you guys would be partial to Phoenix, but I thought I'd ask you for your advice. 
In searching for houses my house hunting buddy (AKA future roommate) mentioned I should also look at Tucson since I wanted something with a little more land and a little more rural. And I pretty much LOVE it! However, I'm not sure I'd like being that far away from a big city (Phoenix, IMO, is a big city). I've also been looking at Buckeye but there aren't too many houses on land there (four that meet my requirements last I checked) and Cave Creek but that's out of my budget.
So if you were me, WWYD? I admittedly have not spent much time in Tucson other than to drive through it on my way to Arivaca and I don't know much about it other than their gem show is the only reason my mother will ever visit me down there.
Re: Tucson??
I live in Tucson. I moved here 5.5 years ago from Phoenix (my husband's job is here). It took some adjustment for me, but mostly just because Phoenix was my home, and I was homesick and missed my friends and family. I really enjoy living in Tucson. It has most of the amenities of a bigger city (definitely not like Phoenix, but it's definitely a city), but it doesn't feel that big. It kind of reminds me of how Phoenix was when I was a kid. It's different and has a different feel/climate to it, but as far as size goes it has that same feel. What I like about it is that it doesn't get quite as hot in the summer. It's still really hot, don't get me wrong, but it cools off a bit easier here at night (I think because there is more open desert throughout the city here, unlike Phoenix which is a concrete jungle). The mountain views are amazing, especially in certain parts of town. Phoenix has great mountain views also, but IMO Tucson's are better.
I was going to suggest Tucson to you when you were first looking, but I thought you definitely wanted to be in Phoenix.
I think Tucson is definitely at the very least worth a decent look. From what you were describing, you might really like it here. It's the second biggest city in Arizona (as long as you include all of the Phoenix surrounding cities like Mesa, Tempe, etc as part of Phoenix), so it's definitely not a small town. But it does kind of feel like one at times, especiallly if you are in certain parts of town.
If you want something 'a little more rural' and with land, maybe take a look at Tonopah. It's def a 'small town' feel too. It's about a 30-45 min drive from Phoenix and you def get a lot for little $$$. DH and I were this close to buying before we came across our current home. We saw a 4 bed 2.5 bath home on 2 acres for $65k!!! Brand new, never lived in! (We also saw a 2bed/2 bath new home on 1 acre for $27k UNREAL) Sadly, the only reason we didn't buy was because I work in Scottsdale and I couldn't switch to part time/work from home just yet. We do hope to buy out there within 2 to 3 years from now...I would love to have a 'vacation home' with plently of room to roam!!! Oh, and FYI there are a few mobile/manuf homes there so on that site I sent you make sure to check SFH.