REAL AZ scoop (Phoenix, Mesa, Flagstaff: for sale, HOA, house)

[aj661]

It's headed that way here -huge homes on tiny lots. We have a couple newer developments out east on the the south side of US60 between Crismon and Signal Butte. How they managed to build these houses without punching holes in the walls of the next house on the back swing of a hammer appears impossible. Thank God for nail guns I guess. My lot is only about 7500 sf with a 1700 sf house. I'd feel suffocated if I had any 2 stories on my side of the street. Ponderosa, you are right -AS ALWAYS - single family homes are the American dream. We have a pool in the back yard, and nice landscaping (my hobby). It's our escape and a little slice of heaven.

[Steve-o]

If you want a house, live in a suburb IMO. Thats what theyre there for. People who want to own houses with land DONT move to major cities. Thats why Phoenix is so drab looking, theres no downtown, theres only a handful of 1/2 butt "skyscrapers". They push out horizontally in small houses. Me, Id love to live in Chicago or NY, look out across the beautiful city lights, 70 stories above the ground. Its beautiful!

[dano]

For further clarification, while I used to agree with the concept that the SFR with a pool in the suburbs was the best way to live, (I am a red-blooded westerner at heart) the problem was that everyone else seemed to have the same idea. I've had the displeasure of whatching Phoenix balloon from a comfortable 2 million to an unwieldy 4 million. It has, without a doubt, become a mini-LA. To say these two cities are not the poster children of uncontolled urban sprawl is being a bit disingenuous.

I vacationed in NYC over the summer and was amazed how easy it was to get around without getting in a vehicle. Hands down, I would rather live in NYC than LA. My conclusion, once a city hits around 3 million in population, it needs to go vertical or become an LA without the weather, ocean or movie stars.

[irwin]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

If you want a house, live in a suburb IMO. Thats what theyre there for. People who want to own houses with land DONT move to major cities. Thats why Phoenix is so drab looking, theres no downtown, theres only a handful of 1/2 butt "skyscrapers". They push out horizontally in small houses. Me, Id love to live in Chicago or NY, look out across the beautiful city lights, 70 stories above the ground. Its beautiful!

100% agree! Why does everyone assume that SFH and a large yard is what everyone wants?

Let’s look at the people who can live anywhere, the uber-rich; people where money is not an issue. Where do many of them live? In the densest city in the United States, New York City.

People live in SFH because of economic and social realities in many Western cities. Personally, I hate having to drive everywhere. Sitting in traffic for +30min each way? NO THANK YOU! How in the world are you able to enjoy your yard and house when hours out of your day is spent on the road?

Give me a smaller, denser town home or condo any day to the cookie-cutter crap the developers dish out in places like Phoenix.

[sweattea]

Originally Posted by Nea1

I agree with you here. I lived in Portland Or for 32 years, I got real tired real quick "of the pack em in tight" mentality so they didnt have to grow. There all the houses are so close together you can really reach out and touch your neighbor! No one has large lots, average size is under 4000 sq.ft that they then put 3000 sq.ft houses on. Condos sell well there but at a price, and there are not alot of high rise apartments anymore. I have now a 3500sq. ft home on 9000 sq.ft lot. Couldnt get that in Oregon unless I had about 600,000.

How much less is it here than 600,000? It could be cheaper if it was a KB in a not so good neighborhood. Even with the market falling a 3500 sqft home in a great location is pricey.

[Nea1]

Originally Posted by sweattea

How much less is it here than 600,000? It could be cheaper if it was a KB in a not so good neighborhood. Even with the market falling a 3500 sqft home in a great location is pricey.

Well we got ours in Chandler for 350,000.00 kyrene schools, great neighborhood.

[cmist]

Originally Posted by Nea1

Well we got ours in Chandler for 350,000.00 kyrene schools, great neighborhood.

When did you get a 3500 sqft home in Chandler for 350K and where?

I havent seen prices like that for 3 years. Just curious.

[cmist]

Originally Posted by Bossanovawitcha

I'm an AZ native who has also lived in Pleasanton, Manteca, Atwater, and Irvine, CA along with Las Vegas, NV.

I'm relocating to Dallas (Plano) or Washington (Bothell), and have been trolling message boards for both cities.

Its funny, because reading the Seattle and Dallas forums there are people that simply come online to make "I HATE IT IT SUX" posts. A very small % of these are constructive. Not every city matches a person's likes/dislikes. However, the MAJORITY of these posters would probably be unhappy and bitter about EVERY place they lived. Just my thoughts.

So, I hopped over to my native metro area's forum (Phoenix), to find the same thing. I wasn't surprised to find the same "LOVE IT / HATE IT" activity.

So, if you're reading these forums as information discovery for potential relocation, take them with a grain of salt. Or an entire salt shaker - no matter which major metro area you are reading about.

Just like any big metro area, Phoenix metro has its + and -. However, your living experience depends almost wholly on where you live.

We lived in Summerlin in Las Vegas, which was nice. However, Phoenix metro's 'good' areas blow Summerlin and Vegas away simply because they are like Summerlin x10 in size.

Nothing compares to Pleasanton or Irvine CA - if you can afford million dollar housing. Just amazing weather, amenities, nearby attraction and scenery.

Phoenix is a booming area with sprawl comparable to Dallas/Ft Worth or the LA Basin. There is just so much open space to fill, so instead of building up, the trend has always been to build out. The long term affect this has on social and environmental welfare is up for debate - but new area usually means nice housing, nice restaurants and shopping, and nicer schools. Gilbert / Chandler are pretty affordable for the lifestyle you can enjoy. Yes, its a 'pizza oven' for 3-4 months. May / June / October are not bad at all. 100* dry is nothing when it cools down at night. I've been in 83* humid Atlanta weather that I found more intolerable than 100* AZ heat. For 6 months, Phoenix has arguably the best weather on the planet, if you like warm, sunny picturesque days.

What I like about Phoenix as opposed to Texas is the geography. The desert has a beauty all its own. The weather in Phoenix is much less harsh than Texas in the winter. No natural disasters, either. Arizona is an INCREDIBLY beautiful state. Desert sunsets are awe-inspiring. The Grand Canyon is priceless. The White Mountains, home to the world's largest ponderosa pine trees (Pinetop/Greer), is incredibly beautiful - especially in the summer when its 110* in Phoenix. The White Mountains area is the most underrated area in Arizona, IMO. Flagstaff, the San Francisco Peaks, Old Tucson, Prescott, Mogollon Rim are just 2-3 hours away. Vegas, San Diego, Rocky Point, Mexico, and Orange County are only 4-5 hours away by car (or $49 cheap 1 hour flights). Plus, everyone needs to see Sedona's Red Rock country and the Grand Canyon before they die. Period. Amazing and surreal.

In the summer, when its a 'pizza oven' in Phoenix, you stay inside your house, nearby mall, pool (am or pm is nice) or movie theater (restaurants and movie theaters are extremely popular). On the weekends, you can get to high country to escape the heat anyway, or head to Mexico (3-4 hrs) or San Diego (4-5 hrs). Mexico is our best kept secret - its fast becoming 'Arizona's beach' - at least that is how Sonora wants to market it to 'Zonies.

(continued)

I think you bring up some great points about the state and no doubt there are some beautiful parts, but about 90% of what you speak about is all places you can drive to in a few hours. Not to mention a few hours EACH way.

So while Phoenix has some good places you can ESCAPE to, Phoenix itself doesn't have ONE thing that other places don't have AND MORE other than 6 months of "nice" weather if you consider monotony nice. The "beautiful" desert you speak of is now NON EXISTENT unless you want to drive 2 hours to get between the narrow strip of desert between phx/tucson or phx/vegas or phx/yuma, you simply do not encounter beautiful desert on a daily basis.

Once you have done all those road trips multiple times in 25 years, you get to wanting to NOT have to drive a few hours just to see some form of life that it better than where you live. If you are in a place that is living more in tune with nature that has natural beauty to it, stay there. If you like stucco come here because thats all the scenery you are going to get... and OVER PRICED stucco at that.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by cmist

I think you bring up some great points about the state and no doubt there are some beautiful parts, but about 90% of what you speak about is all places you can drive to in a few hours. Not to mention a few hours EACH way.

So while Phoenix has some good places you can ESCAPE to, Phoenix itself doesn't have ONE thing that other places don't have AND MORE other than 6 months of "nice" weather if you consider monotony nice. The "beautiful" desert you speak of is now NON EXISTENT unless you want to drive 2 hours to get between the narrow strip of desert between phx/tucson or phx/vegas or phx/yuma, you simply do not encounter beautiful desert on a daily basis.

Once you have done all those road trips multiple times in 25 years, you get to wanting to NOT have to drive a few hours just to see some form of life that it better than where you live. If you are in a place that is living more in tune with nature that has natural beauty to it, stay there. If you like stucco come here because thats all the scenery you are going to get... and OVER PRICED stucco at that.

I beg to differ. I live about 1000 feet from the border of Estrella Mountain Regional Park. There are thousands of acres and miles of trails there to hike in pristine desert. My house is also about 10 miles from the Sonoran Desert National Monument (bet you never heard of that) with more desert including wilderness areas. And I am maybe 20 miles from the Harqualhala mountiains and wilderness area. All of these places are winter destinations, of course. There are similar features to the north, northwest, and northeast of Phoenix well within an hour or so from most homes. If you are truly interested in exploring some of the out of the way beauty in Arizona then google for a book called "Back Country Adventures in Arizona". About 500 pages of great trips suitable for everything from the family truckster to a mountain goat.

[Bossanovawitcha]

Originally Posted by cmist

I think you bring up some great points about the state and no doubt there are some beautiful parts, but about 90% of what you speak about is all places you can drive to in a few hours. Not to mention a few hours EACH way.

So while Phoenix has some good places you can ESCAPE to, Phoenix itself doesn't have ONE thing that other places don't have AND MORE other than 6 months of "nice" weather if you consider monotony nice. The "beautiful" desert you speak of is now NON EXISTENT unless you want to drive 2 hours to get between the narrow strip of desert between phx/tucson or phx/vegas or phx/yuma, you simply do not encounter beautiful desert on a daily basis.

Once you have done all those road trips multiple times in 25 years, you get to wanting to NOT have to drive a few hours just to see some form of life that it better than where you live. If you are in a place that is living more in tune with nature that has natural beauty to it, stay there. If you like stucco come here because thats all the scenery you are going to get... and OVER PRICED stucco at that.

You don't really know the area well then. Superior is an 45 min east and the scenery between Superior and Globe is incredibly beautiful. Papago area is nice, and then there's Boyce Thompson Arboretum about 30 miles out of town east. Believe it or not, the Phoenix Zoo is a great place to take a walk, its an above average zoo, but its a GREAT walk. White Tanks, Estrellas, Supersitions, the SM Foothills... Lots of natural beauty locally within immediate metro area.

Phoenix may not match the natural splendor of the big Pacific cities, or maybe Denver, but beyond that there aren't really any major metros with much better scenery out there. And there are plenty with much less.

Also, perhaps the area's greatest 'scenery' can be enjoyed by taking a simple stroll through ASU and Mill Ave in very warm, late May..

Oh, and I should also point out - "2-3 hours each way.." Sounds like the daily commute I had in the Bay Area from the Central Valley.