Is it crowded in AZ???? (Phoenix, Benson: cost of living, traffic, moving to)

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Joshhh

Is it crowded in AZ? Not really.

Is it crowded on the small freeways? YES!

Arizona is stupid when it comes to building freeways, they build towns THEN freeways, it makes no sense.

Stupid, yes, but how is that different from anywhere else? Up here in Seattle, freeway construction is ALWAYS playing catch-up with development.

Ken

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by soliver0012

Like I said before I am thinking about relocating to possibly Queen Creek or somewhere relatively close to the Phoenix area. Just wondering if it's crowded??? I'm in VA now and I wake up at 6 in the morning to go to the local Wal-mart b/c I can stand the crowds. How is it if I want to go to the mall on the weekend or drive in to Phoenix??? Is it hell???

I've recently discovered this forum and I must say before i discovered it and went thru it I wasa tad excited about goin to AZ but there is a mix of diff. vast opnions and now I am really nervous!!!

I am a young 25 y/o female, engaged with 3 dogs and 3 kitties. My fiance and I don't plan to have kids and we're kind of just the hang out type, sometimes go to a bar type. We live around Northern VA so we want to get away from all the craziness here. Give me some good advice pleaseee....

Well what do you know, I just moved from Northern VA last winter.

Let's see here. About Wal-Mart. I used to go to Wal-Mart on Sunday morning, before all of the people got out of church. That worked OK. In fact, I went just about EVERYWHERE on Saturday or Sunday morning, because I also couldn't deal with the crowds of people.

Compared to Northern VA, there is only a fraction of the traffic. Yes, there is traffic, no it is not like Northern VA. No interstate or state highway in Arizona, equals I-95, a.k.a. the "Chamber of Horrors".

My recommendation:

Get. Out. Now.

As long as employment is not a problem for you, you are making a good move. Please be very careful about going to any bars and driving, as this area has horrible DUI laws that you do not want to test. Worse than VA. However, we do not have the stupid Prince William County "traffic safety corridors" where one gets $800 'reckless driving' tickets for going 85 in a 65 zone (voice of experience here). Keep in mind that you won't have a VRE (ahem... not that great and always late), or a Metro (no complaints), in Arizona. We're building trains, but nothing is very established yet. You WILL drive. You WILL like driving. You WILL drive everywhere, unless you live in one of the more walkable communities. But having said that, this area is not hard to live in, and is nowhere as crowded as northern VA. However, please take a few days, visit, and pretend that you live here, and feel it for yourself. Having come from NoVA myself, I can say that there is no comparison, at least to where I'm living now. However, it is still a major metro area, so there is still traffic and crowding in certain areas.

Good luck.

[TheSchultz33]

Originally Posted by LordBalfor

Very, very nice down in that area - with views that go on FOREVER!

Ken

Congratulations you lucky dog. Very jealous!

[goose7]

Trust me you do NOT want to move here. I have lived here for almost 4 years and I can not wait to leave!!!! Way to many damn people and traffic is insane at all hours of the day! The freeway here is nuts -- ppl just can't understand this isn't the Indy 500 -- its annoying!

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by goose7

Trust me you do NOT want to move here. I have lived here for almost 4 years and I can not wait to leave!!!! Way to many damn people and traffic is insane at all hours of the day! The freeway here is nuts -- ppl just can't understand this isn't the Indy 500 -- its annoying!

I hear ya!

[Whistler71]

Originally Posted by Joshhh

Is it crowded in AZ? Not really.

Is it crowded on the small freeways? YES!

Arizona is stupid when it comes to building freeways, they build towns THEN freeways, it makes no sense.

What? CA freeways are better? Seattle area trafic is better? I have lived in Vancouver, Canada for 15 years and have travelled up and down the West Coast many times by car and believe me that in comparison, AZ has very few residents, the trafic isn't that bad and I thought that the roadways was pretty "flowy" in Phoenix compared to let's say..... LA/SD/SF!

Of course, it is so subjective, but in general, there are many parcels of land for sale in AZ, and if you want small town quiet living, AZ is surely a candidate for that. I say this because I am planning on relocating there, in the Verde Valley within the next 6 months. (Will have a pool, that's for sure though!)

The bottom line on trafic is that ALL USA metro areas have bad trafic, rural AZ has NO trafic issues, PERIOD.

[LordBalfor]

Originally Posted by Whistler71

What? CA freeways are better? Seattle area trafic is better? I have lived in Vancouver, Canada for 15 years and have travelled up and down the West Coast many times by car and believe me that in comparison, AZ has very few residents, the trafic isn't that bad and I thought that the roadways was pretty "flowy" in Phoenix compared to let's say..... LA/SD/SF!

Of course, it is so subjective, but in general, there are many parcels of land for sale in AZ, and if you want small town quiet living, AZ is surely a candidate for that. I say this because I am planning on relocating there, in the Verde Valley within the next 6 months. (Will have a pool, that's for sure though!)

The bottom line on trafic is that ALL USA metro areas have bad trafic, rural AZ has NO trafic issues, PERIOD.

I agree 100% and have to say that I find it a bit hard not to laugh when the complaint is made that areas of Arizona always wait to build or improve their roads and other infrastructure until AFTER the homes have been built and the people move in. The fact is, in my experience, that is ALWAYS the way it works pretty much EVERYWHERE. I don't know of anyplace that builds the infrastructure first - in part because they need the new tax income before they can fund the improvement projects and in part because it's a risk to spend money on improvements to area when there is a chance the economy or housing market could downturn (as it's done) and the new development not occur when/where it is expected to.

Folks here complain bitterly about the traffic in Tucson but let me tell you, that what I've seen down there (both in January and July/August) is a piece of cake compared to traffic in Seattle.

The reason for all the complaining (I think) stems from the fact that Arizona has seen very RAPID growth recently and many of the posters here are longer-term residents and compared to what the area USED to be like, traffic is indeed horrible - so I can understand their complaints - but the fact is, compared to where many, many other folks live, traffic there is BETTER than what those folks are used to.

The crux of the matter is that everything is relative. This goes for not only traffic, but housing costs as well (again, even at their peak, much cheaper than Seattle - not to mention places like LA, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York, etc).

It's the same old story of the 3 blind men and the elephant. Everyone sees it from their single point of view - and though their point of view is not necessarily wrong, it's generally very imcomplete. That's why everyone reading posts here needs to take everything with a grain of salt.

Ken

[Whistler71]

Hey Ken, thanks for having my back!

[Daniellepetit29]

Actually in some cities it is very over populated like phoenix. I am visiting a town called Oroville in California i love it I wake up to the sound of birds and at night before i go to bed i walk along the deck and listen to the frogs at the pond. ITS SO PEACEFUL UP HERE

[Balco9]

LordBalfor,
Wait two years you'll be crying to relocate back to Seattle.
My personal opinion Phoeinix area is way more congested
then Seattle.
The water problem is a far worst issue than the traffic issue.
My two cents.