IS Arizona really bad as everyone says???? (Phoenix, Sierra Vista: insurance, job market)

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

If memory serves, someone commented that it was too humid in Chicago in summer and was immediately informed it is not humid in Chicago, it is just right, and even if it were too humid (which it is not!), that is better than in Arizona where we all look like dried prunes from the lack of moisture in the air. And so it all began...

Yep, thats how it started. You are cuhrrect, suh. And yes, it CAN get humid, maybe a few weeks of the year, but the rest of summer is gorgeous, mainly May, June, September and October. I was just defending my home.

Dried prunes? LOL Thats a good one. Someone referred to long time Zonies (the few and far between) looking like "catchers mits". LOLOL I have to admit that got a good chuckle out of me.

[grankat3]

I grew up in Ohio, lived in Michigan for a couple of years, Florida for 20 years and Arizona for 7 years. I LOVE Arizona. Ohio & Michigan were too cold in the winters and Florida was too humid and BUGGY. Here you have desert, mountains, lakes, the ocean is a few hours drive away; there is so much natural beauty. Everything is open here, not a lot of trees or grass (if green is important to you. You have casino's (if that's your thing), AZ Diamondbacks baseball, some of the nicest guys around. The people here are friendly. A LOT of them are transplants from the midwest.
There is crime everywhere, big cities, small towns, it doesn't matter. Phoenix is HUGE and all the smaller towns are just an extetnsion of Phoenix.

[Mudd]

If you were to live in Arizona, Phoenix or northern AZ is the best option. If you don't mind heat or traffic, Phoenix isn't bad. It's a nice blend of a little of everything. If you speak Spanish, it's that much better, as that represents about half of the residents in southern AZ. Scottdale, Paradise Valley, Chandler, and several other parts of Phoenix are quite nice, if not a little on the pricey side. The winter traffic there and in most of southern AZ is getting pretty bad, just due to the snowbirds that spend the winters there. Phoenix is doing a much better job managing the traffic than Tucson.

Tucson, in general, in a hole. There are a few nice areas, granted, but by and large, it's about 20 years in the past regarding most things, like city planning, traffic solutions, civil engineering, education, and crime prevention. I've lived in Tucson for longer than I care admit, and am moving soon. Stay away from there if you can help it.

Northern AZ is quite nice and serene. Actual seasons, scenery, and relatively low traffic congestion make it ideal if you don't mind the smaller city mentality of places like Prescott and Flagstaff.

All in all, there are many MUCH better places to live than AZ. Unless you're in love with the weather (and 110+ summer days when you can't really go outside don't really excite me personally), then I'd look elsewhere.

[steve22]

Originally Posted by azsummer2003

[Scottsdale's pretentious and annoying, >>>>>>>>>

No, it's not! That is just a stupid saying people say when they can't afford to live here!

LOLOL. You've just validated the very stereotype you're trying to refute with such a hilariously self-incriminating comment.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by azsummer2003

[Hey Steve -O I answered your querry about Scranton vs. Scottsdale inthe Pittsburgh forum. Are you originally from Chicago?

Lived here my whole life! Have family in AZ and we visit them once a year. They keep trying to get me to move down there, but um, no thanks. Id be bored silly after a month. LOL I can only hike Camelback, Mummy Mtn and Pinnacle Peak so many times. I did enjoy the horse ranches though, it really made "the west's most western town" FINALLY feel western. The rest of the town I was very unimpressed with, spare old town. There isnt anything there that we dont have here, I felt like I was back home, only with brutal sunshine and palm trees. Now if PHX was on the ocean Id be singing a different tune. Oh well, cant have everything, right? Right. Ill stay here in Chicago and deal with the winters, the same way you deal with the summers. Ill enjoy the beautiful city and lakefront for all its worth and eat my deep-dish pizza and watch my Blackhawks, Cubs and Bears. The last three are reason enough for me to never move away. I couldnt stand the fact that I couldnt hop in my car and go take in a Cubs game, breathe in the old air that surrounds Wrigley or sit in the freezing winds and watch Urlacher smash the Edgerrin James or hear the goal buzzer at the United Center go off when Martin Havlat scores another goal. I love my sports and Chicago is probably the best city on earth for that as well. Im just too attached to my area, cant ever leave, no matter how much family tries to convince me to move down there. Besides, two of them have moved back with another one possibly on the way. AZ is beautiful, but to me its a novelty, it wears off even after two weeks of me being there. Im not trying to harp, but just explain. And with that being said, AZ is one of my fave places to vacation, but I just couldnt live there, same way you probably wouldnt live here.

[Meemster]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

I've known many people that moved here from San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. They all love it here and would never go back to their hometown. Phoenix is a great city to live no matter how you cut it. The weather (9 months of the year is great), the economy, the scenery, the activities, and the overall quality of life. 6,000,000-7,000,000 people live in Maricopa county, I guess most of them life it otherwise they wouldn't be here!

I was born and raised in AZ the first 25 years of my life. (By the way, that was so long ago that the old Westward Ho Hotel was at the center of "Downtown".) I hated the heat in the summer, and what's that about "Dry" heat not being so bad? Please! We relocated to Orange County CA in 1963 and you just can't beat the weather. Sure there's congestion and prices are high but no matter where we travel we're always relieved to get home. We can get to the beach in 5 or 10 minutes, to ski in an hour and there are more restaurants, clubs, pubs, attractions, and parks than anywhere I've ever been. I never had any desire to go back to AZ and when we do drive through it's with the windows up and the AC on. Northern AZ is the only exception...I love everything from Prescott north...but I won't leave this paradise where we live. As for crime? Every city has it. Where you find your highest poverty levels is where you find the crime. Thanks for letting me vent.

[ORexpat]

I have lived in Phoenix a little over three years. I never expected to stay, but needed to come here for a while. I will be leaving soon, and can't wait to get out. I know some people who say they just thrive here, but I am not one of them. I hate the lethal heat, I dislike the un-winter-like winters, and I can't bear the endless miles of housing and services.
I have two words to describe Phoenix: insular and predatory. First, people come here and just seem to hole up. Partly, it is the weather, but I think it's also because there's no center. As for predatory, I have never had so many unpleasant experiences with getting various services, from doctors to brake jobs, as I have had here.
I'm tired of the way the desert is being destroyed. I'm tired of a place which takes its moral values from the home builders. I'm tired of seeing real things turned into something phoney.
As for being friendly toward the elderly, forget it. That was the past. What they want here now are young people who will buy lots of things.
I like Tucson better. And many other parts of the state have real people, and are quite lovely. I adore Cochise county, although it has problems because of the illegals.
There! I've sounded off. Thanks for listening.

[june]

Originally Posted by freeverrsee

I have heard a lot of things about AZ but what about the people there?? Are they friendly?? Are they hospitable?? Please answer!!


Freeverrsee

Been there alot over the past 4 years to visit family and look for a home in Surprise, Scottsdale and Peoria and the people are very nice and the state is beautiful.

[june]

Originally Posted by freeverrsee

I live inj VA were the people here are very resentful to NewYorkers does that happen in AZ??

People that are resentful to fellow americans are ignorant people. Im from Ny and never had a problem with that stuff. Arizona is beautiful and noone owns but yourself when you are there so dont worry about resentful people. You wouldnt want to bother with people like that anyway. Good Luck. Be my neighbor and ill invite you for dinner.

[MotleyCrew]

Thank you June. We felt the sting of bias when we moved from S. CA to N. CA. We thought we would not have any problems, but there are idiots everywhere. When we came to AZ with CA license plates we were warned, but only had a token few on our street turn their noses upward. I think that they walk around like that anyway. Most of the people we have met here in Vistancia are from back east and they are very friendly. Love the pot lucks!