Why are SO many Illinois folk attracted to Arizona? (Chicago: section 8, transplants)

[desert student]

Originally Posted by Bill-

Lots of people, myself included, could care less about living in an economic powerhouse as long as we have a decent job and can provide a nice living for our families. As for vile spew, how is someone commenting about warm winters in AZ any different than your endless droning on about the hot summers in AZ. I mean really, you posted pictures of a thermometer.

GREAT POST! LOL! Us "Zonies" are just out of control tyrants and need to be tamed by these harsh Chicago words. Any bets on what we will get called next? LOL!

[jojojohnson76]

Heh, I've been to Chicago once and never been to Arizona, but I'm still chiming in because I can.

I love when people say
"PaSHA! I lIVe IN ArIZoNA itS 300 dEGreez HerRE toDaY, while U R FReEZING witH SnOW . hA HAHA."

Uh, yeah, great. I live where you get snow and LOVE it. I love the cold weather, I love snow, I love four seasons.

Sorry, 100 degrees year round doesn't turn me on. Chicago's winters don't turn me on either, but I'd take it over extreme heat 10 months out of the year any day of the week.

And desert student, I don't think calling you a "Zonie" was any more of a putdown than calling a Chicagoan a Chicagoan. Your education level is completely irrelevant to the conversation. If you say stupid things and make unfounded statements, they aren't negated by the fact that you have a degree.

[desert student]

Originally Posted by jojojohnson76

Heh, I've been to Chicago once and never been to Arizona, but I'm still chiming in because I can.

I love when people say
"PaSHA! I lIVe IN ArIZoNA itS 300 dEGreez HerRE toDaY, while U R FReEZING witH SnOW . hA HAHA."

Uh, yeah, great. I live where you get snow and LOVE it. I love the cold weather, I love snow, I love four seasons.

Sorry, 100 degrees year round doesn't turn me on. Chicago's winters don't turn me on either, but I'd take it over extreme heat 10 months out of the year any day of the week.

And desert student, I don't think calling you a "Zonie" was any more of a putdown than calling a Chicagoan a Chicagoan. Your education level is completely irrelevant to the conversation. If you say stupid things and make unfounded statements, they aren't negated by the fact that you have a degree.

Maybe you can explain to me how my above mentioned statements are unfounded or 'stupid.' I have spent my whole life in Chicagoland up until the start of the new semester. I think this entitles me to a little more opinion on the matter than an individual that does not live there, or a person that has never been to Arizona. It is no secret that Chicago weather is bad! Like I mentioned prior, there is only about two weeks of good weather in Illinois. Phoenix has far more than two weeks, and during those hot times of the summer people are smart and stay inside. Besides, most people I have met have pools which aid in heat recovery. You can't use a pool in Chicago without expecting it to become the nursery for a few million mosquito eggs, and pools really don't help make the outdoors feel better with 100% humidty for weeks on end. Who needs one though in Chicago when you can swim in your own lovely internal cooling system know as sweat! Funny how in the winter AND summer months of Chicago you don't see anyone out. Why? Because the weather doesn't allow it. My education does play a key role since Steve-O decided to grant my writing as the "Dumbest Post of the Year Award." Thanks again for that! Maybe by him knowing where I recieved the formal education, to write with some form of intelligence, would help him realize how odd his statement was.

[bigjersey]

The interesting thing about your post is that it reveals something about certain midwesterners that I've noticed. I'm originally from the Northeast near New York, and before moving to Chicago I always thought it was funny how self-hating midwesterners in New York were. They're always like.... Chicago sucks, it's boring, the people are stupid, it's cold. Then when I came to school here, I was completely astonished by how sophisticated, cool, and exciting Chicago was.

I think midwesterners often leave Chicago with some baggage. It's as if they have bad memories of growing up in some anonymous Chicago suburb, waiting for the bus on cold dark mornings in December. The problem is that alot of them missed out on the great parts of living in Chicago because they were too busy dealing with life as a kid in an anonymous suburb. Now they move to Phoenix or New York and see a place with fresh eyes. I only wish midwestern expats weren't so self-hating. I see Chicago with the same fresh eyes that you see Phoenix. To me Chicago is one of the great cities in the world. Suburbs anywhere aren't fun for alot of people, but I believe the city of Chicago is a treasure. Cities are always about the people, and Chicagoans have that perfect blend of urban grit and glam, midwestern charm, and cultural sophistication.

I just took a walk around the neighborhood. Right now it's about to snow, the Christmas lights are all up around Michigan Avenue and downtown, everyone's out for the night dressed up in cashmere sweaters, wool scarves, and furry hats. I see people dressed in handsome black and khaki overcoat with leather gloves. A drunk man was eating icecream and laughing to himself. A pack of fifteen girls was laughing and stumbling around, everyone dressed for Friday night in full makeup. The plantars are filled with pine branches and red ornaments. I girl and golden retriever were going on a walk. The doormen are standing around with large black hats hailing cabs. I mean this type of atmosphere can be found in very few American cities, and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. The changing seasons and extreme weather only add to the scale of excitement in Chicago.

[Havasu]

Arizona has an open mind about change and welcome it,unlike Illinios where everything stays the same year after year nothing ever changes in the state except your tax rate. The roads in AZ are in better shape and you do not get taxed so bad.There are no toll roads either in AZ. You get more for your money in AZ.There is lots of open land to go off roading too.
When it gets hot all you do is jump in the pool

[Tex?Il?]

Arizona is such a diverse state that has so many different environments, natural wonders, and landscapes. For me personally, it would be the natural scene that would attract me. The weather isn't so big a deal, but I do like the sunny skies of AZ.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by via chicago

i dont have the time, energy, or even care enough to give this the rebuttal it deserves. All I can say is I love Chicago with every fiber of my being, warts and all. Its the only city in the US i would ever consider living in. I love the grittiness. I love the incomparable architecture. I love the hard nosed but friendly attitude of the people. I love the endless array of unique and close knit neighborhoods. I love the culture and world class museums that are literally on my doorstep. I love the lack of pretension. I love the food. I love that I will never have to own a car. I love following the insane politics. I love the sound of the waves of the lake crashing against the shore. I love the changing of 4 seasons, always beginning anew. I love the howling of the wolves from Lincoln Park zoo late at night. I love the menacing beauty of the skyline. I would never trade this to live in some glorified suburb out in the desert for anything

Yeah, I know. But the hard-nosed lack of pretension, grittiness . . . I guess I can see it, but the total lack of idealism comes from hard working immigrant mentality can really drag you down sometimes and can be a little depressing. I've lived out west, but my familys here. I just join my outdoor clubs and just ignore (not in a rude way of course, I mean just let them be) everyone who doesn't share my interests.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Havasu

Arizona has an open mind about change and welcome it,unlike Illinios where everything stays the same year after year nothing ever changes in the state

You just have to explain this, Im dying to know how AZ is so "open to change and IL isnt".

[Havasu]

Very simple, AZ encourages growth, where as Illinios does not by taxing any new business that wants to establish themselves there. The roads are in very bad shape even though you have to pay to drive on them.(Where does that money go?) If there is an old building in AZ they let or encourage you tear it down and build a newer modern looking one unlike Illinios where the old buildings stay up for decades.I guess there is no need to build new ones since the growth is so little if any at all. AZ is one of the fastest growing places in the Nation.The word on the street across the USA is if you want free healthcare move to Illinios they will take care of you and house you too all for FREE. So you will get growth now, but its the wrong kind of growth. I guess you win that one for your state being open minded.You can be the first to offer free healthcare i do not want to have anything to do with that. Why do you think it is that Pep Boys is closing up shop in Rockford and so is CompUSA and in Machesney Park the Taco John is less then a year old has decided to close and leave the area? Its because the state makes it very hard to do business there and i know due to experience i tried a few years back.Im not sure about the Southern part but i am sure of the Northern part. Someday i might return to the midwest but it will be Wisconsin or Iowa. Not Illinios. If Obama gets in, good luck, he will have alot of explaining to do about how Illinios is run. That will hurt him.

[desert student]

Originally Posted by Havasu

Very simple, AZ encourages growth, where as Illinios does not by taxing any new business that wants to establish themselves there. The roads are in very bad shape even though you have to pay to drive on them.(Where does that money go?) If there is an old building in AZ they let or encourage you tear it down and build a newer modern looking one unlike Illinios where the old buildings stay up for decades.I guess there is no need to build new ones since the growth is so little if any at all. AZ is one of the fastest growing places in the Nation.The word on the street across the USA is if you want free healthcare move to Illinios they will take care of you and house you too all for FREE. So you will get growth now, but its the wrong kind of growth. I guess you win that one for your state being open minded.You can be the first to offer free healthcare i do not want to have anything to do with that. Why do you think it is that Pep Boys is closing up shop in Rockford and so is CompUSA and in Machesney Park the Taco John is less then a year old has decided to close and leave the area? Its because the state makes it very hard to do business there and i know due to experience i tried a few years back.Im not sure about the Southern part but i am sure of the Northern part. Someday i might return to the midwest but it will be Wisconsin or Iowa. Not Illinios. If Obama gets in, good luck, he will have alot of explaining to do about how Illinios is run. That will hurt him.

That free healthcare campaign is a joke! Yet another smack in the face for the already struggling middle class! The first thing I thought of when that was issued a while back was, "Great! If Illinois wasn't bad off as is, now we have to embrace the great, All American, ideals of Michael Moore." Of course look at all those countries that offer free health care. Good idea in theory, but bad in practice. Hospitals that are at max. capacity because everyone goes to the ER when they stub their toe. In one of the countries it has become so bad people are now lining up outside vet offices hoping to get treatmet. Our, well my old, govenor tries so desperatly to connect with the inner city parts of Chicago, and extreme southern Illinois, but for some reason the entire state has just tuned him out. Could it be the fact that he refuses to live in Springfield because it just isn't urban enough. So now the taxayers of Illinois are stuck paying for a mansion, its utilities, and staff when no one lives in it! Not to mention the gas that it takes for him to travel between Chicago and Springfield once a week, just to make sure his face is seen down there.