Hate This Place? Me Too! (Phoenix, Peoria: taxes, living, cost of)

[sheena]

Originally Posted by movin'on

My BF is American and happens to be Hispanic. He came over here (N. Scottsdale) recently and was, hmm, how do I put it...he rec'd "special attention" while driving from a Scottsdale police officer. He was going the speed limit. He's lived here (Phoenix) his whole life, so he wasn't imagining things.

Too, another time we were having lunch at this restaurant in Phoenix. This guy had looked through the window and saw us and he came in the restaurant to say that my BF had been with another woman the night before (untrue and why would a stranger off the street walk into a restaurant just to say this). It took me about six hours to realize this guy just had an issue with my being with him. Oh well, who cares.

I hate this town soooooooo much. I am soooooooooooo bored here. I am giving things until my birthday. In the interim, I will try to really find things to like here, although after 4 years (in another 6 weeks, moan), I kinda doubt my feelings are going to change.

BTW, I moved here from the Bay Area and struggle with the idea of returning there EVERY DAY practically.

My husband says he's never had a problem. He wasn't born here but he is a legal citizen and does speak English though.

[azkylady]

I know just how you feel, I to am stuck here. I was talked into moving out here by my now Husband, everything he told me about it here proved untrue. lol there are no bugs, the dry heat isen't bad, people are friendly, hardly any crime, yeah right! we have had many arguments over this and it almost did us in. I really get depressed sometimes, i am a person that likes or did to have flowers and a nice lawn, all the brown and dust is a downer, speaking of that I can not keep my house clean no matter how much time I spend on it, I miss a clean house to.Its like being in a fish bowl, and so dangerous with the heat in the summer, sometimes when im out and about I feel like i am going to just drop to the ground im that miserable in the heat. after 5 years I have never embraced or adjusted to Arizona.

[movin'on]

Originally Posted by sheena

My husband says he's never had a problem. He wasn't born here but he is a legal citizen and does speak English though.

Well? My BF was born and raised here and I can't even get him to speak Spanish with me (I wish he would, so I could keep up on my Spanish!) He's completely American, through and through, but still has issues.

In fact, I was in the hospital a few months ago. I couldn't remember if I'd set the alarm or not, but didn't think I had. He went to my house and, sure enough, the alarm went off. Poor guy thought he'd get shot walking out of my house (in my super white neighborhood). Fortunately, I have one of those fobs where the little buttons are there to turn off the system, or he and I would have been in big trouble.

BTW, where do you live? Probably not in AZ if you're by the lake?

[nitram]

Arizona US Census Bureau 2006
Further information Want more? Browse data sets for Arizona
People QuickFacts Arizona USA
Population, 2006 estimate 6,166,318 299,398,484
Population, percent change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 20.2% 6.4%
Population, 2000 5,130,632 281,421,906
Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2005 7.7% 6.8%
Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2005 26.6% 24.8%
Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2005 12.8% 12.4%
Female persons, percent, 2005 49.9% 50.7%

White persons, percent, 2005 (a) 87.4% 80.2%
Black persons, percent, 2005 (a) 3.6% 12.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2005 (a) 5.1% 1.0%
Asian persons, percent, 2005 (a) 2.2% 4.3%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2005 (a) 0.2% 0.2%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2005 1.5% 1.5%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2005 (b) 28.5% 14.4%
White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2005 60.4% 66.9%

Living in same house in 1995 and 2000, pct 5 yrs old & over 44.3% 54.1%
Foreign born persons, percent, 2000 12.8% 11.1%
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2000 25.9% 17.9%
High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000 81.0% 80.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000 23.5% 24.4%
Persons with a disability, age 5+, 2000 902,252 49,746,248
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2000 24.9 25.5

Housing units, 2005 2,544,806 124,521,886
Homeownership rate, 2000 68.0% 66.2%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2000 22.1% 26.4%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2000 $121,300 $119,600

Households, 2000 1,901,327 105,480,101
Persons per household, 2000 2.64 2.59
Median household income, 2004 $43,696 $44,334
Per capita money income, 1999 $20,275 $21,587
Persons below poverty, percent, 2004 14.6% 12.7%
Business QuickFacts Arizona USA
Private nonfarm establishments, 2004 125,6931 7,387,724
Private nonfarm employment, 2004 2,044,1341 115,074,924
Private nonfarm employment, percent change 2000-2004 6.5%1 0.9%
Nonemployer establishments, 2004 334,683 19,523,741

Total number of firms, 2002 381,180 22,974,655
Black-owned firms, percent, 2002 1.7% 5.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native owned firms, percent, 2002 1.7% 0.9%
Asian-owned firms, percent, 2002 2.7% 4.8%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander owned firms, percent, 2002 0.1% 0.1%
Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2002 9.2% 6.8%
Women-owned firms, percent, 2002 28.8% 28.2%

Manufacturers shipments, 2002 ($1000) 41,910,739 3,916,136,712
Wholesale trade sales, 2002 ($1000) 60,976,999 4,634,755,112
Retail sales, 2002 ($1000) 56,457,863 3,056,421,997
Retail sales per capita, 2002 $10,380 $10,615
Accommodation and foodservices sales, 2002 ($1000) 8,612,730 449,498,718
Building permits, 2005 90,851 2,155,316
Federal spending, 2004 ($1000) 41,979,3031 2,143,781,7272
Geography QuickFacts Arizona USA
Land area, 2000 (square miles) 113,634.57 3,537,438.44
Persons per square mile, 2000

[sassieb75]

[quote=HX_Guy;1015160]Ok, so you've pointed out skiing and snowboarding, hiking, possible ice skating and ice fishing, and hanging out at some bar.


I don't think that's "some bar" I think that is a house!

[gyrlonfilm]

well i am moving to phoenix in a couple of weeks no matter what anyone can say on this forum. i cannot believe some of the comments of the people that want to complain.

i guess its true misery loves company.

but to those of us that did grow up in the midwest, i can tell you it is not all its cracked up to be. i have lived in cleveland, ohio for almost 18 years, and i can tell you it really sucks. it took me going to an urban university downtown and realizing how much the city lacks.

people in the midwest are not friendly like everyone on here says they are. you must be living in a small town or something.

and as far as racism, i hear that phoenix is more open minded when it comes to mixed couples than most cities. i am black and my boyfriend is white, and we get looks big time in cleveland from the white and black people that live here. i really could care less, but i am an observant person and i pay attention to the way people treat each other. i also lived in the chicago metro area, western suburbs that has a high percentage of mexican immigrants, and i can say that they were pretty nice (of course i get mistaken for being hispanic all the time). but i really could care less if they are living here. they say that mexican's will do most jobs that american's won't. i think its true.

its hard for many of us to fathom the living conditions that mexican's or anyone from other countries had to live in, so i can see why they would want to live in the U.S. i just don't agree that they should come in illegally.

but not all mexican immigrants are all out selling drugs, and doing what people classify for most of them to do. they are just as hard working as any other race.

its a shame that in 2007, such blatant racism still exists. i guess people from other areas bring their close-minded ideals and try to spread them among the others that work and pray where they are, and realizing that "oh, you don't think the same way as me."

i will tell you this, i will not miss the humidity. i am sitting at my computer and sweating....its ridiculous. it is 92, feels like 94 here in cleveland ohio and 40% humidity the dewpoint is 65 degrees ick!!!!!

[he's so hott]

Some you folks don't know how lucky you are to be in Phoenix. When I moved there 3 years ago from Florida it took about 8 months for me to get adjusted and to see the real beauty of the area. Depending on where you're coming from it can be such a refreshing change of pace, scenery and lifestyle. By moving there I was able to get away from the grittiness of some of the Florida cities and away from the rudeness. Phoenix was a blessing for me and if I could do it over again I would. I can't say that I hate the place where I live now but Phoenix made me see something that can't be duplicated, at least not where I live. And maybe it shouldn't be duplicated but once you're spoiled by it, it's hard to compare other cities.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by movin'on

Well? My BF was born and raised here and I can't even get him to speak Spanish with me (I wish he would, so I could keep up on my Spanish!) He's completely American, through and through, but still has issues.

In fact, I was in the hospital a few months ago. I couldn't remember if I'd set the alarm or not, but didn't think I had. He went to my house and, sure enough, the alarm went off. Poor guy thought he'd get shot walking out of my house (in my super white neighborhood). Fortunately, I have one of those fobs where the little buttons are there to turn off the system, or he and I would have been in big trouble.

BTW, where do you live? Probably not in AZ if you're by the lake?

Yep same here. I had to have his sister teach me Spanish. I always asked him questions and asked him to spak it to me so I could learn but he was no help. Sometimes I think mine has issues too but then other times he's fine.

I lived in AZ until Feb of this year and moved to Charlotte and in a week and a half I will be a citizen of Myrtle Beach SC. I'm still pinching myself I can't beleive I'll be living by the ocean!! I should change my destination now.

Maybe I should change Livin up the lake to livin a coastal dream

[sheena]

Originally Posted by nitram

Arizona US Census Bureau 2006
Further information Want more? Browse data sets for Arizona
People QuickFacts Arizona USA
Population, 2006 estimate 6,166,318 299,398,484
Population, percent change, April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 20.2% 6.4%
Population, 2000 5,130,632 281,421,906
Persons under 5 years old, percent, 2005 7.7% 6.8%
Persons under 18 years old, percent, 2005 26.6% 24.8%
Persons 65 years old and over, percent, 2005 12.8% 12.4%
Female persons, percent, 2005 49.9% 50.7%

White persons, percent, 2005 (a) 87.4% 80.2%
Black persons, percent, 2005 (a) 3.6% 12.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2005 (a) 5.1% 1.0%
Asian persons, percent, 2005 (a) 2.2% 4.3%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2005 (a) 0.2% 0.2%
Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2005 1.5% 1.5%
Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2005 (b) 28.5% 14.4%
White persons not Hispanic, percent, 2005 60.4% 66.9%

Living in same house in 1995 and 2000, pct 5 yrs old & over 44.3% 54.1%
Foreign born persons, percent, 2000 12.8% 11.1%
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, 2000 25.9% 17.9%
High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000 81.0% 80.4%
Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000 23.5% 24.4%
Persons with a disability, age 5+, 2000 902,252 49,746,248
Mean travel time to work (minutes), workers age 16+, 2000 24.9 25.5

Housing units, 2005 2,544,806 124,521,886
Homeownership rate, 2000 68.0% 66.2%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, percent, 2000 22.1% 26.4%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2000 $121,300 $119,600

Households, 2000 1,901,327 105,480,101
Persons per household, 2000 2.64 2.59
Median household income, 2004 $43,696 $44,334
Per capita money income, 1999 $20,275 $21,587
Persons below poverty, percent, 2004 14.6% 12.7%
Business QuickFacts Arizona USA
Private nonfarm establishments, 2004 125,6931 7,387,724
Private nonfarm employment, 2004 2,044,1341 115,074,924
Private nonfarm employment, percent change 2000-2004 6.5%1 0.9%
Nonemployer establishments, 2004 334,683 19,523,741

Total number of firms, 2002 381,180 22,974,655
Black-owned firms, percent, 2002 1.7% 5.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native owned firms, percent, 2002 1.7% 0.9%
Asian-owned firms, percent, 2002 2.7% 4.8%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander owned firms, percent, 2002 0.1% 0.1%
Hispanic-owned firms, percent, 2002 9.2% 6.8%
Women-owned firms, percent, 2002 28.8% 28.2%

Manufacturers shipments, 2002 ($1000) 41,910,739 3,916,136,712
Wholesale trade sales, 2002 ($1000) 60,976,999 4,634,755,112
Retail sales, 2002 ($1000) 56,457,863 3,056,421,997
Retail sales per capita, 2002 $10,380 $10,615
Accommodation and foodservices sales, 2002 ($1000) 8,612,730 449,498,718
Building permits, 2005 90,851 2,155,316
Federal spending, 2004 ($1000) 41,979,3031 2,143,781,7272
Geography QuickFacts Arizona USA
Land area, 2000 (square miles) 113,634.57 3,537,438.44
Persons per square mile, 2000

The illegals don't count in the census. Does that sa AZ 87% white? That's hysterical! American Indian 5%? LOL

[artyst]

I HATE IT HERE!!! i can't wait to leave. i've been here for 22 years. i was born and raised in the midwest and compared to wisconsin, the people in this state are: rude, ride your bumper, cut you off, run you over, are all about me me me, get outta my way, don't have time to say hello, close the garage door and do it over again tomorrow. the environment will literally make you sick: heatstroke, skin cancer, dust in your eyes and in your lungs (valley fever), allergies. it's just plain ugly here: dirty, dusty, dead (anything you don't water daily). not to mention there isn't any history or culture here and there isn't anything to do here....boring!! i'm outta here in 2009, i'm counting the days!!!!! upstate ny here i come!!