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Old 07-13-2009, 06:49 PM
 
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
1,270 posts, read 5,196,022 times
Reputation: 1131

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The original post was from July 2007.
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Old 07-13-2009, 06:50 PM
 
11,155 posts, read 15,665,365 times
Reputation: 4209
^
haha. oops.
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Old 07-13-2009, 08:01 PM
YAZ
 
Location: Phoenix,AZ
7,700 posts, read 14,027,345 times
Reputation: 7037
I noticed the date right away, but find the thread/attitudes quite interesting.

AZ seems to be catching right up to MI.

Economically speaking, AZ & MI are similar in that both states tend to rely on one certain industry. Construction and manufacturing, respectively.

Maybe we'll soften the blow a little.... come wintertime in AZ with tourism.
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Old 07-13-2009, 10:13 PM
 
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Yeah, I thought Phoenix was being given a rather rosy description. A lot changes in two years, especially when the entire economy produces little more than homes.
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Old 07-13-2009, 11:31 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
3,995 posts, read 9,987,032 times
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Development was a big economic piece of the pie. This was true in many places. However, the largest segment of the economy in Phoenix is manufacturing, especially for companies like Intel and medical devices. Tourism is big, but not as big as health care. Education is also a large piece of the pie here. Finance, both personal and business, the list goes on. Home construction was over built but wasn't the largest employer, it just took the biggest hit. Banner Health is the largest employer in Phoenix. Retail is the largest employer (especially Wal-Mart) in Arizona. MI was overly dependent on the auto industry which is worse off than almost any segment of the economy with Wall Street and credit granting entities being up there as well.
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Old 07-14-2009, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Mesa, Az
21,144 posts, read 42,025,101 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by midwesterner82 View Post
I grew up in Michigan, and lived there for the majority of my life. I moved to Phoenix one year ago, and think it's one of the worst places to live. Had i moved to Phoenix about 20 years ago it may have been different. However too many people have moved here and sprawled too far. Why people continue to move here is beyond me?? Given the choice of metro Detroit or Phoenix, i would choose Detroit. Phoenix is dirty, traffic is horrible, people are rude, and besides the city is going to dry up and blow away within 25-30 years anyway. The only thing Phoenix has going for it is propoganda. I cannot wait till i can leave this horrible city and move somewhere real, possibly Minneapolis
Talk about a bunch of BS there.....................especially the part about Phx being dirtier than Detroit
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Old 07-14-2009, 10:16 AM
 
837 posts, read 2,326,818 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ArizonaBear View Post
Talk about a bunch of BS there.....................especially the part about Phx being dirtier than Detroit
yea that one, was a bit outta left field for me! Thats nuts! Everytime I go back to Michigan I can't wait to return to PHX where its warm, clean, and newer
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Old 07-14-2009, 01:41 PM
 
11,155 posts, read 15,665,365 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ArizonaBear View Post
Talk about a bunch of BS there.....................especially the part about Phx being dirtier than Detroit
Well, you have to compare the part of Detroit where the economy actually is and where people actually live - the suburbs. Only 900,000 live in Detroit City, while over 4 million live in Detroit's suburbs. In that comparison, one could make a pretty convincing comparison to Phoenix.

Detroit suburbs actually hold their own in terms of beauty, quality of life, recreational opportunities, beautiful lakes, top-notch shopping, quaint downtowns, etc... with any region in the country. Some of the best public and private schools in the country are there as well.

It's just that Detroit, more than any other major American city, saw the middle class abandon it for the suburbs and not return (due in large part to a corrupt government). So, you have to leave the city of Detroit itself out of the equation, unfortunately, because the middle and upper classes aren't there anymore.
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Old 07-14-2009, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
3,995 posts, read 9,987,032 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluefly View Post
Well, you have to compare the part of Detroit where the economy actually is and where people actually live - the suburbs. Only 900,000 live in Detroit City, while over 4 million live in Detroit's suburbs. In that comparison, one could make a pretty convincing comparison to Phoenix.

Detroit suburbs actually hold their own in terms of beauty, quality of life, recreational opportunities, beautiful lakes, top-notch shopping, quaint downtowns, etc... with any region in the country. Some of the best public and private schools in the country are there as well.

It's just that Detroit, more than any other major American city, saw the middle class abandon it for the suburbs and not return (due in large part to a corrupt government). So, you have to leave the city of Detroit itself out of the equation, unfortunately, because the middle and upper classes aren't there anymore.
You can't leave Detroit out of the equation. It is the "heart" of the metro region. The core of metro Detroit and should be the center of culture and the economy. It would sound ridiculous for people in Arizona to say, leave the largest city and largest downtown out of the equation and pretend Phoenix doesn't exist. LOL, what nonsense.
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Old 07-14-2009, 04:40 PM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
38,986 posts, read 50,954,372 times
Reputation: 28175
Quote:
Originally Posted by fcorrales80 View Post
Development was a big economic piece of the pie. This was true in many places. However, the largest segment of the economy in Phoenix is manufacturing, especially for companies like Intel and medical devices. Tourism is big, but not as big as health care. Education is also a large piece of the pie here. Finance, both personal and business, the list goes on. Home construction was over built but wasn't the largest employer, it just took the biggest hit. Banner Health is the largest employer in Phoenix. Retail is the largest employer (especially Wal-Mart) in Arizona. MI was overly dependent on the auto industry which is worse off than almost any segment of the economy with Wall Street and credit granting entities being up there as well.
Thank you for pointing this out. I don't know how many times we see the inaccurate remark about construction being the sole industry in Phoenix. It is big, no doubt, and we would do well to further diversify. But as you point out, there are a lot of other things going on as well. That is why our dismal unemployment is still below the national average in spite of the total collapse of the home-building sector.
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