Moving to Phoenix? Think again! (live, shop, eat)

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

If you think youll miss fall, AZ wont be the place for you. Youll be stuck staring at the same never-changing environment as long as you live there, unless you live up near Flagstaff/Show Low/etc.

The first year we were in AZ it struck me as incredibly odd how the temperature lowered, but that the days still looked exactly the same when the seasons changed. Same cloudless or nearly cloudless turquoise sky for months on end.

I've since learned to enjoy these months, no matter how freakish they still seem.

[43north87west]

I'd sooner sit in 115 than -15. Nothing works right in -15 degrees, not me for sure. I'd rather be swimming than ice fishing.

The rapid growth is something that the whole sunbelt is experiencing. Houston and Dallas are nice, but there are some areas of each that aren't going to be winning any awards either. And the humidity in Houston... don't get me started on that.

For people who think we have traffic in Phoenix, sit on southbound I-95 in suburban DC/VA some fine Friday afternoon. Try going to Virginia Beach, a 2 hour drive on a nice day, can take you ALL DAY. Or try crossing the Chesepeake Bay Bridge to go to the Eastern shore. It is utterly hopeless. You can spend the entire weekend driving, and not getting anywhere.

In short, what a hole. I'd rather sit in traffic that actually moves somewhere, like here.

A year ago I packed up and moved to Scottsdale on a whim, because I felt like it and the area is booming, by and large. Also because I don't go to work, so I don't worry about traffic or commutes. Phoenix has problems, but it isn't alone in having problems. All the major metros have them. Phoenix is very young and as such does not have the legacy infrastructure laid down already.

Although I've been very critical of Scottsdale (and may continue to be, no promises), I've gotten somewhat settled into the area. I can do without the fake boobs, bleached hair, colored contacts, and the equine cosmetic dentistry, but that's just how the West is. "Look at me." People have parades for themselves. It was alien to me as I came from the fiscally conservative crowd back East. North Scottsdale is even more flashy, but the more I have traveled "similar" suburbs even in the Midwest and the East, the more they are the same, only in a different area. Minneapolis has them as well. Basically, what you see on TV, is what people emulate. Or is it the other way around? That includes the snob factor, attitudes, etc.

Ultimately you have to live somewhere. There are some down sides to the Phoenix area. For example, it is a suburb with no city. The downtown area looks like Schaumburg, IL. I still haven't gotten over that part but I can deal with it. Overall, it isn't that great as far as the overall sophistication of the area goes, but that's what will happen when people pour into an area, I guess.

I would also agree there's plenty of trash in Phoenix...

...and LA, and Houston, and Dallas. None of those cities are particularly nice, at least no nicer than here. I wouldn't consider moving to any one of those, especially not LA. Houston would be moderately tolerable, but Dallas? I'll take Scottsdale any day of the week, thanks.

What about Florida? New Orleans? Atlanta? Not on the top of my list, and you sure don't want to wander far off the beaten path or into the wrong neighborhood in New Orleans or Atlanta. Florida is hit or miss, but anything not in Central Florida or within a few miles of the coast, is just a bit too "backwater" for my liking.

Crime is another problem entirely. It is a problem everywhere, all major metropolitan areas. And not an easy problem to solve either.

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by bethland

Well folks, I've lived in the Phoenix area for about 7 years now. It was okay, I adjusted to the heat. I rented a beach house in Rock Point in the summer, I made it work. What I can't do any more is deal with the air quality. It is scary here people. I can not breath here anymore. I went to the ER the other day for a sun induced panic attack..Yes that happens, and he told me everybody who lives in Phoenix will get Valley Fever. Valley fever is microorganisms growing on your lungs. It is from breathing in dust, fungus's, spores, and all the other crap floating around in the dry hot air. Now moving on to allergies. I never had allergies before I moved here. The locals or transplants kindly refer to the 5 year mark when your system can take no more and you develop some nasty nasty allergies. We've go them all here, pollen, mold, dust, dry-air, pollution, sun, and thats just to name a view. I can see why the older community lives in Phoenix, their arthritis does not flare up as much. As for the jobs, ya theres jobs and you'll be working with a mixture of languages. So thats cool, the housing is not affordable anymore because everybody from Californian wanted to move here and buy mansions. Its utter crap. There is no culture, the city is to young for it. Maybe when the lite-rail is completed it will bring the city more together, but you know what I'm outta here, and I'm not telling you where I'm going, because people in Phoenix are followers and I'm sick to death of everybody doing what the trend of the day is. As for wanting friendships with your neighbors, you better be Hispanic or Mormon. Everybody else goes home and stays there, unless they decided to go drinking and driving which everybody does here on the weekends. Happy Moves! P.S. I'm only 27 and was perfectly healthy before I moved here, can't say the same now.

The allergies and lack of culture I will agree with. However, I also understand to HAVE culture - you must have Diversity! As for wanting friendships with your neighbors - "you better be Hispanic or Mormon," - may be true for your neighborhood and perhaps you should state which neighborhood you live in - have me curious. Where are you, Mesa? If you desire culture - you must be more tolerant of diversity. It is not true ("mormon and Hispanic") for my area and numerous areas in the valley. You cannot generalize on that one - it's misleading. If Hispanics have been that much of an irritant for you, I cannot imagine why you would rent a getaway house in Rocky Point, Mexico in the thick of it all. And by the way - all there really is to do in Rocky Point is swim, layout, eat and drink. Pretty much what "everyone" does up here in Phoenix - "everyone" does down there. Rocky Point is no Acapulco or Cancun. Mormons don't hurt anyone - I have yet to see on the news, "Three disguised Mormons robbed a Teller at gunpoint at Chase Bank...." They keep to themselves. It cannot be blamed on the Californians either - after all, Phoenix is described as an "extended suburb of Chicago." Everyone wants to blame someone - where did you matriculate from? Natives can blame you.

Housing is still quite affordable when compared to Chicago, New York, Dallas, Miami, West Palm Beach, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, DC, Boston, etc.

[Elmonellie]

Originally Posted by bethland

Well folks, I've lived in the Phoenix area for about 7 years now. It was okay, I adjusted to the heat. I rented a beach house in Rock Point in the summer, I made it work. What I can't do any more is deal with the air quality. It is scary here people. I can not breath here anymore. I went to the ER the other day for a sun induced panic attack..Yes that happens, and he told me everybody who lives in Phoenix will get Valley Fever. Valley fever is microorganisms growing on your lungs. It is from breathing in dust, fungus's, spores, and all the other crap floating around in the dry hot air. Now moving on to allergies. I never had allergies before I moved here. The locals or transplants kindly refer to the 5 year mark when your system can take no more and you develop some nasty nasty allergies. We've go them all here, pollen, mold, dust, dry-air, pollution, sun, and thats just to name a view. I can see why the older community lives in Phoenix, their arthritis does not flare up as much. As for the jobs, ya theres jobs and you'll be working with a mixture of languages. So thats cool, the housing is not affordable anymore because everybody from Californian wanted to move here and buy mansions. Its utter crap. There is no culture, the city is to young for it. Maybe when the lite-rail is completed it will bring the city more together, but you know what I'm outta here, and I'm not telling you where I'm going, because people in Phoenix are followers and I'm sick to death of everybody doing what the trend of the day is. As for wanting friendships with your neighbors, you better be Hispanic or Mormon. Everybody else goes home and stays there, unless they decided to go drinking and driving which everybody does here on the weekends. Happy Moves! P.S. I'm only 27 and was perfectly healthy before I moved here, can't say the same now.

Good luck on your move. Something tells me that you will find fault with the next evil city you move to. Hope not.

As far as Valley Fever goes...your Dr. said that EVERYBODY gets it? EVERYBODY? Perhaps a bit of an exageration on your part to bolster your dislike of this area. I can assure you that everybody does not get VF.

As far as the Hispanic/Mormon comment...Sorry you think those two groups were not worthy of your friendship. Your loss.

Oh, and good move not saying where you are moving. I'm SURE everyone who read your post would follow you. That is pretty funny.

[Stumblina]

Originally Posted by lukeache

Hey all:

I dont want to start a riot here, but after having lived in Phoenix for 3 years, I felt like it was a big mistake, so I wanted to warn people that might be thinking about moving to Phoenix. When I first visited Phoenix, it was kinda neat, the palm trees, the desert etc, but when you actually move there, it is a different story. The heat, it does not matter how much ppl try to say that it is a "dry heat", it is just horrendous! I am currently living in Minnesota and not even a -15 F winter day in Minnesota is worse than a 115 F day in Phoenix.

That's just crazy talk!

Because Phoenix is mostly a transplant town, it is a place with no culture!

Hmmmm. . . I bet the Hispancs would beg to differ with you on the "culture" issue!

People dont say hi, how are you or good morning, and try saying Hi to people, many will look at you like you are out of your mind.

Funny, I've never had a problem running into "friendly" people in AZ. Maybe these unfriendly people are picking up your unfriendly negativity.

It is a very plastic place, men made lakes and very superficial people. If you go to the "upscale" areas like Scottsdale, it is mostly 30K millionaires with leased BMW's trying to impress you with their mindless talk. Also, Phoenix similarly to Vegas is a "crap magnet", for whatever reason, all the trash from the South goes to Phoenix, thinking that they are going to strike gold, this migration only creates an underclass of homeless people, strippers, white supremacists,criminals, shady people, drug dealers, meth addicts, white trash etc! It is just horrible!!

Apparently you've never been to Detroit. And by the way . . . there are "man made lakes" all over this country.

I dont know how the economy is now, but a few years ago, it was very weak, even jobs with the state of Arizona paid 9-10 dollars/hr, terrible!! This is by far the most plastic, soulless, cultureless, cookie cutter city in this country.

Apparently you've never been to West Bloomfield, MI.

If you are looking for a "lower cost of living", Dallas and Houston are much better than Phoenix, bearable heat and much better job market.

Are you kidding? Have you ever been there when it's over 100 WITH the humidity? Have you seen the floods there lately?

Just wanted to point out that there's no such thing as a "perfect place" to live cuz EVERYWHERE is going to have the same problems as AZ.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

I'd sooner sit in 115 than -15. Nothing works right in -15 degrees, not me for sure. I'd rather be swimming than ice fishing.

The rapid growth is something that the whole sunbelt is experiencing. Houston and Dallas are nice, but there are some areas of each that aren't going to be winning any awards either. And the humidity in Houston... don't get me started on that.

For people who think we have traffic in Phoenix, sit on southbound I-95 in suburban DC/VA some fine Friday afternoon. Try going to Virginia Beach, a 2 hour drive on a nice day, can take you ALL DAY. Or try crossing the Chesepeake Bay Bridge to go to the Eastern shore. It is utterly hopeless. You can spend the entire weekend driving, and not getting anywhere.

In short, what a hole. I'd rather sit in traffic that actually moves somewhere, like here.

A year ago I packed up and moved to Scottsdale on a whim, because I felt like it and the area is booming, by and large. Also because I don't go to work, so I don't worry about traffic or commutes. Phoenix has problems, but it isn't alone in having problems. All the major metros have them. Phoenix is very young and as such does not have the legacy infrastructure laid down already.

Although I've been very critical of Scottsdale (and may continue to be, no promises), I've gotten somewhat settled into the area. I can do without the fake boobs, bleached hair, colored contacts, and the equine cosmetic dentistry, but that's just how the West is. "Look at me." People have parades for themselves. It was alien to me as I came from the fiscally conservative crowd back East. North Scottsdale is even more flashy, but the more I have traveled "similar" suburbs even in the Midwest and the East, the more they are the same, only in a different area. Minneapolis has them as well. Basically, what you see on TV, is what people emulate. Or is it the other way around? That includes the snob factor, attitudes, etc.

Ultimately you have to live somewhere. There are some down sides to the Phoenix area. For example, it is a suburb with no city. The downtown area looks like Schaumburg, IL. I still haven't gotten over that part but I can deal with it. Overall, it isn't that great as far as the overall sophistication of the area goes, but that's what will happen when people pour into an area, I guess.

I would also agree there's plenty of trash in Phoenix...

...and LA, and Houston, and Dallas. None of those cities are particularly nice, at least no nicer than here. I wouldn't consider moving to any one of those, especially not LA. Houston would be moderately tolerable, but Dallas? I'll take Scottsdale any day of the week, thanks.

What about Florida? New Orleans? Atlanta? Not on the top of my list, and you sure don't want to wander far off the beaten path or into the wrong neighborhood in New Orleans or Atlanta. Florida is hit or miss, but anything not in Central Florida or within a few miles of the coast, is just a bit too "backwater" for my liking.

Crime is another problem entirely. It is a problem everywhere, all major metropolitan areas. And not an easy problem to solve either.

As much as people want to deny our problems they are true, your not crazy. It is bad for your health to live here, lung and heart disease is increased here from our "Brown cloud". Valley Fever stats go about 1 in 33 people, higher the longer you live here. Asthma can come on suddenly in healthy people here due to our pollution problem. We have higher crime than 80% of the country and we rank 50th in education. We have triple the teen suicide rate and one of the highest drop out rates, especially hispanic males, who then join gangs. The drug and illegal trafficking here is higher than most other states. It's hot as hell and getting hotter. You think its cheap to live here until you get your electric bill in June, July, Aug, Sept and 1/2 of Oct. Our pay scale is lower than 1/2 the countries.
The fact of the matter is, your more likely to get robbed here, sick here, hot here or kill your self here than most of the other states. I didn't say all people, yes, Texas and L.A. are worse! Don't yell at the poster, he's right, this seems weird to people. With all of this crap Arizona's population grows at the rate of one city a year.(this is a fact!) I think it's because outlying housing is cheap and we don't have a winter. By the way, if we had a winter, we would be healthier and live longer. People in the Northlands, and New England live longer than us. Go figure, we are 1/2 dead by the time the end comes.lol

Oh, and I would move if I could sell my house here. Just one more thing thats worse in Phoenix!

[RebelSugar]

Originally Posted by Greatday

Phoenix, and the surrounding Metro area are not for everyone. Then again, what city / state is? Just like those who have personal preferences for automobiles, the same holds true for where to live.

But, seems some facts needs to be set straight here: Yes, temperatures do get somewhat high 3 months out of the year. The other 9 though are mild. Hence the reason that from October to late April, the "snowbirds" arrive -

The metro area was planned using a concept known as the Urban Village Concept - a major employment / shopping area in the center and then radiating out from there. It has worked pretty well since initiated in 1950 (with frequent updates)

The Valley of the Sun has beltways going around the city - the 101, 202 and 303. There are the arterial freeways including the 143 and the 51 with I-10 connecting all of them.

The poster who complained about the distance from Apache Junction to Goodyear did not make sense to me: If he worked in AJ and CHOOSES to live in Goodyear, that is his problem

The Valley of the Sun has become a Hi-Tech mecca - lots of hi-tech companies here - and the resulting manufacturing - with Boeing, Intel, Gen Dynamics etc. The Valley is also a mecca for education - with numerous colleges and universities offering courses from the very basic to the "highest of the high" - med schools, law schools, engineering schools etc. ASU and UofA have patterned with a new Med School in Downtown Phoenix. The ASU research park is world renowned.

Recreation abounds for the residents - there are 5 large urban lakes within a very short drive. Golfing second to none - people come from all over the world to golf in the Valley. Sports - you name a sport - it is here.

Things that make the quality of life so good - the arts (including Taliesin) - Theater. The Symphony.

Transportation issues are present - but are being addressed. The new light rail is ahead of its construction schedule and will connect West side with East side. And, plans for expanding it north and south are in the works.

Access to airports has just gotten easier with the introduction of commercial air from Gateway Airport (East side) as well as Sky Harbor International.

Are there problems to be had in Phoenix? Of course. But, as I noted earlier, tell me one other major city in this great nation that does not have problems to address -

As I said - it is a matter of personal preferences -

I like the way you have presented your statement. I know what it is like to love a city and to hate a city. I never understood why people blamed the actual city for their own likes/dislikes or lack of achievements. Im originally from LA and will defend the county with my life even though there are millions of problems there. To each her own.

I have lived in Las Vegas for 4 years and have noticed that what is idealized through media does not come to fruition. Im guessing the same with all big cities.

[JTC]

My friend who lives over there tells me, you cant even go to one of the malls without being jumped, and cars are always being stolen...is that true? lol

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by JTC

My friend who lives over there tells me, you cant even go to one of the malls without being jumped, and cars are always being stolen...is that true? lol

I don't know about the being jumped part, unless you're in a VERY bad neighborhood or a gang banger. The other part about cars being stolen is very true. It's on the worst places to park out here. I had one car stolen from a mall.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by JTC

My friend who lives over there tells me, you cant even go to one of the malls without being jumped, and cars are always being stolen...is that true? lol

Your "friend" is ... "incorrect"