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Thinking of moving to Phoenix huh?? Here are a few tips...
NIGHTLIFE - you are 22 years old..and i am assuming you envision "nightlife" to be that of glamorous club and bar hopping. the only thing I can say about the nightlife here in Phoenix is that it sucks. To go into downtown is a nightmare in itself, not because of the traffic but because there are virtually no places to park. There are always random cars parked by the curb where you are allowed to. The parking buildings are about a block or two away from the good clubs, if you dont mind walking. Also, don't envision the nightlife in downtown to be so busy and people walking around because it is not. In fact, it's quite dangerous to walk around downtown Phoenix. Either you will be asked for change from a bum, a random person or a crackhead. Scottsdale nightlife however is pretty good. The clubs are great, but really depends on what kind of music you listen to. Mill Avenue used to be boring, but now they have about 5-6 bars/lounges and it's much easier because you can park 2 a carpark and walk around and not have to be stuck in one place.
Also, cops here will be waiting around @ night. No matter day it is, they are a lot of them driving around, stationed by clubs around the metro area and downtown. Dont even try to drink and drive because chances are that you will get pulled over. Cops roll deep over here and will pull you over for the craziest things.
HOUSING - Don't believe what you've heard that Phx is a living, breathing city. You can barely compare it to cities like Chicago, Seattle or LA. Its suburbs everywhere, even by downtown. Downtown Phoenix or anything within the 15 mile radius of Central Avenue is quite low income. You can DEFINITELY find an apartment here for under $500/ month but not in the best neighborhoods. Scottsdale has apartments that run ridiculously overpriced, for example $850 - $900 for a one bedroom. North Phoenix is the best bet to find a good apartment that runs about $600-800 and you can get yourself a 2 bedroom at the maximum price.
As for houses, the real estate market here is bleak. Which means its a great time to buy a house, if you are in the market to do so. Equity will jump up in a couple of years so if you want to invest now is the time to do so. You could even rent a house for $800-900 a month but then again, you need to do your research since you don't want to get stuck living in a bad neighborhood.
PEOPLE - people here are...mehhh. Meaning they really are either or. Nothing in between. I have met a lot of scandalous people here, but then again so can you anywhere else in the world but for some reason a lot more people here in Phoenix just seem to have more problems than the next guy. Big Latino and African American population in the westside. There are a lot more Asians/East Indians/Middle Easterns in the east valley like Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert, Mesa. People here are bad at driving. Hardly anyone will honk their horn to signal someone to avoid hitting them.
WEATHER - if you do not like the heat, you will have a hard time trying to adjust to this kind of weather. Where are you originally from? The heat of az is nothing compared to the humid states of say, Florida or Georgia. It is extremely dry as soon as late April comes and the peak of the 120 heat is probably July. Phoenix or anywhere else in the metro area is not a good place to be walking around in the months of May till about late September. This is more of a driving oriented city. Buy a reliable vehicle and you can get anywhere with this.
TRANSPORTATION - Phoenix is pretty new to the idea of the light rail, so it's in its early days as of yet. Buses are reliable, but say, to get somewhere that would usually take 15 minutes in a car will take you about an hour. No joke. Buses come every 30 minutes, so you need to plan in advance if you are wanting to take public transportation.
CRIME - I guess compared to Detroit, Phoenix isn't so bad. However, crime rate has gone up so be careful wherever you go around here. I guess it's the same in every city. Just use your common sense.
I guess bottom line is..if you are looking for a breathing, living city where people are walking around, enjoying the scenery, Phoenix really isn't the place to be. In fact, a lot of people here are either with a child, married, married with children or living with someone and are wanting to settle down and buy a nice house to invest in. If I were you, move to Atlanta or Boston or even New York (if you like the chaos). Vegas is good too, except there's nothing to do after the Strip. Kind of like a hybrid of Phoenix, just not a lot of the ghetto once you escape the downtown.
Thinking of moving to Phoenix huh?? Here are a few tips...
NIGHTLIFE - you are 22 years old..and i am assuming you envision "nightlife" to be that of glamorous club and bar hopping. the only thing I can say about the nightlife here in Phoenix is that it sucks. To go into downtown is a nightmare in itself, not because of the traffic but because there are virtually no places to park. There are always random cars parked by the curb where you are allowed to. The parking buildings are about a block or two away from the good clubs, if you dont mind walking. Also, don't envision the nightlife in downtown to be so busy and people walking around because it is not. In fact, it's quite dangerous to walk around downtown Phoenix. Either you will be asked for change from a bum, a random person or a crackhead. Scottsdale nightlife however is pretty good. The clubs are great, but really depends on what kind of music you listen to. Mill Avenue used to be boring, but now they have about 5-6 bars/lounges and it's much easier because you can park 2 a carpark and walk around and not have to be stuck in one place.
Also, cops here will be waiting around @ night. No matter day it is, they are a lot of them driving around, stationed by clubs around the metro area and downtown. Dont even try to drink and drive because chances are that you will get pulled over. Cops roll deep over here and will pull you over for the craziest things.
HOUSING - Don't believe what you've heard that Phx is a living, breathing city. You can barely compare it to cities like Chicago, Seattle or LA. Its suburbs everywhere, even by downtown. Downtown Phoenix or anything within the 15 mile radius of Central Avenue is quite low income. You can DEFINITELY find an apartment here for under $500/ month but not in the best neighborhoods. Scottsdale has apartments that run ridiculously overpriced, for example $850 - $900 for a one bedroom. North Phoenix is the best bet to find a good apartment that runs about $600-800 and you can get yourself a 2 bedroom at the maximum price.
As for houses, the real estate market here is bleak. Which means its a great time to buy a house, if you are in the market to do so. Equity will jump up in a couple of years so if you want to invest now is the time to do so. You could even rent a house for $800-900 a month but then again, you need to do your research since you don't want to get stuck living in a bad neighborhood.
PEOPLE - people here are...mehhh. Meaning they really are either or. Nothing in between. I have met a lot of scandalous people here, but then again so can you anywhere else in the world but for some reason a lot more people here in Phoenix just seem to have more problems than the next guy. Big Latino and African American population in the westside. There are a lot more Asians/East Indians/Middle Easterns in the east valley like Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert, Mesa. People here are bad at driving. Hardly anyone will honk their horn to signal someone to avoid hitting them.
WEATHER - if you do not like the heat, you will have a hard time trying to adjust to this kind of weather. Where are you originally from? The heat of az is nothing compared to the humid states of say, Florida or Georgia. It is extremely dry as soon as late April comes and the peak of the 120 heat is probably July. Phoenix or anywhere else in the metro area is not a good place to be walking around in the months of May till about late September. This is more of a driving oriented city. Buy a reliable vehicle and you can get anywhere with this.
TRANSPORTATION - Phoenix is pretty new to the idea of the light rail, so it's in its early days as of yet. Buses are reliable, but say, to get somewhere that would usually take 15 minutes in a car will take you about an hour. No joke. Buses come every 30 minutes, so you need to plan in advance if you are wanting to take public transportation.
CRIME - I guess compared to Detroit, Phoenix isn't so bad. However, crime rate has gone up so be careful wherever you go around here. I guess it's the same in every city. Just use your common sense.
I guess bottom line is..if you are looking for a breathing, living city where people are walking around, enjoying the scenery, Phoenix really isn't the place to be. In fact, a lot of people here are either with a child, married, married with children or living with someone and are wanting to settle down and buy a nice house to invest in. If I were you, move to Atlanta or Boston or even New York (if you like the chaos). Vegas is good too, except there's nothing to do after the Strip. Kind of like a hybrid of Phoenix, just not a lot of the ghetto once you escape the downtown.
Kidding right? Suburbs even in downtown? LOL LOL Right, I guess those million dollar historic homes and old condo buildings look real suburban in every city. LOL What an uninformed poster. Parking in downtown, especially at night isn't bad. And you contradict yourself, if people had trouble parking, then had to walk to clubs downtown, wouldn't there be a lot of people walking around on the streets??? Another uneducated post.
Also, there are a few bums downtown, but then I recall living in Manhattan and L.A., SEATTLE especially, and practically tripping over all the bums in the streets and sidewalks. Unfortunately it is part of the urban landscape in every city. Much more so in other places besides Phoenix. Nightlife in Seattle sucks compared to Phoenix or Scottsdale. The bars/clubs are small, spread out, and often in suburbs like Auburn where a generic super mall exists; these are a few reasons I decided NOT to live in Seattle, Portland, or L.A. for that matter. L.A. is the epitome of decentralized cities in the world, don't try to pass it off as some urbanized downtown livable city. The population of downtown Phoenix and L.A. are comparable despite L.A. having over 3 million people in the city alone.
Light rail may be running for only 7 months but it has broken transportation estimates and now carries nearly, or over a million people every month which surpasses many other cities with light rail that have been running longer; Minneapolis, Houston, Denver, etc.
As for a $500 apartment downtown, good luck. More like $800-900 for a studio or $1000 or more for a 1 bedroom. If you travel outside of downtown in any city and venture into the ghetto, you can get a cheaper place, this is true in Manhattan as well. Washington Heights is much more affordable and downright cheap compared to Chelsea, just the way it works.
The people here are from everywhere else. Chances are you will meet more people from where ever you are compared to those who are Phoenix natives...LOL, thats another Phoenix fact. Nonetheless, people here are very nice I contribute that to the mid-Western influence and the laid back quality that was here before the boom times. Phoenix also was ranked as the safest big city to drive in. It is on this forum, do a search of "Phoenix driving" and you'll find the information.
Crime; Phoenix is ranked as the 65th for crime; cities like Houston, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Honolulu, Miami, Dallas, Philadelphia, Stockton, and on and on are much more dangerous than Phoenix. There was a 24% drop in homicides in Phoenix so far this year compared to last year. It is the only city to experience such a HUGE decline in crime. This was only for homicide, burglaries, rape, assault, and car thefts have fallen by double digit figures as well and some like car thefts by almost 30%. Phoenix doesn't even come close to Detroit for crime No way, no how. It doesn't even come close to Chicago or Minneapolis. Again, search crime in Phoenix on this forum and you'll pull up all the threads with the statistics and information about the dropping rate of crime in metro Phoenix.
It gets hot in Phoenix, remember we are in the desert. About three months out of the year are HOT months. Another two are warm during the day and cool at night, beautiful weather and the other months are absolute paradise. It doesn't reach 120° on a regular basis or ever really; that happened once in 1990 and hasn't happened since and was a RECORD breaking temperature. We DO have days over 110° about 10 days a year on average and never a whole month with such high temps. Our averages for June, July and August range from high 90's to 107° and back down into the low 100's and 90's by september. But it is important to keep our warm desert climate in mind. Many residents escape to other areas of Phoenix where it can freeze at night in the summer. Remember, you can swim one day in Phoenix and ski the next in Flagstaff during the winter. During the summer you can bake and tan at 107° in Phoenix and have to wear a sweatshirt the next morning/evening in "high country" cities/towns. But people always say they are leaving Phoenix because of the summer, then October rolls around and they fall in love with the city again until June. LOL, happens every year; you never know when you'll be one of those who loves the city year round though. The majority here are, but the few minority who failed to realize the climate and desert environment don't and complain about for their own silly misinformed decision.
Last edited by fcorrales80; 07-13-2009 at 05:58 PM..
Saying that temps get nice in October is a flat out lie--it stays miserably hot through Halloween. I don't consider 93 degrees on October 28th to be "cool" weather. And the heat in this town might be bearable, even in summer, if it cooled down at night. It doesn't. Unless you are one of those people who, again, tries to claim that 90+ degrees at 10 pm is "pleasant".
Saying that temps get nice in October is a flat out lie--it stays miserably hot through Halloween. I don't consider 93 degrees on October 28th to be "cool" weather. And the heat in this town might be bearable, even in summer, if it cooled down at night. It doesn't. Unless you are one of those people who, again, tries to claim that 90+ degrees at 10 pm is "pleasant".
90 degrees in October to me is warm, not hot. So I consider that to be pleasant weather and in October the highs in the 90's are short lived as it cools VERY quickly and into the 70's and 60's at night. Matter of opinion but no less, is paradise to me. And in summer it cools to the 80's. 90+ at 10pm is warm and pleasant to me, LOL! So yeah, I don't have a problem with it. Summertime for me, means HOT and that is NICE and what I seek. You got a problem with that??? I'm not the only one that likes it; you don't cool, but we don't have to all be like you!
I don't go onto a mid-West city forum and biatch about the cold all winter despite my residing in Phoenix. So I don't expect someone to come onto my city's forum complaining about the heat in a desert city. Makes NO sense and is ridiculous.
My point was simply that the heat in Phoenix is a completely different animal than it is in just about any other city in the country. Even the majority of the miserably humid places back east cool down at night. Not here. October is fall in most of the country--here it is just a continuation of summer. 90+ degrees may feel pleasant to you personally in October, but they are still summertime temps. Heck, last year it didn't even cool down in any meaningful way until late November.
My point was simply that the heat in Phoenix is a completely different animal than it is in just about any other city in the country. Even the majority of the miserably humid places back east cool down at night. Not here. October is fall in most of the country--here it is just a continuation of summer. 90+ degrees may feel pleasant to you personally in October, but they are still summertime temps. Heck, last year it didn't even cool down in any meaningful way until late November.
My grandfather bought a brand new house in Maryvale back in 1955. He used to tell me how he had buckets full of water on the back porch, and they would be frozen solid every morning when he woke up. This was of course in the winter. He told me they have since over built the city with concrete that holds the heat in overnights, so that does not happen anymore. A good example of this can be seen if you go to the small town of Wickenburg, which is Northwest of Phoenix. It gets just as hot, but cools down into the mid 70's at night, even on 115 degree days. On top of that, Phoenix added way to much plantation and man made lakes, which have now significantly increased the humidity. Overall, the weather there is now much more miserable than it used to be.
My point was simply that the heat in Phoenix is a completely different animal than it is in just about any other city in the country. Even the majority of the miserably humid places back east cool down at night. Not here. October is fall in most of the country--here it is just a continuation of summer. 90+ degrees may feel pleasant to you personally in October, but they are still summertime temps. Heck, last year it didn't even cool down in any meaningful way until late November.
Here you go again! What does it matter if it gets hot in Phoenix compared to the mid-West, yes a different animal, but then I DO NOT like the miserable humidity and would rather bask in dry high temperatures. You don't like it so what! This is why I chose not to live somewhere humid so I wouldn't have to biatch to the locals about how awful their weather is. It's an old drum to beat and gets annoying fast. It's Phoenix, its the desert, get over it and . It gets old! And it didn't take until late November to cool off, this is a lie. Last November there were a few days of 90° or 91° temps. Most of November was in the 60's and 70's and nights were in the 40's and 50's. Hardly warm summertime temperatures.
My grandfather bought a brand new house in Maryvale back in 1955. He used to tell me how he had buckets full of water on the back porch, and they would be frozen solid every morning when he woke up. This was of course in the winter. He told me they have since over built the city with concrete that holds the heat in overnights, so that does not happen anymore. A good example of this can be seen if you go to the small town of Wickenburg, which is Northwest of Phoenix. It gets just as hot, but cools down into the mid 70's at night, even on 115 degree days. On top of that, Phoenix added way to much plantation and man made lakes, which have now significantly increased the humidity. Overall, the weather there is now much more miserable than it used to be.
Your grandfather might a a little senile. I've had family in Phoenix since the 1890's and never has it frozen on enough occasions or deep freeze enough that "buckets of water" would freeze solid every morning!!! If anyone buys that they are a few neurons short of brain dead! Even in the 1920's frost warnings in Phoenix were rare! That is why they planted citrus in the Phoenix area and Arizona was once the Florida of grapefruit and oranges. If it froze like that in Phoenix, the citrus crop would be destroyed EVERY year. What a ridiculous lie to tell! And yes, citrus was grown through the winter in Phoenix! We have multiple growing seasons and one through the winter months. The rest of your post follows the lies of the first.
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. It gets old! And it didn't take until late November to cool off, this is a lie. Last November there were a few days of 90° or 91° temps. Most of November was in the 60's and 70's and nights were in the 40's and 50's. Hardly warm summertime temperatures.
