Do potential newcomers realize how big the Phoenix metro area is?

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Big not only in population, but area. Something very common I see on this forum is how people post they are moving to Phoenix, and want advice on housing, commutes, shopping, etc., but they often don't say what PART of Phoenix they are moving to. The city itself consists of over 500 square miles. Not only that, but there are vast differences between areas like Moon Valley, Maryvale, Desert Ridge, and Arcadia. Many newbies also don't realize that Phoenix has a distinct division between east & west, and north & south sides. Numbered avenues, drives, and lanes are west of Central Avenue, and numbered streets, places, and ways are east of Central ... and there are often huge differences. For example, 24th Street & Camelback is a LOT different than 24th Avenue & Camelback.

Another good one is how some people think of Scottsdale as all high end, snobbish, and wealthy. I think that could be largely because Scottsdale is portrayed as either: luxurious resorts & spas, or the areas around Fashion Square, Waterfront, downtown, and Old Town. The fact is that Scottsdale is a city with a lot of land area which extends very far north. The far northern fringes are mostly high desert & mountainous terrain that border on the Tonto National Forest. Much of south Scottsdale is working class, and many neighborhoods east of downtown are older and not posh by any means. For a suburb, it's really a city of its own & quite diverse.

Travel distance & times are a popular item of disccussion as well ... and the concept of what actually defines being "centrally located". I've seen comments that portray areas like Ahwatukee as being "centrally located", which I find rather amusing. Try driving from the Ahwatukee Foothills on surface streets, then hopping on the I10 to a TRUE centrally located area like downtown Phoenix during morning rush hour, and then come back and tell us how centrally located Ahwatukee really is!

I believe a lot of the misconception comes from people who are moving from smaller towns, or more compacted cities. They don't realize how large the Valley of the Sun truly is, and how long it can take to commute from one side to the other, even with wide freeways & good traffic conditions. One joke I like to tell is how you can be 40 miles north of downtown Phoenix & still be in the city of Phoenix. Actually, that's more of a reality, but it makes for some good humor.

THIS is the topic - not primarily urban planning or traffic congestion. Let's stick to the topic, please.

[christiner81]

i don't know if it's just limited to newcomers...i always found it frustrating to search craigslist and have people not put more specific location information in their ads. It seemed to me that people who live on the outer fringes of town often tried to downplay where they're at to make it sound like they were much closer to the central areas. We also saw a lot of homes that were in apache junction listed as if they were in mesa, back when we were buying a home in 2009.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by christiner81

i don't know if it's just limited to newcomers...i always found it frustrating to search craigslist and have people not put more specific location information in their ads. It seemed to me that people who live on the outer fringes of town often tried to downplay where they're at to make it sound like they were much closer to the central areas. We also saw a lot of homes that were in apache junction listed as if they were in mesa, back when we were buying a home in 2009.

It's somewhat that way on this forum too. Lots of generalized threads about "moving to Phoenix", but many of them aren't specific enough as to what PART of Phoenix. I think many people who start these threads really mean they are considering moving to metro Phoenix because some may prefer a suburb & wouldn't really want to live city of Phoenix. Even if they are looking in Phoenix itself, just the city alone covers 500 square miles ... and it would be more helpful if more people stated the section, the district, or even the major cross streets of where they are looking.