Phoenix Getting a Bad Reputation? (Mesa, Scottsdale: apartment, condominium, low crime)

[Clutch718]

While we're on the topic, do people in Phoenix use electrolytes if they're planning to be outside in the heat for a long while?

[Bill-]

Originally Posted by irwin

Nationally, I think most people don't know much about Phoenix. Apart from some Midwest places (where it seems like everyone moves to Arizona), most people think of two things about Phoenix: heat and sand.

Before I moved to Phoenix I thought it was the new oasis in the west partly because it seemed like so many people were moving out there. Once I got there and spent some time I finally started to see what Phoenix really is. So glad I got out of that place.

Anyway, game's about to start.

I'm glad you posted this as I think it offers a valuable insight into what makes at least some Phoenix hater's tick. It seems you developed an idea of Phoenix as a "new oasis" prior to moving here. When Phoenix failed to live up to your impossible fantasy you became disenfranchised and blamed the Valley, rather than blaming yourself for having unrealistic expectations. I would compare it to someone who moves to NYC for a year or two and leaves because it was nothing like the Seinfeld and Friends episodes they watched on TV.

[backtochitown]

Originally Posted by topjimmy

People who bash Phoenix are either haters, or little girls who can't handle the heat.

Hey, if you don't like Phoenix, there are at least several places that are NOT Phoenix.

Like Anchorage.

Des Moines. Taconite. Bangor. Portland. Charlotte. New York. Reykjavík. Prague. Shanghai. Nazareth. Zürich. Kathmandu. Havana. Amsterdam.


Pick one and goooooooooooooo.

Mostly true...and little girls can be pretty tough...but we HATED the relentless sun and heat after about 5 years in the Valley but my business kept me here for the next 12...now that I have sold it we are hoping to sell our home in N. AZ (which we love but it is too small town) so we can let that door hit us on the a$$ on the way out!

Why do you think Phoenix is so transient? Other than the mostly low paying service jobs? It is because most people don't realize how hellish and long the summers are...AC running 3/4's of the year...not being able to hang outside at noon for half the year...cheap stucco look alike stick houses everywhere...I for one won't miss any of that!

Oh yeah, can't forget the ugly strip malls on virtually EVERY intersection...and nothing green anywhere unless somebody broke HOA code to paint their home a different color from the other 50 on the block...LOL

[Bill-]

Originally Posted by backtochitown

It is because most people don't realize how hellish and long the summers are...AC running 3/4's of the year...not being able to hang outside at noon for half the year...cheap stucco look alike stick houses everywhere...I for one won't miss any of that!

Oh yeah, can't forget the ugly strip malls on virtually EVERY intersection...and nothing green anywhere unless somebody broke HOA code to paint their home a different color from the other 50 on the block...LOL

You're basically blaming Phoenix for not being "back east" in this post. It's no wonder that you weren't happy here.

[joninaz]

Originally Posted by Clutch718

While we're on the topic, do people in Phoenix use electrolytes if they're planning to be outside in the heat for a long while?

At my place we call them Coronas

[WESTCOASTER_19]

Originally Posted by shaunb71

I am fairly new to this board, as I am relocating and using this as a tool to find out as much as I can about my soon to be new home, the East Valley.

After reading alot of these posts people in particular are saying Phoenix has "gang problems", "pollution", "cars are being stolen everywhere" and I could go on for a while.

I was reading this and getting downright freaked out, then I started thinking about this in context. I live in San Diego, the part I live in is a nice family oriented community, and there are areas I would not drive though after dark If you paid me. Stolen Cars? with malls and water parks, stadiums 10 minutes from the border what do you think?

So I have visited Phoenix many, many times, looking for houses and visiting friends, frankly I think its nice, and I don't see it as the "cesspool" alot of people seem to want to convince everyone that it is.

If you don't like it fine, don't live or go there, the fact is if you take ANY major metropolitan city, it has crime, bad areas, car thieves and the like. You won't find me in Southeast San Diego at the mall or hanging out at a Trolley Station in San Ysidro at 11 PM, and with every city there are the areas you just stay away from.

So thats my 2 cents.

i live in phoenix currently and don't listen to what others say all though it may be true....experience it for yourself but if i had to sum phoenix up... yes there's lots of crime but in certain areas, southside, mesa, tempe, chandler...just don't move to those areas, lots of illegals and sexual predators just like any westcoast or southwest city, but again you can move away from that stuff. There's lot's of college students all they do is drink, club and party....west valley, north phoenix and scottsdale are the more desirable areas. But really even phoenix's bad areas don't compare to the horrible ones in cali so good luck if your moving here.

[PhoenixJoe]

i wonder when people say they hate phoenix after living here for years, and end up despising the city because of the heat.. dudes, before you moved in, there isn't a single sugarcoat in every arizona website that the weather would be as fine as it would be during the summer months.. duuuhhh?

i love arizona.. the heat?.. ahhhh.. i'd prefer that than a tornado in texas or earthquake in california.. sorry, but i just don't want the thought of losing my home in a snap..

[irwin]

Originally Posted by PhoenixJoe

i wonder when people say they hate phoenix after living here for years, and end up despising the city because of the heat.. dudes, before you moved in, there isn't a single sugarcoat in every arizona website that the weather would be as fine as it would be during the summer months.. duuuhhh?

i love arizona.. the heat?.. ahhhh.. i'd prefer that than a tornado in texas or earthquake in california.. sorry, but i just don't want the thought of losing my home in a snap..

Although I admit the heat killed me, that wasn't really the reason I left. Really, apart from some areas along the southern California coast, everywhere in the US has a mixture of good weather and bad. Just depends on where you are.

My main complaint against Phoenix was the culture of the area, or shall I say the lack there of. I hated the sprawl, the lack of public transportation, the lack of any urbanity, the strip malls everywhere, and honestly, the people there really got on my nerves. Many are pretty uneducated, naive and un-worldly but unlike some places where the people aren't that sophisticated, the people aren't that friendly either. People seem very isolated and really don't seem to care much about the community around them. I think that is why so many people seem to move out to BFE edge of the area, shop at chain stores, and not really care about any of the cultural amenities of the area.

Anyway, I realize some people like it out there. If you are retiring or close to retirement and really don't care about community or culture, you can find a pretty cheap home with a relatively large lot. But it's not for everyone and in my case, wasn't for me.

[Bill-]

Originally Posted by irwin

My main complaint against Phoenix was the culture of the area, or shall I say the lack there of. I hated the sprawl, the lack of public transportation, the lack of any urbanity, the strip malls everywhere, and honestly, the people there really got on my nerves. Many are pretty uneducated, naive and un-worldly but unlike some places where the people aren't that sophisticated, the people aren't that friendly either. People seem very isolated and really don't seem to care much about the community around them. I think that is why so many people seem to move out to BFE edge of the area, shop at chain stores, and not really care about any of the cultural amenities of the area.

Anyway, I realize some people like it out there. If you are retiring or close to retirement and really don't care about community or culture, you can find a pretty cheap home with a relatively large lot. But it's not for everyone and in my case, wasn't for me.

There's the mindless, generic "culture" swipe again. Please point out which particular cultural amenity Phoenix lacks. I suspect you found it lacking because it wasn't wrapped up in a faux urban exposed brick package for you.

[NYtoAZ2007]

Originally Posted by backtochitown

...and nothing green anywhere unless somebody broke HOA code to paint their home a different color from the other 50 on the block...LOL

I never knew there were so many shades of brown until we moved out here...had to laugh when Peoria, after much debate, decided on a color for their new recycling bins: dark brown.

We've been here for less than a year, made it through our first summer, and have nothing negative to say about it. But we're just a couple of boring parents with small children, so as long as they're happy, we're all happy. We came from a much smaller town in the northeast. People are the same everywhere: some good, some bad, some nice, some not.

I can imagine though if you came here years ago because it wasn't so large and populated that you might not like what it's become.