Polar Vortex Leads to Increased Home Searches in Phoenix - Shocker? (HOA, buy)

[caryberry]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

Phoenix is all brown. And not just the landscape. After you've lived in Phoenix for awhile and you take a trip back east, that's when it will especially hit you.

Phoenix is the Land-of-Beige. Though in our end of the Valley, we are lucky to have a large amount of green year-long space - numerous parks & golf courses, the Zoo, DBG, etc.

We have lived here almost 9 nine years and still don't understand the lack of color. My in-laws say Phoenix is beige because of the mid-westerners with their conservative taste and values. That is a nice way of saying...BORING.

Why does everything in PHX have to be painted beige?

[autism360]

Originally Posted by S. Chris Webb

Just came across this story: Cold Spell Heats Up House Searches in Warmer Markets " it turns out that, the colder the temperature, the more house hunters seek out warm-weather locales like Miami and Phoenix".

This should come as no surprise - people Back East/Up North need to have something to do while they're snowbound and waiting for the propane to be refilled - why not dream about buying a second home, or even moving, to a warmer place like Phoenix? Isn't that how a lot of us ended up here?

Do you think the dreadful winter they are having, as opposed to the warm and dry one we are experiencing, will lead to a larger-than-usual population boom in the next season or two?

There are a lot of folks that dream of moving here but actually making the trasistion is to frightening for many who have all their roots in another state. It takes some courage to pull the ripcord and actually make the move. Many folks on the east coast have lived in the same area their whole lives and could only leave if they have a 2nd home here for part of the year.

[Dezert Mtnz]

The Polar Vortex hasn't made any difference to me, since I decided a long time ago that I need to escape to the sunny southwest as soon as I am able. In talking to friends and neighbors though, our current winter weather in the midwest is absolutely making more people think about alternatives!!!

Maverick did a great job of listing some of the cold vs. heat differences, and I'm sure I could add more. Since I have decided to relocate to the Phoenix area, I've become quite adept at countering the "Phoenix is too hot, too brown, too dry, too whatever" arguments. The bottom line is that Phoenix will be better for me in almost every way than where I am now. I'm looking forward to spending my vacations there until the time I am financially ready to make the move! In the mean time, I follow this forum and dream of the sun, the brilliant blue skies, the mountain views, and cooling off in my backyard pool.

[AV498]

Originally Posted by caryberry

Phoenix is the Land-of-Beige. Though in our end of the Valley, we are lucky to have a large amount of green year-long space - numerous parks & golf courses, the Zoo, DBG, etc.

We have lived here almost 9 nine years and still don't understand the lack of color. My in-laws say Phoenix is beige because of the mid-westerners with their conservative taste and values. That is a nice way of saying...BORING.

Why does everything in PHX have to be painted beige?

We started doing Orange, white, a bit of green, and a couple other colors in our more recent homes, still mostly beige though haha

But Phoenix must look real attractive to people in the rest of the country. We have warm weather, cheap housing, plenty of new homes, and large homes, what more could you want? My friend from New York visited and saw the 3,000 sq ft houses in my neighborhood and called them "mansions" xD So considering the average home square footage in most places is about 1,600 sq ft and they'll dish out 400-500k for that, when they can get a shiny new 3,500 sq ft house here for $300k, that seems like a pretty attractive offer.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by caryberry

Phoenix is the Land-of-Beige. Though in our end of the Valley, we are lucky to have a large amount of green year-long space - numerous parks & golf courses, the Zoo, DBG, etc.

We have lived here almost 9 nine years and still don't understand the lack of color. My in-laws say Phoenix is beige because of the mid-westerners with their conservative taste and values. That is a nice way of saying...BORING.

Why does everything in PHX have to be painted beige?

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense because Phoenix is a melting pot of many cultures from around the country, both coasts and everywhere in between, not just midwest.

The beige blends in well with the desert setting, that's the only thing I can come up with.

I guess you could say I'm from the midwest but I prefer a variety of color, as well as shadetrees and green grass because they provide a little relief and comfort in the summertime.

[BlueCat1105]

As for the color of the houses, stores, and other buildings, the lack of color is certainly NOT attributable to Midwesterners. We have nothing like that in the Midwest. It's quite foreign looking to me, and I'll have to get used to it once we move there. It must be due to the desert landscaping.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by BlueCat1105

As for the color of the houses, stores, and other buildings, the lack of color is certainly NOT attributable to Midwesterners. We have nothing like that in the Midwest. It's quite foreign looking to me, and I'll have to get used to it once we move there. It must be due to the desert landscaping.

Look at the new developments in the Midwest. Many neighborhoods have 10 different shades of tan on the vinyl track homes. Boring! Same goes with Colorado. I'm guessing that it's a boring trend in the spirit of being "neutral" in color. Tan carpet is also heavily used with off-white or tan walls. AZ is yet another area of boring brown.

I was told tan/brown was used in Phoenix because stucco is a sponge and will take on the color of the (blowing) dirt. I think the new developments simply pick neutral colors.

[BlueCat1105]

Then maybe it's not so much a Midwestern thing as it is a newer neighborhood thing. We have many, many colors of homes in the IL, IN, IA, WI area, with all sorts of contrasting shutters. I grew up in a pink one! My current home, built in the early 90s, is a blue-ish gray. Across the street we have a lovely butter colored house, a brighter yellow and a blue, along with several white homes.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by BlueCat1105

Then maybe it's not so much a Midwestern thing as it is a newer neighborhood thing. We have many, many colors of homes in the IL, IN, IA, WI area, with all sorts of contrasting shutters. I grew up in a pink one! My current home, built in the early 90s, is a blue-ish gray. Across the street we have a lovely butter colored house, a brighter yellow and a blue, along with several white homes.

There is no shortage of various colored homes in MN, CO, AZ etc. But the new er developments seem to be standardizing on several shades of brown all across the states I have been at lately.

[BlueCat1105]

Getting used to all that tan will be one of the big adjustments I foresee when we move out that direction. I like beige as much as the next guy, but in AZ they REALLY like it!