Opinions of those who have moved to the Phoenix area from the western states. (Mesa: crime, house)

[Travelguy84]

Hi there just wanted everybody's opinion who has moved to the Phoenix area from the West Coast or Northwest and with their impression is and likes and dislikes so far... I grew up in San Diego and I am now living in Boise Idaho and am thinking of moving to somewhere in the valley.

[corydon]

Phoenix is what Boise is not.........

[locolife]

I grew up in the Salt Lake area and have spent about 14 years in the valley now and absolutely love living here. The combination of big city amenities/opportunities and livability (cost of living, traffic, outdoors access etc..) is hard to match. This city, unlike many others stuck in their ways, is still growing and evolving. Areas like downtown Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale have grown massively since I first moved here and continue to offer more new/unique things today, I never get tired of exploring the vast enclaves of the valley.

A few pieces of advice I can offer:

Do your research on where you want to live, if you prefer an urban environment with walk-able streets then don't move to East Mesa or Surprise because it's cheaper and you can have a bigger house.

Don't expect Phoenix to be like where you left, a lot of people on here are constantly asking why Phoenix doesn't have this or that like anywhere, usa they came from. Seek out what's different here and you might be surprised at what you'll find, the valley has a unique history that can be sought after if you want but many people ignore it and come off as pretty miserable because it's not exactly what they had wherever they came from.

Take in the food/arts/culture scenes, there's some great experience to be had here but it's not as in your face as a place like NYC, SF or ..., USA.

Don't be afraid to try new things.

Take frequent road trips to explore new parts of the city/state, Arizona offers an impressive collection of natural wonders/scenery, you can literally mountain bike down a trail that starts in a frozen alpine climate and passes through grasslands and down into the Sonoran desert.

Hopefully that helps, if you elaborate a bit more about your likes/interests we can help more.

[DrDog]

We moved from San Diego to the valley 10 years ago. Comparisons depend on your situation obviously. We are older with no kids at home, and bought a home on the outskirts of the metro area.

Dislikes: only one - it's hot, really hot for several months and we found we grow more tired of that each year. Still go out and golf even in 110 though.

Likes:
1. Cost of living so much less. Our house here would cost 2-3 times as much in San Diego. Gas and electricity much cheaper.
2. Much less crowded, especially the freeways.
3. Arizona tries to stay ahead of the curve on building infrastructure. New roads and freeways everywhere.
4. Slightly slower pace, and somewhat friendlier people.
5. We found job market better here but depends on your line of work.

Didn't mention the snowbirds but they are a like and a dislike lol.

[sexxxcblac]

Moved 20 years ago to the great state of Arizona.
My only regret is not moving here sooner.

Likes: NATIVES and their vast wealth of information about Arizona.
Dislikes: NATIVES who are negative and complain a lot.

Likes : People from Chicagoland and the Midwest who I feel raise the bar for all us in showing how to be honorable and resilient in the face of adversity. Go CAVS .Go CUBS.
Dislikes : A certain person from Chicagoland who is the exact opposite.

[azriverfan.]

Moved from southern California over 20 years ago

Likes: cleanliness, roads, weather, cost of living, entertainment, slower pace (relative to L.A.)

Dislikes: Too laid back attitude of residents. Not aggressive enough about trying to make Phoenix a world class city. NIMBY's, Certain conservative members of the population (rednecks in certain parts of the city; never had that in So Cal),

The good news is a long of younger people are moving here. When I moved here, Phoenix was a snowbird run city. Now, we are seeing that tug of war and people are finally taking over and pushing the snowbirds to the side. We almost legalized recreational marijuana. I didn't even think that was a possibility 10-15 years ago.

[DougStark]

Moved from Southern Cal about 5 yrs ago.

Likes of Phx: Most of what others have said: low housing costs, dry climate, not as left-leaning, wide-open vistas, limited gov't., and the appearance (at least) of being tougher on crime than CA is.

Dislikes of Phx: lack of more rain; poor drinking water (salty); dust and dust storms; not enough shade; not as high a priority placed on environmental protection/ enforcement, valley floor is too flat.

[AZ_Rookie]

Moved here from OC a few months ago and couldn't be happier... It's everything CA is not (which is a good thing)... You'd never know it based on many of the threads/posts on this forum though.

I'm not going to detail my reasons - as it would inevitability turn into a squawk fest - but if you left CA for reasons many of us did (to ID, UT, TX, AZ) - you will be much happier than you were there...

Can't compare AZ to ID though... Primarily due to weather and more diverse social climate... But again, it's worth the move from CA for sure.

[AZ_Rookie]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Moved from Southern Cal about 5 yrs ago.

Likes of Phx: Most of what others have said: low housing costs, dry climate, not as left-leaning, wide-open vistas, limited gov't., and the appearance (at least) of being tougher on crime than CA is.

Dislikes of Phx: lack of more rain; poor drinking water (salty); dust and dust storms; not enough shade; not as high a priority placed on environmental protection/ enforcement, valley floor is too flat.

Intersting that your likes include dry climate, but dislikes include lack of rain...

FWIW, it's rained more here in the last four months than it has in a four month period in SoCal for many years... In fact it seems as if it's rained more in four months here than four years there (purely perception - I'm sure if stats were gathered it might not be fact, but sure seems that way).

[locolife]

Originally Posted by AZ_Rookie

Intersting that your likes include dry climate, but dislikes include lack of rain...

FWIW, it's rained more here in the last four months than it has in a four month period in SoCal for many years... In fact it seems as if it's rained more in four months here than four years there (purely perception - I'm sure if stats were gathered it might not be fact, but sure seems that way).

I don't love rain so I actually find the valley gets a pretty decent level of it. During Monsoon season you can see rain pretty frequently and then we get these more traditional winter storms that tend to rain for long lengths of time. I was recently in Seattle for 4 days and it rained every day, there were breaks in the rain but at those December temps it was bitter and raw for my SW blood. I would have a really hard time adjusting to something like that.