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Yes, I have a car perfect for city driving and I will prefer moving to a city that is based on driving. I hate using the subways like in NYC. I am single and 22, and I will prefer to make friends with more like minded people who are not too interested in the married or family life. I am very travel and career orientated and would like to climb the career ladder. I never want to settle, to be honest haha. I am a very strict vegetarian, so it sounds like it's going to be tough for me. I'm a health nut and will barely touch "comfort food."
It's doable if you stick to Whole Foods, Trader Joes and online stores. I have a lot delivered because I do a lot of Asian cooking. Fry's Market has more and more organic supplies. Have to be careful though. If you are that into health nutting then you are probably use to doing most of your cooking yourself anyway so you shouldn't miss dinning out a lot. I don't know of any city you can stay healthy in and dine out constantly. Unless you eat at the same place over and over again.
It's doable if you stick to Whole Foods, Trader Joes and online stores. I have a lot delivered because I do a lot of Asian cooking. Fry's Market has more and more organic supplies. Have to be careful though. If you are that into health nutting then you are probably use to doing most of your cooking yourself anyway so you shouldn't miss dinning out a lot. I don't know of any city you can stay healthy in and dine out constantly. Unless you eat at the same place over and over again.
Agree! I don't enjoy cooking, so probably eat out more than I should.
I buy as much as I can at Fry's, then shop Sprouts and Trader Joe's. I only use Whole Foods if I can't find it elsewhere, since they're more expensive.
Yes, I have a car perfect for city driving and I will prefer moving to a city that is based on driving. I hate using the subways like in NYC. I am single and 22, and I will prefer to make friends with more like minded people who are not too interested in the married or family life. I am very travel and career orientated and would like to climb the career ladder. I never want to settle, to be honest haha. I am a very strict vegetarian, so it sounds like it's going to be tough for me. I'm a health nut and will barely touch "comfort food."
As someone else mentioned, there's just doesn't seem to be a lot of career-oriented young professionals in this area. As I mentioned, the culture and economy just don't support that demographic. If that's really important to you, you will probably find it lacking here.
Cooking at home will be your best bet, most of the time (especially if you are *that* health conscious). Cooking when it's approximately a zillion degrees out in the summer gets tedious quick, though. As for shopping, my vote goes to Sprouts for bulk goods and produce and TJ's for pantry staples. Whole Foods is around but I find them to be generally over priced. There is also a really great farm right in Scottsdale off of Thomas that has a farmers market on the weekends. Kind of pricey depending on what you get, but it's a cute little place and it's neat to see the fruits and veggies growing all around you.
What is it that keeps making everyone say there aren't career orientated young professionals? I mean there needs to be some! Does it have to do with their upbringing or something?
I'm a vegetarian, and find it very easy to eat out in Phoenix. Obviously, I don't choose to go to steakhouses, unless I have to, because there you may only find baked potatoes and salads to choose from. Most upscale/hip/trendy restaurants around here include some vegetarian entrees. I have vegan friends, and it's more difficult for them to dine out, but we always find places. Here are a few veg-friendly restaurants I can vouch for...
The vegan restaurant scene in the Valley is sad, sad, sad. Internet vegan shopping will become your best friend.
What is it that keeps making everyone say there aren't career orientated young professionals? I mean there needs to be some! Does it have to do with their upbringing or something?
There are some, but it's not the overriding culture. There just aren't that many white collar jobs here. It's more an affordable place to raise a family. Most people come here because of cheap houses or warm weather, not for a killer career.
The good news is if you're smart and hard working and can land a good job, you'll probably get promoted really fast. There just isn't much competition.
What is it that keeps making everyone say there aren't career orientated young professionals? I mean there needs to be some! Does it have to do with their upbringing or something?
There truly isn't a large amount of young career minded professionals. However that may make it easier to find a job. I've talked with many hiring managers who say that they will specifically look at someone from certain parts of the country favorably due to the work ethic that they believe people from those areas have. But in terms of finding a prevalence of people who have that mindset.....there's not a lot. To be honest.
Phoenix may not be the best alternative if you have SAD. The extreme summertime heat has a similar effect on one's psyche as the extreme wintertime cold and darkness experienced in the more northerly latitudes of the Northeast and Upper Midwest. If you think you're *not* going to be "cooped up indoors" during the summertime in Phoenix, which is roughly 4-5 months in length, then you're sadly mistaken--Phoenix is extremely hot from about May 15th - October 5th every single year.
During that time period, outdoor activity will be primarily relegated to the early mornings because, frankly, it's too hot to do anything outdoors after about 8:00-8:30am, and for many people in the Valley, that's pushin' it. Most people I know in the Valley, even the natives and long-time residents, think I'm nuts for leaving my home at around 8:00am on weekend mornings to go for a 4-5-mile run. Thing is I don't want to have to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn on weekend mornings just to go for a run--I want to at least sleep in somewhat on the weekends! I don't mind waking up at 5:00am on Saturday or Sunday morning to go hiking because, for me, hiking is a less frequent activity than running (maybe 1-2x/month). However, it still sucks to have to plan your day around the sun and heat for so many months of the year, and I don't really mind the heat all that much!
Due to the extreme summertime heat, exercising in evening daylight is next to impossible, as the ambient temp. doesn't usually dip below 100 degrees until about 8:30-9:00pm--at the earliest--on most nights in June, July, and August. Once you've acclimated to the extreme heat after about two years or so, going for a run or short hike at around 7:00pm in the summertime is no big deal, but then you also have to contend with the darkness factor.
Adding insult to injury, Arizona is one of two states in the US that *doesn't* observe DST, the other being HI, so aside from the summer months, there isn't much time to exercise outdoors in the evenings after you get home work, assuming you work a 9-5 job, although I know hospitality industry jobs aren't usually 9-5. Luckily, on the days I'm in the office, I'm usually able to leave between 4:00-4:30pm because I get there in the mornings between 7:00-7:30am. Therefore, I'm usually home no later than 5:00pm. However, most people I know don't have the same luxury. If you find yourself working until 5:00-6:00pm and then factor in a relatively short--by Valley standards, at least--commute of about 20 mins., you're not really working with all that much time to exercise in daylight hours once you get home from work, especially if you have stops to make on the way home from work. Unless you enjoy running or hiking in the dark, which can be downright dangerous, evening exercise will be relegated to the gym or swimming in your pool, assuming you have one. Food for thought.
I've lived in both Arizona and Florida, the other state you're strongly considering for relocation purposes. Although Arizona is a much better state than Florida on many different levels, up to and including people, culture, scenery, food, and infrastructure, I will have you know that summers here are much harder, for lack of a better term, than summer in Florida. Although Florida is very warm and humid in the summertime, there's a lot more "relief" from the heat and oppressive humidity there than there is "relief" from the oppressive heat in Arizona--more cloud cover, daily afternoon/evening thunderstorms, days of rain due to passing "systems," more natural shade (i.e., clouds and shade trees), and so forth. Something not really discussed all that frequently on these forums--winters in most of Florida are a lot warmer than winters in Arizona, including Phoenix. Although very mild national standards, winters in Phoenix are, by no means, "warm" in the same respect as winters in Florida. With more mild temps. throughout the year and more evening daylight, Florida is a much better place for SAD sufferers, IMO--it was for me, at least. However, the aforementioned strong suits of Arizona make it a much more desirable place to live overall than Florida, whose people and culture truly leave a lot to desired, IMO, which is why you'll often see me recommending Arizona over Florida every day of the week and twice on Sunday for those on the fence.
Jobs--that's our biggest issue here in the Valley. You describe yourself as "career-oriented." Well, I will have you know that there very few "career-oriented" young people here, and most young people show limited interest in education and upward social mobility. Most educated, career-oriented young people who grow up in the Valley move to states like California, Illinois, Texas, and Washington among others for more and better professional opportunities. Most college-educated people in the Valley, especially in the Scottsdale/PV/North Phoenix area, work in field sales or retail management; in Tempe, recruiting and "inside sales," the latter of which is a disguising term for telemarketing; and in Chandler, engineering or IT due to the presence of Intel. The rest of the young professionals scattered throughout the Valley mostly work in real estate or healthcare. I don't know too many people in the hospitality management field, although I will have you know that most of the Valley's nicest, most upscale resorts and casinos are located in the East Valley, but primarily in and around Scottsdale. However, most people who work in the hospitality industry aren't educated.
Due to the Valley's limited corporate presence and general lack of white-collar jobs/industries, there's not much of a professional vibe or competitive ethos here. Intellectual stimulation is limited as well. There's somewhat of an entrepreneurial spirit here, but it's more consistent with landscaping or home remodeling businesses vs. tech start-ups and the like you find in other Western states like California, Colorado, and Washington. Moreover, the small corporate presence and RTW laws of AZ suppress salaries in Phoenix to the point of non-competitiveness among other US cities of similar size.
At the end of the day, the Valley is really more of a place for mid-level and late career folks vs. early career folks such as yourself. I'm now in my late 30's, but I would have never considered this place if I was under 30--it's just a lousy place to launch a career in any field, and you'll have difficulty meeting like-minded peers. Like most of the educated youth from Arizona, you should really look into California, especially if you want warm weather and like-minded peers (i.e., healthy, fit, educated, career-oriented, upwardly-mobile, liberal/progressive, outdoors-oriented, artsy, etc.). You might want to consider Texas, too, another popular state among young people from Arizona. However, Texas is a lot more socially conservative and religious than Arizona, and people there are less inclined to the outdoors and leading healthy lifestyles. Young people in Arizona may not be that career-oriented, but at least they're into health and fitness.
Last edited by 8to32characters; 07-23-2014 at 02:31 PM..
Hi, you might consider TX cities as well. I tried out Austin TX and did not like the winter; it was admittedly an extra horrible winter last year, but it is dark there in winter. BUT that said the job market is vibrant, a ton of young recent grads are there and it's a great social scene for someone your age. It depends how important the seasonal / weather is to you. Personally I thrive on bright sun and don't mind heat so I prefer AZ. Also PHX is closer to drive to other places.. in TX you're really not close to anything else. Austin is a very liberal city, you would not have any issue with vegetarian living; Whole Foods HQ is there. Life in Austin centers around Town Lake where you will find countless runners, cyclists, walkers, paddle boarders, kayakers, rowers any time of day... it's a very outdoorsy, fitness minded place. Phoenix has cheaper cost of living.
I agree with other commenters that you should look seriously at places like Austin, Denver, and Seattle. All three have significantly better economies, more vibrant culture, are better geared toward young professionals, and will be much better suited to your dietary needs. I (totally biased) personally LOVE Seattle and think it's the best choice of the three, but you said you prefer a more car oriented city and Seattle is definitely NOT that. The summers are absolutely perfect, but winters can be rough if you have SAD. It also has a much higher cost of living than Denver (less familiar with Austin so I won't comment)--and all three will be higher than Phoenix. The flip side to that is that wages/salaries in Seattle are also much higher, and there is no income tax. I assume you would find the situation to be similar in Denver and Austin.
Just food for thought.
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Internet vegan shopping will become your best friend.
