If you're looking for a city, this is my opinion (Phoenix: apartment, buying a house)

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Here are some other comparisons:

ANSWERING THE PHONE IN PHOENIX: "Hello."
ANSWERING THE PHONE IN NEW YORK: "Who the hell is this?!"

THE SERVICE INDUSTRY IN PHOENIX: "May I help you?"
THE SERVICE INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK: "Yeah, whadya want?!"

GETTING DIRECTIONS IN PHOENIX: "Drive down the 202 and turn off at the second exit."
GETTING DIRECTIONS IN NEW YORK: "Hey, what am I, a friggin' map?!"

MEETING A FRIEND FOR LUNCH IN PHOENIX: "Did you eat? No, did you? No, let's go down the street and grab a bite to eat."
MEETING A FRIEND FOR LUNCH IN NEW YORK: " 'Jeet? 'Ju? 'Sko!"

Riiiiiiiiiiiight. If all New Yorkers talk like that, then Phoenicians talk like this:

Getting directions in PHX: "Like, oh my gosh, Ive been there, like, once. I have no clue how to get there. Um, maybe you can take the 101 or the 202. tehehe I have noooooo idea."

Meeting a friend for lunch in PHX: "Like, oh my gosh, lets go to, like, the Roaring Fork. They have the most killer grub in the whole Valley. Like, you know? tehehe"

My point is, generalizations are pointless and rude, dont ya think??? Every single New Yorker Ive met (there are many here) are very kind and very courteous. Sure there are some exceptions to the rule, every place has them, thats a given!!!! But to say New Yorkers answer the phone with "who the hell is this" is ridiculous.

[blisterpeanuts]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

The price breaks and deals you talk about are mostly in overbuilt fringe areas and almost exclusively on new builds. Established areas and resales are not coming down, because there is a standoff with buyers and sellers. A lot of sellers won't cut prices because they can't. Many moves are voluntary - trying to get a bigger house, difference neighborhood and sellers can be patient or simply change their plans. New home builders are playing with share holders' money and have more leeway, but also staff salaries and other costs to meet.

There are also a lot of foreclosures because of oversold ARMs. In these cases, the price almost always comes down because banks generally want to just cut their losses and get rid of the repossessed property in a short time.

I would imagine that in a couple of years, all of these people who are in over their head will have moved back to low rent apartments and the market will start to climb again. I hope.

[blisterpeanuts]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

My point is, generalizations are pointless and rude, dont ya think??? Every single New Yorker Ive met (there are many here) are very kind and very courteous. Sure there are some exceptions to the rule, every place has them, thats a given!!!! But to say New Yorkers answer the phone with "who the hell is this" is ridiculous.

Amen. Nearly every New Yorker I've met, on many trips to the Big Apple since the late 70s, seems to have gone out of his or her way to be nice, as though to counter this stereotype that New Yorkers are rude and unhelpful. I'm a fairly self-reliant kind of guy, but I've had people take me by the hand and lead me to the correct ticket counter at Grand Central. I've had people instruct me in how to take the subway. I've had people walk me to my destination. Never have I experienced rudeness from a waiter or retail worker. People smile and crack jokes, and New Yorkers tend to have one-liners for every occasion.

I once read in Psychology Today about a study where these people deliberately left a wallet with $50 on the seat of ten New York cabs. In every case the wallet was returned intact, and in a couple of cases the cabbies chased them down the sidewalk and lectured them about being more careful.

I'm sure that rudeness exists, as well as violence and drugs and police brutality and political corruption and all the rest, but it's absolutely silly and pointless to cast generalizations over such a sea of humanity.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

The price breaks and deals you talk about are mostly in overbuilt fringe areas and almost exclusively on new builds. Established areas and resales are not coming down, because there is a standoff with buyers and sellers. A lot of sellers won't cut prices because they can't. Many moves are voluntary - trying to get a bigger house, difference neighborhood and sellers can be patient or simply change their plans. New home builders are playing with share holders' money and have more leeway, but also staff salaries and other costs to meet.

I still think that you will see a lot of people that got in over there heads and are going to walk from there homes. It seems to be happening everywhere else in the nation. To tell you the truth I never understood that buy high and sell low mentality, but then some people bit into mortgages that they shouldn't have signed on for. Maybe this is for another thread though.

[sweettearose]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I still think that you will see a lot of people that got in over there heads and are going to walk from there homes. It seems to be happening everywhere else in the nation. To tell you the truth I never understood that buy high and sell low mentality, but then some people bit into mortgages that they shouldn't have signed on for. Maybe this is for another thread though.

I'm one of those people shopping for houses in the Valley. I would second Ponderosa's statements. I lived in Phoenix so I knew the valley pretty well and the type of house and neighborhood I'm seeking. I'm seeking a 3000 sq ft + house built in the last 10 years with an open layout in a central part of the valley and not what I consider the outskirts (Suprise, Queen Creek, Ocotillo, Dell Webb, Goodyear). It hasn't been easy to find houses and sellers are not willing to come down or walk out of their homes by any means. I made offers on two houses and I had to deal with two competing offers on both houses. Yes, if I wanted to move to Queen Creek or Suprise, I could have my pick. A lot of the sellers I've encountered are in no hurry to move and are simply trying to make money or they are building a house.

[blisterpeanuts]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I still think that you will see a lot of people that got in over there heads and are going to walk from there homes. It seems to be happening everywhere else in the nation. To tell you the truth I never understood that buy high and sell low mentality, but then some people bit into mortgages that they shouldn't have signed on for. Maybe this is for another thread though.

Why not talk about it here? The original poster has not posted any responses and is probably a troll anyway. I think there are going to be some great buying opportunities in upcoming months. Seemingly respectable homeowners are suddenly packing up and leaving at midnight all over the place, and their homes are becoming available for whatever the bank can get.

Some people advised me to take an apartment for a few months before buying a house this past summer. I really wish I'd been able to wait a few months before buying a house, but I didn't have much choice--had to find a place, get my family moved in, and get on with life. Now I'm checking out the neighborhood comps on ziprealty.com and I'm seeing some pretty juicy deals, larger homes than mine going for about $20K less than a few months ago. Oh well. I'm pretty hopeful the values will start rising again in a couple of years. North Glendale seems to be a desirable location, and Midwestern U. is expanding with a new dental school, larger medical school class, and new biomedical research facility and all that is going to bring in some high income medical families to the neighborhood.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

I for one love the Valley of the Sun. Phoenix is a great place. For me though this is the kind of city that I am familiar with. I grew up in the Ventura County area of California in an area that is spread out. Guess I like it like that.

I think people who have moved here from California have had the easiest time adjusting. It's close enough to where you used to live to visit home and it's similar to culture, weather and attitudes. I, for one, don't really mind the sprawl, because I prefer the suburbs over the ruralness of the country and the grittiness of the city.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Yes, it is. And that can explain why so many New Yorkers seem bitter, pushy, rude, and blunt. If I was paying thousands of dollars in rent every month for a sardine can of an apartment infested with rodents, and had to contend with the squeezed in nature of a city of eight million people crammed into a few square miles, I'd probably be angry and harsh as well.

Phoenix at least has a little elbow room ... but I agree that we are a little too spread out. Sprawl is the cause of the urban heat island, and the decay of many urban neighborhoods. Only recently has there been any interest in making the downtown area more vibrant and vertical like it should be.

Also, the politics of this region is FAR better than the east coast, where much of the government has been run by corrupt labor unions and the mob. But at least the trains run on time, right?! Phoenix certainly has its faults, which I have clearly pointed out many times. But compared to your beloved east coast rat holes, this place is much better managed, easier to commute in, and the people tend to be friendlier.

Here are some other comparisons:

ANSWERING THE PHONE IN PHOENIX: "Hello."
ANSWERING THE PHONE IN NEW YORK: "Who the hell is this?!"

THE SERVICE INDUSTRY IN PHOENIX: "May I help you?"
THE SERVICE INDUSTRY IN NEW YORK: "Yeah, whadya want?!"

GETTING DIRECTIONS IN PHOENIX: "Drive down the 202 and turn off at the second exit."
GETTING DIRECTIONS IN NEW YORK: "Hey, what am I, a friggin' map?!"

MEETING A FRIEND FOR LUNCH IN PHOENIX: "Did you eat? No, did you? No, let's go down the street and grab a bite to eat."
MEETING A FRIEND FOR LUNCH IN NEW YORK: " 'Jeet? 'Ju? 'Sko!"

No offense, but I spend a great deal of time in NYC and I have NOT run across anyone like that. I feel the friendliness in Phoenix is the same as in NYC. Both places are nice.

[Greatday]

Originally Posted by londonbarcelona

No offense, but I spend a great deal of time in NYC and I have NOT run across anyone like that. I feel the friendliness in Phoenix is the same as in NYC. Both places are nice.

Oh please! New Yorkers are some of the rudest people there are!

The French are worse though!

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Riiiiiiiiiiiight. If all New Yorkers talk like that, then Phoenicians talk like this:

Getting directions in PHX: "Like, oh my gosh, Ive been there, like, once. I have no clue how to get there. Um, maybe you can take the 101 or the 202. tehehe I have noooooo idea."

Meeting a friend for lunch in PHX: "Like, oh my gosh, lets go to, like, the Roaring Fork. They have the most killer grub in the whole Valley. Like, you know? tehehe"

My point is, generalizations are pointless and rude, dont ya think??? Every single New Yorker Ive met (there are many here) are very kind and very courteous. Sure there are some exceptions to the rule, every place has them, thats a given!!!! But to say New Yorkers answer the phone with "who the hell is this" is ridiculous.

Originally Posted by blisterpeanuts

I'm sure that rudeness exists, as well as violence and drugs and police brutality and political corruption and all the rest, but it's absolutely silly and pointless to cast generalizations over such a sea of humanity.

It was a stab at humor, guys. Come on, lighten up. Why is there so much offense taken whenever someone mocks New Yorkers??? They almost cry out to be made fun of. BTW, I found Steve's mockery on Phoenicians' "Valley Speak" to be rather humorous as well ... and I took no offense to it.