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Since there are so many negative threads about Phoenix, I decided to offer why I love Phoenix. I feel that people get the wrong idea about Phoenix because there are so many threads from ex-Phoenicians who want to bash the city. I grew up in New York's upper east side and I'm currently in Houston. I'm trying to get back to Phoenix, here is why
1 Low Stress: You don't have to worry about any natural disasters or weather that could add stress to your life. The summers are hot but it doesn't affect your commute to work or traveling for business. The weather in New York is not that bad but we got a month or two of snow and I remember how I would have to spend 10 minutes or so removing the snow from all the windows on my car.
2 Weather: I think the weather is beautiful. I enjoyed the consistent blue skies and sun. In New York and the east coast in general, you can go for weeks without any sunlight. During my summers in Phoenix, I avoided the worst part of the heat because I traveled to work in the morning and left in the evening so I never really experienced the worst part of the heat. In Manhattan, I would leave to work in the morning in which the wind and cold was at it's worst and then leave in the evening in which the weather would get bad again. In Houston, the heat is almost as bad then you have humidity. In the winters here, it's a bit warmer than Phoenix but it also rains constantly which can make it feel more cold. I also like how Flagstaff and Sedona are nearby so if I missed snow I could drive there. In Houston, we don't really have any type of outlet like that.
3 Cleanliness: I do miss the culture and diversity that New York had to offer but I don't miss the smokestacks, the pollution and the old buildings. The east coast is also very dirty and you can see vomit and soot on the ground. There are a lot of places in New York that has stagnant water. The desert is really clean and I appreciate that. The city can also smell awful at times particularly in the summer.
4 Less Traffic: Every city has traffic. Phoenix only really has traffic during rush hour. Houston has far worse traffic even on the weekends. When I was growing up, the traffic in New York wasn't bad during non-rush hour but now there is traffic there all the time. It's difficult to even get cabs in New York. You are limited to the subway which is nice but it can be scary at night.
5 Less Crime: I have to laugh when people think Phoenix has crime because they haven't lived in a city that offers real crime. Both NY and Houston have neighborhoods and ghettos that are outright dangerous. These are places in NY that you don't walk through even during broad daylight. And even in central park, I would walk or job with my husband because women are repeatendly assaulted or mugged. Often times, these incidents are not reported because people will just lose an I-Pod or petty cash and the incident isn't worth reporting to them.
6 Low Cost of Living: Houston seems to offer a lower cost of living than Phoenix particularly for houses. NY was expensive. It adds up. Groceries, gas, car repair, shopping, utilities, food. 200K in New York seems like 80K in Phoenix. People have to make big sacrafices to live in New York, we certainly did and both my husband and I earn over 6 figures. The type of lifestyle and quality afforded to one in Phoenix and even Houston can't be had by the majority of people living in NY. You often have to get roommates or live in one poorer areas of the burroughs.
7 West Coast Attitude: I like the laid back nature of the west coast. At my division in Phoenix, we are allowed to dress business casual at all times. In our NY office, we were required to wear formal attire at all times. I also enjoy how the work day here starts a little earlier and ends early. In New York, managers would expect you to arrive early and stay late. I feel like the companies including the investment banking branches on the west coaches are much more hospitable and understanding of lifestyle than on the east coast. I know a lot of my friends from Goldman Sachs who are trying to transfer to San Francisco and they are having a difficult time because there is so much demand in the company to go west. Interestingly enough, if someone wants to go to New York, there are a lot of open positions.
8 Nice Houses: I love the houses here. I don't like how many of the homes look alike, but I do like how all the homes have modern ammenities. A house like that in New York would cost you a fortune because most of the homes are old and have inferior plumbing, ventilation and fixtures. People are always having trouble with their heat, air conditioning and bugs. Many of the homes back east don't even have heat.
9 Appearance and Health: Some have been critical of Phoenix for their insistence upon being fake or having a fake appearance. At the same time, I do appreciate how people do take the effort to look nice in Phoenix. Perhaps Phoenix is a fat city or whatever but I never saw that. When moving to Phoenix from NY, I felt that I had to lose weight and spend more time getting ready just to fit in because many of the women really take an effort to look nice. In NY, a lot of people were not members of gyms and would justify their exercise through walking. In Phoenix, there is a nice gym on every corner and everyone seems to be a member of one. I've never seen so many health spas either.
10 People: I love the people in Phoenix. I think it is very comforting to know that you will never feel like an outsider because the city is full of outsiders. I can talk to people and immediately strike up a conversation with them because they are not from here. You certainly don't get that in Houston. In New York, there are a lot of outsiders but people are not as friendly there. We kept to ourselves in NY. In Phoenix, you can be open and yourself and people don't take offense or find it to be weird.
Well said, sounds good to me! People are too hard on Phoenix...I was nervous going to visit there from all the bad mouthing of it. Glad I went, because I seen the reality of how nice of a metropolitan area it really is!
If you read the bashing comments you will discover that it is a tiny minority of people, actually two or three, and their comments are not well thought out and certainly not factually supported. They are disgruntled and unhappy. I have found for myself it's better to avoid negativity and discuss the positive aspects of any situation I am in, or I would go crazy.
I know a fellow who constantly complains about his job. It seems they can do nothing right in his eyes and he is always unhappy. One day when I went to visit (he's the boyfriend of a relative so unfortunately I do see him periodically) I asked how the job was going and he said he'd moved to another office within the organization, but then he began bashing them, too. I suspect he will never be happy--and quite frankly she ought to dump him in my humble opinion. It must be a drag being around him all the time.
And it's a drag being around bashers on a chat board, too. The fact is, every place has its pluses and minuses. The advantage of being adults is that we can not only identify the minuses, we can do something about them. For example, if someone misses "culture" in a place like Phoenix, he might try checking the cultural listings or browse the travel guides to Phoenix at the bookstore. There are millions of things to do here. Obviously, you don't move to Phoenix because you love great opera. You are going to get your opera fix by visiting New York. That said, there is an opera company in Phoenix so that's a poor example.
In some parts of the world they have nothing. No freedom of movement, nowhere to go, no nightclubs, not even enough food on the table every night--heck, maybe not even a table! Rebels running through the village killing and raping the people periodically. Dying of diseases that could be easily treated in a rich country. Watching your children die. There are hundreds of millions of people in this situation. 50 people just got burned alive in a church during riots in Kenya. Yet in our country, we witness people whining about the most banal trivialities. This is why I believe in the semester abroad programs in colleges--let American youth see what it's like in some other places and perhaps they'll learn not to complain so much.
That's enough ranting for now. I think Phoenix is a great city and Arizona is a stunningly beautiful state. I look forward to getting to know it better. In the meantime, I'm in paradise because I love Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, and it's 70 degrees in January and I haven't needed a jacket at all so far this winter.
Godo post. I grew up in New York and spent the first two decades of my life there. When it came time to enter the "Real World," I wanted to get as far from New York as I could, and sometimes I bad-mouthed NYC in conversation. That was a foolish thing for me to do. Since then, I've come to appreciate New York a lot more. Rudy Guiliani did a great deal to clean up the city and improve it -- and I have no trouble saying that even though I usually vote for politictians of the other major party.
This newly found appreciation for New York does not make me want to bash Phoenix, however. Phoenix is now my home and I've learned to appreciate it on its own terms while advocating changes (light rail, Downtown revitalization, desert preservation) that I think will make it better.
My observations:
People move for a variety of reasons, but it's usually better to move toward something (a new job, the love of your life, etc.) than away from something.
Once you've moved, don't look back for a while. Don't expect the new city to be like the old one, and if you didn't like the old one, don't keep the misery alive. Focus on getting the most out of the new locale and building a better future there.
Godo post. I grew up in New York and spent the first two decades of my life there. When it came time to enter the "Real World," I wanted to get as far from New York as I could, and sometimes I bad-mouthed NYC in conversation. That was a foolish thing for me to do. Since then, I've come to appreciate New York a lot more. Rudy Guiliani did a great deal to clean up the city and improve it -- and I have no trouble saying that even though I usually vote for politictians of the other major party.
This newly found appreciation for New York does not make me want to bash Phoenix, however. Phoenix is now my home and I've learned to appreciate it on its own terms while advocating changes (light rail, Downtown revitalization, desert preservation) that I think will make it better.
My observations:
People move for a variety of reasons, but it's usually better to move toward something (a new job, the love of your life, etc.) than away from something.
Once you've moved, don't look back for a while. Don't expect the new city to be like the old one, and if you didn't like the old one, don't keep the misery alive. Focus on getting the most out of the new locale and building a better future there.
After reading your post, I felt a little guilty because I think bashed New York. I love New York. I will always be a New Yorker at heart. If I had a lot of money, I would love to buy a little place up there and spend my summers there. It's still a wonderful city but I would be happy to move back to Phoenix if given the opportunity. That's what I'm working on.
After reading your post, I felt a little guilty because I think bashed New York. I love New York. I will always be a New Yorker at heart. If I had a lot of money, I would love to buy a little place up there and spend my summers there. It's still a wonderful city but I would be happy to move back to Phoenix if given the opportunity. That's what I'm working on.
Don't feel guilty. I did the same thing when I first moved here. A lot if it had to do with proving to people that I wasn't one of those New Yorkers who thought the Big Apple was superior to everywhere else. These days, my point of view is pretty balanced. I can see the good in almost every metro area. It's just a matter of learning to appreciate wherever life takes you.
People move for a variety of reasons, but it's usually better to move toward something (a new job, the love of your life, etc.) than away from something.
Once you've moved, don't look back for a while. Don't expect the new city to be like the old one, and if you didn't like the old one, don't keep the misery alive. Focus on getting the most out of the new locale and building a better future there.
Words to live by. I've lived in several parts of this country, and a few other countries as well. Every one of them had good and bad things, and I remember most of them fondly. I've never lived in the western part of the US, so I expect there will be a lot of adjustments for me when I move to Phoenix. I'd rather look at it as an adventure and opportunity for discovery than sit around complaining that Phoenix isn't like _[insert city of choice here]__.
Location: Sunny Phoenix Arizona...wishing for a beach.
4,300 posts, read 14,951,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silverbear
Godo post. I grew up in New York and spent the first two decades of my life there. When it came time to enter the "Real World," I wanted to get as far from New York as I could, and sometimes I bad-mouthed NYC in conversation. That was a foolish thing for me to do. Since then, I've come to appreciate New York a lot more. Rudy Guiliani did a great deal to clean up the city and improve it -- and I have no trouble saying that even though I usually vote for politictians of the other major party.
This newly found appreciation for New York does not make me want to bash Phoenix, however. Phoenix is now my home and I've learned to appreciate it on its own terms while advocating changes (light rail, Downtown revitalization, desert preservation) that I think will make it better.
My observations:
People move for a variety of reasons, but it's usually better to move toward something (a new job, the love of your life, etc.) than away from something.
Once you've moved, don't look back for a while. Don't expect the new city to be like the old one, and if you didn't like the old one, don't keep the misery alive. Focus on getting the most out of the new locale and building a better future there.
Wow I could have written this, except for the political comment Even when I left for awhile I always considered Phoenix my home although I was born and raised in NY. I have my issues with Pheonix but it's home and it will always feel like home to me, for better or worse and worse is not that bad.
I spent 5 weeks in Manhattan and I love it, love it, love it. I now live in Phoenix which I also love. You can't compare apples with oranges....
A friend of mine in NYC takes great photographs of his city...for you New Yorkers who want to take a look here is the link to his photos....take a look at "New York, Just like I pictured it". Hope you enjoy.
Collection: New York, Just Like I Pictured It! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hernanhernandez/collections/72157600008654070/ - broken link)
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