Can anybody list?...

[ComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

If you can telecommute, you can live in some really cheap place. If you have the Internet connection, you can get all the books your little heart desires!

I like cheap, but I also like nice...I'll pay extra to stay someplace nice if I can.
Funny thing about the bookstore though, I don't buy books there (amazon shopper) I just like it because it is quiet. I like the atmosphere, and to look at the computer magazines.

I will admit, that I'm pretty easy to please though, just a nice drive with the wife, and thats about all we need...oh, and a full tank of gas.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by ComputerGuy

I like cheap, but I also like nice...I'll pay extra to stay someplace nice if I can.
Funny thing about the bookstore though, I don't buy books there (amazon shopper) I just like it because it is quiet. I like the atmosphere, and to look at the computer magazines.

I will admit, that I'm pretty easy to please though, just a nice drive with the wife, and thats about all we need...oh, and a full tank of gas.

I meant cheaper location, not substandard housing.

Hey, you might as well come down in Tucson then - at least we're 5-10 degrees cooler (quite a bit cooler at night then Phoenix) and got everything else you need. One and a half hour drive can take you through all the vegetation there is up to the top of the mountain.

[aj661]

Reasons to move to Phoenix (The Valley)
1. Warm weather 90-110 degrees
2. Hot weather 110+
3. Sunshine
4. Superstition Mountains
5. Camelback Mountain

Reasons NOT to move to Phoenix (The Valley)
1. Too many people here already
2. see number one
3. see number one
4. see number one
5. see number one

Public education may not be the best in the country, but it certainly isn't poor. The numbers are brought down by a high percentage of non-english speaking/english second language students. Intelligent, motivated kids can not only thrive, but excel. I have two examples: One will soon be a Naval Nuclear Engineer, the other is working on a degree in Physical Therapy. And they went to Mesa public schools, not the best rated in the valley by any means.

Walkable neighborhoods may be few in the valley, but they aren't non-existent. There are some very nice ones in Gilbert. Even the neighborhood I grew up in during the 1960s in south Scottsdale was within walking distance of everything we needed (schools, shopping) and only a short drive to everything else.

The architecture sucks, that's true. But it isn't a reason to not move here. I don't live in my front yard. The inside of the house is what really matters.

[imtaya2]

Well, my family & I visite in 2005 and fell in love with Phoenix. We built our home and moved July 2006. There are pros & cons like everyone states.

PROS:
#1 weather is beautiful 10 months out of the whole year. 2 months of HEAT is better than 2 months of severe COLD
#2 golfer's paradise
#3 great foods at great restaurants
#4 cost of living is low

CONS:
#1 VERY hot Summer 100-120 degrees
#2 Traffic is horrific if you live far from work

[ComputerGuy]

Originally Posted by sierraAZ

I meant cheaper location, not substandard housing.
One and a half hour drive can take you through all the vegetation there is up to the top of the mountain.

Ahh, my mistake on the housing part The only problem I see with Tuscon is jobs. Phoenix has the tech jobs there, and I'm not someone who wants more than an hour long commute.

I can't wait to get there though...I just need to get through this week. I'm so excited. Only 2 days though but oh well, something is better than nothing, in this case.

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by ComputerGuy

Ahh, my mistake on the housing part The only problem I see with Tuscon is jobs. Phoenix has the tech jobs there, and I'm not someone who wants more than an hour long commute.

Just a suggestion... since you're so easy! After all, you need only ONE job! If you happen to find it, we've got enough bookstores. Even some independent ones are still alive.

[PhxBarb]

Phoenix is about 25 years behind the rest of the country in many major areas: wages, educating kids, road building, hospitals and doctors, a real downtown, learning how to build homes that don't all look alike, and many others that I can't remember just now. The summer heat has fried my brain since I moved here 5 years ago and I have less than a quarter of my white matter left.

[ranman469]

for the weather thing i thought of it like this. compared to michigan

mi. 9 months of crap, cold grey rainny sometimes snow and cold. 3 months of nice.

phx. 9 months of nice sunny warm can do anything outside. 3 months of heat yea its hot but it was a good trade for us

[Lovegun]

Originally Posted by ranman469

for the weather thing i thought of it like this. compared to michigan

mi. 9 months of crap, cold grey rainny sometimes snow and cold. 3 months of nice.

phx. 9 months of nice sunny warm can do anything outside. 3 months of heat yea its hot but it was a good trade for us

I laugh when I read things like this. It's more like 4 seasons in MI.

Phoenix, hot or hotter.

3 months of heat is more like 5 months of scorching hell like heat.

[dgs92]

Good reasons:

1. Sunny almost everyday of the year
2. Amazing sunsets
3. Awesome hiking
4. Low property taxes
5. 6 hour drive to the beaches of SoCal, 2 hours to snow in Flag

Bad reasons:

1. Too many Snowbirds who don't pay AZ taxes
2. Too much traffic in winter due to Snowbirds
3. Too many chain restaurants brought down from the midwest by snowbirds
4. Too many brown houses
5. Schools are not the best in the country