What surprised you ( good or bad ) after moving... (Phoenix, Glendale: middle-class, insurance)

[smoochaz]

Quality of life and cost of living is so much better here for me than in NJ

OK so it's spread out but it's better than being boxed in such a small apt in NYC or 1500sf home in NJ that I used to pay $15k/year for tax - my house here I would've never been able to afford back east!

Life is easier here (more laid back)

Sunny every day - and when it rains you actually enjoy it!!! no winter blues - more active here!

The bad>
I miss my family who are all back east or in Greece - very expensive to travel so sort of cut off - even though made good friends here - get a bit sad during holidays when I'm not with my family.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I did about 2 years worth of homework, but there are still surprises once you actually live someplace. All the visits in the world don't take the place of actually residing someplace, IMO.

I could read about how huge the metro is, look at all the maps in the world, but sometimes it takes actually experiencing something for yourself to really "get it." I think that was really the point of the thread. YMMV

Sounds right!

[Dover there]

I've been here about 8 months.

Good: affordability (housing)
Jobs - had several offers very quickly
Customer service - great! From retail to fast food and everything in between.
People - very friendly when not behind wheel of a car

Bad:
Traffic
Drivers - worst I've ever seen. Rude.
Electricity - expensive
Sprawl -
Heat - makes u feel a little claustrophobic when you're not accustomed to not being able to go outside when u want.

[locolobo13]

We talk about sprawl being bad here. But.. I was in NJ a few years ago, near Bridgewater. Sure there were a lot of wooded areas but basically the towns (townships) butted up against each other. I never felt I was out of town even in the woods. Researching the area via google earth beforehand it seemed the whole area was a mass of towns with a few farms scattered here and there. That was just my impression.

[gbpakrfan]

Some thoughts from someone who has been here for only a month, in no particular order:

Humidity: Shocked at how humid it's been. I lived here in the mid-80's and don't recall ever being this humid. Granted, we arrived in the middle of monsoon season, but still...

Weeds: One word describes the weeds in our yard...YIKES!! Call me crazy, but I thought having desert landscaping meant no maintenance. Boy was I wrong. Weeds will be a constant battle. Of course, we have a newly constructed house and we're told that once you get a handle on them, managing them gets easier. I can only hope...

Monsoons: Again...YIKES!! We're told that the two storms a couple weeks ago were about the worst in recent memory. Our development lost over 600 trees and we had water in our kitchen. Surprise for a "desert" environment. I knew it was monsoon season, and I've been in monsoons in Asia, but this caught us by surprise.

Grocery shopping: Most of the large chains seem to have pretty much the same (limited) choices. If I go a store and close my eyes, I wouldn't know if I was in Safeway or Fry's, or whatever. I remember Smitty's back in the day seemed to have more choices. Unfortunately, for those of you from Milwaukee, there's no Sendik's, obviously. Although there is a similar store called AJ's, but it's quite a drive for us...and more expensive.

Rattlesnakes: I know this is the desert, and I know the baseball team is called the Diamondbacks. But still, I'm surprised about the prevalence of these critters. When I lived in Phoenix 30 years ago, I lived "in town" and never gave snakes a second thought. But out here in the boonies, we hear they're a real fact of life. We were told you our construction supervisor that he killed one a few weeks ago just down our street. Also, the news had a story about how rattlesnake bites are up significantly this year. Walking at night in the dark is something we will avoid, whenever possible. Which pretty much rules out getting a dog, since dogs have this nasty habit of wanting to go out at night.

As for good surprises:

Mosquitoes: No, I didn't put this under the wrong section. I know an earlier poster said mosquitoes were bad, but honestly, we have yet to see (or feel) one. In fact, we were sitting out under the stars last night with some neighbors and my wife commented about how nice it is to sit out at night without being "bugged". Back in Wisconsin, we would have been dinner for a huge dredge of the little buggers.

Roads: The roads, particularly the freeways, are surpringly smooth and in great shape. We're used to potholes, cracks, etc. Most of the freeways are smooth as silk, comparatively speaking. Also, litter and trash on the roadsides is pretty much nonexistent.

[RubyJune]

I'm still really new, so I don't know much, but the surprises I've had so far:

1. Dust storms. I'd heard about them, but Holy Moses the first one I saw blew my mind. I've never seen anything like it.

2. Lizards in the bushes. Mentally I had been prepared for a lot of new critters. Lizards never entered my mind until I finally found out that's what my dogs kept trying to get at. They are cute and FAST! I keep hoping I'll get a picture one day.

3. How much shopping areas there are here. Sometimes it seems that the streets are just endless miles of strip malls.

4. The humidity. I'd heard it got humid during Monsoon Season. I was disappointed to see just how humid it got. I was really hoping I'd left that behind in the Midwest. Clearly, I did not.

[elcajones]

Dislikes

For me number 1 is the heat. I knew the summer got ridiculous but what I was completely unprepared for, and never will be able to really handle, is how much of the year is too hot and just how hot it is here at night.

The roads: I never imagined traffic being as terrible as it is here. Also the nonstop construction going on endlessly anywhere. It's impossible to avoid it while navigating all over town.

The bugs: I had no idea scorpions were a thing here at all coming in. These are seriously the worst things ever. Also the mosquitoes in the summer are terrible. They remind me of my times spent in the south. I'm consistently picking them off me on my patio and am covered with bites. I have to kill the ones that sneak inside regularly. My record was 23 in a day inside back in late July I believe.

The air quality, and my allergies perhaps due in part to this, are worse here than anywhere. I did fully expect the desert to have clean air.

And last but not least, something you guys seem to compliment quite a bit, lack of good Mexican food. It does exist here but San Diego OWNS the valley on this one. I'd think with similar racial demographics of Mexicans here there would be GOOD taco shops all over the place. Places like Filibertos are awful. Who likes that flavorless gummy, chewy crap they call carne asada? EEEW... The few real good places I've had, most of which are in Phoenix, I've been shown by Mexican guys I work with. The good places are awesome. Also, a new favorite of mine is the Sonora Style hot dog which blows TJ style away.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by RubyJune

I'm still really new, so I don't know much, but the surprises I've had so far:

1. Dust storms. I'd heard about them, but Holy Moses the first one I saw blew my mind. I've never seen anything like it.

2. Lizards in the bushes. Mentally I had been prepared for a lot of new critters. Lizards never entered my mind until I finally found out that's what my dogs kept trying to get at. They are cute and FAST! I keep hoping I'll get a picture one day.

3. How much shopping areas there are here. Sometimes it seems that the streets are just endless miles of strip malls.

4. The humidity. I'd heard it got humid during Monsoon Season. I was disappointed to see just how humid it got. I was really hoping I'd left that behind in the Midwest. Clearly, I did not.

If you have a cat you might get a close up view of the lizards. I have a cat that loves to bring them to me as gifts. The ones that are still alive get released back outside.

[RubyJune]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

If you have a cat you might get a close up view of the lizards. I have a cat that loves to bring them to me as gifts. The ones that are still alive get released back outside.

Ha! No cats. I have two dogs who love to chase, or sniff other creatures, but not actually touch. I know this because I had a mouse problem in my last place. When I tried to get them to do something about the one hiding under my bookshelf, my dog literally stuck her nose directly in it's face, sniffed it, and walked away. They are useless.

[The_Cadillac_Lawyer]

I surprised at how unfriendly some groups of people seemingly were compared to other parts of the country. I was told that it was a cultural thing, but basic manners seem universal to me.