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I have come to the conclusion that a high percentage of the East Side folks who write generalizations about West Side living have never actually been to the communities that they write about. In my housing search I have no problem saying that Estrella and Verrado are as nice of a community as any that I viewed in East Valley in comparable price ranges.
Estrella and Verrado are very nice communities. So is Vistancia.
But there is only a couple of places in West Valley that have nice views in my opinion. I said the White Tanks have good views but the other mountains appear to be so far away, same with Downtown, that it is not AS appealing, not that it wasn't appealing at all.
The best way to combat generalizations is to remain mature and educate them. Lots of people think I live in the ghetto, and I have to correct them all the time. Yes, there are ghettos in Glendale, but it's not all of Glendale.
West side has lots of nice communities. I spent the majority of my childhood in Arrowhead Ranch, a very nice part of West Valley. Lots of homes in Arrowhead Ranch are in the 500-900k range, which is pretty high value (lots of big, custom homes on large plots of land, no HOA for the most part either) and the cookie cutters in the area are pretty pricey. Not even getting into the homes on the lakes at the base of Thunderbird Mountain either, or the couple of mansions on Thunderbird Mountain. Lots of people from East Valley probably didn't know about that. And there's other places like Arrowhead Ranch out here as well. The entity of West Valley isn't a ghetto like people perceive it. In fact West Valley shares so much in common with Southeast Valley that I see, especially in the new parts.
I think because West Valley is developing so rapidly, and it's so new as East Valley got the majority of the development so far (probably because of better highway infrastructure, or more should I say) that there hasn't been enough "time" for them to form new opinions of these areas. If you were to ask me a very long time ago if I would believe a community like Verrado would exist in BUCKEYE I would have laughed it off. But there it is...
Before we bought in vistancia we looked atEVERY part of the valley. Good and bad for each. Put in offers all over the valley.
In the end, I seldom hear people complain about where they live, and I mean SELDOM!!
I voted for Gilbert as it's just too blah for me but if I lived there, I'm sure I'd love it too
I think that speaks volumes about the quality of life here. Maybe in 10-15 years when the burbs mature, we'll see which are good or bad But right now, all are pretty equal based upon my research and relating to my lifestyle.
Again, I'm legit surprised at what Paradise Valley can get away with. Everyone who voted for Scottsdale voted because they thought people of Scottsdale were snobby, rude, and elitist. Having lived in both I can say that although this might be the case for some, it is much worse in PV. Leaving PV for Scottsdale was a breath of fresh air. Never in my life have a met so many people who were so judgmental and stuck up like I did in PV. Half of the people I knew in PV wouldn't dare step foot in Phoenix(except for when they ubered to the Baltimore because who wants to have to look for parking *rolls eyes*). They would constantly talk down on people from other suburbs of Phoenix like it was a pass time, and not to mention I heard a lot of racist(towards mexicans) and anti-semetic "jokes" a lot during my time there. The residents of PV flock to Scottsdale like it's their playing ground. To the many who have had "bad experiences with rude scottsdale people" it was probably a PV person. When out of state, all the families that I know, will say they are from Scottsdale instead of saying they are from Phoenix or even PV for that matter, talk about identity crisis. This is off topic, but to add, I really really never saw the appeal for PV. In terms of layout, PV was a very lonely place and the concept of having a neighbor or a neighborhood environment is almost non-existant unless you live in of the gated communities like casa blanca, mountain shadows, or finisteere. At least in scottsdale you have neighbors
Apparently no one here has much familiarity with PV so it basically gets a free pass while everyone tees off on Scottsdale because they're more familiar with it. PV is kind of small, it's all residential and people don't really think about it much unless they're going to one of the resorts, or so it seems. The town also keeps it a speed trap to try to keep people from cutting through their town on Lincoln, Tatum, etc., as best they can. They seem to succeed in being under the radar much more than Scottsdale which forever seems to be the topic of love/hate discussions here.
It's a lovely town but personally the premium per square foot, I felt was overvalued relative to what I perceived as the value of the area for me personally. For some people, it's worth it and that's cool. Many people feel the exact same way about Scottsdale, where I chose to live, so I don't take any offense if someone who chose to live in, say, Phoenix, says the exact same thing about where I live. We all make choices based on perceived value for our personal situations and needs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised
Reality Check:
You are confusing affluent behavior and actual wealth. Perception isn't reality. Of course there are major pockets of wealth in Scottsdale (i.e. Silverleaf). As I have said time and time again, the REAL money leaves the state for months a year. Their income isn't plugged into median income statistics for the town of Scottsdale. They are not sweating their b_alls off during the summer months. They don't have a mortgage.
We get it, you have money but choose to live in Surprise. Truly, you don't need to get so defensive about it. I'm not much into judging what people like, that's the whole point of C-D ... there are a million cities and towns and people who love and hate every one of them. I guarantee you there are wealthy people in every city on this list.
I would also like to note that not everyone wants to "summer" someplace else. Some people actually enjoy the monsoon season, the relative quietude of the metro area, the slower pace of life, swimming in the pool, zipping around town with no tourists, no snowbirds, less traffic, less lines, etc. You're just dealing with people who are actually part of the community. I enjoy it, personally. It's the season that makes us "us" as Valley residents; I enjoy it in a lot of ways. At least for me and my extended family, we always have a nice summer in the Valley.
Not completely. My posts were not directed toward you. That's because you don't come on the site and judge people. I guess its my hot button. If someone thinks they are a player because they live in a silly town and insinuate that another people live in a "dumpy" town, I like to call out the irony. The fact is, they haven't arrived.
These people have assumed that the only reason why people live in Surprise is because it is affordable. Well, Sun City West (20,000 people) is just one example of mostly millionaires inside of Surprise that chose the trade-offs. They can afford Scottsdale if they wanted to. Those were my main points.
Last edited by MN-Born-n-Raised; 04-04-2016 at 07:46 AM..
Not completely. My posts were not directed toward you. That's because you don't come on the site and judge people. I guess its my hot button. If someone thinks they are a player because they live in a silly town and insinuates that another very nice towns are "dumpy", I like to call out the irony. The fact is, they haven't arrived.
Some people have assumed that the only reason why people live in Surprise is because it is affordable. Sun City West (20,000 people) is just one example of mostly millionaires inside of Surprise that chose the trade-offs. They can afford Scottsdale if they wanted to. That was my main points.
No problem, I understand. I may tend to be put off by "flashy" people or people who are trying to act better than other people, and I do understand that I live in a city that has a reputation for having some of them so I get why some people dislike Scottsdale. That said, the neighborhood where I live is mostly people who are either raising a family or already did that and are older now, so it's pretty mellow in general. Scottsdale has so many different neighborhoods that pretty much any type of lifestyle someone's looking to live, it's available, and the price points are widely varied as well.
Not completely. My posts were not directed toward you. That's because you don't come on the site and judge people. I guess its my hot button. If someone thinks they are a player because they live in a silly town and insinuate that another people live in a "dumpy" town, I like to call out the irony. The fact is, they haven't arrived.
These people have assumed that the only reason why people live in Surprise is because it is affordable. Well, Sun City West (20,000 people) is just one example of mostly millionaires inside of Surprise that chose the trade-offs. They can afford Scottsdale if they wanted to. Those were my main points.
"A player"? Where do you get this stuff from? The fact is that your city is lacking when compared to other more established, better located cities and regardless of what led you there, the major value to most is cheap housing in exchange for living in the boonies. You chose to live there. The fact that you are so over the top defensive leads one to believe that there may be some regret.
Also a news flash, it's OK to have money and be frugal but it's also possible to be debt-free, prepared for the future and and also enjoy some of life's niceties. Not everyone has to make such compromises.
"A player"? Where do you get this stuff from? The fact is that your city is lacking when compared to other more established, better located cities and regardless of what led you there, the major value to most is cheap housing in exchange for living in the boonies. You chose to live there. The fact that you are so over the top defensive leads one to believe that there may be some regret.
Also a news flash, it's OK to have money and be frugal but it's also possible to be debt-free, prepared for the future and and also enjoy some of life's niceties. Not everyone has to make such compromises.
Here is what I meant by people judging ^^.
Things like.. " The fact is that your city is lacking..." or "...better located cities.." ..." major value to most is cheap housing...". "....exchange for living in the boonies...". I got it! You drove through the town a couple of times and think you know it. It's all about priorities and what people consider important to them. But you cannot understand that because you apply your values on others. I don't care about a lot of things that you do. I expect we live VERY different lifestyles. Nothing more nothing less.
Things like.. " The fact is that your city is lacking..." or "...better located cities.." ..." major value to most is cheap housing...". "....exchange for living in the boonies...". I got it! You drove through the town a couple of times and think you know it. It's all about priorities and what people consider important to them. But you cannot understand that because you apply your values on others. I don't care about a lot of things that you do. I expect we live VERY different lifestyles. Nothing more nothing less.
I'm not judging at all. I don't know you nor care enough to form an opinion about you. I've stated facts. Surprise is comparatively lacking when stacked up against more established, better located cities. It is in the boonies. A quick glance at a map will confirm that. Housing is cheap there, so that is what seems to weigh out the glaring negatives. Just own it. If you find value in that, great. I'm glad it works for you. Not sure why you're so offended then.
In order to have a conversation, you need to understand the meaning of the word. I'll spell it out for you.
Judge:(verb)
To regard (someone) as either good or bad.
Judging: (transitive verb)
To form an estimate or evaluation of; especially : to form a negative opinion about <Example: shouldn't judge him because of his accent.
Yea, you are judging. I can respect a difference in an opinion. It's how you say it. If I may, you play into the Scottsdale stereotype. It is what it is. We can move on now. The horse has been beaten.
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That's because you don't come on the site and judge people. I guess its my hot button. If someone thinks they are a player because they live in a silly town and insinuate that another people live in a "dumpy" town, I like to call out the irony. The fact is, they haven't arrived. 
