Phoenix--& Arizona--What's the Attraction? :) (Tucson, Glendale: gated, live in, statistics)

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Phoenix demographics are not the same as the whole state in fact more of the state is minority-majority than Phoenix. Phoenix is very white-washed compared to the rest of the state and if you want proof spend an afternoon in Tucson. The exceptions are the retiree towns like Prescott.

The demographic aren't that much different between Phoenix and Tucson.

Moreover Tucson is in large part a white washed retiree town, especially north of Glenn and East of Columbus.

[Prickly Pear]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

The demographic aren't that much different between Phoenix and Tucson.

Moreover Tucson is in large part a white washed retiree town, especially north of Glenn and East of Columbus.

You mean the foothills and Tanque Verde? Not really Tucson...

That would be like me saying "Oh, Phoenix metro is a retiree town, look at this one huge neighborhood called Sun City on the outskirts!" As if Sun City defines Phoenix or any far northeastern suburb really defines Tucson.

And the demographics really are different. Tucson's demographics are more like West Phoenix/Glendale. Most posters on here are wealthy so they don't go to the poor parts of town, they don't have to. I'm guessing you live in Scottsdale which is why you keep refuting me. Get a hotel in Maryvale for a weekend and don't leave Maryvale for that entire duration, you'll feel like a minority. Tucson is no different. And like Phoenix, Tucson is also highly segregated with whites in the good parts of towns and Latinos in the poor parts, and a good healthy mix in the middle class areas. Scottsdale is very white and so is the rest of Phoenix minus its poor parts. Tucson is like the poor parts of Phoenix which is what other Phoenicians tell me, so it must be true no?

People who live in the foothills or Tanque Verde don't even say they are from Tucson. They say they are from the foothills or Tanque Verde. People who say they are from Tucson live in the basin, and it makes sense because of Tucson's traffic someone in TV is almost never going to go into Tucson. So it's rather isolated though it doesn't look that way.

You also didn't mention that being one hour from Mexico plays a huge difference than being two hours from Mexico. Plenty of Sonorans in and out of here that really make Tucson more Latino than it seems as these aren't tracked. Sometimes Sonorans as far as Hermosillo will drive to Tucson once a month to do major shopping. This is something that does not happen in Phoenix at all and the Sonorans play a huge role in our economy and way of life as a whole.

[Renegade007]

This poses an interesting question: What exactly DOES define Phoenix?

Snowbirds? Golf courses? Apart from sunshine and beautiful weather, there really is no stand out attraction that comes to my mind. It's not like we have famous pizza or Chinese food. And we have no world famous buildings or attractions (sorry, but the Westward Ho hotel doesn't count). I mean something like an Eiffel Tower, or Statue of Liberty, or Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. We can't even lay claim to being the gateway to the Grand Canyon. Williams already has that title. So... maybe it's the cactus?

[asufan]

Are we pretending illegal immigrants are a good thing to have in abundance or am I missing something?

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by asufan

Are we pretending illegal immigrants are a good thing to have in abundance or am I missing something?

Imports meaning trade.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by gbpakrfan

Sure, car registration is outrageous in AZ ($320 vs. $99)...but again we knew that going in.

That is fundamentally YOUR decision. My car registration this year will be about $50 per year in AZ vs $110 in IL. That is NOT very outrageous to me.

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by Renegade007

This poses an interesting question: What exactly DOES define Phoenix?

Snowbirds? Golf courses? Apart from sunshine and beautiful weather, there really is no stand out attraction that comes to my mind. It's not like we have famous pizza or Chinese food. And we have no world famous buildings or attractions (sorry, but the Westward Ho hotel doesn't count). I mean something like an Eiffel Tower, or Statue of Liberty, or Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. We can't even lay claim to being the gateway to the Grand Canyon. Williams already has that title. So... maybe it's the cactus?

California meets Texas mashup? Arizona wants to culturally be like California with a western theme but have an economic platform like Texas.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

You mean the foothills and Tanque Verde? Not really Tucson...

That would be like me saying "Oh, Phoenix metro is a retiree town, look at this one huge neighborhood called Sun City on the outskirts!" As if Sun City defines Phoenix or any far northeastern suburb really defines Tucson.

And the demographics really are different. Tucson's demographics are more like West Phoenix/Glendale. Most posters on here are wealthy so they don't go to the poor parts of town, they don't have to. I'm guessing you live in Scottsdale which is why you keep refuting me. Get a hotel in Maryvale for a weekend and don't leave Maryvale for that entire duration, you'll feel like a minority. Tucson is no different. And like Phoenix, Tucson is also highly segregated with whites in the good parts of towns and Latinos in the poor parts, and a good healthy mix in the middle class areas. Scottsdale is very white and so is the rest of Phoenix minus its poor parts. Tucson is like the poor parts of Phoenix which is what other Phoenicians tell me, so it must be true no?

People who live in the foothills or Tanque Verde don't even say they are from Tucson. They say they are from the foothills or Tanque Verde. People who say they are from Tucson live in the basin, and it makes sense because of Tucson's traffic someone in TV is almost never going to go into Tucson. So it's rather isolated though it doesn't look that way.

You also didn't mention that being one hour from Mexico plays a huge difference than being two hours from Mexico. Plenty of Sonorans in and out of here that really make Tucson more Latino than it seems as these aren't tracked. Sometimes Sonorans as far as Hermosillo will drive to Tucson once a month to do major shopping. This is something that does not happen in Phoenix at all and the Sonorans play a huge role in our economy and way of life as a whole.

No a lot of that is also midtown and Eastern Tucson, each well within the City Limits.
A cursory glance at demographic statistics puts all these theories to bed.

Phoenix also has a larger share of Sonoran imports. It's only 100 miles away you seem to act as if it isn't . And I'm familiar with Tucsons insulation because of the road grid, but reality is a lot different out of that small world. This is a very integrated region.

I keep refuting you because you're wrong.

As for where I live, I live in Central Phoenix, grew up in Maryvale and Southern Glendale, I speak fluent Spanish, and I own two rental properties in Tucson where I also lived for 6 years. The better question is, why do you keep arguing this?

Tucson Demos

• non-Hispanic White: 47.2%
• Black or African American: 5.0%
• Native American: 2.7%
• Asian: 2.9%
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.2%
• Other race: 17.8%
• Two or more races: 3.4%
• Hispanic or Latino: 41.6%; Mexican Americans made up 36.1% of the city's population.

Phoenix Demos

• non-Hispanic White 46.5%
• Black or African American: 6.5% (6.0% non-Hispanic)
• Hispanic/Latino: 40.8% (31.6% from Mexico)
• Native American: 2.6%
• Asian: 3.2% (0.8% Indian, 0.5% Filipino, 0.5% Korean, 0.4% Chinese, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.2% Japanese, 0.2% Thai, 0.1% Burmese)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
• Other race: 0.1%
• Two or more races: 1.7%

These are not dissimilar demographics.

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

That is fundamentally YOUR decision. My car registration this year will be about $50 per year in AZ vs $110 in IL. That is NOT very outrageous to me.

The car isn't the variable being discussed- it's the location of the car being registered that is the relevant point.

The point the poster is making is that the difference is 'outrageous'. You may not think over a 100% higher annual fee on your car isn't outrageous, but many would. In AZ the value of the vehicle is what the annual registration tax is based upon whereas in most other states it is a relatively fixed figure.

All this said, I knew coming into AZ that the registration fees were outrageous compared to other states, and happily came here anyway. I save more than enough on my property taxes to make up for my annual vehicle tax increase.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Zathras

The car isn't the variable being discussed- it's the location of the car being registered that is the relevant point.

The point the poster is making is that the difference is 'outrageous'. You may not think over a 100% higher annual fee on your car isn't outrageous, but many would. In AZ the value of the vehicle is what the annual registration tax is based upon whereas in most other states it is a relatively fixed figure.

All this said, I knew coming into AZ that the registration fees were outrageous compared to other states, and happily came here anyway. I save more than enough on my property taxes to make up for my annual vehicle tax increase.

The person you quoted said they will be paying half in AZ of what they paid in IL. That is the not-outrageous part. I also found registration to be less here, and I like the ability to register for 2 years instead of every year.