Detroit Area to Phoenix Area? Good Idea?? (Mesa, Gilbert: to rent, crime rate)

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by Stumblina

Detroit to anywhere else in the entire country is ALWAYS a good idea!

Detroit's biggest downfall IMHO (aside from its de facto Depression economy) is its bad winter weather.

Sad because that city has a boatload of (once) gorgeous old homes

[azsundevil99]

I'm from Michigan and love Michigan. I've been here in AZ for about 15 years and will stay probably for another 10-15 or so (when I can hopefully retire). At that point I plan on going back. Everyplace has its pros and cons but for now at least, living in AZ is our best option for careers, lifestyle, etc. I try to make the most of it and not let the negatives get to me too much (although admittedly sometimes it does get to me) and just live life day by day.

[Sunvixen]

Originally Posted by Stumblina

Detroit to anywhere else in the entire country is ALWAYS a good idea!

LOL!! Great Point!! I don't even know what it would feel like to live in a major city not feel embarassed about it!

(I will refrain from inserting any Kwame Kilpatrick comments on the AZ boards. It's not easy, but I will refrain.)

[Sunvixen]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

Detroit's biggest downfall IMHO (aside from its de facto Depression economy) is its bad winter weather.

Sad because that city has a boatload of (once) gorgeous old homes

To think what Detoit USED to be like...so, so sad.

That's part of why I am moving, it is just too depressing up here, grey all the time and now with all the Kwame-Gate crap, it's just dividing people even more, if that was posssible! (Is he going to resign or WHAT?)

[G.P. Steve]

Sunvixen, great thread.

I too am from the Detroit area & have been trying to make a move to the Phoenix area for the past few years. For us, its the local economy, bad winters & lack of family. Most of my wife's family moved to Gilbert/Mesa area 10 years ago & mine to Florida. I've made a few trips to the area over the past 2 years & have likes & dislikes about the area. I've experienced the heat out there & didnt think it was so bad I could not live there. I also like the fact that if I miss the snow, I can drive to it. I personally really like the Gilbert/Chandler area. Lots to do & see. Tempe is cool too with ASU, great places to eat/drink. I also hear Gilbert schools are very good.

The only problem with moving out there is selling my home here. One new angle is home trading, but who'd want to move from PHX to DET???

I hope Kwame resigns. Its been a complete circus here with all of this garbage going on. The city of Detroit cant & will never come close to any kind of recovery if this kind of thing continues. Although, DC re-elected Marion Berry, what a joke!


Steve

[Sunvixen]

Originally Posted by G.P. Steve

Sunvixen, great thread.

I too am from the Detroit area & have been trying to make a move to the Phoenix area for the past few years. For us, its the local economy, bad winters & lack of family. Most of my wife's family moved to Gilbert/Mesa area 10 years ago & mine to Florida. I've made a few trips to the area over the past 2 years & have likes & dislikes about the area. I've experienced the heat out there & didnt think it was so bad I could not live there. I also like the fact that if I miss the snow, I can drive to it. I personally really like the Gilbert/Chandler area. Lots to do & see. Tempe is cool too with ASU, great places to eat/drink. I also hear Gilbert schools are very good.

The only problem with moving out there is selling my home here. One new angle is home trading, but who'd want to move from PHX to DET???

I hope Kwame resigns. Its been a complete circus here with all of this garbage going on. The city of Detroit cant & will never come close to any kind of recovery if this kind of thing continues. Although, DC re-elected Marion Berry, what a joke!


Steve

Thanks Steve!

I too have been out there several times in the summer and didn't think it was bad. 110 in dry heat sure beats walking out to a steam sauna of 90 degrees and 90 percent humidty.

I consider Kwame a win-win. Either he goes and the city has some "hope" or he stays and I will miss Detroit even less (if that's possible!!) than I would have otherwise. If the city let's him stay, the whole place can burn, I don't care any more. It's such a disgrace.

[Captain Bill]

My family moved from Tennessee to Detroit when I was about 12, and I lived there until about 1963. So I was there when it was a bustling place. The only thing I didn't like about it was the harsh winter and the high humidity.

I recall spending a lot of time in downtown Detroit, and visiting the Vernors ginger ale shop there, having ginger ale floats; going to Belle Isle, and taking the Bob Lo steamer out to the island amusement park.

After getting out of the Army I played in several dance bands and some of the jobs we played were in the large homes in Grosse Pointe and the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. I was always awe-struck by the grand beauty of those fine homes.

After I was married and started flying for my first airline we lived in a rental home on Belleville Lake near the airport, and loved it there. We lived on the lake and would water ski almost every day in the summer. In the winter we would scrape off a section so we could ice ski.

Those are some of the things I miss about the Detroit area. But not the high humidity and harsh winters.

[Sunvixen]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

My family moved from Tennessee to Detroit when I was about 12, and I lived there until about 1963. So I was there when it was a bustling place. The only thing I didn't like about it was the harsh winter and the high humidity.

I recall spending a lot of time in downtown Detroit, and visiting the Vernors ginger ale shop there, having ginger ale floats; going to Belle Isle, and taking the Bob Lo steamer out to the island amusement park.

After getting out of the Army I played in several dance bands and some of the jobs we played were in the large homes in Grosse Pointe and the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. I was always awe-struck by the grand beauty of those fine homes.

After I was married and started flying for my first airline we lived in a rental home on Belleville Lake near the airport, and loved it there. We lived on the lake and would water ski almost every day in the summer. In the winter we would scrape off a section so we could ice ski.

Those are some of the things I miss about the Detroit area. But not the high humidity and harsh winters.

Along with Vernors, Faygo Rock-n-Rye!! Best pop ("soda") evvvver! Did you know there are actually websites that cater to the Vernors, Faygo, Better-Made chips, Sanders and Town Club cravings of former Michiganians?

Hey, I forget, what do they say in Phoenix? Soda or Pop?

Funny you brought up Belle Isle, I was thinking about it when i first saw the horses for rent by South Mountain Park. I compared Phoenix to Detroit mentally. We USED to have riding stables on Belle Isle. I think they were firebombed many years go. It would never last if they tried it now.

Yes, Belle Isle is still nice...as long as you going during the day! The last couple times I went, all the deer were corralled instead of running free like before. They Aquarium, which was the oldest in North America, was closed in 2005 for lack of funds even though 88% of the votes in the election were in favor of keeping it open. (Mayor Kwame must have needed more BLING for his mistresses He should have been fired back THEN!! Worse Mayor EVER)

And Grosse Pointe is still filled with many truly gorgeous homes.

[tscrilla]

Originally Posted by Sunvixen

Stop laughing!!
Do you have any regrets? Is there anything special to keep in mind? (I've been told not to move in the summer since you won't acclimate well to the heat, is that true?)

Any information would be appreciated!!

My family moved there in 2001 and after 5 years not one of us could take it anymore. So, we moved back to 4 seasons and have never looked back at AZ. Don't miss it one bit! I had several different family members move to AZ to try it out and 4 out of 5 families felt the same as we did and had to move out. There's only one family member left there...for now.

[Stumblina]

Originally Posted by G.P. Steve

I hope Kwame resigns. Its been a complete circus here with all of this garbage going on. The city of Detroit cant & will never come close to any kind of recovery if this kind of thing continues. Although, DC re-elected Marion Berry, what a joke!


Steve

And Detroit re-elected Kwame! The man has no shame. He thinks he owns the city. The idiot actually said he was "born to be the mayor of Detroit." Michigan is a beautiful state. Detroit is a huge cold sore sitting on mouth of southeast Michigan. Yes, it was once a great city - before Coleman Young became its mayor. The once beautiful mansions that sat so majestically on perfectly manicured lawns are now burnt out crack homes. It is a shame and very sad. However, it is very real. I have worked in downtown Detroit for the past 20 years. I have only seen the decay spread. Whatever efforts that are being put into reviving the city are not working. Drugs, crime and racism have taken over. Coming off the expressway onto Jefferson Avenue, just as you enter the city, there is a huge fist to welcome you (it's supposed to be the fist of Joe Lewis, however, since it's just a fist sitting on a forearm, how is anyone to know it belongs to Joe Lewis?) Although it's a very threatening sight, it does depict the "attitude" of Detroit. Thinking about moving out of Detroit? Run - run like the wind!!!