To all those wondering about QOL in PHX, it all depends on where you live!

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by lbh2315

I am not a fan of North Scottsdale as it is desert landscape

Thats the BEST thing about north Scottsdale.

[Great Joy]

Originally Posted by lbh2315

Now to address why many seem to hate Phoenix - and those seem to often come from people who live in Surprise, Peoria, Glendale, El Mirage, Buckeye, etc.

This is an interesting comment because I've been participating and reading posts on this site for a long time now too, and I've only seen positive comments from people who live in Surprise, Peoria, and Glendale. The posts about El Mirage and Buckeye have been nuetral to positive, with Buckeye getting more positive posts.

We live in northern Peoria, and wouldn't want to live any closer to the city core. We love all the newness in homes, stores, restaurants, etc as well as being being close to the NW valley mountains and Lake Pleasant.

[Ponderosa]

Once again, someone's personal preference being touted as fact. Personally, I would not want to live in or near Arcadia or most of interior Phoenix. The area looks old and rundown to me. The business streets are plain ugly with strip parking devoid of landscaping and dilapidated stores with a hodge-podge of painted signage. Local color perhaps, but the whole area looks like something out of the 60s - which it is. I'll take the newness and the cleanliness of the 'burbs, thank you.

[hts]

Stumbled across this blog today and it made me laugh. Then it reminded me of the OP:

Stuff White People Like

#73: Gentrification

In general, white people love situations where they can’t lose. While this does account for the majority of their situations, perhaps the safest bet a white person can make is to buy a house in an up-and-coming neighborhood.

White people like to live in these neighborhoods because they get credibility and respect from other white people for living in a more “authentic” neighborhood where they are exposed to “true culture” every day. So whenever their friends mention their home in the suburbs or richer urban area, these people can say “oh, it’s so boring out there, so fake. In our neighborhood, things are just more real.” This superiority is important as white people jockey for position in their circle of friends.

They are like a modern day Lewis and Clark, except instead of searching for the ocean, they are searching for old properties to renovate.

In a few years, if more white people start moving in, these initial trailblazers will sell their property for triple what they paid and move into an ultramodern home.

Credibility or money, they can’t lose!

When one of these white people tell you where they live, you should say “whoa, it’s pretty rough down there. I don’t think I could live there.” This will make them feel even better about their credibility and status as neighborhood pioneers.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by hts

Stumbled across this blog today and it made me laugh. Then it reminded me of the OP:

Stuff White People Like

#73: Gentrification

In general, white people love situations where they can’t lose. While this does account for the majority of their situations, perhaps the safest bet a white person can make is to buy a house in an up-and-coming neighborhood.

White people like to live in these neighborhoods because they get credibility and respect from other white people for living in a more “authentic” neighborhood where they are exposed to “true culture” every day. So whenever their friends mention their home in the suburbs or richer urban area, these people can say “oh, it’s so boring out there, so fake. In our neighborhood, things are just more real.” This superiority is important as white people jockey for position in their circle of friends.

They are like a modern day Lewis and Clark, except instead of searching for the ocean, they are searching for old properties to renovate.

In a few years, if more white people start moving in, these initial trailblazers will sell their property for triple what they paid and move into an ultramodern home.

Credibility or money, they can’t lose!

When one of these white people tell you where they live, you should say “whoa, it’s pretty rough down there. I don’t think I could live there.” This will make them feel even better about their credibility and status as neighborhood pioneers.

Nail on the head!!!!

[lbh2315]

Different strokes for different folks! There was so much Phoenix bashing go on in this forum, that I just wanted to step in and give some of the reasons why, IN MY OPINION ONLY, people are so down on PHX.

But I also wanted to highlight that Phoenix is no different than any other large city in America. It has good parts and bad parts and parts in between. Moreover, I love the folks that come on here and complain about the crime ih Phoenix becaue there is a murder on the news every night. Those folks need to also watch the news in cities of similar size, Detroit, Philly, Miami, Dallas - same sh*t, different city. Phoenix can be a great place to live, if you find the right part of the Valley to live in. One person said he hated Arcadia because it looked old, yet that is the exact reason I like, because it is not new and polished and fabricated. But at least we are talking about what we LIKE about the Valley as opposed to all the negatives so many were quick to point out. Thanks for your intelligent replies.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

lbh, I am assuming that at one time Arcadia was a new neighborhood. At that time chances are people were moving from some other area to flock to Arcadia and move into the new homes that were built. Chances are that in some public forum people talked about those that were moving to this new area and how they are leaving the good established neighborhoods for Arcadia. Chances are at that time there was no culture, shopping, good schools, or any other kind of established infrastucture. I have no knowledge of the Arcadia neighborhood, but I can imagine how things were back when they built the place. I bet there was even talk about how too many people were moving to the Phoenix area and that the ongoing building will take away that community atmosphere that was a part of Phoenix but is sure to leave if all this building keeps going on.

Nothing changes with how people think and many don't like change. Unfortunatly change is a part of the evolving nature of a community. Growth is what keeps us strong. I guess that it is great to get a discussion going on what is great about the area. I would hope that people love where they live. For those that live in the Arcadia neighborhood, I hope that they think that the area is paradise. For those living in Scottsdale I hope they feel the same way. For those of us that live or hope to have there homes completed so that they can live in Surprise, I would hope that they think the place is heaven on earth.