Los Angeles transplants that like Phoenix, what's the reality? Care to share? (Chandler: real estate, neighborhoods)

[outsideliving]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

In addition to the beaches, bays, inlets, marshes and natural harbors, Southern California boasts many wooded areas as well, albethey mostly in the mountains, foothills and canyons.

Coupled with the more traditional-looking parks and yards that feature grass, trees and other greenery, the overall aesthetic of suburban Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura Counties is a lot greener and more lush that what you will find in the Phoenix area, despite the fact both areas are relatively hot and dry.

Furthermore, there are a lot of suburban areas in Southern California where the terrain is hillier and more varied than in Phoenix, which is a flat desert basin. Again, this adds to the neighborhood aesthetic, IMO.

Finally, the housing stock in Southern California is older than what you will find in Phoenix and, in some areas, significantly so. In the well-maintained neighborhoods, this provides a greater semblance of character, charm and hominess that is sorely lacking in what I call the "stucco ghettos" of Phoenix, wherein every single home is a carbon-copy of the next one.

But if you can only afford to shell out $350k on a home, you're much better off in a "stucco ghetto" in Phoenix than the actual ghetto in Los Angeles.

You can find older/well established housing in the Metro area, you can find dramatic rolling hills and varied landscapes in the metro area, you can find very green and lush neighborhoods in the metro area, you can find great family neighborhoods with good schools, urban areas and Custom housing. Not everything in phx is a stucco copy, there are large swaths of the metro area that are not, it just depends on Budget. It is this uninformed stereotype that is easy to write but factually incorrect and displays an ignorance about a subject that you probably shouldn't write about again. It is this lack of understanding and nuance that makes me wonder why you would type anything about a subject you know so little about. Yes we know there are lots of Stucco neighborhoods, everybody in the US knows this about Phx. You don't have to visit to know this but on a forum like this it is important to communicate past the stereotypes and work on being as accurate as possible on describing an entire city. It really makes it a much more useful place for newbies to understand an area.

[newtoaz20172]

Also note LAX is a world class airport with directs to Rome, Dubai, Philippines, Tokyo, Beijing, Australia, Singapore, Paris. Basically, a majority of global cities can be reached directly. Phoenix is basically Frankfurt soon and a direct to London Heathrow. Even then, it's 1200-1500 (British Airways charges a $200-ish seat fee), so you might as well spend 250 direct to JFK then spend fly spend another 500 to England and save $500-$800. so yeah, it's an expensive direct because no one else is doing it from Phoenix. Keep that in mind that any Asian or European travel will probably be through LAX/JFK/ORD and South American travel will be ATL (like Argentina)

[MuscleCar]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

In addition to the beaches, bays, inlets, marshes and natural harbors, Southern California boasts many wooded areas as well, albethey mostly in the mountains, foothills and canyons.

Coupled with the more traditional-looking parks and yards that feature grass, trees and other greenery, the overall aesthetic of suburban Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura Counties is a lot greener and more lush that what you will find in the Phoenix area, despite the fact both areas are relatively hot and dry.

Furthermore, there are a lot of suburban areas in Southern California where the terrain is hillier and more varied than in Phoenix, which is a flat desert basin. Again, this adds to the neighborhood aesthetic, IMO.

Finally, the housing stock in Southern California is older than what you will find in Phoenix and, in some areas, significantly so. In the well-maintained neighborhoods, this provides a greater semblance of character, charm and hominess that is sorely lacking in what I call the "stucco ghettos" of Phoenix, wherein every single home is a carbon-copy of the next one.

But if you can only afford to shell out $350k on a home, you're much better off in a "stucco ghetto" in Phoenix than the actual ghetto in Los Angeles.

Ugh. Attitudes like this really make L.A. an annoying place to live

[MuscleCar]

Originally Posted by newtoaz20172

Also note LAX is a world class airport with directs to Rome, Dubai, Philippines, Tokyo, Beijing, Australia, Singapore, Paris. Basically, a majority of global cities can be reached directly. Phoenix is basically Frankfurt soon and a direct to London Heathrow. Even then, it's 1200-1500 (British Airways charges a $200-ish seat fee), so you might as well spend 250 direct to JFK then spend fly spend another 500 to England and save $500-$800. so yeah, it's an expensive direct because no one else is doing it from Phoenix. Keep that in mind that any Asian or European travel will probably be through LAX/JFK/ORD and South American travel will be ATL (like Argentina)

I rarely fly, and never international. I'm a road tripper.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

In addition to the beaches, bays, inlets, marshes and natural harbors, Southern California boasts many wooded areas as well, albethey mostly in the mountains, foothills and canyons.

Coupled with the more traditional-looking parks and yards that feature grass, trees and other greenery, the overall aesthetic of suburban Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura Counties is a lot greener and more lush that what you will find in the Phoenix area, despite the fact both areas are relatively hot and dry.

Furthermore, there are a lot of suburban areas in Southern California where the terrain is hillier and more varied than in Phoenix, which is a flat desert basin. Again, this adds to the neighborhood aesthetic, IMO.

Finally, the housing stock in Southern California is older than what you will find in Phoenix and, in some areas, significantly so. In the well-maintained neighborhoods, this provides a greater semblance of character, charm and hominess that is sorely lacking in what I call the "stucco ghettos" of Phoenix, wherein every single home is a carbon-copy of the next one.

But if you can only afford to shell out $350k on a home, you're much better off in a "stucco ghetto" in Phoenix than the actual ghetto in Los Angeles.

SoCal would be okay if it weren't already jam freaking packed with people, it's stuffed to capacity and that's a major turn off to a lot of us, whether we have a $5Million home budget or not it doesn't fix the strain and stress 19Million people put on everything.

[Fl1150]

Originally Posted by MuscleCar

Ugh. Attitudes like this really make L.A. an annoying place to live

He is a troll who makes comments like this on multiple forums so might as well ignore him because they like to "post and run".

[Bert_from_back_East]

Originally Posted by outsideliving

You can find older/well established housing in the Metro area, you can find dramatic rolling hills and varied landscapes in the metro area, you can find very green and lush neighborhoods in the metro area, you can find great family neighborhoods with good schools, urban areas and Custom housing. Not everything in phx is a stucco copy, there are large swaths of the metro area that are not, it just depends on Budget. It is this uninformed stereotype that is easy to write but factually incorrect and displays an ignorance about a subject that you probably shouldn't write about again. It is this lack of understanding and nuance that makes me wonder why you would type anything about a subject you know so little about. Yes we know there are lots of Stucco neighborhoods, everybody in the US knows this about Phx. You don't have to visit to know this but on a forum like this it is important to communicate past the stereotypes and work on being as accurate as possible on describing an entire city. It really makes it a much more useful place for newbies to understand an area.

The only parts of the Phoenix metro area that are truly hilly are Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley. The rest of the region lies in the flat desert basin of the Phoenix Valley, including places that are billed as having more varied terrain such as Ahwatukee Foothills, Desert Ridge and North Scottsdale, for example.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

The only parts of the Phoenix metro area that are truly hilly are Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley. The rest of the region lies in the flat desert basin of the Phoenix Valley, including places that are billed as having more varied terrain such as Ahwatukee Foothills, Desert Ridge and North Scottsdale, for example.

I’d say a good portion of Carefree and Cave Creek can be viewed as “hilly”

[man4857]

Originally Posted by MuscleCar

Ive read a lot of threads, and websites, and went to cost of living calculators, etc etc... But it would be very nice to hear some real experiences.

I know that wages are sometimes equal, but many times a tad lower over there. Surprisingly, however, because L.A. wages are not extremely high for a big city of its caliber, the difference is not always that big.

So when you round it all up, and put it all together, with the lower housing, and taxes, and car ownership, and everything, how much has the quality of your life improved in Phoenix?

Depends on what you would consider quality of life. But one aspect I will say is that I'm not as financially strapped as I would be if I lived in LA. Now granted, there are more fun things to do in LA of course, but it's not enough to make me want to live there to deal with all the intricacies involved. Phoenix hits a good balance between boring and fun.

Beyond that, the other stuff is pretty self explanatory. Scenery is different of course, cost of living is different, economy is different, entertainment options are different, etc.. I don't think you can really give a good comparison. Both cities offers something different that really can't be compared. The only thing that you can compare is cost of living.

[slowdude222]

Rent a spot close to hell at 115 degrees for 4 months? It better be cheaper. Phoenix is similar to any hot hell hole. Most people get sick of this heat and brown landscape after 5 years or so.