Los Angeles transplants that like Phoenix, what's the reality? Care to share?

[Burkmere]

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.

Let him think LA is great. He must be stuck there. Lol.

[KevinMi]

To argue that Los Angeles is not a world class city is moronic. Los Angeles is everything that Phoenix is not; which is largely why I chose to relocate to the East Valley 10 years ago. I relocated here with my Los Angeles job working in Information Technology. I was lucky to maintain my California salary. There is certainly a difference in pay check sizes between the two locations; from what I've seen, it is as much as a 15% difference but pay ranges will be closely tied to the industry and experience.

When compared with Los Angeles (From my perspective):

Pro's:
- Considerably lighter traffic... 10 years ago it was non existent. Today, it is still lighter than 8:00AM traffic on ANY Southern CA Freeway
- Municipal roadways are much wider making it easier to navigate by car although road-rage is a thing here too!
- Cost of living (We couldn't afford our home if it were in LA... by any stretch)
- Excellent expressway loop system throughout Phoenix Metro (Still being developed today)
- There are some great family friendly communities in Phoenix Metro; Gilbert, Chandler...
- Population density in LA is unbearable... Choose your zipcode wisely and you'll have plenty room to breathe in Phoenix
- There are many more great reasons to call Phoenix home... My selected reasons simply made the transition easier.

Cons:
- The heat during the summer is horrible by survivable (We escape to N California every year)
- Depending where you live, there is a shortage of great restaurants when compared to LA. You will find yourself driving further for your favorites.

-k

[skydude24]

Originally Posted by DKM

Disagree. I weighed both Phoenix and the LA area for relocation and education system and overall quality of life are the main reason we picked SoCal over Phoenix.

It all depends on location and affordability of course. I'm in the Ahwatukee area and I have two kids in elementary. I've been extremely happy with the quality of their education so far. I've looked at buying in LA and I've only used greatschools.com as a reference. When shopping for real estate in the LA area with my income the schools here always compare more favorably.

[skydude24]

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.

I love that California attitude! I've found that a lot while working out there over the past 8 years. I'm only able to afford around 325K in Phoenix, maybe I should set my sights higher!