Officially Scared Now! LOL! (Phoenix, Mesa: relocating, job, new home)

[mtc81usa]

Howdy!
Is that the proper way to greet Phoenicians? Or do I have you mixed up with Oklahoma Citians? LOL! (My wife and I spent a lifetime there back in the 80's)

Anyhoodles, you guys are scaring the hell out of me, and I haven't even reached your fair city yet. My wife and I will be relocating from Metro Detroit to Phoenix fairly soon, and I'd like to give you posters an idea of what an outsider feels like when he/she reads these threads. Here are a few observations ;-)

There's a lot of CRIME in Phoenix!!!

It's freakin' HOT! (Please notice there is NO smiley face or "LOL" here)

"Stay away from MARYVALE!" (Hey, this would make a good t-shirt) LOL!

Let's go around the horn, shall we?
You got your basic:

1) Snobsdale

2) Older, established, green, unPhoenix-like, artsy-fartsy, ecclectic, Mom-and-Pop, if you got the balls to live there, Central Phoenix to North Central Phoenix

3) Ghetto(LOL) West Valley

4) Big-Money(they need it to pay for gas, plus wear-and-tear) North Peoria crowd. Kudos to the school system, if you've got the money for the home alarm.

5) Can't get there from here: Surprise (But, somehow, people do anyways)

6) Charming, standard-issue, "F-18 vapor trail communities" of Litchfield Park, etc., complete with the SUN in your eyes commute to and from work, on I-10 where traffic really doesn't move, but somehow you get where you're going. LOL!

7) Don't get caught living in Avondale or Goodyear(We'll leave Buckeye and Estrella out of it, because they are just that - OUT OF IT), because, well, Avondale and Goodyear are just not places worth living in. Fear of crime, heavy industry, various demographic issues, I-10 commute(see above)

8) Uh, that area to the South, I think it's called Laveen? Forget about it! Too close to the Buckeye Road industrial area and South Central Phoenix.
Plus, there's nothing out there but new homes and scorpions. Nice view of the South Mountains, though. LOL!

9) The Tempe College Crowd, Happenin', Pricey, Occasional SHOOTING in West Mesa, Hard to commute to East Valley. Sure, South Chandler, South Gilbert, and Queen Creek are nice, but how do you get there?

10) And of course there's always the ever-present, well-established, over-populated, nothing-exciting-ever-happens-in Mesa(except, see above)

I guess that just about covers it from my end. I'm still trying to sift through the rubble in the hopes of finding somewhere to hang my hat after a long hard day in the Salt Mines.
Oh yeah, that BIG, YELLOW THING IN THE SKY sucks the life right out of you, so forget about keeping your fresh, funny, Midwestern sense of humor, because life as you know it - is OVER!

Did I miss something here? Paradise Valley? McDowell Ranch? Anthem?...

Suddenly, Metro Detroit is looking pretty freakin' good!!!
GO RED WINGS!!!
Somebody, PLEASE, set me straight.

[myhusbandrocks.]

well, my husband and i just made the very same move...

have you ever BEEN here before? we had visited a handful of times over the years so we had some idea, but i do know what you mean about the boards

you're right, some of the things stated here just are NOT what they seem. it really is hard to base anything *for certain* on anyone else's opinions - in online forums or otherwise - because to each their own.

haha, the one thing that did get me was the concern over not ending up in the 'ghetto' here. i don't doubt there are nicer areas and then there are nice-but-not-as-nice areas but after knowing detroit, i see no areas here yet that scare me

and yes it's hot but again, all comes back to YOU! i personally freeze to death approximately 8/12 months in michigan (no joke, it's not fun!), here i am in BLISS, ETERNAL =)

the forums were of great help to us though and i still enjoy reading them, but at the end of the day a lot of the things said - that we ALL say, not pointing fingers - are opinion and nothing more.

be well.

[twiggy]

Um, this is pretty good. You don't need to be set straight. Listen, we are large and spread out, some areas are good and some are bad. We do have crime, not the worst, but close enough to make a bad statistic, we do have pollution, not as bad as some but enough to get fined yearly, Maryvale, well, yeah, that would be a good t-shirt! I'd say you only forgot scorpions and poorly educated, and continuing to poorly educate, um maybe, you missed everything in and out of your house will be dusty all year despite dusting. Um, lets see, oh yeah, that you have to have a pool just in case the AC goes out in the summer or you will certainly die a horrible death from heat stroke. I'm sure there is more, but, this should be enough. The thing is, your coming from Detroit. This here is your saving grace!!! Because Detroit from what I have heard is just as bad or worse as Phoenix. So you will actually feel like you are moving up. You should be fine. It's not really all that bad. It's city-data forum, everyone exaggerates on here. We have these problems but everyone has some. If you hate it, you can always try to leave. WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

Really, don't worry, I am moving out of here and I still can see why some people would like it. It's personal, what you want or need, if we have it you'll like it. For me, I love fresh sea food, fall, and hot coco and fireplaces, skiing, boating, so it's not the greatest match. But some people love it, this will depend on who you are.

[TurcoLoco]

mtc, you have to make a list of things that you do not like about Detriot, be honest and be thorough, then compare it to Phoenix and that could make things easier...

2 trips to Phoenix before moving here is a must, one in the middle of Summer another in the middle of Winter so you can see the weather trade off.

Just don't be like one of those who relocated here at their own desire and then whine all the time (you might have already noticed) giving out unfair bad vibes.

Good luck.

[LBear]

Well, I know Metro Detriot and I know Phoenix. Metro Denver is the pit of hell. Yet, it can and does get -40F below zero in the winter. When I mean "hell", I mean the place just s*cks.

A lot of your comments are over-exaggerated and about 10% truth mixed with opinions and some bad facts. If you think Detroit is nicer than Phoenix, then you are better off NOT moving here. Save yourself the time and money and stay in Detroit. Also, the crime rate in Detroit FAR SUPERSEDES that of Phoenix, hands down. Plus, in Phoenix, you can carry a concealed weapon. BIG PLUS.

[Ponderosa]

I can understand what you are saying. The posts on this forum would scare anyone to some degree. But there is also a common post that goes something like the one above where the person has visited and the vast majority of their fears - especially about crime - have been allayed. The area has grown by 3-4 fold over the past 25 years. Do you really think that would have happened if all the putdowns you read on the forum were true? People aren't being forcefully relocated here and they certainly aren't forced to stay.

My gut is that you live in the Phoenix area not Detroit given your grasp of all the silly stereotypes about the Valley. But if not, and you are contemplating a move, reflect on your own personality. Can you adjust to the climate? Can you reach out to others to make new friends? Can you be happy visiting family once a year or less? Are you adaptable to change and growth in your life and in your community? Can you live with the fact that "things" are done differently in your new town? All the "hardware" one needs to have a good life is here. But, your happiness is about YOU, not us.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by LBear

Well, I know Metro Detriot and I know Phoenix. Metro Denver is the pit of hell. Yet, it can and does get -40F below zero in the winter. When I mean "hell", I mean the place just s*cks.

A lot of your comments are over-exaggerated and about 10% truth mixed with opinions and some bad facts. If you think Detroit is nicer than Phoenix, then you are better off NOT moving here. Save yourself the time and money and stay in Detroit. Also, the crime rate in Detroit FAR SUPERSEDES that of Phoenix, hands down. Plus, in Phoenix, you can carry a concealed weapon. BIG PLUS.

Yeah, I thought Detroit was supposed to be the worst place to live in the USA according to all the people I have met from there. I have no desire to ever find out. In fact, you can have the rest of America East of the Rockie Mountains.

[Phoenix lady]

You have a good sense of humor.
It's hot here, but if you keep your A/C turned on day and night in the hot months, you'll do okay. You can buy a place with a pool, too. That would help alot.
I don't think the West Valley is the ghetto, by any means. Parts perhaps, but not all of it. North Peoria is quite nice by T-bird. The Desert Harbor area.
I used to work in Maryvale--I wouldn't live there, but I never really felt really unsafe working there. The little town I grew up in had worse areas than that downstreet.
Snobsdale, well, yes, totally agree. I call it something else that isn't too nice. It's pretentious and as phony as a 3 dollar bill, I guess you'd say. The smiles are all botox manufactured and the rest of the bodies are "man-made" too--if you know what I mean. It's a strange vibe there, that's all I can say. I've never felt anything like it before except maybe out of the movie "The Stepford Wives."
Downtown Tempe I like--a down street and it feels okay there.
There's crime, but that's everywhere. I don't watch the news anymore though. It's too demoralizing.
My major gripes: Too many stucco, cooky cutter homes, piled next to each other. Too much concrete. Too many people. Toomuch heat. Lack of community feeling.
But, how it fits for you would be different than how it fits for me. I loved it out here the first 5 years. It could just be I'm in a change mode right now and have grown bored with it here. Positives: Generally, Phoenix metro is clean and kept up pretty well. Roads are good and wide out here,too. Sunny in the winter. Dry climate (depends on how you like it). Better here for aches and pains. Availability to anything you need to buy. Job market prob. better than alot of other places. Lots of good restaurants here.

[foma]

I've been here since Jan 2007 and a transplant just like everybody else. A couple of comments to make (love your humor by the way!):

It's damn hot but if you can survive a few months of scorching heat, the other 9 months or so are perfect (IMO).

Being a native Texan, I've never greeted anyone with a "howdy"even though it's like second nature to me.

Yes, crime is bad, and perhaps (though I can't prove statistically) seems more rampant here than other cities in the States but crime is pretty much EVERYWHERE these days. You have to realize, however, that Phoenix is HUGE so there's greater footage to commit crimes. That's my theory anyway.

"Snobsdale" is exactly what you say it is! The funny thing is, I've seen some pretty "shady" areas of Scottsdale, too. That whole area isn't all upscaly. I go there for shopping but I'm glad I don't live there. Those people are too intense for me.

The West Valley is not all ghetto. We also have to distinguish, I think, West and "Way out West" Valley. As far as Goodyear and Avondale goes, I've drawn the imaginary line North of I-10 as decent places to live. Though this is a generalization, that's my focus area when we house hunt.

I've noticed most people are here (even Scottsdale) genrally aren't "big money" - they just perceive to look that way. The opposite can be true, too, they dont look like they have a lot but you'd be surprised!

That's just my 2 cents!

[YAZ]

Ex Metro Detroiter here. I moved out here four years ago.

LBear, a CCW is easily attainable in Michigan. In fact, MI & AZ have reciprocal gun laws. You can carry in MI with an AZ CCW, as well as carry here with a MI CCW.

I'll never get used to not saving cans & bottles to bring back to the store.

No potholes in Phoenix.

Cars last many years here, but batteries tend to die after two.

Cox is better than Comcast.

I haven't seen a snake or scorpion here. Yet.

Sedona is nice, but stay away from the new age crystal places.

I like Jerome.

The drive to San Diego is incredibly boring but worth it.

Speaking of driving, we have the same bad habits here, except for doing 70 in the snow.

Many tatoos here.

Everybody has a wall. Back in MI, your neighbors might get mad ifya put up a wall. They might think you're trying to hide something.



I love it here. We have the best friends money can buy.

P.S.

Stay away from Maryvale....