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Old 10-05-2008, 12:44 PM
YAZ
 
Location: Phoenix,AZ
7,697 posts, read 14,015,617 times
Reputation: 7035

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Many of the top ten reasons I posted were "discovered" after I moved here. Most were "tongue-in-cheek", and not meant to be taken seriously.

I've always loved the warm weather, and having lived in Michigan for most of my life I've yearned for sunshine.

Like many folks, I had planned to retire to sunny climes. I decided to move to a warmer place twenty years BEFORE retirement.

My wife & I will prob'ly live in The Valley of the Sun for the rest of our lives, as well as visit other great places like Michigan, Chicagoland, Atlanta, etc.
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Old 10-05-2008, 01:39 PM
 
228 posts, read 592,593 times
Reputation: 157
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArizonaBear View Post
Coming from someone who lives in NYC I wonder about a lot of your opinions about Arizona----------and, I am a Wash DC native who fled that toxic waste dump 30 years ago never to return.

Suffice to say: I do not go to the New York Forums to flagrantly denigrate the Big Apple (or any place else there).

This is off topic, but I'm just wondering, why is it that you rag on D.C. so incessantly? You say you haven't lived there since '78- well, I'm here to tell you, if you went there today, you'd be in for a HUGE surprise. D.C. is so much different, so much nicer a city than it was 30 years ago. My own 2 cents, D.C. = 1000x nicer a city than Phoenix.

And I'm not obviously the only one who thinks so, as D.C. is routinely named as one of the best cities to live in in the country for young professionals by various publications. Public transportation that can't be beat, which didn't exist back then, terrific culture, wonderful and unique neighborhoods, and just all in all a very attractive and vibrant place. I was there recently and loved it. I can tell you that as a young, single professional, Phoenix doesn't hold a candle to D.C. as a city, it's not even close. Phoenix is like one gigantic suburb sprawling out for miles in every direction with nothing in the middle- and why in the world, if you're a young, single person, would you voluntarily move to a suburb? Yikes. I'd choose D.C. in a second if I had the opportunity.

And the winters there, FWIW, aren't nearly as bad as you make them out to be, as compared with Michigan or the upper midwest. Summers are godawful on the east coast, but they are here, too, and for a much longer and constant duration of time. To me, about the only thing Phoenix has over D.C. is the weather, and sorry, but for me, that's not nearly enough to make up for its other deficiencies and I have trouble identifying with that sort of mindset. There's a whole lot more to a place that contributes to overall quality of life, good or bad, that goes beyond the weather.
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Old 10-05-2008, 04:06 PM
 
Location: Mesa, Az
21,144 posts, read 42,003,834 times
Reputation: 3861
Quote:
Originally Posted by borborygmi View Post
This is off topic, but I'm just wondering, why is it that you rag on D.C. so incessantly? You say you haven't lived there since '78- well, I'm here to tell you, if you went there today, you'd be in for a HUGE surprise. D.C. is so much different, so much nicer a city than it was 30 years ago. My own 2 cents, D.C. = 1000x nicer a city than Phoenix.

And I'm not obviously the only one who thinks so, as D.C. is routinely named as one of the best cities to live in in the country for young professionals by various publications. Public transportation that can't be beat, which didn't exist back then, terrific culture, wonderful and unique neighborhoods, and just all in all a very attractive and vibrant place. I was there recently and loved it. I can tell you that as a young, single professional, Phoenix doesn't hold a candle to D.C. as a city, it's not even close. Phoenix is like one gigantic suburb sprawling out for miles in every direction with nothing in the middle- and why in the world, if you're a young, single person, would you voluntarily move to a suburb? Yikes. I'd choose D.C. in a second if I had the opportunity.

And the winters there, FWIW, aren't nearly as bad as you make them out to be, as compared with Michigan or the upper midwest. Summers are godawful on the east coast, but they are here, too, and for a much longer and constant duration of time. To me, about the only thing Phoenix has over D.C. is the weather, and sorry, but for me, that's not nearly enough to make up for its other deficiencies and I have trouble identifying with that sort of mindset. There's a whole lot more to a place that contributes to overall quality of life, good or bad, that goes beyond the weather.
Sometimes I do go 'over the top' about things that I dislike------------or like.

That stated: I stand by what I said; I was 'never at home' in the DC area even when growing up on a cultural level. Couple that with the foul weather and the $$$ of living----------I had no reason to stay so I left, plain and simple just before my 21st birthday.

Understand too that quite a few of the people who knew me while I was still there all commented on my having a 'West Coast' vibe---------it may in part to my looking like a tall, Nordic suffer dude/Hippie, tough to say.
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Old 10-05-2008, 05:24 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,070 times
Reputation: 10
very warm in arizona and a lot of sunlight, and maybe some good weather
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Old 10-06-2008, 06:54 PM
 
435 posts, read 1,572,192 times
Reputation: 330
Michigan native here, and expat of Phoenix as well. Grew up in metro Detroit, then after living in a few other cities in the West (Denver and Ft. Collins, both of which I really liked), I took a new job and moved to Phoenix. I tolerated it for a short period and ran like hell away after 4 years.

My 2 cents: Michigan is a horribly economically depressed place right now, and I certainly can't blame so many for trying to leave. However, I will add this disclaimer: be careful what you wish for if it's Phoenix you're leaving MI for. Having lived both places, as well as in numerous other cities around the southwest, I can tell you that Phoenix is hardly Shangri La. It's an improvement over Detroit simply by virtue of having a stronger job market at the moment; but there are so many better climates and nicer cities in this region of the country than Phoenix.

The desert surrounding Phoenix is beautiful, and the entire state of AZ is quite varied geographically and there are many great qualities I like about the state itself. But regarding the city of Phoenix strictly speaking, it is not at all an attractive, centralized or vibrant city. The comparison I like to use is L.A. without the beach & year-round great weather, or Vegas without the casinos or great entertainment, nightlife, etc. Basically, take away the redeeming qualities of those cities, and you've got Phoenix. I will give Phoenix credit for at least being much more livable than a place like L.A.- it hasn't got nearly the traffic and overcrowding issues and isn't nearly as expensive. But it's also not remotely as interesting, culturally diverse, or lively, either.

Summers are absolutely terrible and seemingly neverending; don't let the "dry heat" cliche fool you. The lack of humidity does make a huge difference comfort-wise at temps up to about 95. Incidentally, that's about what you'll get for highs in April and late October. But above that, which is what you will get constantly and relentlessly in the intervening summer months, it doesn't matter- it's just freakin' HOT.

Last edited by steve22; 10-06-2008 at 07:32 PM..
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