My gf hates arizona(phx)... Help! (Phoenix, Tucson: living, zip codes, cost of living)

[kdog]

Originally Posted by JDish2000

In fact, why not have a cut-off time table for threads, just like when you post a poll?

That would be a bad idea, IMHO. There are many threads that are just as relevant today as when they were written several years ago. If people waste their time reading pages of 2 year/old posts that are no longer relevant because they don't bother reading the date on the post, that's their problem. No sense in crippling the forum software and forcing duplicate posts because of a few dumb people.

[observer53]

Some threads have continuing value to readers/posters, others don't. I agree that people should check the dates on a thread to determine whether the thread has continuing usefulness, but I don't want a hard and fast time rule. I'm not going to make a federal case about ANY thread getting revived. If one gets revived that really shouldn't have, they tend to drop back down the list soon enough.

[udoshia]

I moved here from Atlanta and it has a huge population of people in their 20's and 30's and when I moved here I noticed it is a retirement community and so I started going to Tempe on the weekend nights and listening to live music and meeting people. Tempe is all young and I think ASU is the largest (BY ENROLLMENT) University in America.
In Phoenix I actually tried a dating service to meet someone............anyone. All I could find to do was museums and we are not abundant in them. Check out the museum of musical instruments in Scottsdale.....Amazing and hard to cover in a day.
spend the weekend in Flagstaff I love to do that.
drive the highways.......... that could take years to see all the sites in Arizona. The huge hole in the ground from a meteor.........grand canyon.........the rim country north of us........Sedona..........we went 350 miles down the river in the Grand canyon on a raft it took a week. My favorite part was the helicopter ride out and seeing it disappear over the horizon but my husband loved it. take a wet suit.
the mountains are great in the winter......lots of snow and ice. I tend to forget how much fun we've has when we leave Phoenix......... but then.........you have to come back. that is the part I can do without. And......Ive never met anyone who hated the heat and then got used to it. For me it gets worse and worse every year. But I actually think its not me......It does get worse and worse every year. (global warming)

[magnum0417]

Originally Posted by udoshia

I moved here from Atlanta and it has a huge population of people in their 20's and 30's and when I moved here I noticed it is a retirement community and so I started going to Tempe on the weekend nights and listening to live music and meeting people. Tempe is all young and I think ASU is the largest (BY ENROLLMENT) University in America.
In Phoenix I actually tried a dating service to meet someone............anyone. All I could find to do was museums and we are not abundant in them. Check out the museum of musical instruments in Scottsdale.....Amazing and hard to cover in a day.
spend the weekend in Flagstaff I love to do that.
drive the highways.......... that could take years to see all the sites in Arizona. The huge hole in the ground from a meteor.........grand canyon.........the rim country north of us........Sedona..........we went 350 miles down the river in the Grand canyon on a raft it took a week. My favorite part was the helicopter ride out and seeing it disappear over the horizon but my husband loved it. take a wet suit.
the mountains are great in the winter......lots of snow and ice. I tend to forget how much fun we've has when we leave Phoenix......... but then.........you have to come back. that is the part I can do without. And......Ive never met anyone who hated the heat and then got used to it. For me it gets worse and worse every year. But I actually think its not me......It does get worse and worse every year. (global warming)

Despite the fact that you revived a 3 year old thread, I will try to keep it going. It sounds like you have made use of what this diverse state has to offer. I've seen a lot in the year that I have been a permanent resident here as well. Trips up north, to San Diego,LA, Utah, New Mexico,etc.

I will say this. I agree that the heat isn't for everyone. My wife has medical issues and she really struggled this summer. I have a high tolerance to temp extremes being from NY and the only time I felt uncomfortable were those 8 straight days of over 110 back in August. I give her credit for sticking by me. I came out here voluntarily via job transfer and love it. But again, you have to be wired to be a "Nature and Outdoors Lover" to truly appreciate Arizona. You can only go to the Malls and Casinos so much near PHX. If you don't take advantage of the vast ecological and climatic zones within a few hours of PHX, you will be bored and miserable. What helped get my wife through her first summer was San Diego trips. The beach does cure the summertime blues if the heat is too much.

Lastly, this time of year through March is paradise temperature wise. Take advantage of hiking the trails ! During the summer, I had to go above 5000 feet to hike near Payson. Not necessary now with temps in the 70's and 80's.

[magnum0417]

Speaking of Trails. I encourage anyone without health restrictions to give the Cholla Trail a try on Camelback Mountain. Park on Invergordon near Chapparal and hike away. It's a refreshing experience and you feel good about yourself after making the climb. I have yet to do the Echo Canyon Trail which is steeper and shorter however.

Cholla Trail goes from about 1200 ft to 2700 ft above sea level. It's a novice trail for the first 3/4's of the hike up to the Camelback hump where many people take a break or turn around at that vantage point where you can see Downtown PHX and West Valley. That's at 2000 ft or so. I'll tell you, that last 700 feet is not easy even for people in good health. Very rocky and pretty steep grade to get from the hump to the top. Personally, I feel more stressed mentally walking back down it than exerting myself up it. It has extremely rocky parts to the trail where losing your footing going down is prevalent. I see atleast a couple people walking down fall on their butts every time I have hiked it. Even having boots with traction isn't always good enough with those rocks walking down. I tend to be extremely cautious walking back down because I have come very close to falling misjudging how slippery the rocks are.

[HX_Guy]

The Museum of Musical Instruments is in Phoenix, not Scottsdale. Just irks me when Phienix doesn't get it's due credit.

[magnum0417]

Originally Posted by HX_Guy

The Museum of Musical Instruments is in Phoenix, not Scottsdale. Just irks me when Phienix doesn't get it's due credit.

Yep. Tatum and Mayo Blvd.

Unfortunately, I do not feel I got my money's worth there. I am a fan of 70's and 80's music and little else. Didn't grow up owning any instruments so I guess I didn't appreciate it as some might. If you are a musician, you will love it I am sure. Yes, I went through all the continents on the second floor and it became redundant to me. I found that everything looked similar in the African section and well as Europe and Asia. I grew a bit bored by the end of the tour to be honest. Just very redundant IMO. However, I did enjoy messing around with some of the instruments on the First Floor after the tour ended. If I go there again, I'd just go to mess around with the instruments and allow the others to take the tour on the 2nd floor.

[goolsbyjazz]

I agree with the poster who realized that to fully appreciate Arizona you have to get out and SEE it! Trips to Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, Payson, Jerome, Bisbee and other places like Greer and Pine Top shows the diversity in the climates. While I appreciate the valley for what it is, I love traveling around seeing different places.

[magnum0417]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

I agree with the poster who realized that to fully appreciate Arizona you have to get out and SEE it! Trips to Flagstaff, Sedona, Prescott, Payson, Jerome, Bisbee and other places like Greer and Pine Top shows the diversity in the climates. While I appreciate the valley for what it is, I love traveling around seeing different places.

There's people back in NY I stay in touch with that hate it here. When I build it up with pictures of our area, I hear "Don't feel like living on Mars" and "Those mountains look like piles of dirt." That is fine. We have enough population growth as is, we don't need any malcontents who don't appreciate the unique landscape moving here either. The uniqueness and the hot summers will hopefully keep cost of living reasonable for years to come. Why is San Diego so expensive ? Because it's a perfect climate,awesome beaches and offers very diverse geography and climates over short distances to suit everyone's interests. Supply and Demand. Simple as that.

[Phxrider]

Queen creek was your first mistake