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Old 02-20-2012, 09:04 PM
 
Location: A circle of Hell so insidious, infernal and odious, Dante dared not map it
623 posts, read 1,222,355 times
Reputation: 473

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Quote:
Originally Posted by magnum0417 View Post
Call me naive phxgreenfire. Here's where my FISCAL conservatism comes in. NY gives out handouts to the lazy like no other. Welfare galore in NY and CA. Out here in AZ, I believe the state caps you out at around $200 a week unemployment. How long can you live on that unless you live off the grid in a shack near Winslow ?

I LIKE that people are forced to get off their asses and contribute to society when they are physically and mentally capable of doing so. I lived near NYC and Buffalo back east. Lines and lines of young capable individuals bleeding us taxpayers for handouts at grocery stores,etc. Say what you will about the so called "illegals." Many work. On or off the books. THEY WORK. They aren't collecting generous handouts to drink 40's and watch Jerry Springer on our dimes.
Okay, well if that's your definition of "entitled" then so be it... but in all fairness, that is a pretty narrow definition of the word. Based on what the word actually means, I would consider the whole subject of Arizona's gun laws and rampant waste of water in a desert environment (amongst many other things) to be entitled attitudes.

Five weeks in any city isn't really long enough to accurately gauge the local culture, nor is "sporadically" visiting. I've been to Dallas sporadically over many years, and now that I think about it I've been there more times than any other city... but I wouldn't go so far as to make any judgments on their local culture.
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Old 02-20-2012, 09:06 PM
 
2,338 posts, read 4,696,502 times
Reputation: 2022
Quote:
Originally Posted by PoppySead View Post
Thanks for posting. Sounds like we didn't do that bad in your opinion. I agree with most of it. I'm happy here for the most part as well.
You tend to appreciate new surroundings more after you spend many years in environments like NY that made you miserable. I know some natives here who seem to take things for granted that I love like the scenery and access to diverse landscapes for recreation and adventure. Guess it's all relative. Like I said, I've sporadically come here for work for 20 years. Kept getting tastes of AZ and missed it more every time I left to return to NY.
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Old 02-20-2012, 09:10 PM
 
2,338 posts, read 4,696,502 times
Reputation: 2022
Quote:
Originally Posted by phxgreenfire View Post
Okay, well if that's your definition of "entitled" then so be it... but in all fairness, that is a pretty narrow definition of the word. Based on what the word actually means, I would consider the whole subject of Arizona's gun laws and rampant waste of water in a desert environment (amongst many other things) to be entitled attitudes.

Five weeks in any city isn't really long enough to accurately gauge the local culture, nor is "sporadically" visiting. I've been to Dallas sporadically over many years, and now that I think about it I've been there more times than any other city... but I wouldn't go so far as to make any judgments on their local culture.
To me, entitled means "expecting to receive something without putting forth an acceptable effort." Admittedly, I haven't gone out of my way to see the worst neighborhoods.

As far as Gun Laws go. I am not some militant. However, I do feel it's something any non-felon should be allowed to carry.
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Old 02-20-2012, 09:17 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,915 posts, read 43,277,462 times
Reputation: 10724
Quote:
Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz View Post
Great thread! An honest assessment of someone who doesn't feel the valley is the "armpit" of America, as it's been referred to. I have to admit it took me some time to adjust to life in the desert, but it has grown on me and now I would find it tough to relocate back to the East.
A great thread that hadn't been posted in for three years when you found it.
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Old 02-21-2012, 09:06 AM
 
1,484 posts, read 2,254,115 times
Reputation: 2553
I'm living in the sweaty crotch of America, so for me to be moving to the "armpit" of America (3 weeks to go!) will be an upgrade, LOL.

There's more of a skyline there than here. For once in my life I just want to see a mountain. Hmm no you know what, I'll take a couple hills at this point. As long as there is a mountain within a 3-hour radius it's a step up for me.
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Old 02-21-2012, 11:58 AM
 
Location: Phoenix Arizona
2,032 posts, read 4,874,184 times
Reputation: 2750
Quote:
Originally Posted by DR2012 View Post
I'm living in the sweaty crotch of America, so for me to be moving to the "armpit" of America (3 weeks to go!) will be an upgrade, LOL.

There's more of a skyline there than here. For once in my life I just want to see a mountain. Hmm no you know what, I'll take a couple hills at this point. As long as there is a mountain within a 3-hour radius it's a step up for me.
Mountains top skylines anytime, mountains are just good for your soul.
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Old 02-24-2012, 06:54 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
603 posts, read 943,683 times
Reputation: 568
Pros.
1. The weather is amazing for about 9 months of the year.
2. The "outdoors" is amazing. There are city parks everywhere. It's a stunningly beautiful place. Great hiking in the city and just outside of it. Rafting on the Salt. Boating on the lakes. Mountain biking. etc.
3. Sports. Especially baseball with the Diamondbacks and spring training.
4. Hiking. I know it's already in #2, but it bears repeating. Just a few hours drive to multiple National Parks, National Monuments, mountains, forests, etc, etc.
5. Cultural diversity. (as much as some try to suppress it)
6. Events. There always seems to be something going on. Festivals, concerts, Arizona Ironman, Barrett Jackson auction, TPC Phoenix open, Nascar at PIR.
7. "Antiquities". If you like architecture, you have everything from ancient native american pueblos at places like Montezuma Castle to Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West. There's some great history here.
8. Astronomy. The light pollution is pretty bad in Phoenix, but just outside of the city the skies open up. A day trip to Flagstaff or Tucson will take you to some amazing observatories.
9. Sky Harbor. It's a great airport. Cheap flights, and less hassle than nearly every other US airport I've been through.
10. The roads. Traffic is pretty light for a city this size.

Cons.
1. The weather is simply horrible for several weeks.
2. The air. Supposedly it was healthy once. Now it's brown and full of every kind of mold, pollen, smog, and anything else a person could possibly be allergic to. Most cities have a bad allergy season in the spring, but here it's year round.
3. The schools. For K-12 you have lots of school choice... but most of the schools are terrible and the rest are barely average. After K-12, you have no choices... it's just ASU but ASU is a decent school.
4. The politics. If the politicians in this state could find a way to screw up the 9 good months of weather, they would.
5. The people. There's not much community here. While Phoenicians are nowhere near as hostile as some other city residents can be (New Yorkers), Phoenix is not known for its courtesy. "Snottsdale" is both clever and apt. If you're from a place where people smile and wave at each other, Phoenix will take some getting used to. People here are old, hot, and mad.
6. Drivers. Apparently the traffic schools here are just as bad as the other schools.
7. Zoos, Museums (natural history or science), & Theatre. Needs improvement. It still baffles me that there is no big aquarium in this city (it's too hot to take kids to the zoo in the summer).
8. "Mineral" water. The city water is so hard, it's almost gravel.
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Old 02-24-2012, 07:18 PM
 
Location: Anchored in Phoenix
1,942 posts, read 4,557,929 times
Reputation: 1784
Hey Magnum, great points - I also agree 100% with your libertarian things and my pet peeve is the lack of using turn signals in Phoenix. Those people include (ugh) the city's "finest" - cops. They are very rude because they obviously do not use signals so they can get an upperhand on another motorist. In reality lack of signalling puts both perpetrator and other driver's life in danger. It's retarded.
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Old 02-24-2012, 07:23 PM
 
Location: Anchored in Phoenix
1,942 posts, read 4,557,929 times
Reputation: 1784
My take:

Pros:
1. Being post-50, my bones do not ache here, even following 4,000 yards of a brisk indoor lap swim at the gym.
2. More opportunities of awesome sunsets.
3. Pollution is not a fraction as bad as in Los Angeles. Pollution is overpanicked.
4. Yes ease of finding destinations with the grid layout.
5. Great restaurants and they stay great even in the off season when it's 115 out.
6. Awesome thunderstorms when they happen.
7. The Civilians tend to be libertarian and non-authoritarian.

Cons.
1. Those occasions of humidity combined with heat, - My A/C does not work well in the rooms of my rental where it should count.
2. The drivers are cowboys and like Magnum said, never touched a turn signal lever. RUDE.
3. The lawmakers are against individual liberty.
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Old 02-24-2012, 07:58 PM
 
2,987 posts, read 10,108,691 times
Reputation: 2818
As someone new to Phoenix, I will add my opinion. I initially was concerned that the City Data forum was a microcosm of what Phoenix would be, and fortunately, it is not. People are pretty respectful on an individual basis in person and aren't as militant or overly pro-Phoenix as they are on this site. People just are live and let live and pretty grounded with seemingly realistic views, perceptions and opinions about the city from what I have experienced.

The way I see the forum is that a lot of posters here view everywhere else in the country as crappy and PHX as being so much better for all the regurgitated reasons in most of the threads. The pros are in fact accurate as are the cons, I just disagree with the premise that PHX is better than most other places or is magical. It is just like many other places in most regards. When I see people raving about how wonderful it is here and how horrible it was "back home" it really makes me think that these people are in some sort of honeymoon phase. Arizona is what you make of it, but it isn't anything mind blowing either.

I would say to potential newcommers that if you think having mild winters and diverse scenery will outweigh the negatives, go for it. Other than that, it is like any other sunbelt city in most regards. Nothing really stands out as being extreme other than the heat. Traffic is normal for a major metropolitan area, so are the drivers, there are nice and bad areas....so I would say it is easy to adapt to the city unless you move here during the summer.

Oh, Phoenix is way cheaper than California and Florida, so that is worth mentioning.

Overall, if you have a decent paying job here it isn't a bad place. But then again, I love America and I have the same view for most other places, even *gasp* the Midwest! lol Arizona and PHX are run of the mill and decent IMO.
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