San Francisco.....*Proper* (San Diego: hotel, quality of life, places to live)

[john3232]

Originally Posted by zitsky

...You couldn't get me to move to AZ even if my life depended on it. It's hot, desert, and extremely conservative. The folks in Arizona won't be happy until all Latinos (not just illegals) are shipped out of state. California may not be perfect but we're more accepting of diversity than Arizona is.

Yes, if diversity is important than perhaps AZ isn't for you. A buddy of mine felt the same way but changed his mind after researching the cost of housing in Chandler and the public schools (he's got a 10 year old kid.)

He's White and his wife Asian and they hope to move sometime next year.

[Natural510]

Yeah, Arizona is an armpit. If you want to live in the desert I'd consider New Mexico first, or the West in general there's Colorado, Oregon, Washington, even Tahoe/Reno.
To answer your other question, we move because we can't afford it anymore.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by Natural510

Yeah, Arizona is an armpit...

Depends on where you live. Gilbert and Chandler for example are both very safe with excellent schools. A 4 bed/2 bath home 2000 sq ft. is still under $200,000 and rent maybe $1300. You can have a nice life on $60,000 a year and it's not surprising that many from Cal. have already moved to AZ.

[Natural510]

I didn't really mean that it is shabby or anything, but culturally it's an armpit, at least in the greater Phoenix area, full of aging Midwestern retirees who bring their conservative, closed-minded tendencies with them.

[john3232]

That might be. However, as long as cities such as Gilbert are affordable, clean and safe the area is going to continue to attract families fleeing the high cost of Cal.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by john3232

affordable, clean and safe...

For the select, 'right' folks.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

For the select, 'right' folks.

By this I assume you mean Whites and you're probably right. I don't see a whole lot of Black outside the city of Phx and illegals aren't welcome. I think there's a fairly large gay population in Phx as well.

I don't particularly dig the politics of AZ but I do like the cost of living and the safety factor of say Gilbert.

[lahnnabell]

Everyone on the East coast thinks of California as the promise land still. I moved to San Diego from Boston and I joke around that all my friends back home seem to think I live in a little shack on the beach and go fishing and surfing every day.

The industries that run the show out here (in SD anyway) are tourism, medical, and defense (or military). Tourism is no guarantee you're gonna make money. Most of my friends work multiple jobs (restaurants/bars, music industry, etc.) to get by. Military families benefit the most from life in SD, honestly.

SF will not have palm trees. It's been rated the most expensive city in the US to live in. A lot of people posting here have mentioned that the increase in property value has done away with a lot of the middle class in SF proper, leaving it to the truly wealthy or the incredibly poor. Most everyone else in the middle lives outside the city and commutes.

[westcoastbabe]

I am a African-American female and I know other African-Americans that have relocated to Phoenix, Arizona area from the East coast and they absolutely love it....They tell me they would not move back east if someone paid them to.

[lahnnabell]

Phoenix is basically dirt cheap. If you want to save on cost of living, you move to Phoenix. I have friends that live out there and they love the nightlife. They're also still in the early 20's, so life is a bit easier on their wallets in Phoenix than San Diego. Personally, I like being on the water's edge if I can.