Arizona is a terrible place, do not think about living here. (Phoenix: ski resort, job market)

[owie]

Too bad this forum doesn't allow pictures..

[teddyearp]

Originally Posted by owie

Too bad this forum doesn't allow pictures..

I does. I use photobucket, but you can also use the attachment feature. It may be blocked to you since you only have two posts as of right now.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by owie

I've lived in Arizona for 52 years now and have never been bitten by a rattlesnake or a scorpion sting until last week.
I put my hands under a concrete bench I was sitting on and it felt like I was hit in the hand with a sledgehammer. I quickly screamed like a little girl and swore like a sailor while killing that brown bastard. two days later while working I felt like I was hit by a city bus, cramping, vomiting, high fever, dizziness. I should've went to the ER but being male, I went home and was extremely sick for 3 days. It has now been a week since the initial sting and my fingers are still swollen and the skin is starting to rot. maybe now is a good time to go to the dr but it may be to late for the anti-venom

That's not the description of a scorpion sting at all. I have been stung several times by a scorpion and the reaction is sharp pain, followed by numbness which may spread up the limb that can last a week or more. My whole family has also been sting and we have never had swelling and certainly not "rotting flesh". It's a neuro-toxoin. Maybe a recluse got you given the necrosis. While it may be a reason to not live in Arizona, recluse spiders are much more common in other places than here. They are everywhere in Oklahoma, I can tell you. Could be a black widow too. If you killed a scorpion, you killed an innocent bug.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by ArrisSevvin

EVERTHING in Arizona wants to bite you. I used to have a fondness for tumbleweeds. They casually roll by in western ghost town movies. They cross the background in cartoons. Nice fluffy little rollie bushes.

NOT

My first tumble weed experience was getting hit by one while riding my motorcycle. It nearly wrecked me. Before that I didn't know they had barbs. Ouch. I had to pull off and tear the nice rollie bush teeth from my leg and tires.

Everything that grows here makes the thorns on brier bushes feel like a gentle hug. I made the mistake of posing in a picture and getting my face too close to a jumping cholla. There is a reason why there aren't any cactus huggers.

I had a close call with a baby rattler. I hear it is a good thing it wasn't any closer. I walked by the side of my house and heard it, looked down and it was six inches from my leg. Luckily it slithered down a hole.

Scorpions in my bath tubs.

Has anyone mentioned the bees? Every place has bees but here they are evil.

I miss raking the friendly maple leaves out of my yard. Garter snakes. Lady bugs. You know, things a kid could play with and not risk a trip to the ER.

I saw a motorcyclist get hit full on by a dust devil the other day. Hilarious! (sorry).

[country pride]

I cant say its a terrible place to live, though Im stuck here for now, I know of a few desert dwellers who wouldn't leave this place for the world...but don't include me.
Just make the best of what you can, till you find the escape outta here.

Did you scroll back a few posts and see Valley Native's post?

[jamies]

But who'd wanna leave all this?

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Couldnt have been a baby, then. Baby rattlers dont have rattles yet.

That reminds me, I had my first encounter with a rattler about a month ago! I was walkìng down an alley in downtown Gilbert at night and saw a dark clump on the sidewalk. As I got closer I was startled to see a kingsnake coiled and in position to strike. I backed off and it began slithering toward a nearby bush. I wanted to get a picture so I blocked its path to the bush. The moment I put my foot next to the bush I heard a distinct rattle! Kingsnakes hunt rattlesnakes. I realized I was in the middle of something and quickly left the area!

[country pride]

Originally Posted by magnum0417

May get muddy with yes....Valle and the 4 seasons but this is truly Arizona living. Not people in The Valley claiming they can handle 110 when all they do is hop between their air conditioned office to car to home to strip mall to chain restaurants all summer. Now the construction crews that are out in long sleeves all summer in PHX...those are those that TRULY can handle the heat !!

I must have overlooked this post.

[theoaks]

Originally Posted by wisconsin woman

I cant say its a terrible place to live, though Im stuck here for now, I know of a few desert dwellers who wouldn't leave this place for the world...but don't include me.
Just make the best of what you can, till you find the escape outta here.

Did you scroll back a few posts and see Valley Native's post?

Yes, people get stuck!

California and Colorado are so expensive that it's difficult to get out of AZ. Someday, Northern Arizona will grow, and be like the great resort towns in Colorado like Durango, Telluride, Vail, and Aspen. I predict this will be within 15 years.

Some Phoenix area suburbs are really trying to improve their parks and infrastructure, which makes things more pleasant in an otherwise boring desert. For example, Scottsdale with its various new museums, and its McDowell Mountain Sonoran Preserve.

AZ provides low rents and low cost of living because they want to grow around Phoenix and to a lesser extent Tucson. California cities are mostly anti-growth with a few exceptions such as Temecula and Murrieta in Riverside County.

[johnp292]

I see some still aren't getting it.....