For People Leaving AZ... (Phoenix, Scottsdale: landscaping, taxes, living in)

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by AndroidAZ

Wow, they moved to the south? Really?

You couldn't pay me enough to move there.

And what type of work do you do? Hard to believe you'd find better job prospects in the South or Southeast. Those places tend to be dead last in job prospects for many people.

I get that the south, in general, may not be everyone's cup of tea but there's a reason it's one of the fastest growing regions in the country. OP, there are lots of nice cities in the south to explore. Good luck on your journey.

[49erfan916]

I haven't left yet, but when I do leave, it would to go back to California. I feel like I have some unfinished business out there. Phoenix is a solid city so I wouldn't leave "disgruntled" or disappointed.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by CAHLUV

I believe just like PHX possible more tech companies are moving to areas like Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, Charlotte, and Atlanta. I know many look down on the south but those cities are among emerging markets.

Agreed, especially Austin and Charlotte. There is a position in Charlotte within my company I was tempted to look at but...moving the fam across country at this point isn't in the cards.

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Agreed, especially Austin and Charlotte. There is a position in Charlotte within my company I was tempted to look at but...moving the fam across country at this point isn't in the cards.

Charlotte's a nice city!

[Oklazona Bound]

I have gone from a full time Arizona resident to a working snowbird. Winters are great in Arizona however just about everything else is better where I spend the rest of the year. And I am considering moving my winter home from Arizona to the Texas coast between Corpus Christi and South Padre Island. Living near the water and warmer winters would be the draw for me. But I do like winters in Arizona.

What is better where I am at? The greenery, closeness of everything without any traffic. Friendly people who really do care. Cooler summers. Today for example it rained a bit and was 78 degrees. Low 80's all week. Lower cost of living. I am in a town of 8,000 and there is a local motor vehicle and drivers license office in town. Never a line, no emissions to deal with. And registration cost is much lower. Lower cost of housing that leads to lower property taxes. Friday Night Football that is amazing to see how the whole town gets into it. And more recently very few covid cases and no protests / riots. Oh and when you go to Walmart for example everyone puts their carts in the cart return area. Its always been a pet peeve with me how lazy Arizonans can be. How many times I have been about to pull into what appears to be an empty space only to find a cart right in the middle of it. Here they do not have "shopping carts", they have "baskets". They don't bag your groceries they put them in sacks.

[AndroidAZ]

Originally Posted by Oklazona Bound

I have gone from a full time Arizona resident to a working snowbird. Winters are great in Arizona however just about everything else is better where I spend the rest of the year. And I am considering moving my winter home from Arizona to the Texas coast between Corpus Christi and South Padre Island. Living near the water and warmer winters would be the draw for me. But I do like winters in Arizona.

What is better where I am at? The greenery, closeness of everything without any traffic. Friendly people who really do care. Cooler summers. Today for example it rained a bit and was 78 degrees. Low 80's all week. Lower cost of living. I am in a town of 8,000 and there is a local motor vehicle and drivers license office in town. Never a line, no emissions to deal with. And registration cost is much lower. Lower cost of housing that leads to lower property taxes. Friday Night Football that is amazing to see how the whole town gets into it. And more recently very few covid cases and no protests / riots. Oh and when you go to Walmart for example everyone puts their carts in the cart return area. Its always been a pet peeve with me how lazy Arizonans can be. How many times I have been about to pull into what appears to be an empty space only to find a cart right in the middle of it. Here they do not have "shopping carts", they have "baskets". They don't bag your groceries they put them in sacks.

I think a lot of what you stated is true with most higher populated places. As a place gets larger and busier, a lot of the people don't seem to care as much. It is especially when there is a poorer element of population as well.

I was always shocked that people would intentionally graffiti nice areas, and vandalize / steal metal / copper from useful / nice places, or etch nice mirrors in bathrooms. Such a damn shame. I don't want to attribute it to any particular group, but there are not such problems in many Asian or European countries.

It's inevitable that as a place gets bigger in the US, it seems to get worse in some regards to that.

Having said that, for Phoenix, I think it is relatively nicer for a larger city than other areas. I see much of what you describe in many of the big cities in the US.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

My job is extremely stable. Unless we lose the US government I’m never out of a job.

You're going to be out of a job soon. With things going these days, it's looking a lot like the Fall of Rome for the U.S. Bread and Circuses are filtering from the Federal government to the state/local level.

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by Oklazona Bound

I have gone from a full time Arizona resident to a working snowbird. Winters are great in Arizona however just about everything else is better where I spend the rest of the year. And I am considering moving my winter home from Arizona to the Texas coast between Corpus Christi and South Padre Island. Living near the water and warmer winters would be the draw for me. But I do like winters in Arizona.

What is better where I am at? The greenery, closeness of everything without any traffic. Friendly people who really do care. Cooler summers. Today for example it rained a bit and was 78 degrees. Low 80's all week. Lower cost of living. I am in a town of 8,000 and there is a local motor vehicle and drivers license office in town. Never a line, no emissions to deal with. And registration cost is much lower. Lower cost of housing that leads to lower property taxes. Friday Night Football that is amazing to see how the whole town gets into it. And more recently very few covid cases and no protests / riots. Oh and when you go to Walmart for example everyone puts their carts in the cart return area. Its always been a pet peeve with me how lazy Arizonans can be. How many times I have been about to pull into what appears to be an empty space only to find a cart right in the middle of it. Here they do not have "shopping carts", they have "baskets". They don't bag your groceries they put them in sacks.

My wife and I have discussed doing just what you did. We are looking around at places to do the snowbird thing. We still enjoy Arizona winters and getting out and exploring the state, but the summers..... Sounds like you found a great spot. The Friday night football reference makes me think it's someplace in Texas as football is just about a religion over there!

[Oklazona Bound]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

My wife and I have discussed doing just what you did. We are looking around at places to do the snowbird thing. We still enjoy Arizona winters and getting out and exploring the state, but the summers..... Sounds like you found a great spot. The Friday night football reference makes me think it's someplace in Texas as football is just about a religion over there!

Oklahoma actually. I lived in Texas about 15 years ago and soon after moving there we went out on a Friday night to get dinner. The traffic was bumper to bumper on the main road in town. And this was also a smallish town which never had traffic. We soon realized everyone was heading for the high school stadium. Its the same in Oklahoma. I would imagine a majority of the people who attend high school here end up staying in town so the loyalty to local football is very strong. I picked Northern Oklahoma over Texas because the summers are much nicer. Anything from Dallas south really cooks all summer.

I am thinking of eastern New Mexico as possible summer spot. There is a vast area between 6k and 7k feet just east of the mountains that has just about perfect summers. Very arid though.

[popwar]

I came to Phoenix earlier this year for interviews with the intent to stay , but then C19 started with talk of lockdowns . I chose to stay in my car on BLM Land during my time in the valley to save a little money on a room since eI was on a budget. I came back east to my father's after the last place I interviewed with said it would be atleast 2 weeks before I heard back and I couldn't afford to hold out that long . I got some offers after I got back east , but was too late and couldn't afford to come back that quickly. I'm still pissed over it.