Arizona - not a livable state (Phoenix: high crime, houses, property taxes)

[SamColt]

NOBODY should move to Arizona. Especially the Phoenix area.

Crime is everywhere. It's 108 degrees as I type this. The wind is blowing about 20 mph. It's like a blast furnace.

There are homeless people on every corner begging for money or day jobs. There are scorpions, snakes, giant mosquito wasps, termites. Orkin charges a fortune.

The water is harder than diamonds. Leaves scale on everything. Water bills are outrageous.

The freeways are packed. People drive like maniacs.

The food in restaurants is awful and overpriced. I haven't had a good pizza in years.

No good jobs. What jobs there are are low paying. No unions.

I could go on, but it's so depressing.

It's just horrible......like 10 years in hell.

[StillLookingToo]

Plenty of ugly places in Phx (I know most other cities don't have ugly areas) Its also tuff to wear shorts and swim in my three community pools when I get tired of the one in my back yard year round. Seriously, you do need a wet suit at the lake to water ski in the winter. Well it is 1/2 the price of So Cali, which is a 1/2 day dive when you need it.

[jco]

Originally Posted by SamColt

Crime is everywhere. It's 108 degrees as I type this. The wind is blowing about 20 mph. It's like a blast furnace.

There are homeless people on every corner begging for money or day jobs. There are scorpions, snakes, giant mosquito wasps, termites. Orkin charges a fortune.

The water is harder than diamonds. Leaves scale on everything. Water bills are outrageous.

The freeways are packed. People drive like maniacs.

The food in restaurants is awful and overpriced. I haven't had a good pizza in years.

No good jobs. What jobs there are are low paying. No unions.

I could go on, but it's so depressing.

It's just horrible......like 10 years in hell.

Crime is not everywhere. There's hardly any crime where I live and it's in the Phoenix area.

Yes, it's hot.

??? There are homeless people at the off and on ramps right in Phoenix but where else?

I spray twice a year with $7 bug killer from Home Depot, and I see a bug in my house about twice a month.

Water Softner... $1,000

Freeways are packed for about four hours a day.

Pizza... don't eat it, but Pullano's Sardella's NY Pizza Dept, have you tried them?

Jobs?! We have an amazing job market! Right to work state, so you're right about the unions. It's a different area of the country.

It sounds like you miss home, but that doesn't mean AZ is as bad as you're painting it.

[carecare7]

is a predominantly Republican, pro-business, anti union, anti family, pro-retiree state.

If you love Bush and are a conservative retiree, you will LOVE it. The only decent bastion of Democrats and educated, pro-family, not retirement-centered, open minded people is overly expensive Flagstaff.

Just sayin'.

[designer]

Possibly the low ratings are because of the higher crime, lower paying jobs,
not as many high paying white color jobs and little culture. I lived in Phoenix
for years because I did have a good paying job but I did not like the city at
all. It wasn't a very cosmo type of city as most in the west are not with
the exception of San Francisco/Seattle/ and possibly Denver. Albuquerque
and Phoenix are fun in the sun type of places with little in the cultural
arena. Also the crime in Phoenix is terrible and now that I live in New Mexico
there are a lot of the same problems here. Yes Arizona is a very conservative
state. Maybe that could explain the extreme lack of culture. It's still the
wild west.

[ejk]

I'm still trying to figure out the intense hatred. I can see someone coming out and saying "You know what, it's really not for me" but there is some serious venom here!

I left behind my whole life to move here, but not because I necessarily hated the place I came from. There were elements I couldn't stand but I figure you'll find that anywhere. I was unhappy enough to move but didn't dislike it nearly as much as other people hate places where they continue to stay. Maybe that is part of it-- people can't move for one reason or another and feel trapped?

FWIW, we've never needed Orkin or any other exterminator. I also don't see any more crime, traffic or homelessness than I did in Chicago. The pay (in my husband's field as well as mine if I chose to go back to work) is comparable, housing is cheaper--and yes, it is also built cheaper, but the sun will not exact as much damage as an ice dam and I've seen far worse than the monsoon during Illinois' tornado season.

Maybe it's a matter of perspective or optimism but the way I see it there are far worse places to live in the world. Sometimes it is what you make of it.

[MotleyCrew]

I see very few homless here compared to n. Ca where they make pets out of them. We built very expensive stainless steel public toilets for them and they destroyed them and refused for the most part to use them at all. We donated services, time and money and built a very nice homless shelter with apt style rooms and they refused to use them. It is still empty two years later. The feeding stations were always full, so at least they were eating.

[ArizonaBear]

I too am a Wash DC native; but I left that place back in 1978 for California then Arizona. Suffice to say I have never returned to the DC area even as a visitor.

By and large; I have done well-------------in the Phoenix area. Tucson is too messed up for me-------------it has all of Phx' drawbacks plus a few of its own (low wages, unattractive, etc).

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by ejk

housing is cheaper--and yes, it is also built cheaper, but the sun will not exact as much damage as an ice dam and I've seen far worse than the monsoon during Illinois' tornado season.

The sun is far more destructive than ice. Leave your car untouched outside in AZ for a few years, in the sun, and see what happens.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

The sun is far more destructive than ice. Leave your car untouched outside in AZ for a few years, in the sun, and see what happens.

Gee, maybe they should move all those aircraft and military vehicles that are mothballed here to Illinois.