Finally went to Phoenix! (Tucson, Scottsdale: houses, to buy, theater)

[HarveytheRabbit]

I have read many hundreds of posts on here and done all the Google Maps searching I could do, so I on Tuesday I loaded up the family, drove the 12 hours and spent 2 full days exploring. Heres what we did and some of my observations:

I really like Phoenix! Granted it was a perfect 72 the whole time we were there. We walked downtown, the convention center, Orpheum Theater, inside St. Marys Basillica, Five Guys, rode the light rail, got motion sickness, also saw a nice Veterans Day Parade.

We went to Scottsdale, didn't see any snobs or fake people, but did see really rich people. Ate at a 50s dinner in the Fashion Square Mall, which is a great mall. Walked Old Town, Drove through Paradise Valley.

Then onto Tempe, Beautiful! ASU looked great, good vibe, Mill Ave looked fun, going back over the bridge into PHX at dusk we saw rowing teams practicing, people jogging down by the water, I want to buy a Kayak and do some night exercising there!

Went to Peoria, and Surprise, liked the Tennis, Aquatic and Sports center there, went to Luke AFB, very nice big base. Drove by Christown Mall, kept driving, followed the path of the light rail through the city. Drove through Goodyear, Litchfield, Old Litchfield, loved that whole area! That strip of road by Palm Valley and Palmilla Center, with the Palm Trees, lights, wide smooth roads, is exactly what I envisioned the PHX metro was going to be.

Took 7th Ave from downtown and took Baseline through to Laveen, liked it, went to Cesar Chavez Park. Did not like the route we took to Laveen, but liked the houses there, and the park was also very nice with lot's of families, at least early in the afternoon when we went. Took the back way through the reservations to Maricopa, took a tour of the El Dorado homes, 150k for a new 3,000 sq ft home on a lake. Wife fell in love, and I also liked the small town feel away from the city with a quick smooth commute. Went to the local park in Maricopa at night, a ton of families and little kids playing soccer, and fishing. Did smell the cows, doesn't bother us, would love to make a life there, grow with the city, buy a house now while it's still cheap, but the electricity rates keep nagging at me and make me think of going to another area, like Goodyear.

Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek were also nice, just quickly drove the main roads and by the malls, but stopped to fill up at a Costco in Gilbert and went to a really nice park called Discovery Park, had lunch, fed the ducks, watched kids practicing football and cheerleading, great family feel. Really liked that whole area as well. Ahwatukee was also beautiful, a little crowded, but we were also there at 5 pm. We also hit the 10 and 101 at 6 pm and the traffic wasn't too bad, kept moving. Better than parts of LA at 10 pm on our way back.

Just a little of what we saw. Also nobody looks before merging at 75 and nobody honks when a car gets off at the last second from the fast lane to an exit because I suppose it happens all the time. Other than that, we liked the people and the feel, and the fact that it's a big city with just a ton of stuff to do.

[sh9730]

Now that is a great way to visit the valley! Great post. Yes, you will want to at least experience the heat before making a final decision, and as for where you eventually end up you will want to wait until you see where work is! You wouldnt want to buy in Maricopa and then up working in Surprise!

Glad you had a good time. Phoenix and AZ in general is a great place for those who like what it has to offer.

[observer53]

Man, you did a LOT in two days! Glad you got to see so much. I agree with sh9730-- visiting in the summer would be good, and don't commit yourself long term to a place to live until you know where you work. You saw first hand how spread out the Valley is.... you want to avoid one of those LONG commutes!

[TootsieWootsie]

I just moved here after living for long periods of time (6-22 years each) in DC, Chicago, Houston. I am just blown away by all the activities you can do here each day of the week practically. This is not a town you should ever be bored in. What a great city this is, and I'm so glad I chose it after looking for so long a time! (Seems there are gobs of activities here for all ages, too.)
The great thing about here is that you can find parking at all these activities. In Chicago is always was such a total hassle to go to anything cause parking is almost nonexistent there. Too many cars, too built out and not enough parking spaces for everyone causes alot of frustration in Chicago.

[Beware_of_Dog]

You probably saw more in a couple days than some people who have lived here for 20 yrs have seen.

One nice thing about Phoenix is how many wonderful day trips are close by, Prescott, Sedona, White Mts, Flaggstaff, Payson, Painted Desert, petrified forest, meteor crater, and even laughlin, vegas, S.D., Santa Fe/Taos, Tucson, Tombstone, Grand Canyon, etc for weekend or longer trips.

And maybe the best thing about that is that all those Arizona wonders are interesting and worth the trip. That is unlike so many other states and countries I have been to, where when you get to their famous so-called wonder you say to yourself, "I came all this way to see this! How disappointing!"

[HarveytheRabbit]

Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie

The great thing about here is that you can find parking at all these activities. In Chicago is always was such a total hassle to go to anything cause parking is almost nonexistent there. Too many cars, too built out and not enough parking spaces for everyone causes alot of frustration in Chicago.

I knew PHX was going to be a big city, but I wasn't prepared for the sheer physical size of it. On a map it looks like Luke AFB, for example, is just right off the I-10, but it's actually quite a distance away.

I remember when I went to San Diego for the first time. I had such high expectations, everyone said how new and clean it was, but I went away from SD feeling cramped. Everything is so hard to get to, if you want to go to the local library you will never find a spot out front or in their tiny parking lots, you have to go to another cramped parking lot at a Safeway four blocks down. SD's layout of the city felt old and cluttered, whereas in PHX I felt wide open, clean, smooth, organized and very big.

[chitown85]

I am a Chicagoan who once contemplated a move to Phoenix. I still could as I don't have a wife or kids, am in my 20s, etc, etc.. BTW, I love Johnny Rockets. Didn't realize they had one out there.

For those of you who came to Phoenix from Chicago, what was the hardest part?

[AZgarden]

The hard part for me was finding a house to buy. There were too many choices, too spread out and difficulty knowing where anything was. It took me a few months of driving around and putting alot of miles on the car, just to get to know different areas. I didn't know that Phoenix was so big before I came. Looked at the map but it didn't seem that large. At least in Chicago, you can only go north, south, or west. The lake takes up the east.

[slackjaw]

Nice post. We moved here in the late 90s after similar experience being wowed, have never regretted it. It is always nice to hear the same perspective again from someone else new, helps me appreciate what we have here.

[chitown85]

I happen to like both SD and Phoenix. I find them both clean.