I like the Southwest anyone with me? (Phoenix, Tucson: houses, schools)

[hugsandkisses]

I have a son in Iraq too. War is hell! Speaking of war, it has increased in the
Phoenix area.

[kjcramer]

Love the southwest, especially the east valley. Can't wait to come back.

[jco]

As a reminder: This thread is not about Iraq.

[TerpsandHorns]

How come everyone in Phoenix mentions how close the Pacific, Las Vegas, and Mexico are to the Valley of the Sun?

(close is only relative in 200+ mile drives)

I love the Southwest. But it seems to me that Phoenix suffers from an identiy crisis.

Undeniable truths...

The Valley of the Sun is a cheaper Southern California minus the beaches and hollywood glamour.

The Valley of the Sun is a cheaper Las Vegas minus the casinos and nightlife.


Slogans you will not hear:
Come to beautiful Malibu, it is only 5 hours from Phoenix.

Enjoy exciting Las Vegas, it is only 4 hours from Phoenix.

Party your behind off in Baja, Mexico becaue is is only 6 hours from Phoenix.

or east coast style:

Boston, you will love that it is only a few hours from New York.

Washington DC, just a quick 3 hours from North Carolinas Outer Banks.

Detroit is great because Chicago is so close.


...

Come on now, the Valley of the Sun is great. But stop using reasonable proximity to other better places as a selling point.

and isnt LV closer to the grand canyon anyway..

[aj661]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Great post, MrK

I relocated to Tucson from Northern California about ten years ago and have never looked back.

There is no perfect place to live but after about a dozen "homes" around this country and years of traveling, I am very happy to call Southern Arizona my home.

MY TWO CENTS WORTH.

WHERE in NoCal? I still have friends in Santa Rosa (kinda north) and grandparents planted in Santa Cruz (central coast/northernSoCal/or southernNoCal, take your pick)

I don't like the southwest, I love it! Molecules slow down and solidify in cold weather and apparently in reading some other threads, brain cells aren't immune from this. I'm not happy with the growth-I've almost always lived on the eastern edge of the valley, moving further east every five to ten years and it's now filled in and getting crowded out here. Maybe it's time to move to the far west valley(?)

Originally Posted by topjimmy

Love it or leave it.

Love it THEN leave it. (or love it from a distance...subscribe to Arizona Highways-great magazine) Why hasn't anyone fixed the "NO VACANCY" signs at the borders?

Originally Posted by Sprty

nothing to do here and just not that fun for me.

I still need my garage cleaned out and have some of boxes that need to go in the attic. Hey, it's something to do.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by TerpsandHorns

How come everyone in Phoenix mentions how close the Pacific, Las Vegas, and Mexico are to the Valley of the Sun?

(close is only relative in 200+ mile drives)

I love the Southwest. But it seems to me that Phoenix suffers from an identiy crisis.

Undeniable truths...

The Valley of the Sun is a cheaper Southern California minus the beaches and hollywood glamour.

The Valley of the Sun is a cheaper Las Vegas minus the casinos and nightlife.


Slogans you will not hear:
Come to beautiful Malibu, it is only 5 hours from Phoenix.

Enjoy exciting Las Vegas, it is only 4 hours from Phoenix.

Party your behind off in Baja, Mexico becaue is is only 6 hours from Phoenix.

or east coast style:

Boston, you will love that it is only a few hours from New York.

Washington DC, just a quick 3 hours from North Carolinas Outer Banks.

Detroit is great because Chicago is so close.


...

Come on now, the Valley of the Sun is great. But stop using reasonable proximity to other better places as a selling point.

and isnt LV closer to the grand canyon anyway..

LOL, good stuff...did you come up with this stuff or did you read it in a mag.

[ptbrennan]

Originally Posted by TerpsandHorns

How come everyone in Phoenix mentions how close the Pacific, Las Vegas, and Mexico are to the Valley of the Sun?

(close is only relative in 200+ mile drives)

I love the Southwest. But it seems to me that Phoenix suffers from an identiy crisis.

Undeniable truths...

The Valley of the Sun is a cheaper Southern California minus the beaches and hollywood glamour.

The Valley of the Sun is a cheaper Las Vegas minus the casinos and nightlife.


Slogans you will not hear:
Come to beautiful Malibu, it is only 5 hours from Phoenix.

Enjoy exciting Las Vegas, it is only 4 hours from Phoenix.

Party your behind off in Baja, Mexico becaue is is only 6 hours from Phoenix.

or east coast style:

Boston, you will love that it is only a few hours from New York.

Washington DC, just a quick 3 hours from North Carolinas Outer Banks.

Detroit is great because Chicago is so close.


...

Come on now, the Valley of the Sun is great. But stop using reasonable proximity to other better places as a selling point.

and isnt LV closer to the grand canyon anyway..

OK, time for a few qualifying comments here....... For transplants and those deciding whether or not to stay here, the proximity to these other places with "things to do on a weekend" is important.

While the quality of life in Malibu is great, most of us can't afford it (and I would never want to live in most of the affordable areas of LA).

Las Vegas may be great for a bachelor party, but I cringe every time I have to go there for a business trip. Let's face it - LV is sleazy.

Baja, MX, again is probably not an option for most of us to live full time, although it's a great place to visit.

Other great places to visit include many of the smaller towns throughout AZ, although small towns' limited economies often make it difficult for full-time residence. Likewise, Phoenicians are able to ski in the winter or wakeboard in the summer, hike year-round, and go sightseeing in a wide diversity of environments.

Phoenix is in the center of a lot of other nice places, and yet it is more practical as a place to live than most of those other places (thanks to big-city conveniences and affordable real estate). These are qualities that influence many to move here and stay.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by ptbrennan

Other great places to visit include many of the smaller towns throughout AZ, although small towns' limited economies often make it difficult for full-time residence. Likewise, Phoenicians are able to ski in the winter or wakeboard in the summer, hike year-round, and go sightseeing in a wide diversity of environments.

Not really. I wish that was true, but it really isn't. Arizona Snowbowl, the closest ski area (which is a joke when compared to any ski area in UT or CO), is a three-hour drive from most of the Phoenix area. That is a LONG, LONG drive to go up there and back in one day, a heck of a lot of gas money, and sometimes is impassible whenever one little accident shuts down I-17, backing it up for hours. Not to mention that when it does snow in northern Arizona, it is a disaster, with poor snow removal service, and abyssimal drivers who don't know how to drive in snow. Not to mention that Snowbowl the last few years doesn't even get enough snow to stay open. The Native Americans are pretty much stopping them from using artificial snow-- so if you ask me, don't be surprised if Snowbowl closes permanently within the next 5 years. I think it is time to put the tourist promotion myth of Phoenix=skiing to rest, permanently.

[ptbrennan]

Last year, I believe that both Sunrise and Snowbowl were open. And if they aren't open on any given year (particularly during the last 10, during which we have had a severe drought cycle), thank goodness for SWA. UT, CO, NV, and CA ski resorts are usually quite easy to reach for the weekend, via a cheap Southwest ticket.

And btw, I wouldn't recommend driving back to PHX after a day of skiing at Snowbowl. Instead, hit the brewery and get a room in Flagstaff for the night. I would feel much better about doing the drive the following day.

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by ptbrennan

Last year, I believe that both Sunrise and Snowbowl were open. And if they aren't open on any given year (particularly during the last 10, during which we have had a severe drought cycle), thank goodness for SWA. UT, CO, NV, and CA ski resorts are usually quite easy to reach for the weekend, via a cheap Southwest ticket.

And btw, I wouldn't recommend driving back to PHX after a day of skiing at Snowbowl. Instead, hit the brewery and get a room in Flagstaff for the night. I would feel much better about doing the drive the following day.

Let me just say... I agree with your general premise that the southwest is full of diverse landscapes and that Phoenix, as a location within the southwest, has a lot to offer. High desert, low desert, a little taste of ponderosa pines, a lot of canyons, it's all great. But if Phoenix all of a sudden is some great ski town-- just because of Southwest Airlines-- then so is Dallas, TX. There are many direct flights that go from Dallas straight to all the major ski resorts in Colorado-- even some of the lesser known ones. I just came back from a vacation in Crested Butte, CO, and noticed how many Texans were up there. That doesn't make Dallas a ski town. I think in order to brag about Phoenix having something, it needs to be doable as a day trip, without needing an overnight stay. And yeah, this year, Snowbowl was open-- for about one week, very late in the season, until the snow blew away. Come on! Denver and Salt Lake City are the great ski cities of the west. Phoenix doesn't even come close. Phoenix, however, is an improvement when it comes to swimming pools, palm trees, and desert hiking in the winter.