Pros and cons to live in Phoenix (rent, violent crime)

[khuntrevor]

the styrofoam was likely an energy thing as mine was chicken wire on construction paper on 2 x 4s with hollow walls, that were 3/8 inch drwall and a half inch plaster from 1946.

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

The construction technique of using styrofoam and chicken wire became popular in the mid to late 80s, at least that is when I started noticing new construction that was doing that. Older stucco homes had something more substantial under the stucco. The chicken wire homes may indeed last 60 years but I don't think that there are yet any that are that old that would prove the assertion.

If the 80s stucco homes are nearing the end of their lives at 25 years old, they're hiding it well. I never hear of a house being restuccoed, unless it's due to someone wanting the smooth finish that's more in style now.

Styrofoam lasts forever in the landfill, right? It probably lasts two forevers in our walls. And it keep drinks cold in coolers.

[Ponderosa]

New homes like new cars are better than the old ones. Better materials, better insulation, more stringent codes that require more bracing, uplift and ground movement resistance,improved electrical safety, fire resistance, better windows and doors. Chicken wire is often maligned but it beats wall board in every respect except lateral bracing, lasts forever in the sun, and the complete wall insulates far better than brick (which is why it is used). The list goes on and on. What is not so good is workmanship. In days gone by, builders had their own crews and trained them to their standards. Today, work is done by low bid subs many of who employ unskilled illegal labor.

[bingitslola]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

New homes like new cars are better than the old ones. Better materials, better insulation, more stringent codes that require more bracing, uplift and ground movement resistance,improved electrical safety, fire resistance, better windows and doors. Chicken wire is often maligned but it beats wall board in every respect except lateral bracing, lasts forever in the sun, and the complete wall insulates far better than brick (which is why it is used). The list goes on and on. What is not so good is workmanship. In days gone by, builders had their own crews and trained them to their standards. Today, work is done by low bid subs many of who employ unskilled illegal labor.

This is completely true, and there are plenty of places in the valley that are built beautifully, but believe me there are even more that are built really badly. I used to clean houses and I can give tons of examples of shoddy work, cracked plaster/stucco, bad foundations, poor roofing, and no insulation. One woman spent nearly 800,000 on her home and none of the windows were installed correctly. So the first rain storm water just came pouring in, then the construction company that had built it had gone bankrupt so she couldn't go after anyone. I'm not saying that shoddy work is the end all be all of Phoenix, but you do have to be careful.

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

I am from the Northeast as well and have lived here for 14 years. Thanks for your honest opinion on what life is like in the desert. I'm always interested to hear people's take on it. The "love it by the end of April and hate it by the end of September" is exactly how my wife feels. She is more inclined to cooler weather, whereas, I prefer the heat.

I noticed in your post you never once mentioned any of the mountain cities like Prescott, Flagstaff, Sedona or Payson. Have you ever visited them? Honestly, having those options in the summer make living bearable! Where are you planning to move once your lease is up? Back East or will you stay West?

I have actually been to all of those places, and I absolutely love them! Whiskey row in Prescott is a lot of fun, I love camping by the rim near Payson, and Sedona is beautiful but a little too commercial for me. One of my absolute favorite places to go is Jerome, this cool old mining town. Lots of adventures to be had in the wild wild west as long as you have a car reliable enough to get out of the city, which for a year or so we didn't. I'm planning on making it all the way to the coast hopefully wherever I find a job

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

New homes like new cars are better than the old ones. Better materials, better insulation, more stringent codes that require more bracing, uplift and ground movement resistance,improved electrical safety, fire resistance, better windows and doors. Chicken wire is often maligned but it beats wall board in every respect except lateral bracing, lasts forever in the sun, and the complete wall insulates far better than brick (which is why it is used). The list goes on and on. What is not so good is workmanship. In days gone by, builders had their own crews and trained them to their standards. Today, work is done by low bid subs many of who employ unskilled illegal labor.

I couldn't agree more, very good points.

I would much rather live in a newer home than one built 20-30 years ago or longer, building codes have improved, materials are better, and maintaining the house is so much easier.

Older homes in historic neighborhoods are nice but require a lot more repairs, remodeling, and upgrades, and I don't trust contractors or repair people all that much.

[aaronibus62]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

Was just with some people from FLA and Pennsylvania and they were really liking Arizona. I cautioned them that the nice weather will soon leave us and make way for the heat of hades! Although Phx is a large city, it doesn't have the same "buzz" surrounding it of many of the other large cities. However, people are still moving here. What do you think the draw is?

The draws for my wife are:

1- the dry heat (She suffers from pretty bad arthritis on top of suffering from lymphedema)

2 - Wal*Mart Supercenters and Frye's for affordable food (compared to East Coast chains like Shaw's and Stop & Shop). Saw a circular for Frye's and was surprised to see how low milk costs compared to here in Massachusetts.

3- The zoos, aquarium and museums. My wife is dying to visit the musical instrument museum.... And we also look forward to going to a powwow, which we've not been able to do here yet.

4 - Churches with late Saturday afternoon or Saturday evening services. In the Boston area, if you're not Catholic (Saturday afternoon masses have been common here for 35 yrs or so), there are almost NO Saturday afternoon services anywhere or they're not accessible by public transit. Several major Phoenix area churches like the First Assembly of God and Mesa's Living Word church have them.
If I end up working some weekends like I do at my current job, going to a Saturday service would be much appreciated.

5 - (for me at least) Sunday night and Monday night football start much earlier in AZ because of the time difference. Nothing annoys me more here on the east coast than nighttime football starting at 8:30 and finishing close to midnight! Out in AZ, you can watch a night game and still go to bed at a normal time :-)

6 - Hoping we don't totally adjust to the time difference so we can go to bed at 10:35 instead of 11:35 or midnight. My wife's pain leaves her sleeping just 4 to 5 hours most nights.

[mysticfire0213]

Hi everyone! Just starting to do a little research on a possible move to Phoenix...Married with 4 kids (18 months, 6, 8, and 10 yrs) My husband and I grew up in MD and moved to Knoxville, TN 4 years ago. However, I'm itching for a change and due to health reasons, need someplace where the weather is warm year round. My mom lives in NM and has been to Phoenix many times...she seems to think we would like it there. I'm hoping to plan a visit soon. This post has been very helpful and I look forward to continuing to learn about the area!

[Twincam666]

So are the lakes and 4x4 recreational areas close to the city of Phoenix?

[stephen431]

Originally Posted by aaronibus62

3- The zoos, aquarium and museums.

Personally, I think they are kind of weak for a city of our size. I wish they were a little better honestly. I can't help but compare them to what I grew up with in Cincinnati, which had a great zoo, aquarium and natural history museum.

I feel like we only have 1/2 museums and zoos spread out all around the valley.

[madmmac]

Pro: Summer time golf is almost free and you can golf 18 holes in 3 hours or less.
Spring training.
College sports team.
Pro sports teams.

Con: I have never seen more drivers in my life blow through red lights than here. A word to the wise: Your light turns green, pause, then look left, right, left, right, left and go.