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This post is basically a cautionary tale for anyone moving out of state here as well taking responsibility for my own naievete and stupidity.
A little background - I was in Los Angeles a few weeks previous to coming down here. I had come to Los Angeles to explore and see how things worked there.
Reason I moved to LA was my father had passed in June and I felt Austin being no longer a good fit. Either emotionally or job-wise. I decided to go to LA as I had friends from Austin out there. Also was elated by the fact that there were less allergies and not being as hot like in Texas.
So I did a project which gave me 3 grand to move down there. I went through a lot of psychological turmoil living under two different older 50ish men supposedly "friends" who were bipolar and control freaky.
Once I survived that nightmare on I went to LA. I completely admit I slacked and went into vacation mode due to having some breathing room money. So I did my exploring and fell in love with LA.
I made minor effort to find work but that wasn't gaining traction with results. So instead of working harder I decided to sign up to do a 1625.00 project in Phoenix. I figured I would live here a couple of months get enough money to go back to LA, and then really put my head down and job hunt.
Well, the first sign I knew things were going to be bad was when my bus broke down in Indio, California. We were stuck at a rest stop there for 5 hours. Didn't get to greyhound station till evening. Caused me to miss my connections to the local buses to get to Tempe. So I was forced to stay at Greyhound overnight. On top of that Greyhound bus station would not refund the ticket but would give a credit to me. So I decided to complain to their customer service line instead.
Anyhow, my 1625.00 project fell through as I did not know they did background checks to see if you have done similar ones in the last 30 days. I freaked and backed out of it, not wanting to be disqualified from doing them in the future. Turns out the company I worked for in Texas does not subscribe to the back ground check system this one in Phoenix uses. So no one would have known I did on in Texas.
I was forced to get a job here while waiting for another project to come through. A few things I noticed when I got settled with a job. One, food is pricier here than in LA. Ironic, since the cost of living in LA is higher.
Two, bus system here is for the birds with everything shutting down by 10:30 with rail being the exception. LA's buses run through 2 AM Three, the fact due to state law you have to a vehicle to do even a small cash loan of 200 bucks. In Texas and Cali, it's not like that.
I used to live in Phoenix back in the 80's. From what I recollect it used to be a fun place to live then. Now, things seemed to have changed for the worse. And I find myself kind of bored at times.
Now, that is all my fault and I take ownership of that. I really should have done my homework before coming here. Now I am trying to get out of here and back to LA as that is ironically enough easier to survive for me personally than here.
I hope to leave by mid-January. But for anyone else out of state, do your homework before moving out here. Or you will end up in the same situation as me. I naively thought I could commute back and forth between here and LA to do freelance gigs.
Turns out not to be the case as this company is a lot more selective and you have to have your stats down cold. I'm preparing to try to get into a project which will pay me close to 2 grand.
If I get it, plan to split arizona as soon as possible and get back to LA. If I have to work two jobs like I am doing right now anyway, may as well do it in LA instead. There is more to do, better public transit, cash loans available, and nowhere near as hot in the summers.
Never again will I make the mistake of coming here. Some places dont fit, and Arizona is not the refuge for me like it is for others.
This post is basically a cautionary tale for anyone moving out of state here as well taking responsibility for my own naievete and stupidity.
A little background - I was in Los Angeles a few weeks previous to coming down here. I had come to Los Angeles to explore and see how things worked there.
Reason I moved to LA was my father had passed in June and I felt Austin being no longer a good fit. Either emotionally or job-wise. I decided to go to LA as I had friends from Austin out there. Also was elated by the fact that there were less allergies and not being as hot like in Texas.
So I did a project which gave me 3 grand to move down there. I went through a lot of psychological turmoil living under two different older 50ish men supposedly "friends" who were bipolar and control freaky.
Once I survived that nightmare on I went to LA. I completely admit I slacked and went into vacation mode due to having some breathing room money. So I did my exploring and fell in love with LA.
I made minor effort to find work but that wasn't gaining traction with results. So instead of working harder I decided to sign up to do a 1625.00 project in Phoenix. I figured I would live here a couple of months get enough money to go back to LA, and then really put my head down and job hunt.
Well, the first sign I knew things were going to be bad was when my bus broke down in Indio, California. We were stuck at a rest stop there for 5 hours. Didn't get to greyhound station till evening. Caused me to miss my connections to the local buses to get to Tempe. So I was forced to stay at Greyhound overnight. On top of that Greyhound bus station would not refund the ticket but would give a credit to me. So I decided to complain to their customer service line instead.
Anyhow, my 1625.00 project fell through as I did not know they did background checks to see if you have done similar ones in the last 30 days. I freaked and backed out of it, not wanting to be disqualified from doing them in the future. Turns out the company I worked for in Texas does not subscribe to the back ground check system this one in Phoenix uses. So no one would have known I did on in Texas.
I was forced to get a job here while waiting for another project to come through. A few things I noticed when I got settled with a job. One, food is pricier here than in LA. Ironic, since the cost of living in LA is higher.
Two, bus system here is for the birds with everything shutting down by 10:30 with rail being the exception. LA's buses run through 2 AM Three, the fact due to state law you have to a vehicle to do even a small cash loan of 200 bucks. In Texas and Cali, it's not like that.
I used to live in Phoenix back in the 80's. From what I recollect it used to be a fun place to live then. Now, things seemed to have changed for the worse. And I find myself kind of bored at times.
Now, that is all my fault and I take ownership of that. I really should have done my homework before coming here. Now I am trying to get out of here and back to LA as that is ironically enough easier to survive for me personally than here.
I hope to leave by mid-January. But for anyone else out of state, do your homework before moving out here. Or you will end up in the same situation as me. I naively thought I could commute back and forth between here and LA to do freelance gigs.
Turns out not to be the case as this company is a lot more selective and you have to have your stats down cold. I'm preparing to try to get into a project which will pay me close to 2 grand.
If I get it, plan to split arizona as soon as possible and get back to LA. If I have to work two jobs like I am doing right now anyway, may as well do it in LA instead. There is more to do, better public transit, cash loans available, and nowhere near as hot in the summers.
Never again will I make the mistake of coming here. Some places dont fit, and Arizona is not the refuge for me like it is for others.
I like it much better back then as well, but not because there was so much to do. I liked it because there were far fewer people then. There is much, much more to do now than back then, that is for sure. Anyway, in the 80s it was no place to be without a car and it still is. I would never encourage anyone to live here without a car (or in LA for that matter).
I went to school in Glendale back in 1987. I had good times here for the most part aside from the heat. Me and my parents used to get away from Phoenix when it got really hot on the weekends by hanging in Tuscon.
I recollect Tuscon being fun and laid back. But I heard that has changed too. And allergies are really bad there.
Believe it or not, LA was easy for me to get around on bus. LA and Austin are both spread out cities. But the buses in LA go to more of the far out areas than the buses in Austin do. They really have improved increasing the public transportation out in LA.
Again, my mistake with LA was getting distracted by the exploration. Instead of hunkering down and getting a job. Also I like being able to go to beaches which Phoenix does not really have.
Don't get me wrong, LA is not the easiest town to be in. But heck if I have to work two jobs to get by, I'd rather be in better scenary and less heat.
Oh yeah the amount of food stamps in general is less here than LA. I remember a bus driver once telling me a story about how he came down just to visit 25 years ago and met his wife here. And ended up staying while implying I would meet a similar fate.
Sorry, not gonna happen. I could meet the greatest girl in the world here and not stay for her. I mean she is welcome to come with me to LA. But I am not putting my life off for her.
I have to be able to survive here and this place is not cutting it. I learned a painful lesson 10 years ago in fact to never stay for someone if they are the only reason you're sticking around. I learned that very painfully as the whole situation blew up in my face once I decided to stay and see where things went. I vowed to never make the same mistake again.
So far I haven't. Had a couple of girls come out of the woodwork before splitting Austin. They were interested, but I didnt pay them any mind whatsever. Same with San Antonio some girls all of a sudden liked me that haven't before. I blew them off to go to Cali.
Better to be safe and free than bitter and regretful
First, your posts are not really about Phoenix and is more a blog of your life.
Second, get a real job and quit looking for "projects" that pay you very little and seem to be something shady since you're not mentioning what they are and you're limited on how many you can do. "Projects" that pay you a couple bucks are never going to let you be able take care of yourself. Once you have a real job and are taking care of yourself you'll find that public transportation, food stamps, and higher food prices in Phoenix are not as big of a problem for you.
Since you said you went to school here in 1987 makes me think you're older yet your post sounds like a kid right out of high school that needs to grow up, which is it???
You'll have a much better chance if you settle down somewhere and get a job and start gaining experience so you can move on to bigger and better jobs in the future. Continuing to jump around the country looking for a quick buck and the biggest handout is going to keep you in this situation for years to come.
First, your posts are not really about Phoenix and is more a blog of your life.
Second, get a real job and quit looking for "projects" that pay you very little and seem to be something shady since you're not mentioning what they are and you're limited on how many you can do. "Projects" that pay you a couple bucks are never going to let you be able take care of yourself. Once you have a real job and are taking care of yourself you'll find that public transportation, food stamps, and higher food prices in Phoenix are not as big of a problem for you.
Since you said you went to school here in 1987 makes me think you're older yet your post sounds like a kid right out of high school that needs to grow up, which is it???
You'll have a much better chance if you settle down somewhere and get a job and start gaining experience so you can move on to bigger and better jobs in the future. Continuing to jump around the country looking for a quick buck and the biggest handout is going to keep you in this situation for years to come.
Best of luck to you.
LBTRS is absolutely correct. What happened to you could have happened in any number of places. It has nothing to do with the fact that the buses don't run late enough for you or you can't get a $200.00 loan. All things you could have found out before you came... especially the buses. Your situation is not Phoenix' fault, or that of any other city you might have decided to move. Go back to LA, where you'll at least have your beach, and get your life in order.
And, the rest of the above advice is good, too. Good luck to you.
Other than agreeing 100% with LBTRS and Observer . . .
My recommendation would be to GO TO LA and come back to this thread in about six months. I can assure you there will be more negatives than positives concerning LA, especially the cost of food and putting a roof over your head.
Arizona is not perfect but definitely head and shoulders over LA . . . I know as I have experienced both.
1st, my apologies for confusing otherwise, but there is nothing shady with the projects I do. I do product research for different companies. I made a decent living at it in Austin going back and forth to San Antonio. Since I was taking care of my father and those research projects made me more money than doing a full time job.
The problem is since I'm in Arizona, it is a different company, so they have different standards as far as what they want. I didn't do my homework on them beforehand and I should have. My fault completely.
And I only plan on doing it one more time with this company to give me the cash to leave Arizona. But this time I am going to make sure I have my stats down cold before applying to a project.
As I already stated many times in my post, I put myself in this situation and it is my fault I am here. Look, LA is no cake walk, believe me I know that much. But difference is I am not looking for an apartment as I have no furniture. Last time I was there, I got a really cheap rate for a hotel room downtown since I was staying there almost a month.
Let me repeat this in case there are misunderstandings. I have to work two jobs here in Phoenix to get by. And I will have to work 2 jobs in LA to get by. So tell me what is the difference besides more crime in LA?
AND a cash loan would have helped me when I needed it two weeks ago. But luckily I was able to work out a plan with my complex's manager. I've used cash loans when I had to wait an extra week for a check. And I have paid them back. The companies I talked to told me I qualified otherwise. But the lack of a vehicle prevented me from having a loan.
I need that option in case times get tough. And in Cali I have that option. Also, public transportation makes a difference in LA as some of the jobs Ive been offered in Phoenix dont get off till 11:00. It takes 2 buses to get home. And I wouldn't make the 2nd connection in time. But in LA I would have. I've taken a bus at 1 in the morning there lots of times.
If I fail in LA, I promise it wont be back to AZ for me, it's either take a risk in the jungle of Houston, or steady work up in Daytona Beach for what I do. Problem I have with Daytona is the humidity and allergies. Not sure if I can deal with that all year long again.
We'll see what happens. But right now I am focused on getting the money to move out of here..
Let me repeat this in case there are misunderstandings. I have to work two jobs here in Phoenix to get by. And I will have to work 2 jobs in LA to get by. So tell me what is the difference besides more crime in LA?
Other than the much higher cost of living, higher taxes, much more crowded and congested and people are less friendly I can't really think of anything.
You've had the chance to tell your story, but it still has little to do with Phoenix. It's a cautionary tale for anyone moving anywhere in your situation.
Closed.
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