Tell me what you love about the Phoenix area. (message)

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

I grew up in Phoenix, I remember a very different AZ one that was different politically, smaller in population and sort of backwater.

What I truly love about Phoenix is the sort of 'Blank Slate' coupled with RE Economy which gives improvement opportunities. I love that were densifying, were (hopefully) improving our transit assets and look around the opportunities are vast. I love being on the ground floor of a state on the cusp of really being something special and except for a few hiccups were making proper progress.

In my line of consultation, the types of business you get to operate in a city that builds and grows constantly produces tangible results where you can look and say that that building, the rail and the other progress were making are going to really bring us from our stereotypical overgrown suburb reputation into the 21st century.

In other cities I've lived and had projects in, it's much harder to create these types of projects as they've already happened, for better or for worse. Sometimes a city spans 10 or 15 municipalities and counties making coordination a larger chore than dealing with a singular unit and 5 or so generally receptive cities who want the projects.

What we really need now is to attract young professionals, millenials seem to prefer urban environments where they don't need their cars all too much and other creative educated people for more projects and hopefully some actual corporate investment like we're seeing in Denver or Dallas.

It's nice to hear someone who grew up here speak so positive about the city.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by elunia

New here and very excited about checking out the area so I would love to get some local insight on whats awesome about living in the Valley of the Sun.

The one thing I like this time of year is the ability to drive for a couple of hours away from Phoenix, and be in an entirely different region with clean air, gorgeous green scenery, fresh water lakes, high elevation mountains, and at least a 30 degree difference in temperatures ... all while remaining in AZ!

Mod cut.

[azriverfan.]

(1) The weather - Sunny: it's hot in the summer but you get a nice cooling down period in the winter. There is an actual winter with cool weather unlike South Florida.

(2) People: The people are friendly but not too friendly that they are invading your privacy. People are willing to make friends and meet people in Phoenix. They are genuine for the most part.

(3) Professionalism: People are punctual, polite and do what they say they will do. They return e-mails and phone calls. Customer service in restaurants and stores is good relatively speaking. You don't often have to wait. People in Phoenix complain if they have to wait 15 minutes whereas on the east coast, you will routinely wait an hour or longer for a doctor's visit, restaurant reservation etc.

(4) Clean - the city is very clean. You don't see a lot of blight. Roads and buildings are well maintained. Landscaping is well tended to.

(5) Lack of Traffic: sure we have a rush hour, what large top 12 metropolitan area doesn't have rush hour traffic. But outside of rush hour, there is no traffic. And our rush hour is not very long unlike other cities. Weekends is traffic-free driving which is a huge plus.

(6) Outdoor amenities: You can hike, rock climb, snow ski in the winter, lakes, biking trails

(7) Close to Vegas/LA/San Diego - You are within driving distance of these great cities. Even though they are not in the same state, they might as well be. We are closer to L.A. than San Francisco. I live in Miami and it takes me more time to drive from Miami to Orlando than it takes me to drive from Phoenix to Las Vegas.

(8) Food - Has a lot of great restaurants and places to eat

(9) Shopping - great shopping and very convenient. There is so much shopping opportunities.

(10) Great Health Care - We have world class physicians and hospitals in the Valley. Even the community hospitals are amazing.

[DavidBilly]

I love you can buy beer and wine in the grocery stores.

I love the views, winter weather, cost of living, layed back attitudes, pools, sunshine, love it-love it!

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by DavidBilly

I love you can buy beer and wine in the grocery stores.

And, hey! Don't miss out on Arizona's drive-thru liquor stores and handy-dandy convenience stores on practically every corner. Well... every corner that doesn't already have either a mattress store or an urgent care center.

[Jukesgrrl]

Many of the things I appreciate have already been mentioned. But one thing I would add: I like that Phoenix is an actual urban area. In fact, the sixth largest metropolitan area in the U.S. has all the things I like about American cities, yet it is far easier to navigate by car and things are more reasonably priced than many other cities of a comparable size.

While so many people think "beige suburban tract homes" when someone says "Phoenix," in fact our city has abodes for every taste in great abundance if you just look around. Everything from charming cottage in Willo, to Mid-Century Modern ranches all over the valley, to contemporary loft condos downtown and in Tempe, to the Southern California look of Arcadia, to mansions in Paradise Valley and North Scottsdale. We have the largest public university in the country. We have museums and art galleries that might not rival NYC or LA, or even Pittsburgh and Minneapolis, but for a state that didn't enter the union until 1912, we're doing OK. We have concerts, plays, professional sports, college sports, comedy shows, casinos, and fundraising galas to attend. We have those great bars and restaurants already mentioned by many. We have first-rate medical care. You can buy anything imaginable in our city from reasonably priced groceries to unreasonably priced jewelry. We have first-rate sports arenas, great concert venues, and a dazzling convention center. All the things that American cities should have. Right here in the middle of a desert.

[petlover8]

Originally Posted by gbpakrfan

.......Having lived most of my life in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, one thing I love about Phoenix is the fact that it will be hot in summer, a little less hot the rest of the year...and I don't ever have to see (or shovel) another flake of snow. That's what I love most.

Totally agree. I lived 38 years in and around the suburbs of Chicago. And I absolutely HATED the long, cold Winters there. 9 months out of the year it's cold, windy, wet, and miserable. You are then greeted with a 3 month Summer that seems to come and go with the blink of an eye.

Out here I find it's just the opposite. It starts getting hot in late May, and remains so until mid October, when it starts cooling off again. Here you have almost 8 months of very comfortable weather, as opposed to just 3 months there. And best of all, you have it with no damn Mosquitoes! I never could get used to going out in the Summer in Chicago just after dark, only to be eaten alive by them. There was no way around it except to drench yourself in sticky, smelly, "Off". Or some other similar product that worked little, if at all.

As far as snow, I'll never miss it. My wife said when we moved here, that if we ever find ourselves wanting to see snow again, we could just take a trip up to Flagstaff in Winter....... We've yet to go, and I doubt we ever will. It just isn't worth the gas and the long drive to see what we moved here to get away from.

[azriverfan.]

(1) Friendly People - People have just the right amount of friendliness. They are not so fake friendly to the point of being invasive of your privacy. Nor are they so tough that being friendly is seen as a sign of weakness like on the East Coast. If you are friendly, people will be friendly in return.

(2) The Weather - I love the weather including the summer. I live in Miami. It's so humid. You have to run your air conditioner all year long. There is no cooling period. In the summer, it either rains like crazy or is hot and sticky. Phoenix has perfect weather November through late April. It has really good weather in October and May. June through September is hot but it's a dry heat and the mornings and evenings are pleasant.

(3) The Roads - They have the nicest roads and freeways of any large metropolitan area I've lived in. You will not find a city in the top largest metropolitan areas that have better roads. The roads are nice and wide. The signs are well lit and directions are easy to follow. The grid system makes it easy to find any location.

(4) Pro Sports - season tickets are affordable and available. The stadiums are all nice with good parking. It's a real treat.

(5) Shopping - one of the best cities for shopping. There are stores and malls all over the place. It's easy to find items. You don't have to fight with large crowds and parking to have access to great stores. Even the suburbs have quality stores and shopping that are only found in the downtown/urban areas in most other cities.

(6) Outdoor activities: I snow ski in the winter. I can water ski in the summer at various lakes. I like to hike. Golf here is some of the best in the world and inexpensive. I love to hike. You can rock climb. There are great running and bike trails.

(7) Close to LA/Vegas/SD - I'm originally from Southern California so it's nice that I could drive my children to Disneyland in 5 hours. It's also 4-5 hours from Las Vegas and San Diego.

(8) Cheap Housing - Houses are cheap and nice. The homes are modern and updated. You can buy mansions for half the price of a larger metropolitan area.

(9) Modern/Clean - This deserves it's own category. The city is very clean. It's nice to walk into a place that isn't 50 years old. Movie theaters, shops, schools, homes, etc are all new clean and well built.

(10) Great Private and Charter schools - yes the public schools are lousy but for those of us who have the means of affording private shools or living in areas where you have access to great charter schools, it's a luxury. The schools are nice and affordable relatively speaking.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by petlover8

As far as snow, I'll never miss it. My wife said when we moved here, that if we ever find ourselves wanting to see snow again, we could just take a trip up to Flagstaff in Winter....... We've yet to go, and I doubt we ever will. It just isn't worth the gas and the long drive to see what we moved here to get away from.

Yep. People say "if you ever want to see snow you can just drive up to Flagstaff!"

My reply is always "why in the world would I ever want to do that?"

[PhoenixSomeday]

I was just back home in Silicon Valley visiting for a week and I was reminded of just how much there is to love about Phoenix.

I love home and everything, but:

1. Housing here is so much cheaper. In SV you have the great and honorable privilege of paying 3000/month for a 70 year old asbestos filled and uninsulated 900sqft pile of crap. Stuff here is so much newer, cleaner, higher quality, bigger and overall nicer - for 1/4 the price.
2. The weather in Phoenix is great. Sure it's hot for 4 months, but unless you're a whiny little b**** or have a legitimate health issue related to heat, then it's fine. Don't kid yourselves about SV - it's NOT NOT NOT the tech jobs driving prices up to where they are, it's 90% weather (10% NIMBYism). Sure there are proportionally more tech jobs, but overall, actual engineers are still not a significant part of the market. WEATHER.
3. Much less traffic.
4. Much newer and better (and wider) road infrastructure.
5. How new everything is. Back home sure there is a new SFH development here and there, but aside from that everything is old and busted unless an owner has renovated. Same goes for shopping, office buildings, etc.