Depressed in Gilbert (Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale: house prices, living, prices)

[AZJD]

You're bored in Gilbert?

It's the 2nd safest city in the ENTIRE UNITED STATES! Has excellent schools. And affordable homes that any middle class family can afford.

And downtown Gilbert is blowing up with great restaurants and nightlife. Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row will open up in early 2017.

Gilbert may not have it all, but if you have a family it's one of the best cities in America to live in.

If you need more diversity or nightlife, move to Central Phoenix or South Scottsdale. Just read you're liberal and young. You should look into the Coronado District near downtown Phoenix. You'd fit right in there. But expect a lot more homeless and weirdos and crime.

Gilbert is boring for a reason. It's a "pure" city that prides itself on not having much bad things.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by mrsg1104

Yeah I think it is the fact that I don't know where to even start. My kids are in school now and I feel making friends without mom groups has been a challenge. I think this election really scared the crap out of me and made me second guess moving to Gilbert. I am first generation American on my mother's side so this election was pretty personal to me. I never really cared about politics until I moved here and everywhere I looked was a trump sign/sticker and a trump rally in downtown Gilbert. People can have different opinions then mine, but it seemed to me this town is really one sided here. My first week moving here, some guy bagging my stuff asked me why I moved here from California and how people are so racist here. I think it really just freaked me out! I hope I can find like minded people!!

I felt the same way! If I were to stick a Hillary sign somewhere I feel like I would be shot.
That's how deeply one-sided the town is, even though it's a great place to live statistically. The culture is very different from what we're used to and I think people don't understand that.

[888metro]

Originally Posted by mrsg1104

Hi everyone. So a little background, my husband and I are a young mid 20 yr old couple from southern California. Just to get an idea we are pretty outdoorsy, skateboarding, snowboarding, dirtbiking, etc. so we figured az is a good place to be for that! My husband got a job offer in Phoenix this summer. We totally jumped on the opportunity after we saw the affordable homes. If you know socal it's so expensive especially for a young family of 4. I saw how safe and good schools were in Gilbert so we jumped on the idea and bought a home here. Probably should've done my research better. We are pretty liberal and we are not religious at all. Im totally okay with differences of views and religion but I feel i dont fit in to this town. Its been so hard to make friends and it's really starting to weigh on me. Most days i cant make it out of bed. I'm not sure if we made the right move and I'm having total regret. Has anyone had relocation depression? I really hope this feeling goes away.

Having previously lived all over the metro, I can assure you that it is very difficult to make friends anywhere in the valley, regardless of political or religious differences, or lack thereof. Reason is that most people are from the Midwest and as such play the Midwest nice card, hanging out around each other, flaunting their wealth to each other, but not wanting anything to do with the rest of us.

Californians, are Californians, we like everyone.

[888metro]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

I'd suggest moving to Tempe or Phoenix proper if you want to stay in the Valley. Gilbert is the most right wing religious part of the metro

That won't help, since it is still the same transplants from back east. The people in Tempe are just as cold and unfriendly as anywhere else. California, we have our own hipster party town equivalent of Tempe. It is called Chico. The people are super nice.

[888metro]

Originally Posted by observer53

Speaking east side of the Valley only, since I assume that's where you want to stay-- Tempe, Chandler, Scottsdale. Even Mesa is less politically controlled by church members than Gilbert is. I'm not saying that you might not have landed in a part of Gilbert where you wouldn't feel as you do (others similar to you have not reported the same experience) but your chances would have been, and are, better elsewhere.


Meanwhile, try to make some friends outside your immediate area. Interest groups, (meetup, etc.) volunteer opportunities, etc., will put you in contact with a wider range of people.

Its not the LDS. They are super nice. They run Carlsbad, and also Chico which I mentioned above. Phoenicians love to vacation in Carlsbad, Ca.

The last paragraph is terrific advice. Strongly agree !!!

[ajonesaz]

Originally Posted by mrsg1104

Yeah I think it is the fact that I don't know where to even start. My kids are in school now and I feel making friends without mom groups has been a challenge. I think this election really scared the crap out of me and made me second guess moving to Gilbert. I am first generation American on my mother's side so this election was pretty personal to me. I never really cared about politics until I moved here and everywhere I looked was a trump sign/sticker and a trump rally in downtown Gilbert. People can have different opinions then mine, but it seemed to me this town is really one sided here. My first week moving here, some guy bagging my stuff asked me why I moved here from California and how people are so racist here. I think it really just freaked me out! I hope I can find like minded people!!

MY wife is first generation american as well. We have experienced zero racism here (actually people were more racist in CA). You should try to worry less about peoples political views. I know lots of great people on both sides of the political spectrum. If people with a different point of view scare you, its time to expand your horizons.

[sexxxcblac]

Why is this so hard ?
MEMO :
People don't want to hang around, be friends with other people who are NEGATIVE!
We have enough problems in life to have to deal with negative people on a personal level.
Case in point, the OP lives in one of the finest cities in America , yet she has problems with of all things.......boredom.
A lot of people have worked awful to make Gilbert AZ what it is today.
It is unfair and travesty to the citizens of Gilbert to even dignified or even entertain the notion that their hard work and sacrifice be tainted as....boredom.
The problem is NOT.....................Gilbert AZ !

[azriverfan.]

At least you don't have people blowing smoke up people's a$# and lying about how Gilbert is not a conservative city and that it appeals to people of all backgrounds. That was a load of b.s. that I used to combat on this forum 5-6 years ago when certain realtors were trying desperately to sell Gilbert like it was progressive modern city. For the record, Gilbert is wonderful city but it is conservative and it is not for everyone. If you are from southern California like me and socially liberal, you don't want to live in Gilbert.

Gilbert is a Mormon town. There is a reason there is a huge Mormon temple there and that many city leaders are Mormon. There is a reason an outdoor shopping center protested a Victoria's Secret ad outside of it when no other mall in the Valley did.

With rare exception, residents of Gilbert are aware of it's conservative reputation and prefer living there for that reason. They also feel that it's conservative nature is what it makes the city so successful and appealing.

The OP should move to Chandler or Tempe. I'm from southern California and Chandler resembles California more than any other city in the Valley both in terms of look (grass, lakes, trees) and diversity. North Chandler-South Tempe region is very liberal. Chandler has a fair number of Asians which is a broad category because it includes Indians, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Vietnamese etc. Most of the Asians in Chandler moved from southern California.

[AnimalRescueMom]

Yes, I can relate very much. I'm so sorry you feel so lost. I was TERRIBLY depressed living in the Phoenix area. Moving there was the worst mistake that my husband and I have ever made. We escaped back to our homestate in summer 2015. (We are originally from a more liberal-minded, less religious area, as well). We have had to start our lives completely over, which has been financially difficult. However, compared to the pathetic low salaries and high health insurance costs in AZ, we have been more financially stable even while on unemployment HERE than when working 60 hours a week there. That is not an exaggeration! My advice would be to do what you can to save enough to return to your homestate. I'm not trying to make you feel worse. But, I fear that if you feel the way I did while living in Phoenix, you will be dissatisfied with the lifestyles available in any part of the Phoenix area. I wish you luck!

[locolife]

Originally Posted by AnimalRescueMom

Yes, I can relate very much. I'm so sorry you feel so lost. I was TERRIBLY depressed living in the Phoenix area. Moving there was the worst mistake that my husband and I have ever made. We escaped back to our homestate in summer 2015. (We are originally from a more liberal-minded, less religious area, as well). We have had to start our lives completely over, which has been financially difficult. However, compared to the pathetic low salaries and high health insurance costs in AZ, we have been more financially stable even while on unemployment HERE than when working 60 hours a week there. That is not an exaggeration! My advice would be to do what you can to save enough to return to your homestate. I'm not trying to make you feel worse. But, I fear that if you feel the way I did while living in Phoenix, you will be dissatisfied with the lifestyles available in any part of the Phoenix area. I wish you luck!

Please do share more about your experience in Phoenix? There are some very obvious parts of the valley that most of us long time residents would suggest someone from a more liberal region should move to. So where did you decide to live when you were here? How long did you stick around? And what kind of career have you chosen in life?