What are some ways Phoenix could develop to stand out from the crowd? (houses, buying)

[man4857]

Originally Posted by MinervaPallasAthena

I'm not so sure this is true. Outside of AZ, no one really talks about U of A or ASU. In the Bay Area, people look at Stanford, CMU, MIT, Berkeley, and then other CA schools. Even SJSU and the CSU schools are regarded more highly than U of A and ASU and I say this to you as a graduate who was lucky to find a job in the SV. A friend of mine was at an IT job fair in SF recently and everyone else there had gone to a superior school from what he could tell looking at others' resumes.. He's an ASU graduate with a PhD. He didn't get any call-backs.


Good point. Whenever I talk up Phoenix, the first question people ask is "but isn't Arizona conservative?" It seems many people are bothered by AZ's political reputation much more so than other red states.

When you make the national news regarding stories about crazy Sheriffs, Jan Brewer's hard line immigration style, new crazy restrictive abortion laws etc...

AZ has asked for and earned that reputation by reelecting the same people who does this stuff in the first place and then people scratch their head and wonder how could we stand out from the crowd? Politics is every bit as much important as the image AZ projects to the rest of the country/world as actual policies to help current residents. Two sides of the coin here.

[MillennialUrbanist]

Originally Posted by man4857

AZ has asked for and earned that reputation by reelecting the same people who does this stuff in the first place and then people scratch their head and wonder how could we stand out from the crowd? Politics is every bit as much important as the image AZ projects to the rest of the country/world as actual policies to help current residents. Two sides of the coin here.

I agree. There's nothing inherently bad about strict law enforcement, but...

...When perfectly law-abiding citizens are afraid to travel to your area, you know there's a problem.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist

I agree. There's nothing inherently bad about strict law enforcement, but...

...When perfectly law-abiding citizens are afraid to travel to your area, you know there's a problem.

I do wonder how a more progressive stance would work here, would it become overly crowded and expensive like other large liberal cities? Part of me is okay with some form of growth deterrent since I feel that we're popular enough already but some of policies and reputation we've created absolutely makes me cringe. I've lived in cities that lie on both sides of the spectrum and they each have pros and cons, I believe most people that take an objective view can see that. An Arizona that falls more in the middle would be great imo.

[Sevendustz]

Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist

I agree. There's nothing inherently bad about strict law enforcement, but...

...When perfectly law-abiding citizens are afraid to travel to your area, you know there's a problem.

You joke. Those who broke no law afraid to travel have a guilt complex. Or paranoid. Treatment should be suggested.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by locolife

I do wonder how a more progressive stance would work here, would it become overly crowded and expensive like other large liberal cities? Part of me is okay with some form of growth deterrent since I feel that we're popular enough already but some of policies and reputation we've created absolutely makes me cringe. I've lived in cities that lie on both sides of the spectrum and they each have pros and cons, I believe most people that take an objective view can see that. An Arizona that falls more in the middle would be great imo.

There's pros and cons to everything. The main culprit: free market.

Make a place desirable and people will move. If Phoenix was to experience a real estate boom, the city should be smart enough to zone up instead of out building tons of single family homes. But the real question is, why would anyone want to be mediocre?

If Phoenix were to adopt a more progressive stance, it would require government intervention to control the free market to avoid pricing residents who are already here out, similar to how other large cities do it: rent control.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist

I agree. There's nothing inherently bad about strict law enforcement, but...

...When perfectly law-abiding citizens are afraid to travel to your area, you know there's a problem.

Lets send these law-abiding folks to the liberal wonderland of Chicago. Or Detroit. Or Oakland. They wont be scared of abortion laws or being caught for being here illegally. Instead they'll be afraid of, you know, getting shot or robbed or raped. But dang Phoenix for taking a stance on illegal immigration. How dare we do such a thing!

[MillennialUrbanist]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Lets send these law-abiding folks to the liberal wonderland of Chicago. Or Detroit. Or Oakland. They wont be scared of abortion laws or being caught for being here illegally. Instead they'll be afraid of, you know, getting shot or robbed or raped. But dang Phoenix for taking a stance on illegal immigration. How dare we do such a thing!

I wasn't talking about illegal immigration!

I was talking about getting hauled off to the Tent City for a petty offense like walking (not driving!) back to your hotel after having drinks in a bar, when a $50 ticket or even an official warning would do. (Oh wait, the Tent City closed; but my point still stands.)

[cactusland]

I still think we really need an iconic statue or landmark. Most other large cities have one. I think a really good large piece of art that is unique and beautiful would be worthwhile.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by cactusland

I still think we really need an iconic statue or landmark. Most other large cities have one. I think a really good large piece of art that is unique and beautiful would be worthwhile.

Those landmarks/iconic statue are usually generated by the city's culture. That's what sets cities apart, because the vibe is different. Having been in Phoenix for about a year, it's just mediocre. There's really nothing that sets Phoenix apart aside from everyone raving about how nice/cheap their house is. There's little neighborhoods here and there that have an interesting flare, but there's nothing really big like you must do in Phoenix.

[Renegade007]

Originally Posted by cactusland

I still think we really need an iconic statue or landmark. Most other large cities have one. I think a really good large piece of art that is unique and beautiful would be worthwhile.

Camelback Mountain...?