Almost pulled the trigger.... Shame on you Valley.... (Phoenix, Mesa: school, allergy)

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Some people love the DC metro area. I moved to Phoenix from DC and never looked back once. There is not one time that I said to myself, "I really miss [whatever] about the DC metro". Sure, the monuments and the museums are nice, but those aren't every-day lifestyle things for most people, me included. I found that area to be run down, old, clique-ish (especially Capitol Hill people), and frankly it was overcrowded and overpriced. There were nice things about the city, but apart from the monuments and government, the rest was just watered down Americana That's exactly why I like it. It's a major city without almost any of the systemic dysfunction and outdated infrastructure of the Bos-Wash corridor.

After reading this, I can see where the OP is coming from. The West Coast is not for everyone. I'm from Los Angeles and was raised there. People on the west coast cannot stand the east coast. Pretty much anyone in California who attends college in the northeast, nearly always moves back here or Arizona or Nevada. I absolutely detest the D.C. metro. The weather is terrible, people are rude, it is very congested, drivers are horrible, it is very industrial and old in appearance, there is nothing to do there in terms of the outdoors. It's a completely different culture. I like the cultural diversity, restaurants and museums but that's about it. So now I understand his perspective based on where is he coming from

[RenW]

If the OP is still reading this thread I do want to say this. I am really glad that you and your family found out that this area wasn't for you before you moved. Moving is a costly expense. It was very wise of you to travel out here to see the area before you moved.

A friendly suggestion - next time you consider moving to an area spend a lot of time on Google map street view. You can "walk" down the roads and get a better feel for an area. You also can get a lot of information on an area from Google image searches. It sounds like it would have saved you money on a trip. This would be really useful for you as well as every have different opinions on what is beautiful. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

For instance, I too have lived in multiple parts of the United States and moved here from the Midwest. I find the mountains in Colorado gorgeous. I'm extremely familiar with the flat farmland of the Midwest and don't equate this area with looking the same at all. I truly enjoy seeing the mountains around here close or in the distance as I'm driving around the area. Coming from one of the flattest parts of the country it lifted my spirits especially when we first moved here. I honestly and truly believe all of this and I'm not sugar coating anything or putting on a pair of rose colored glasses. It also doesn't invalidate your opinion one bit. It is just that everyone's perceptions, desires, and expectations are different.

The traffic really is a tough one. Perception of traffic here absolutely depends on what you've experienced. The traffic here is better than many cities and urban areas. But it isn't "light" traffic by any means. If traffic is a concern for people it is very useful to ask for comparisons to other areas they are familiar with. One nice thing about this forum is that there are people from all over the country. My tolerance of traffic probably is pretty high. I don't like traffic to the level of Chicago, San Francisco area, LA area, but around here I find it fine. My husband would prefer less traffic. This is a large metro area and by its very nature it will have more traffic. There are charts by Texas A&M Traffic Institute comparing different metro traffic across the country.

I'm more in line with some of your other opinions on Gilbert and Chandler themselves. There also is less diversity in some houses than in other areas especially out East. One of the things I craved was more historic downtown areas, but Phoenix is a much younger city and the area really didn't boom until after WWII. I hunger more for historic areas, but am also glad that Phoenix by and large is more suburb. My ideal always has been to live in a suburb of a city vs. the city itself. Here I can live IN the city without some of the issues rife in congested cities. I absolutely could be wrong about this but from my research it seems the reason Phoenix is so spread out is because most of the growth happened after the advent of the automobile and the automobile was very incredible popular here. This is a Metro area that was built for the car right from its early growth.

I really do hope you find the area you are looking for. If you can pinpoint what you family is looking for and especially give concrete examples of what you desire that others can compare against that would be very helpful to everyone involved. Perceptions and opinions certainly aren't universal by any means. I do believe there is a best suited place for everyone though most often that best suited place isn't "perfect" for them.

[LagunaMom]

Maybe I didn't read this closely enough, but just what did the poster expect Phoenix to be in the first place? It's like he just had this idea to move to the Valley without even knowing what it was like.

We're a fairly large, sprawled out area in the middle of the desert with a few million people. We're LA, Jr. The traffic keeps getting worse. There's smog. There's dust. There's heat. Just like everywhere else, some areas are nicer than others.

However, coming from the Midwest I can say that it looks nothing like Iowa.

[Hal Roach]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

After reading this, I can see where the OP is coming from. The West Coast is not for everyone. I'm from Los Angeles and was raised there. People on the west coast cannot stand the east coast. Pretty much anyone in California who attends college in the northeast, nearly always moves back here or Arizona or Nevada. I absolutely detest the D.C. metro. The weather is terrible, people are rude, it is very congested, drivers are horrible, it is very industrial and old in appearance, there is nothing to do there in terms of the outdoors. It's a completely different culture. I like the cultural diversity, restaurants and museums but that's about it. So now I understand his perspective based on where is he coming from

Mostly accurate, but it really isn't industrial....or could you name one large or medium manufacturing facility? There care more tech jobs in Reston, alone, than the Silicon Valley...almost as many in Tyson's, too. Some of the best public schools in the US, and for kids moving from California, Florida, or many other places, it is a rude awakening. Great youth sports programs CSLL were national champs, one year. Outdoor stuff....lots of trails, and creeks...but an hour to the mountains...certainly not terrible. My cousin paid 120k in 1984, and sold a few years ago for 990k....but like a lot of places, it was better, when it was cheaper. But, yes, kind of s retrace of rudeness...mostly transplants.

[locolobo13]

Somewhere I saw a comment by a desert rat. Something along the line of, Most people look at the desert and see brown. But I see shades of red, yellow and blues. It depends on how you look at it. The colors change with the lighting. It is never the same. Of course you can say the same thing about greens. Reminds me of that old saying, "No matter where you go, there you are."

Here's a couple of shots from the weekend.

[IMG]Dead Agave by res1due, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Shaw Butte by res1due, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Wild Heliotrope by res1due, on Flickr[/IMG]

Boring architecture? Absolutely!

[IMG]Too Blue? by res1due, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Lois Grunow Memorial Clinic by res1due, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Mill Ave Bridge by res1due, on Flickr[/IMG]

[AZgarden]

BEAUTIFUL photos !! thank you !

[locolife]

Agreed, thanks LocoLobo! As always, your pictures are awesome!

[belgirl]

Wow- you spent 4-5 days here and are now an expert on Phoenix and the East Valley. Glad you aren't moving here.

[gbpakrfan]

Posted by the OP:
Congestion: Driving through Chandler and Gilbert reminded me a lot of driving through Fairfax VA only without the pretty scenery. IT was stoplight after stoplight, red light after red light, and what felt like a million cars on the road. Took me 44 minutes to get off 60 at Gilbert road, drive south to Warner road, then east to val vista, then back north to get on 60.... at 2:30 pm. Insane. Then driving back to the airport right after that took me another 40 minutes on 60/i10. i17 was at a dead stop in both directions with no accidents. Keep in mind this was 2:30-3:30 on a Tuesday.

I actually found this to be one of the more humorous aspects of his post. Having lived a fair number of years in Fairfax County, I can only chuckle. It used to take me an hour to drive from Springfield to National Airport during rush hour...which is just a short ride up I-95. Pretty scenery? Seriously? I-95 is lined with high rises and retail. Yeah, that's gorgeous. Other than driving past the Pentagon there's nothing even remotely pretty to be seen. Give me brown mountains any day.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by gbpakrfan

Posted by the OP:
Congestion: Driving through Chandler and Gilbert reminded me a lot of driving through Fairfax VA only without the pretty scenery. IT was stoplight after stoplight, red light after red light, and what felt like a million cars on the road. Took me 44 minutes to get off 60 at Gilbert road, drive south to Warner road, then east to val vista, then back north to get on 60.... at 2:30 pm. Insane. Then driving back to the airport right after that took me another 40 minutes on 60/i10. i17 was at a dead stop in both directions with no accidents. Keep in mind this was 2:30-3:30 on a Tuesday.

I actually found this to be one of the more humorous aspects of his post. Having lived a fair number of years in Fairfax County, I can only chuckle. It used to take me an hour to drive from Springfield to National Airport during rush hour...which is just a short ride up I-95. Pretty scenery? Seriously? I-95 is lined with high rises and retail. Yeah, that's gorgeous. Other than driving past the Pentagon there's nothing even remotely pretty to be seen. Give me brown mountains any day.

Which are actually super green right now HIDEOUS!