Almost pulled the trigger.... Shame on you Valley.... (Phoenix, Mesa: fit in, pros and cons)

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

And again for the record....

"SHAME ON YOU VALLEY" is not pointing fingers at the people so quit getting defensive. It is referrencing the area as a whole. Not the people living in it. You all have your reasons to live there. Im not poking at you all. Just the atmosphere and vibe the Valley gives off.

And for the record, I'm guessing nobody feels shame that some random person flew in, looked for homes in one of the most homogenized areas of the valley, stayed in a Ramada in the land of middle-of-the-road retail, and didn't like it. You did the DC version of flying into DCA, promptly driving straight to Stafford, and staying in a mediocre hotel near Quantico. Then driving directly back to DCA via the 95 past the Pentagon, getting home, and saying "shame on you, Washington DC metro area". Nobody would even take that seriously.

[smoochaz]

Originally Posted by cjseliga

how does that philosophical saying go, "wherever you go, there you are." or "wherever you go, you still have to put up with yourself!" :d

love it!

[timothyaw]

As far as the "stucco villages", I MUCH prefer them over the Midwest's "vinyl villages". UGH, those home areas are so ugly. And they look terrible after a few years, as the vinyl warps and falls off etc. Yeah, I much prefer the Southwest home architecture.

[TempeAZnative]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

And again for the record....

"SHAME ON YOU VALLEY" is not pointing fingers at the people so quit getting defensive. It is referrencing the area as a whole. Not the people living in it. You all have your reasons to live there. Im not poking at you all. Just the atmosphere and vibe the Valley gives off.

For someone who posts this

"VERY OPINIONATED POST - DON'T READ IF YOU OFFEND EASILY OR CANT TAKE CRITICISM PLEASE!"

You seem to be easily offended against anyone that disagrees with you and can't take criticism. You are poking at everyone that lives here and you know it that's why you made the thread in the first place. The good thing is you came out here and found out it wasn't fir which good. That's one less whiney transplant we have to deal with.

[Mister-A]

Originally Posted by rtloucks

"SHAME ON YOU VALLEY" is not pointing fingers at the people so quit getting defensive. It is referrencing the area as a whole. Not the people living in it.

I understand. You meant to shame the mountains into being greener, not to shame the people into irrigating them.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

My point was that PHX's air affects people, too. If I were that guy, I would've moved to Montana or some dang place. Moving from one polluted city to the other is odd. PHX's brown cloud is infamous.

Sadly, and probably contrary to popular belief MT has several places where the air is not all that great for months out of the year due to inversions as well as wildfires.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by locolife

Fair warning, Short-Term Particle Pollution in certain cities in MT that rank worse then Phoenix.

Most Polluted Cities - American Lung Association | State of the Air 2015

I know, SHOCKING right? Thankfully it's "short term", certainly not as often as here in the Valley. I do miss the majority of days where the air is clean and doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth though...
Oh, and the Huckleberries!

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by timothyaw

As far as the "stucco villages", I MUCH prefer them over the Midwest's "vinyl villages". UGH, those home areas are so ugly. And they look terrible after a few years, as the vinyl warps and falls off etc. Yeah, I much prefer the Southwest home architecture.

I could not agree MORE...also a lot of communities in the rest of the country do not require or provide yard fencing, so you have these seas of vinyl-sided boxes with contiguous yards all running together...no boundaries/fences/anything, just one big yard running between all the homes on that block.

I assume sooner or later people start building their own fences, or do HOA's prevent that because 100 different fence styles would look terrible? If anyone knows, please advise.

We really are lucky here in this county that new homes seem almost always to be built with those 6 foot block walls surrounding each back yard. Is that code or just how they build here because that's what people expect? Again, please advise if anyone knows the codes. Thanks!

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by ScottsdaleMark

I could not agree MORE...also a lot of communities in the rest of the country do not require or provide yard fencing, so you have these seas of vinyl-sided boxes with contiguous yards all running together...no boundaries/fences/anything, just one big yard running between all the homes on that block.

I assume sooner or later people start building their own fences, or do HOA's prevent that because 100 different fence styles would look terrible? If anyone knows, please advise.

We really are lucky here in this county that new homes seem almost always to be built with those 6 foot block walls surrounding each back yard. Is that code or just how they build here because that's what people expect? Again, please advise if anyone knows the codes. Thanks!

I think ANY neighborhood where all the houses look the same, are the same color, etc is ugly and SO BORING regardless of the exterior finish (siding, stucco, etc). A neighborhood is so much more interesting to me if there is varied housing styles and colors.

Where I used to live, fences were common. In the newer (boring) suburbs, I think most did the same thing; white vinyl fencing. HOAs weren't as prevalent there as they are here, so I am not sure if HOA rules were the reason why, or if it was just because it looked nice and matched the white trim that most houses had and was durable to hold up to heat, cold, snow, etc.

My urban neighborhood had a mix of fences. Some chain link, some wood privacy, etc. I didn't think the different fence styles looked all that terrible just because there weren't all the same. I prefer it to the prison block walls of the SW, honestly. I had a fence on one side and the back part of the yard because the neighbors had them, but the rest of my yard was open. Mowing was MUCH easier where there was no fence. I preferred it without.

[BIG CATS]

Vinyl-cladded cookie cutters with picket fences or stucco cookie cutters with cinder block walls? Pick your poison, people!


And in defense of the Midwest (being an expat myself), there is literally every type of architecture found there, and in abundance. If one chooses not to live in a vinyl-clad hell new neighborhood, there are tons of other options to choose from. We don't really have that luxury here in AZ. That's what the guy was getting at. I think???