How friendly are people in arizona? (Phoenix, Tucson: neighbourhood, university, store)

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Adamson520

Every single one of your 25 posts has said essentially the same thing. Tucson bad, Phoenix good.

Usually when people are so relentlessly negative, it's not the town that's bad, it's the person. Time to click "ignore" before you start bringing me down too!

I honestly don't know how anybody could come to this poster's conclusion...........unless the people in Tucson thought he/she was from Phoenix.

[Bert_from_back_East]

In my experience of living in Phoenix and Tucson, people in Arizona are more aloof and introverted than people in California and much of the South. Typically, people in Phoenix and Tucson avoid eye contact with strangers. As a result, you will likely exchange fewer pleasantries and smiles and engage in fewer casual conversations with strangers in checkout lines and other public spaces than you would in, say, Long Beach or the South Bay of Los Angeles, for example. Some of this aloofness is due to the fact that most Arizona adults over the age of 25 are transplants, so empathy and relatability levels among the general populace are very low. Additionally, there are more East Coast transplants in Arizona than any other Western state as well as a lot of transplants from generally rude Midwestern cities such as Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit, for example (hence all of the German, Italian and Polish surnames in the Valley).

[sonorandesert92]

I remember people in Tucson being aloof and to themselves a lot. It was rare somebody would start a conversation with you, unless they were the retirees. People in Phoenix from my experience seem a little more extroverted. For sure, they are nowhere near rude or self-entitled. Overall, I just really love the big city life in Phoenix and the cosmopolitan vibes. I do remember before moving to Phoenix that someone who lives in Tucson who used to live in Phoenix told me that that you make friends by joining groups in Phoenix and you meet through mutual interests. He said nobody talks to each other on the streets. Still, it's easy to meet people here because it's a bigger city.

[Burkmere]

Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East

In my experience of living in Phoenix and Tucson, people in Arizona are more aloof and introverted than people in California and much of the South. Typically, people in Phoenix and Tucson avoid eye contact with strangers. As a result, you will likely exchange fewer pleasantries and smiles and engage in fewer casual conversations with strangers in checkout lines and other public spaces than you would in, say, Long Beach or the South Bay of Los Angeles, for example. Some of this aloofness is due to the fact that most Arizona adults over the age of 25 are transplants, so empathy and relatability levels among the general populace are very low. Additionally, there are more East Coast transplants in Arizona than any other Western state as well as a lot of transplants from generally rude Midwestern cities such as Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit, for example (hence all of the German, Italian and Polish surnames in the Valley).

I found the exact opposite of what you are saying when I moved from California to Arizona. Californians are generally pretentious, materialistic, and fake in many ways. Many wannabes among the 40 million that live in California. the 40 millions counts illegals.

Arizonans are more real and friendly. That is because many are Midwest transplants , not "because" they are Midwest transplants.

"Polish names in the Valley?" You mean like "Polish dogs?" Names like that?

[Dangerous Dave]

Originally Posted by sonorandesert92

I moved over to Phoenix after living in Tucson for 2.5 years and yeah, your right. Phoenix is much friendlier than Tucson. People in Tucson were flat out rude, mean, and very self-centered. Even Scottsdale is friendlier than Tucson.

Okay then, glad I'm not the only one who noticed that. And here all this time I thought I wasn't giving Tucson a chance!

[sonorandesert92]

Originally Posted by Dangerous Dave

Okay then, glad I'm not the only one who noticed that. And here all this time I thought I wasn't giving Tucson a chance!

Tucson is definitely probably the rudest city out here in the desert southwest with the exception of El Paso. I'll tell you, I'm doing a lot better in Phoenix with everything. Making friends here is so easy, people are so nice and friendly, people smile at you here instead of giving you a dirty look, and people hold doors. There is a lot of hospitality in Phoenix and I couldn't be happier. It's sad that I wasted 2.5 years in crappy junky mean spirited Tucson with no friends and being so lonely, surrounded by rude and mean ****holes. I feel those who defend Tucson are the rude ones. You even get to know your neighbors in Phoenix and you don't get mean responses such as, "we don't do that here we keep to ourselves". Within 2 hours from each other, it's really a night a day difference. I'm never looking back at my days in Tucson of going out and feeling anxious and dreading to having to interact with people. I have to say, Tucson is not a city if your a nice person with a big heart like me. It's a city for people who are naturally mean spirited and who like being lonely and sticking to their cliques.

I've met so many people in Phoenix and all except one person agreed with me on how rude the people in Tucson are and all added how junky Tucson is. Yep, I made a good decision. And also, Phoenix is a much more laid back city. I felt Tucson kind of had a northeast mentality, such that you would see over in New York and Mass.

[sonorandesert92]

Something else I love about Phoenix is that people are more courteous and helpful here. I remember doing my grocery shopping in Tucson, many people would almost run into me with their shopping cart. They would also be in my way and leave their carts to go far and come back. But over here, I've not had one person almost hit me with their cart, and people smile and move over and they apologize for being in your way. It's like Houston and Dallas friendly here.

I'm just so happy here I am. Also, nobody yells at you on their bikes and people don't jay walk and get angry. There are way less angry people here than in Tucson. It's just awesome. Walking out in public and going out is easy in Phoenix. If you fall here, people help you up, where as in Tucson, they step all over you. So sad how the culture is like there, but it's all in the past.

[teddyearp]

Originally Posted by grad_student200

As late as 2002 Show Low, AZ had incidents like that when a fire went off the reservation. One racist white man drove up to my middle-aged aunt in a car and kept yelling "F--ing Indian". There were many racist incidents in Show Low against anyone who looked remotely Indian.

Hmm, I know I'm a couple years late to ask this, but did you actually live in Show Low in 2002? I did. Well, Pinetop. I had to be evacuated. Many folks evacuated down towards Whiteriver. On the Apache res. It is too bad that your Aunt had to endure ONE racist person, but I did not see any incidents of racism against the Apaches at all. Unless your name was Leonard Gregg, we all got along fine with the Apaches and Navajos just like before the Rodeo-Chediski fire.

Basically, do not paint such a broad brush by the one incident your Aunt witnessed.

[markeg]

I'm originally from NYC, and have been here for 10 months so far. Since I grew up in an urban setting, I decided that I would be happy living near downtown Phoenix. I couldn't be happier. I have great neighbors, have access to the light rail, and an abundance of restaurants and culture in my backyard.
People for the most part are friendly. Like any city, you are going to have exceptions, but that is city living.

[yukon]

I think how friendly the people are in any given city is going to be based largely on how friendly and approachable YOU are.

I think folks in Milwaukee were by far the friendliest - even leaning over from the next table while dining out to speak to us. And I'd put most of New Mexico in the Top Three of most friendly areas. As for "unfriendly", there were the folks in Detroit, who weren't overly friendly but opened up once I started chatting with them and said something like "Oh, I'm from Texas, we talk to everyone" (I was living in Dallas at the time). So they ended up friendly enough too.

I've never really lived anywhere where I'd say folks were totally unfriendly. I always manage to get them talking