Phoenix Cleanliness vs. California Cities (Chandler, Gilbert: buyer, living, dangerous)

[WK91]

There are vast stretches of Phoenix that remind me of a third world barrio that I have seen in other parts of the world. Sorry if that offends, but you have to tell the truth even if someone will be quick to jump in and say “Racist!”.

I think there are parts of California that are much worse than Phoenix, and that is obvious.

The reason being is because it’s just too hot to live in homeless squalor in Phoenix for a large part of the year.

So I guess we should all be thankful for the 120 degree days as it keeps the undesirable worthless people in California where it’s a lot cooler.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by WK91

There are vast stretches of Phoenix that remind me of a third world barrio that I have seen in other parts of the world. Sorry if that offends, but you have to tell the truth even if someone will be quick to jump in and say “Racist!”.

I think there are parts of California that are much worse than Phoenix, and that is obvious.

The reason being is because it’s just too hot to live in homeless squalor in Phoenix for a large part of the year.

So I guess we should all be thankful for the 120 degree days as it keeps the undesirable worthless people in California where it’s a lot cooler.

I don’t know. It seems like we have our fair share of “undesirable worthless people”.

[Maroon197]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

We're not just talking about light rail. The Valley Metro bus system, which has been in operation much longer than light rail, is also fairly clean compared to many other cities ... and it's not just because of the "lack of use". Sure, there are the derelicts & trashy types who frequently use public transit, but it's still reasonably clean & safe for a city this size.



I've only used the light rail when commuting to downtown Phoenix: mainly to see a Suns game or attend a concert. Never had any bad experiences, other than the occasional bum or loudmouth, which is to be expected on public transit. When going downtown, I find it's much more convenient than driving, dealing with traffic, and the parking.

I used to ride the valley metro buses to and from school as a teenager, and on more than one occasion I had someone randomly threaten to kill me for “looking at them funny” while I was staring out the window or doing homework. It was no better or worse than any other bus system in any major city, California included.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by WK91

There are vast stretches of Phoenix that remind me of a third world barrio that I have seen in other parts of the world. Sorry if that offends, but you have to tell the truth even if someone will be quick to jump in and say “Racist!”.

I think there are parts of California that are much worse than Phoenix, and that is obvious.

The reason being is because it’s just too hot to live in homeless squalor in Phoenix for a large part of the year.

So I guess we should all be thankful for the 120 degree days as it keeps the undesirable worthless people in California where it’s a lot cooler.

You clearly don't spend much time in Phoenix if you think we somehow have a low homeless population. If anything, it's still preferable here to anywhere in the Northeast or Midwest where living outside means rain, snow, sleet, freezing temperatures, plus heat/humidity.

And about those 120 degree days, care to point some out in the last 10 years from the official temperature records?

[john3232]

Originally Posted by WK91

There are vast stretches of Phoenix that remind me of a third world barrio that I have seen in other parts of the world. Sorry if that offends, but you have to tell the truth even if someone will be quick to jump in and say “Racist!”.

I think there are parts of California that are much worse than Phoenix, and that is obvious.

The reason being is because it’s just too hot to live in homeless squalor in Phoenix for a large part of the year.

So I guess we should all be thankful for the 120 degree days as it keeps the undesirable worthless people in California where it’s a lot cooler.

I think there's something to that. I saw the homeless encampment in downtown Phx over the weekend and wondered how they can stand the 4-5 months of extreme heat. San Diego, LA and SF aren't that far away.

Like many major cities Phx is always going to have a certain amount of homeless. However, I think transients who arrive in AZ may decide to keep moving after experiencing a few AZ summers.

The summer months are not conducive to panhandling, sleeping or whatever. Not with the AZ sun beating down on you.


I think there are parts of California that are much worse than Phoenix, and that is obvious.

Well, it's not just weather which makes cities like San Diego, LA and SF magnets for transients from around the country. It's also local government polices which tend to enable more than help those with substance abuse issues. Makes it easy for those living on the streets to do whatever they feel like doing.

Now, on Main and Recker in East Mesa there is a Walgreens (or is it a CVS) on the corner. I've seen during the evening a group of young people whom I suspect are selling, using meth. Last year a group attempted to move over to 62nd street/University where there's vegetation to hide in as well as a large open area to camp. Didn't last long. Residents complained and the police rousted them shortly after they started to arrive. Those living on the streets simply can't do whatever they want here.

[WK91]

Originally Posted by locolife

You clearly don't spend much time in Phoenix if you think we somehow have a low homeless population. If anything, it's still preferable here to anywhere in the Northeast or Midwest where living outside means rain, snow, sleet, freezing temperatures, plus heat/humidity.

And about those 120 degree days, care to point some out in the last 10 years from the official temperature records?

I didn’t mean to imply low, just that it’s lower than California. Ok, if not very many 120’s, how about 115? As if it feels any different.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by DKM

Much of what people think of clean looking is a product of newness and not just maintenance or lack thereof. The newer parts of town or the new transit vehicles (or freeways) tend to look "cleaner". That is true here, phoenix or pretty much anywhere. That said, its accurate to say that LA has a lot of dirty areas and they are more visible than the nicer out of the way parts. Orange County outside of the freeway corridor looks pretty clean to me. Phoenix sure seems cleaner but honestly Vegas seems cleaner than Phoenix so who knows...

I like Vegas to visit, but it is ugly and dirty in a large swath of areas. I was just there and in my view, Phoenix is a higher income city. That’s not to say Phoenix cannot be bad, it really can especially in the inner ring of the west side and west Mesa.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by WK91

There are vast stretches of Phoenix that remind me of a third world barrio that I have seen in other parts of the world.

Much of west Phoenix has become something like what could be found in the "better" parts of some Mexican cities: not quite ghetto, but very bland, run down, and in dire need of upgrades. It used to be mostly Maryvale, but a good chunk of the west side (especially along & near Grand Avenue) has become this way.

[LMC White Collar]

Originally Posted by Sour D

Phoenix is FAST turning into Los Angeles. You can see it everywhere. Anyone who denies that is fooling themselves.

Where are these tent cities and fecal matter infested streets in Phoenix that you're referring to?

Has there been Hepatitis and Typhus outbreaks (affecting white collar workers in California, who work close to areas with large homeless populations) anywhere in Phoenix recently?

https://www.foxla.com/news/city-work...yphus-outbreak

https://www.latimes.com/local/califo...htmlstory.html

[415_s2k]

We were in both LA and PHX a couple summers ago and LA was 10x worse. I did see some areas with high concentrations of homeless near downtown. There were a few parts of 7th street, by where we were staying, which looked pretty rough and had large numbers of clearly homeless/transient people mulling about.

It wasn't anywhere near as bad as in LA, where even nice neighborhoods had homeless people all over the main drags... encampments under every overpass... RV's and vans parked on every side street. It shocked me because while LA's always had a homeless problem, it's just plain exploded in recent years.

It mostly boils down to the policies: LA and SF, among other cities, tend to have very permissive/hands-off approaches to homelessness. That, combined with year-round livable weather, makes it more attractive to them. From what I gather, Phoenix is less permissive overall and while there's definitely a problem with it, it's more centered in specific areas than city wide.