What do YOU like abou living in the Phoenix area? (Tempe: real estate, crimes)

[azriverfan.]

Carybery

You seem to contradict yourself in many of your threads.

Tenure in Arizona
"We have been in AZ for many years"
"In the few years that we lived in Phoenix"
"We have lived here for 4 years"
"We came to Phoenix after a year of what was left of life in post-Katrina New Orleans." (which would have been 2006 since Katrina occurred in 2005. If you have been here since 2006, you would have been here for 2.5 years not 3 years or 4 years)

https://www.city-data.com/forum/phoen...ml#post7769557

https://www.city-data.com/forum/phoen...ml#post7692152

https://www.city-data.com/forum/phoen...ml#post7602531

Regarding having children
"My husband and I are retired with no children."

https://www.city-data.com/forum/fort-...ml#post7618601

"My kids who live in LA swear the air is better downtown LA than in Phoenix. Some days they are probably right "

https://www.city-data.com/forum/newre...eply&p=7901340

[maverick974]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Things I love about Phoenix

1. the Weather: 4 months of hot weather and 8 months of perfect weather. Beautify sunny clear skies 300 days out of the year
2. 4 Major Sports
3. friendly, open and laid back people
4. great restaurants
5. great shopping
6. fantastic golf
7. great houses with nice yards and lots of space
8. drivable to Las Vegas, San Diego and LA; can go there for a weekend and back
9. Liberal but not crunchy granola annoying liberal ie not Portland (thank God)
10. Hispanic and Latin culture
11. Evolving city: it's exciting to see a city change overnight.
12. New- i love how everything is new. Whether you are talking about roads, a Target or Wal-Mart, a McDonalds, houses etc. everything is new and thus the quality is top notch as opposed to the east coast in which everything is old
13. great roads and grid highway system; it's easy to navigate this city
14. Clean- you don't see litter on the streets, trash on the freeways or stores etc. very clean city
15. Low cost of living especially now that houses are starting to come down in value

Wow, great points all.
When I was in Phoenix in December, I noticed several of those things. I was amazed at how clean it was. No graffiti written over the freeway overpasses, no trash all over the streets and parking lots. The "newness" of the place, and of course the housing prices. I thought it was great.
Then there was the people. I talked to probably 150 people while I was there and everybody, I mean EVERYBODY I talked to had almost the exact same thing to say. When I asked them how they liked living in Phoenix, they always said the same thing. Too darn hot in the summer but other than that, they loved it. There is a friend of mine that works at the Porsche dealership in Scottsdale. I grew up with the guy but I hadn't talked to him in many years. I looked him up and asked him the same question. What he told me suprised me but it was very cool. We grew up in So. Cal and he moved to Mesa in 1993. He said " it's the best thing I've ever done in my life. I'll never leave here." Blew me away.
I also like how central Phoenix is. I like how I can go to the mountains, The Grand Canyon, So. Cal, Mexico, Las Vegas and ????
I just like the "feel" of the place, the look of the place. I absolutely love the fact you can see all the way across the valley on a clear day. The sunsets are amazing. I can see myself just sitting on my porch or balcony every night in the summer heat enjoying a cold one while I marvel at the sun going down over the mountains in the distance.
Sounds pretty cool to me.
Don't sweat the small stuff!!!!!!!!!!

[NJ2AZSusan]

Maverick, When it comes to reasons to love the Phoenix area, there is so much to talk about. I have been here since 1997 and doubt I would ever go back to my home state of New Jersey.
I now write a column for other transplants and rather than take up so much space here saying what I've already posted there, let me just give you the chance to look at a few columns that may answer your question.

Want to know about the friendliness of the people here? Look at:
Transplants To Phoenix Examiner: Do talk to strangers

and Transplants To Phoenix Examiner: Beautiful Scottsdale is more than skin deep

Want to find some great places to eat? Try:
Transplants To Phoenix Examiner: The most important meal of the day

and Transplants To Phoenix Examiner: Now that's Italian!

Want to find your way around? Transplants To Phoenix Examiner: Go west young transplant

And there's a wealth of other information up there. Feel free to have a look around. And I'll be putting up much more in the near future, such as where to find bargains, how to deal with the heat, what to know about the water situation here, etc. etc. so keep checking back.

Once again, good luck!

Susan

[azriverfan.]

The thing I love the most about Phoenix is the people. I genuinely mean that. This city is a true melting pot. Everyone moved here from some place else. The transient nature of this city is what makes it so special. I love the fact that you are allowed to be open and friendly to people. You don't have to be guarded nor do you have to "earn the respect of the locals" When you move here, you are immediately ingratiated into the community and before you know it, it will soon be your turn to do the same to someone else.

Regarding our summers....well the problem is people get spoiled. They enjoy so much great weather here that when it's time to pay their dues by enduring some bad weather in the summer, they just can't deal with that concept. Some people just have it in their heads that because a place has a lot of sun then it's supposed to be like Hawaii or San Diego in that the weather has to be temperate all year round! The people who have adapted to Phoenix summers approach it like winter and that's how you are supposed to approach it. But the clueless folk who become overwhelmed with our summers don't realize that and complain. That's why it's kind of stupid to suggest to people to come here for a week in the summer, well duh...of course it's going to be blazing hot, that's our "winter" Likewise, I'm not going to judge Chicago by visiting it in February...of course, it's going to be freezing but that doesn't mean it's summer and fall isn't nice. That's exactly what it is. It's our version of winter. You stay out of the sun from 11-6 PM. You try to do as much activity in the mornings or evenings. If you engage in outdoor activies, you try to stay near water or have cold drinks near you. With that being said, we tolerate our summers because we realize those hot summers are significantly better than ice cold winters any place else and the rest of the year will be amazing. So if you approach our summers from this mindset, you won't mind the heat at all.

[shiphead]

Phoenix... well it's phoenix... I can't really say much on it beyond I live here, i met my loving wife here, my friend lives here, and there is a lot more job and business opportunities here then Sacramento.

[Howard Roark]

I like Phoenix for its size and that it is in a more libertarian state than California. Unfortunately, Arizona is way less libertarian than Nevada, and I keep getting attracted to the idea of moving to Nevada for that reason. I can rent a 950 square foot loft on the 7th floor for $1800 per month in the middle of all the action (or what's left of it) in LV. In fact, if I move to Nevada, I'll sell my higher yielding Arizona municipal bonds and put the proceeds and principle into a federal tax free muni bond fund that is lower yielding but is much less sensitive to interest rate changes. Since Nevada has no income tax, I think I would not be taxed at the state level on the gains of a federal tax free fund.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Howard Roark

I like Phoenix for its size and that it is in a more libertarian state than California. Unfortunately, Arizona is way less libertarian than Nevada, and I keep getting attracted to the idea of moving to Nevada for that reason. I can rent a 950 square foot loft on the 7th floor for $1800 per month in the middle of all the action (or what's left of it) in LV. In fact, if I move to Nevada, I'll sell my higher yielding Arizona municipal bonds and put the proceeds and principle into a federal tax free muni bond fund that is lower yielding but is much less sensitive to interest rate changes. Since Nevada has no income tax, I think I would not be taxed at the state level on the gains of a federal tax free fund.

Everyone I know moves to Las Vegas for those reasons and then after a year, they want to leave ASAP. Vegas may have a lot of action but it's very contrived and artificial much like Orlando. It's not like living in Soho in New York on near Sunset in LA.

[freedom2]

Sounds great Ill be there as soon as I can

[ivanabacowboy]

I can see myself just sitting on my porch or balcony every night in the summer heat enjoying a cold one while I marvel at the sun going down over the mountains in the distance.

That's what they make margaritas and hot tubs for lol! I spend the majority of my time I am home outside in the evenings-whether at the pool, hot tub or on my balcony. I am actually outside right now. The way my apartment is laid out, I have French (ie double) doors that open the living room onto the balcony. The balcony is the size of a decent "small" room and has its own ceiling fan. I can swing open the French doors and sit on the balcony in my outdoor chaise and even watch television if I was so inclined and feel like I am in the living room lol! And my balcony is completely covered (ie it is basically like a room off the living room with walls on 3 sides and a ceiling, just open to the back), so I can also sit outside and watch the storms roll in when we are expecting rain...or whatever. And during the hotter months, the angle of the sun is different, so even at mid-day in the hotter months, no more than the outer foot or so of my balcony is in sun. In fact, that was one of my precondition deal breakers when I was deciding where to rent-having a decent usable outdoor patio or balcony. I even work out on my balcony or by the pool sometimes-I have an AC plug for the laptop, a table and my cell phone. The perfect home office. Try THAT in Cleveland in February lol!

I moved to Phoenix in September 2007 from Cleveland. I don't regret it for a second. Of course the shameless self plug is all of what is left of my family lives here except a few assorted aunts back in Cleveland. And the older sister who lives in Vegas (but wants to live in Phoenix just hasn't found a job here yet)-who I can visit on a whim over a weekend if the spirit so moves me.

I agree that the cleanliness hit me as well. Much much different than Cleveland. And buildings, even buildings that are older, don't really look older because the weathering and elements are much different here than back east.

My one weird Phoenix experience coming from the east. I had major vertigo at first-hard to explain. Back east, you "ground yourself" to the height of taller things around you-the higher buildings, the tree canopy, and so on. But out here, at least in the part of town I am in (NE Phoenix/N Scottsdale area by Kierland) those things aren't more than a few stories high, with the exception of the mountains in the distance. And with the sun big obvious and lower on the horizon, that really added to the feeling. That really caught me totally off guard, like I was just going to get sucked off the planet because there was nothing "holding" me here. Weird. Got over it after a few days but still, it was weird.

I also was thoroughly amazed by the sheer quantity of restaurants, grocery stores and places to shop. I could most likely get rid of my car and walk to a different restaurant every night for dinner-and not have to go back to any single restaurant twice for....years. (Caveat: when it is hotter, my range is obviously much more limited on foot lol!)

I love the desert colors. Seriously when my sister first moved to Phoenix in the late 80s, I wondered why: Phoenix to me was like what you saw in the Clint Eastwood movies with tumbleweeds and all. I was sort of shocked when I first came here. And it is very green for a desert. And lots of gorgeous colored plants especially when all the cacti bloom (I never knew a cactus would get flowers!).

The roads are a dream compared to back east.

[Runemaster]

Originally Posted by pbenjamin

The average high in December and January is in the 66-69 range, with lows in the mid 40s. If you see somebody in shorts there is a good chance that they are a tourist or a newcomer just arrived from Minnesota. Some people's mileage clearly may be different but for most people who have been here through a summer or two, 67 degrees is not shorts weather.

I've been here for far more than one summer and 45 degree mornings that turn into 70 degree afternoons are definitely shorts weather.