Curious about Phoenix (Prescott, Miami: best cities, to rent, cheap home)
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Sorry its not false. Many of the things to do in Phx can be clumped into an umbrella category of dining or shopping. If you prefer outdoors, golfing and hiking is what is left. Name what it is you can do outside in the desert besides hike in it, or golf in it after they groom it into a golf course?
And Im talking about quick things you can do OUTDOORS after work in the city itself that cant be done anywhere else. Nothing that takes place inside a building, nothing pertaining to hiking or golfing. You also cant list anything relating to activities that pertain to owning highly expensive toys like boats, quads, etc. This is not about me, its about someone moving into town that will be renting, living here for the sunshine alone.
Lets hear all the things that would delight an avid outdoors enthusiast that arent already listed above that they have access to immediately in the city.
You might just solve my problem along with the original posters if you have some good answers. Im all ears.
Would you like tie my feet together and blindfold me as well!? Phoenix is a CITY and is to Arizona what Los Angeles is to California. And guess, what? There are NO BEACHES IN LOS ANGELES. So let's just throw that silly little criteria route out the window, shall we?
As far as what I do in the desert? Camping, mountain biking, hiking, off-road driving, target practice, wildlife and bird viewing and exploration. Have you ever seen a desert sunset and/or sunrise? Would you like to see pictures? I have hundreds. Did you know there are 100,000 abandoned mines in Arizona? I like to find them and check them out. I do several of these activities every week. You could spend a lifetime exploring the deserts of Arizona, or just around your own town for that matter.
Now perhaps you tell me, what does a person do outdoors in LA? Hmmm????
Would you like tie my feet together and blindfold me as well!? Phoenix is a CITY and is to Arizona what Los Angeles is to California. And guess, what? There are NO BEACHES IN LOS ANGELES. So let's just throw that silly little criteria route out the window, shall we?
As far as what I do in the desert? Camping, mountain biking, hiking, off-road driving, target practice, wildlife and bird viewing and exploration. Have you ever seen a desert sunset and/or sunrise? Would you like to see pictures? I have hundreds. Did you know there are 100,000 abandoned mines in Arizona? I like to find them and check them out. I do several of these activities every week. You could spend a lifetime exploring the deserts of Arizona, or just around your own town for that matter.
Now perhaps you tell me, what does a person do outdoors in LA? Hmmm????
I never brought up LA, never lived there at all. But I would argue that if you get off work early in LA, and want to take a 30-45 minute drive to the coast for a little surfing or whatever else, its entirely possible. Some other states like Vermont, Colorado, and other, people will go to work with canoes on their cars because its so easy to go paddling for a couple hours after work. (DONT tell me about snow, as weather is the tradeoff for nature, creeks, greenery, etc.) Other places you will see employment parking lots where people have coolers and fishing pools strapped to the bumpers because they are going to enjoy some nearby fishing with their next free moment.
I see the sunrise & sunset every day, I have thousands of photos that I have personally taken. They sure are beautiful, and I will bring them with me when I move to remind me of their splendor. This is NOT an ACTIVITY for outdoor enthusiasts!!!!
I have seen the mines, accessible by 4 wheel drives as I own a 4wd and do go on trails, but remember, will the OP be coming here with quads, ATV's, a jeep or what? Or will he be limited to more accessible things.
Bird viewing in Phx??? Do you live here in PHX? Its wall to wall houses. I dont consider it an outdoors activity to use a pair of binoculars to see a pigeon colony on someones rooftop?? Or watch a road runner scurry across pavement???
Why are you investing so much energy into trying to make me look like some genetic mutant instead of telling the OP these things and see if they like that or consider it outdoor recreation to watch a sunset from between tile roofs, or watching birds in the city. I dont know anywhere else but here where a person would make such arguments.
Bird viewing in Phx??? Do you live here in PHX? Its wall to wall houses. I dont consider it an outdoors activity to use a pair of binoculars to see a pigeon colony on someones rooftop?? Or watch a road runner scurry across pavement???
Why are you investing so much energy into trying to make me look like some genetic mutant instead of telling the OP these things and see if they like that or consider it outdoor recreation to watch a sunset from between tile roofs, or watching birds in the city. I dont know anywhere else but here where a person would make such arguments.
Phoenix is hardly wall-to-wall houses. One of Phoenix's best attributes is the extensive system of mountain preserves and parks located right within city limits -- acres of land preserved in its natural state and full of birds and other wildlife. My late father was a serious birder and never ran out of good places to go in the Phoenix Metro Area. Prime birding sites include the Desert Botanical Garden (http://10000birds.com/desert-botanical-gardens-phoenix.htm - broken link), the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, and the Rio Solado Habitat in south Phoenix. In addition, the metro area has an active chapter of the Audubon Society, which is probably the preeminent organization for birders.
I never brought up LA, never lived there at all. But I would argue that if you get off work early in LA, and want to take a 30-45 minute drive to the coast for a little surfing or whatever else, its entirely possible. Some other states like Vermont, Colorado, and other, people will go to work with canoes on their cars because its so easy to go paddling for a couple hours after work. (DONT tell me about snow, as weather is the tradeoff for nature, creeks, greenery, etc.) Other places you will see employment parking lots where people have coolers and fishing pools strapped to the bumpers because they are going to enjoy some nearby fishing with their next free moment.
Exactly, you just proved my point. People leave the city to do outdoor recreation, so your criteria that you gave me to list outdoor things to do in the city was silly.
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I see the sunrise & sunset every day, I have thousands of photos that I have personally taken. They sure are beautiful, and I will bring them with me when I move to remind me of their splendor. This is NOT an ACTIVITY for outdoor enthusiasts!!!!
It is when you do it miles out into the desert to be away from civilization.
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I have seen the mines, accessible by 4 wheel drives as I own a 4wd and do go on trails, but remember, will the OP be coming here with quads, ATV's, a jeep or what? Or will he be limited to more accessible things.
He didn't say, and again that is precisely my point. YOU are the one who said there is NOTHING to do here except for hiking one mountain and golf. I called you on that. There are tons of things to do if you wish to take advantage of them. So now you're telling that you own a 4WD drive and explore off-road, and yet you didn't mention that when you said there's nothing to do here?
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Bird viewing in Phx??? Do you live here in PHX? Its wall to wall houses. I dont consider it an outdoors activity to use a pair of binoculars to see a pigeon colony on someones rooftop?? Or watch a road runner scurry across pavement???
Sigh. Again, these are activities that I said to do IN THE DESERT.
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Why are you investing so much energy into trying to make me look like some genetic mutant...
That's not my intent, but I see you're doing a fine job of that yourself.
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of telling the OP these things and see if they like that or consider it outdoor recreation to watch a sunset from between tile roofs, or watching birds in the city. I dont know anywhere else but here where a person would make such arguments.
Nobody made any argument of the sort. Honestly, I don't think we're that far apart on our opinions. The difference is your half-empty-glass delivery where you make up facts that are actually just your opinions. You don't like it here and that's fine. But it's disingenuous to tell other people there is nothing to do here, especially by somebody who admits to doing all sorts of things here when pressed.
I think somebody needs to give Cmist a hug. I love the desert. I'll take the the outdoor recreation in Phoenix and cheaper living over the 'cultured' city activities in places like Chicago anyday
Sorry its not false. Many of the things to do in Phx can be clumped into an umbrella category of dining or shopping. If you prefer outdoors, golfing and hiking is what is left. Name what it is you can do outside in the desert besides hike in it, or golf in it after they groom it into a golf course?
And Im talking about quick things you can do OUTDOORS after work in the city itself that cant be done anywhere else. Nothing that takes place inside a building, nothing pertaining to hiking or golfing. You also cant list anything relating to activities that pertain to owning highly expensive toys like boats, quads, etc. This is not about me, its about someone moving into town that will be renting, living here for the sunshine alone.
Lets hear all the things that would delight an avid outdoors enthusiast that arent already listed above that they have access to immediately in the city.
You might just solve my problem along with the original posters if you have some good answers. Im all ears.
Jeez, where to begin?
Camping - even close to the city, there's a bunch of county parks (White Tanks, Cave Creek, etc.) that you can spend the night in for car camping or more remote areas you can backpack to - beautiful place to watch a meteor shower. An hour or two away are loads of great camping sites.
Trail Running - throughout the Phoenix Mountain Preserve system
Mountain Biking - lots of places for a quick workout or longer within the city and just outside. Year round.
Road Biking - be careful inside the city, but lots of places, races, and groups. Year round.
River Tubing - the Valley favorite
River Kayaking
Hunting
Fishing
Mountain Climbing - lots of spots just outside (and some inside) the city for technical climbing and bouldering. An incredible variety of mountains to climb just within the the valley - Piestewa, Lookout, Shaw Butte, Camelback, South Mountain (the largest city park in the United States, BTW).
Motorcycle Riding - year round!
Playing in the parks - year round!
Tennis - year round!
Skeet and Target Shooting - many ranges (such as the excellent Ben Avery Range), numerous IPSC leagues, some of the best tactical shooting shools in the world in the state - thanks to our being a gun-friendly state. There's a reason the special operations units in the military send their troops here for refresher training
Baseball / Softball / Football / Soccer amateur leagues in the parks - year round!
Archery! Great ranges hidden throughout the city - try the one next to Jackie Robinson ball park, I've never seen anyone else there.
Running, jogging, 5Ks, 10Ks, Marathons - Year round!
Golf - or has that already been mentioned?
Geo-Cacheing - very popular sport, lots of fun for kids.
Orienteering - lots of orienteering lay-outs around the valley.
Paintball - whether you are a speed-baller or tactical baller, you'll find many, many ranges around the valley - one local church even has a paintball range as part of their "paintball ministry"
Bird and animal watching in the nature preserves within the valley - incredible bio-diversity even within a small area. You can find snakes of the same species that exhibit radically different pigmentation as a camouflage adaptation just miles away from each other in the Troon area and South Mountain Park.
Picnicking in the local parks - maybe not year round, but nice right now.
Urban exploring - find the hidden history of the city.
I never brought up LA, never lived there at all. But I would argue that if you get off work early in LA, and want to take a 30-45 minute drive to the coast for a little surfing or whatever else, its entirely possible.
I lived in Los Angeles and surfed for 11 years. Unless you had the kind of job where you could leave work 3 or 4 hours early, fight your way through the traffic snarls on the freeways and city streets, find a place to park - forget about it. Getting anywhere quickly in LA is next to impossible now.
Camping - even close to the city, there's a bunch of county parks (White Tanks, Cave Creek, etc.) that you can spend the night in for car camping or more remote areas you can backpack to - beautiful place to watch a meteor shower. An hour or two away are loads of great camping sites.
Trail Running - throughout the Phoenix Mountain Preserve system
Mountain Biking - lots of places for a quick workout or longer within the city and just outside. Year round.
Road Biking - be careful inside the city, but lots of places, races, and groups. Year round.
River Tubing - the Valley favorite
River Kayaking
Hunting
Fishing
Mountain Climbing - lots of spots just outside (and some inside) the city for technical climbing and bouldering. An incredible variety of mountains to climb just within the the valley - Piestewa, Lookout, Shaw Butte, Camelback, South Mountain (the largest city park in the United States, BTW).
Motorcycle Riding - year round!
Playing in the parks - year round!
Tennis - year round!
Skeet and Target Shooting - many ranges (such as the excellent Ben Avery Range), numerous IPSC leagues, some of the best tactical shooting shools in the world in the state - thanks to our being a gun-friendly state. There's a reason the special operations units in the military send their troops here for refresher training
Baseball / Softball / Football / Soccer amateur leagues in the parks - year round!
Archery! Great ranges hidden throughout the city - try the one next to Jackie Robinson ball park, I've never seen anyone else there.
Running, jogging, 5Ks, 10Ks, Marathons - Year round!
Golf - or has that already been mentioned?
Geo-Cacheing - very popular sport, lots of fun for kids.
Orienteering - lots of orienteering lay-outs around the valley.
Paintball - whether you are a speed-baller or tactical baller, you'll find many, many ranges around the valley - one local church even has a paintball range as part of their "paintball ministry"
Bird and animal watching in the nature preserves within the valley - incredible bio-diversity even within a small area. You can find snakes of the same species that exhibit radically different pigmentation as a camouflage adaptation just miles away from each other in the Troon area and South Mountain Park.
Picnicking in the local parks - maybe not year round, but nice right now.
Urban exploring - find the hidden history of the city.
Canoeing / Paddleboating in Encanto Park
Looks to be a good start of real things to do for the OP. I had said in the first post, he needs to research the things we offer, and the things another place offers immediately in the city. I think you provided a great start.
I only remarked that if anything he reads isnt something that he will really get into, IE appreciate doing these things very often in his spare time, he will likely not be motivated to leave his house except to go to work and the grocery store.
It doesnt serve a person well to blindly INSIST they WILL love it here, without first knowing what they really like to do. He mentioned was he was going to move to Florida, but upon reading about our "weather" was thinking of switching to here. There would be a whole different variety of things to do in Florida then here, and NOT to mention many of the things in the Phoenix list can be done there like Baseball, Picnics, paintball, Nature watching, jogging, motorcyle riding, skeet shooting, paddling, geocaching is nationwide.
----> (Insert long winded story of person who could never do anything in Florida because of the oppressive humidity but now they love it here.) BUT dont forget to mention we do have a few months here where not only do the temps get in the 100's but we also get pretty high humidity. Namely July, August, September. Its NOT always dry heat.
Not many things on the list are unique to Phx. So I should revise my statement of there are "few things" to do here other than hike, golf, shop & dine to the following:
There are few things to do here, that arent ALSO available in many areas of the country. Its possible to find a place that has EVERYTHING Phoenix does PLUS more nature... The fact is, the city is a concrete jungle and doesnt really reserve much of the actual city for anything other than houses. Yes, there are preserves to walk/hike/jog through but I had said that.
Large cities in Florida are likely to have all the same things we do, and all the humidity too yes. So a realistic answer is, if you enjoy water, watersports, beaches and all the lifestyle that goes along with that, pick florida, because the ONLY thing we have that is UNIQUE over florida is mountains, cactus and dryness.
Please dont misunderstand that I am trying to say everyone should hate it here OR if you like it there is something wrong with you. Thats NOT what I'm saying.
I think that it takes more than a climate to be happy for SOME. But there are plenty of people here that will say, climate is #1. Its not MY top priority and since that is the case, I have a whole country open to me. I am SURE I can find all the things listed above elsewhere PLUS more. Im fully aware its likely to include, rain, snow, humidity, bugs, whatever. I understand the tradeoffs involved in living closer to real nature. But... Thats ME.
Last edited by cmist; 11-13-2009 at 10:22 AM..
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Phoenix is a CITY and is to Arizona what Los Angeles is to California. And guess, what? There are NO BEACHES IN LOS ANGELES. So let's just throw that silly little criteria route out the window, shall we? 
