Denver to Phoenix? Looking for opinions (Mesa, Glendale: apartment, rent, insurance)
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Here's my story in a nutshell. I'm a 30 y.o. single, female, no kids, and college educated. Chicago native; lived in SW Florida (not by my choice, parents decided when I was younger), Denver, Las Vegas & L.A.
I was laid off from my job in Las Vegas (Director of marketing for a production company - I have a solid yet diverse resume) and saved myself further job hunting frustration and got out of there before the economy tanked even more. (Vegas is at 13% unemployment and most of my friends have either been laid off and have left as well.)
I unhappily and temporarily moved back to Denver to be with my sister to develop plan B. (Denver is my second home as I went to high school and college out here, but was so excited to move back to Vegas for the second time a year-and-a-half ago.)
However, I seriously dislike Denver: the snow, the cold wealther, ugly people, snobs, boring city, boring people, no industry, vanilla people (I am Caucasian but please can we have some diversity?!!!), no night-life and horrible city for dating. There is nothing new for me to explore here and frankly, I feel like a stale 90 year old woman. This city has turned this extroverted, flamboyant chick into a miserable hermit. Denver is a great place to be married, have children, ski and drive an SUV. For me, no thank you.
I've been to Phoenix/Scottsdale four times; Sedona & Tempe twice. I love the desert landscape (people think I'm nuts, but my stomach flips in excitement when I feel the warm air on my skin and drive through the scenic desert - it feels good to be there.)
Anyways, I have some concerns and am very interested in getting your honest opinions.
1.) I have never "partied" in Phoenix. Not that this is on the top of my list of priorities when it comes to relocating, but I want a city that provides me with a fun night life and doesn't drop DEAD at 1:30am either. How's the nightlife out there? Rock bars? Clubs? I love variety and love exploring new places. Do you think Phoenix could offer me this?
2.) One of the reasons I left Las Vegas was that it is a breeding ground for illiterate, shady, flakey SHARKS! I am very concerned that Phoenix might be filled with the shady jerks spilled over from Las Vegas. How have you found the quality of people there? Ease of making new friends? I'm very outgoing and have never had problems making friends; although as I'm getting older I'm seeking more quality people people in my life. (ie educated, friendly, responsible, people
3.) Anyone ever had a huge scorpion or tarantula in their house/apartment? Just had to ask! I'd occasionally get sand roaches in my place in Vegas. Gross, but not a total freak out.
4.) How is the singles scene? Dating?
5.) I've read that there's low wages out there. I disliked that about Las Vegas. I have an opportunity to work from the house, but I'm not sure that would float my boat either, so I want to keep my options open too.
"snobs, boring city, boring people, no industry, vanilla people"
That's pretty much Phoenix in a nutshell. IMO, Phoenix and Denver are almost mirror images of one another. The only reason I can imagine moving from one to the other is that you hate intense summer heat or you hate snow and cold. Also, Denver has a slightly more "urban" core, but both strike me as being extremely suburban areas.
1.) I have never "partied" in Phoenix. Not that this is on the top of my list of priorities when it comes to relocating, but I want a city that provides me with a fun night life and doesn't drop DEAD at 1:30am either. How's the nightlife out there? Rock bars? Clubs? I love variety and love exploring new places. Do you think Phoenix could offer me this?
2.) One of the reasons I left Las Vegas was that it is a breeding ground for illiterate, shady, flakey SHARKS! I am very concerned that Phoenix might be filled with the shady jerks spilled over from Las Vegas. How have you found the quality of people there? Ease of making new friends? I'm very outgoing and have never had problems making friends; although as I'm getting older I'm seeking more quality people people in my life. (ie educated, friendly, responsible, people
3.) Anyone ever had a huge scorpion or tarantula in their house/apartment? Just had to ask! I'd occasionally get sand roaches in my place in Vegas. Gross, but not a total freak out.
4.) How is the singles scene? Dating?
5.) I've read that there's low wages out there. I disliked that about Las Vegas. I have an opportunity to work from the house, but I'm not sure that would float my boat either, so I want to keep my options open too.
Thank you for your thoughts, opinions...
1. The nightlife drops dead at 1:30 here as well but the nightlife is better here than in Denver and it's similar to a smaller Las Vegas. In fact, I prefer the night life in Scottsdale to Vegas because it's less touristy and less sharky and "meathead" in other words you don't have the 5 guys from Texas fly down and wear tight shirts trying to fight people in Scottsdale.
2. No illiterate and shaky sharks but not as sophisticated as NY, Chicago or LA either. I would say it's in between Vegas and those other cities.
3. Never seen a scorpion or tarantula and have been here here for over 15 yrs
4. This is a real plus and much better than Denver since everyone here moves here from some place else. People from Arizona are so rare that we call them "natives" . This was especially true when I was single here a long time ago, it was so easy to meet people because there were no cliques, no one went to the same high school, no one went to the same college, you had to make friends with newbies otherwise you wouldn't survive so the young single people in general were pretty receptive to meeting people. I thought dating was easy but yes you had to be someone who drank, partied and went out. I did a lot of that when I was younger and it was really easy to meet people that way.
5. Wages are competitive. Yes they are low but the cost of living is low. 3 years ago, you could have complained about wages because they were low but the houses were expensive. Now that isn't the case. It's comparable to Las Vegas and San Diego as far as wages are concerned with a cheaper cost of living.
6. Diversity- Denver and Boulder had no diversity when I was there. Yes, Phoenix gets criticized for lacking diversity but it's usually from people who are from San Francisco or New York. Compared to Denver, we are much more diverse. We have a lot of Hispanics (obviously) and a lot of Asians and Indians and I've noticed our African American population has grown as a lot of educated Blacks have started moving here because of the racially friendly environment (Mesa is the exception).
My advice: I would only move here provided you live near Old Town Scottsdale. If you live near Scottsdale, you will have a great time and meet a lot of people. Rent if you have to until you meet people then you can buy a house later. I kind of know where you are coming from. I like west coast vibe too whether that is Las Vegas, Phoenix or Southern Cal. It is more laid back. I like the weather better. I think people are friendlier here. They aren't fake friendly like in the South in which they will knock on your door and hand you a pie. People respect your privacy but if you want to make friends you can if you make the effort.
Maroon - thank you for your response. That's what I was thinking too. Hmmft. I'm not sure where to go.
Just be aware that Maroon is a Phoenix basher so his response was predictable. Look it's obvious, either you move to a place like NY, CHicago or SF if you want urban otherwise you have to settle somewhat. Phoenix isn't perfect but I think it offers more of what you are seeking than Denver. That's for sure! I didn't like the Denver area. There was no diversity, too Evangelical, snobby pseudo conservative people, too isolated from rest of the country, Phoenix is close to Vegas, LA and SD if you want to do a road trip or get away.
1.) I have never "partied" in Phoenix. Not that this is on the top of my list of priorities when it comes to relocating, but I want a city that provides me with a fun night life and doesn't drop DEAD at 1:30am either. How's the nightlife out there? Rock bars? Clubs? I love variety and love exploring new places. Do you think Phoenix could offer me this?
I won't comment too much on Denver, since this isn't about Denver, but I had the same experience. It is a very vanilla city (not just racially) but in every aspect of diversity and it isn't well known as a destination city for events, clubs, and resorts so that makes it somewhat dull on a daily basis. As for the diversity in Phoenix, it is a minority majority city; 42% latino, 6% African American, 4% Asian, and 2% Native American and the Asian and black communities are increasing at a very fast rate while still experiencing the highest graduation rate for minors and whites. Crime rates are dropping like crazy and many older neighborhoods are stabilizing.
As for the clubs, there are plenty but they aren't quite like Vegas in that they aren't 24 hrs or open until 6am and they aren't...fake. You'll have everything from the Lost Leaf (a very different bar in the artist colony of Roosevelt Row), to Amsterdam (which is really 3 gay clubs in one building), to Silver (which is an upscale Latino club), to Club House (which is a "rock" club with tons of live, local bands). Alcohol is served until 2am and many clubs are open until 4am; this goes for Glendale, Phoenix, Tempe, and Scottsdale which are the 4 Valley cities with the most nightlife/clubs/bars in the metro.
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2.) One of the reasons I left Las Vegas was that it is a breeding ground for illiterate, shady, flakey SHARKS! I am very concerned that Phoenix might be filled with the shady jerks spilled over from Las Vegas. How have you found the quality of people there? Ease of making new friends? I'm very outgoing and have never had problems making friends; although as I'm getting older I'm seeking more quality people people in my life. (ie educated, friendly, responsible, people).
Not really too familiar with the "sharks" in Vegas or anything like that since I never lived there but Phoenix is much more laid back and friendly. I haven't met many people from Vegas or that moved here from there but I'm sure they are around. Making friends is easy especially in those four cities listed above. Phoenix (metro area) was ranked as one of the best singles city in the nation. The rate of higher education in Phoenix is markedly high and something most people aren't aware of and I'd suggest looking for a place along the transit corridors of the Valley.
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3.) Anyone ever had a huge scorpion or tarantula in their house/apartment? Just had to ask! I'd occasionally get sand roaches in my place in Vegas. Gross, but not a total freak out.
What is a sand roach? I've never seen a scorpion or tarantula in the urban areas or the closer in suburbs but I've heard people have them near the fringes, etc. I'm not sure about tarantulas though.
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5.) I've read that there's low wages out there. I disliked that about Las Vegas. I have an opportunity to work from the house, but I'm not sure that would float my boat either, so I want to keep my options open too.
Depends on your field, experience, education, etc. I think the average HHI and the Median Income in Phoenix are higher than Vegas and Denver but COL is lower in Phoenix (including daily expenses like gas, food, taxes, insurance..car,home).
Last edited by fcorrales80; 12-01-2009 at 01:38 PM..
You might like Tempe for the nightlife the university helps provide there. If you're looking for city in the desert, then the Phoenix area is your only place other than Vegas. Albuquerque isn't quite large enough for the type of lifestyle I'm guessing you're looking for.
My response was just honest. The cities are nearly identical. Phoenix is a very quiet, somewhat conservative, sprawling western city that lacks true diversity and the excitement of more cosmopolitan metros. Sure, Phoenix has pockets of entertainment, but so does Denver. Denver might be "Evangelical" as you put it, but someone from Denver would likely describe Phoenix, especially the East Valley, as "Mormon". Arizona also has fairly low wages and lacks industry, which was something she disliked about Vegas and Denver. Wages in certain sectors here in Phoenix might be "competitive", but at the end of the day, this is still a right to work state.
Anyway, I wasn't insulting Phoenix, just saying that if she is looking for an exciting, fun, and diverse city with competitive wages and fewer snobs, Phoenix is absolutely NOT where she will find those things. If she had said that she was a family woman looking to settle down in the suburbs, I would have said "Phoenix will be perfect for you".
Also, I too am someone who is greatly affected by his natural surroundings. So if the desert really speaks to you, I can understand how it might be worth it to you to make the move. You just have to understand that culturally, things will be just about the same as Denver. The only thing different will be the view out of your windows and the temperature of the air.
Also, I too am someone who is greatly affected by his natural surroundings. So if the desert really speaks to you, I can understand how it might be worth it to you to make the move. You just have to understand that culturally, things will be just about the same as Denver. The only thing different will be the view out of your windows and the temperature of the air.
That's not true; culturally speaking, Phoenix is many times more diverse, has many times more cultural and social events, etc. The diversity and make up of the population speaks volumes to that and the voting demographic as well. As AZriver said, it is not at the scale of New York per se, but is similar in that it is not a single race/ethnic/etc majority city...
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I'm not sure where to go.
