OT: Living in Arizona (and aliens)

[ClassLessCoyote]

This thread is for those who currently live in Arizona or have lived here in the past AND is not a thread to discuss if hockey belongs in Arizona or not or anything along those lines for that matter. Ok, we can include this thread for those who are interested in moving to AZ at some point in their lives as well as long as they have at least visited as well.

What are your thoughts about Arizona? What do you like and not like about Arizona? I figure to ask since from time to time we do see some talk about AZ here and would like to know more on the input.

Click to read more...

 

[doaner]

Don't we have a visitor thread for this crap? We need another one for this too???

 

[kihekah19*]

One of my favorite things about Arizona and the reason I moved back here is that we have an NHL franchise. One of my least favorite things about Arizona is that we have too few who feel as I do - at least not enough that care enough to actually attend games.

 

[ClassLessCoyote]

Don't we have a visitor thread for this crap? We need another one for this too???

Living in a place is not the same as visiting a place.

 

[doaner]

Hmm...

 

[Desert Ice 11]

I like the luxury of big city life. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed 24/7 type stores until I lived in a town in the south. The people in Arizona are the most friendly I have come across. I also enjoy the wild life here, there is no other place like the Arizona desert. I also really enjoy the freeway system in Phoenix. Overall its a great place to live and I figure that is why so many elderly come here to live out their remaining days in Arizona.

 

[GiveAFlyingPuck]

I like the night sky here. Even from my house in Surprise you can see the stars, but it gets pretty awesome if you get out away from the lights.

 

[HerrDonut]

Born and raised a Phoenician, been here a little more than two decades. I want out.

The weather in December/January is nice; could probably throw bits of November and February in there. I like that all of the major sports are here, although I hate baseball and basketball, I'm not a Cardinals fan, and our soccer is third division, young, and poorly attended. I hear our roads are laid out better than other cities. We haven't got earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.

I dislike the weather most months. I'm not a fan of the scenery. Stuff happens in the news that I'm not particularly proud of being associated with (politics isn't my game so I'll leave it at that). There isn't much here for me in the career field that I've pursued. The two sports I love seem to be underappreciated by the general population.

 

[Desert Ice 11]

Born and raised a Phoenician, been here a little more than two decades. I want out.

The weather in December/January is nice; could probably throw bits of November and February in there. I like that all of the major sports are here, although I hate baseball and basketball, I'm not a Cardinals fan, and our soccer is third division, young, and poorly attended. I hear our roads are laid out better than other cities. We haven't got earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc.

I dislike the weather most months. I'm not a fan of the scenery. Stuff happens in the news that I'm not particularly proud of being associated with (politics isn't my game so I'll leave it at that). There isn't much here for me in the career field that I've pursued. The two sports I love seem to be underappreciated by the general population.

Well I really hope you can find what you are looking for. The only other state I would probably live at is Colorado.

 

[Summer Rose]

Born and raised here, though I have lived elsewhere for a bit. I think I'm here to stay now.

Things I like about Arizona:

1) Weather in general (hot, sunny, and dry is weather that I find pleasant)
2) Large city lifestyle that doesn't feel like a large city (since we're so spread out). This results in having to drive longer distances to get places, but the actual transit time is probably about the same as in a place like New York since we have a pretty efficient freeway network.
3) Food options. For being large, Phoenix is pretty diverse so this results in some pretty interesting ethnic foods being available here. And I'm not talking the generic, run-of-the-mill Mexican semi-fast food places and Chinese buffets that are a dime a dozen.
4) Cost of living is cheap. When I tell people from elsewhere in the US or from another country what my monthly living expenses are they freak out.

There are plenty of things I dislike about living in Phoenix but they're mostly political so I won't get into the details. If I had to live somewhere else in the USA, only places I'd be interested in would be southern California, Las Vegas, or Florida. If I went to another country I'd want to go to Australia, southern France, or maybe back to New Zealand. Anywhere where it doesn't snow would be tolerable. I hate snow.

 

[XX]

AZ is terrible if you are young and restless, with no family to take care of. Probably one of the better states to have a stable career and family in, though. The weather is nice but there's just not much to do. Almost funny how a city so big has yet to come up with an identity or culture of its own. It just seems like everyone is a transient, desperately clinging on to wherever they came come, including their favorite team. The snowbird population and tourism doesn't help that at all.

Also, the politics are beyond dumb. Schools are awful.

The weather is nice but the cookie cutter suburbs and strip malls leave a lot to be desired. I wish they'd put a moratorium on land sales outside the 303 and 202 to force the city to build upwards a bit.

3) Food options. For being large, Phoenix is pretty diverse so this results in some pretty interesting ethnic foods being available here. And I'm not talking the generic, run-of-the-mill Mexican semi-fast food places and Chinese buffets that are a dime a dozen.

The food 'culture' here sucks compared to say, San Francisco or Seattle. Pretty much any coastal city has it better. Being landlocked has its disadvantages. There's a Chili's and Applebee's on every corner because of all the transients.

 

[rt]

I dislike July and August very much. I like the other ten months a lot, though.

 

[Murf]

You can find any style of living in Arizona. Like everything else in life, AZ is what you make of it.

The heat sucks, but everywhere else is worse. You didn't shovel heat today. Heat on the road didn't make you slide into a ditch. Heat didn't close your office or school or golf course. You didn't have to hide in your basement because Heat touched down. Maybe it will rain today, which is kinda cool because it hasn't in a while. Give it a half hour and it will be sunny and dry again.

Go to Chicago, they wait all year for summer. Then it is either so humid you can't breath, or too cold to swim, or raining for the fourth day in a row. Yay.

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

Nothing special to visit but a great place to live. I miss it.

 

[Dolemite]

It's hot in Arizona?

 

[doaner]

It's hot in Arizona?

Not all of AZ.

 

[Sinurgy]

You can find any style of living in Arizona. Like everything else in life, AZ is what you make of it.

The heat sucks, but everywhere else is worse. You didn't shovel heat today. Heat on the road didn't make you slide into a ditch. Heat didn't close your office or school or golf course. You didn't have to hide in your basement because Heat touched down. Maybe it will rain today, which is kinda cool because it hasn't in a while. Give it a half hour and it will be sunny and dry again.

Go to Chicago, they wait all year for summer. Then it is either so humid you can't breath, or too cold to swim, or raining for the fourth day in a row. Yay.

haha....very well put!

Really the only thing I don't like about AZ is the ass-backward politics, if you can get passed that, it's a pretty sweet place. Though I still really hope to be a reverse snowbird one day.

 

[doaner]

haha....very well put!

Really the only thing I don't like about AZ is the ass-backward politics, if you can get passed that, it's a pretty sweet place. Though I still really hope to be a reverse snowbird one day.

We could be in Detroit. Hahaha!!

 

[LAIslanderFan]

I live in LA (rent), but my wife and I are currently planning to buy a house in Phoenix. The plan is to work in LA (I'm a feelancer, with more down time then most) and to spend the rest of our time in the Phoenix area.

Since I may be driving back and forth quite a bit, we've been looking at the westside, like Good Year, or Glendale, and as far west as Buckeye. We figure we can cut a half hour off the commute from California.

I'm a big hockey fan, so I was following the Coyote situation closely and I'm extremely happy with the result. You can bet I'll be out at Jobing.com at least a half dozen times a year.

For those complaining about the politics of Phoenix, just be glad you're don't live in LA. The last election for mayor was between a liberal democrat and... a liberal democrat. This is not a to condemn liberal democrats, it's just to point out that there is no choice at the polls. The irony is that everyone complains about city hall, and yet we elect the same people every election. If you want to open a restaurant in LA, you must pass 14 differenct inspections & inspectors. You'll need in excess of $60-$80,000 to make sure you get throught those inspections. Essentially, this city is not lower or middle class "friendly".

As far as the food in Phoenix, Pizzeria Bianco is better pizza then anyplace in LA and I'm a bit of a foodie, so I eat at very high end restaurants in LA. The bread at Postino Wine bar is amazing and I wish we had a place like that in LA as well. For a great breakfast, my wife and I love "Over Easy" and the pasta at Marcellino Ristorante in Scottsdale I'd put up against any italian restaurant in Beverly Hills.

I guess some may feel "the grass is always greener". I can tell you growing up in NY and living most of my life in LA, that you have nothing to complain about in Phoenix. It's a beautiful city, with plenty to do and I look forward to owning a house there.

By the way, any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.

 

[Sinurgy]

For those complaining about the politics of Phoenix, just be glad you're don't live in LA. The last election for mayor was between a liberal democrat and... a liberal democrat. This is not a to condemn liberal democrats, it's just to point out that there is no choice at the polls.

AZ is just the opposite side of the same Pejorative Slured coin.

 

[Summer Rose]

AZ is terrible if you are young and restless, with no family to take care of. Probably one of the better states to have a stable career and family in, though. The weather is nice but there's just not much to do. Almost funny how a city so big has yet to come up with an identity or culture of its own. It just seems like everyone is a transient, desperately clinging on to wherever they came come, including their favorite team. The snowbird population and tourism doesn't help that at all.

Also, the politics are beyond dumb. Schools are awful.

The weather is nice but the cookie cutter suburbs and strip malls leave a lot to be desired. I wish they'd put a moratorium on land sales outside the 303 and 202 to force the city to build upwards a bit.



The food 'culture' here sucks compared to say, San Francisco or Seattle. Pretty much any coastal city has it better. Being landlocked has its disadvantages. There's a Chili's and Applebee's on every corner because of all the transients.

Well of course, but that's like saying silver sucks compared to gold you know.

 

[ClassLessCoyote]

As many of you know, I love Arizona alot but I don't have blind love for Arizona. Here is my take:

Weather

The weather for me here is ideal as I'd rather deal with 120+ Degree heat here than any place thay gets humid throughout the summertime. I like the winter wonderland more when I'm playing the role of visitor more than living in it.

People
The truth is there are all kinds of people no matter where one goes. However, from my expenence, I have come across way more friendly people outside of New York than inside of New York.

Food
Can't say I don't miss any of the foods that much from NY since here in AZ(a melting pot within the melting pot) I can find most of the time a place that sells the kinds of foods here that I can get in New York as well. I enjoy the real Mexican and real Southwest kind of foods here and I even love how getting food at most stores that are cheaper than back east. Poor suckers I know in NY right now are paying $4.00 + for a gallon of milk while we can get that on sale here at times for $2.00 a gallon. Also, unlike most people in NY, people in AZ know that Taco Bell is NOT real Mexican Food.

Politics
Politics is an issue no matter where one goes. If anything, sometimes I like what AZ does here that I wish New York would do and visa versa.

What are some of the things I really love about AZ?
The Monsoon Season
The smell of the rain
The Desert landscape and some areas that are not Desert like Sedona.
The plant diversity.
Within a few hours driving I can head to such places as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, The Grand Caynon, Tucson.

What do I dislike about AZ?

More within the Valley, I can't stand most people who drive here. More of my gripe with drivers in New York is that are overly agreesive behind the wheel. Here in Metro Phoenix, drivers here break every single rule in the book including the book of common sense.

I'm seeing more and more that in order for others to live here well that one either has to be rich, have a good business they own, or have a steady income for life that can never be taken away.

Other
Overall, I have learned that just about anywhere one goes, things usually tend to balance out in terms of pay and cost of living. Places that are expensive to live in usually pay more while places that cost less to live in pay less for doing the same job.

 

[doaner]

The sad thing, AP, is that AZ is a melting pot state, so driving behaviors and others are brought here with them. It's quite unfortunate for a Phoenician, like myself. Other then that, one only has to drive up I17 to see the season changes. Pretty awesome!

 

[XX]

The sad thing, AP, is that AZ is a melting pot state, so driving behaviors and others are brought here with them. It's quite unfortunate for a Phoenician, like myself. Other then that, one only has to drive up I17 to see the season changes. Pretty awesome!

People are just terrible drivers in general, native or not. The sun frequently causes congestion on the 101 and it's pathetic to see. People can't merge properly. Someone changing their tire on the shoulder of the 60 causes a jam. They've done studies on this and it basically boils down to a percentage of the population not understanding how to maintain a safe and constant distance from the car in front of them. The researchers literally had people on a circular track drive in circles and they somehow managed to have a traffic jam, despite the road itself not contributing in any way.

People are just bad at driving. Automated cars can't come soon enough.

 

[doaner]

People are just terrible drivers in general, native or not. The sun frequently causes congestion on the 101 and it's pathetic to see. People can't merge properly. Someone changing their tire on the shoulder of the 60 causes a jam. They've done studies on this and it basically boils down to a percentage of the population not understanding how to maintain a safe and constant distance from the car in front of them. The researchers literally had people on a circular track drive in circles and they somehow managed to have a traffic jam, despite the road itself not contributing in any way.

People are just bad at driving. Automated cars can't come soon enough.

Yeah. Cuz that's the answer! Automated cars. Just what we need!