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I am relocating to Phoenix or surrounding areas next year and have a few questions. While I have visited Phoenix and stayed with friends in Chandler, I don't know what living is like there. I am coming from a middle class black community in Chicago. I am young black professional and raised in a diverse area in Michigan. Racisim in Chicago is about as normal as drinking water so I would hope I can find a less racist place to live in the Phoenix and surrounding areas. My daughter is two and I would like her to live in a diverse community where she can learn to speak spanish and english at the same time. I have read a lot about Scottsdale and reasons to avoid this area. I would consider myself in the 40k-55k annual salary range so obviously quite a few places are cut off the list..please help with recommending locations that may be the best for our needs. I am leaning towards Surprise and Chandler but after coming from Chicago's segregated and racist structure I can't subject myself to the same type of environment so I am afraid to make the decision until I hear the truth from current/former residents. It's not mandatory that I am surrounded by one race or the other, I just want to be around kind people and in an environment where I wont receive as much racisim as far as careers as well (I'm a finance professional in the healthcare environment). Help!! Please be honest, I am not sensitive so be brutally honest if need be.
You won't find any segregation around here directly related to race. It's more about how much money one makes. Your income should allow you to live in Surprise which is a nice community (or Chandler), but there are many other parts of town where you would do fine as well, so kind of hold off on that decision until you find a job. All the middle class and affluent areas have POC living there, in schools, etc. We are a mixed race family and from our travels, frankly, would not feel comfortable in many places other than Phoenix. There's the stray racist, but they are a relative rarity and it's not socially acceptable or normal to be a bigot here. I think people leave a lot of that crap behind when they move here. It's a pretty tolerant place all in all.
Chicago racist? Not while I was there. Don't bother coming to AZ...you'll be very disappointed.
If you want the truth... there is more animosity towards white people these days...oh, and Christians. We get a bad rap.
It is finally good to see black americans fleeing hell holes that their so called black leaders have built for them in the likes of Chicago.
No jobs for black youths
Failing schools for all black students
Leading the nation in murders from black on black crime
I would discount though that the reason is racism....but rather tolerence of those who sell you that at your own expense...such as the Jacksons and Sharptons of the world.
In Arizona you will be allowed to make your own way, being paid, and benefiting from your skills, education and experience and less likely on who you are, what you are and who you know....at least thats my experience.
I am black and am born and raised here, although I did live in The SF Bay Area for some years, Houston for a year and work in the rural Upper Midwest periodically throughout the year. I have been to Chicago and notice the segregated neighborhoods.
What you have here is a good ole boy political structure, coupled with a melting pot of people moving here from rural all white towns, retirees, along with big city dwellers.
This is a diverse metro, and mixed relationships have been solid here since the 70's. There is a strong LGBT community as well. Phoenix has always had an established black community with all of the black sororities and Greek letter organizations here for years.
You have about 17-18 black beauty supply stores and several dozen AT LEAST black barber and beauty salons. These are scattered all over too, and not all concentrated in one area with some areas being exceptions.
Being a west coast city, the Hispanic population is strong and just like in LA has largely smothered the old traditional black neighborhoods. There are 1.5 million Hispanics here, and about 250,000 blacks out of 4.5 million people so blacks are about 6% of the population and more are moving here all the time. No west coast metro has more than an 11% black population, and Vegas has passed the California metros for the largest black metro in the west.
Here your so called "hoods" are largely Hispanic with a large black presence.Blacks are scattered all over here, with of course some areas more ethnic than others.
The city of Phoenix is quite spread out and has 1.6 million people. It is now a majority minority city. So in central and west Phoenix you will see quite a few blacks. Not like the southside of Chicago but our presence is noticeable.
For a diverse areas that a person of color would feel comfortable in that are not really run down, and where when you go shopping you will always see a mixed bag of races, I would suggest the following areas: Tempe, Southeast Phoenix along Baseline Rd east of 16th st (preferably the south side of Baseline) all the way to the Tempe border, Laveen which is around 47th Ave and Baseline Rd and west, Avondale and Goodyear, Central Phoenix, West Chandler near the Tempe border. As far as Central Phoenix goes, just drive around and look at neighborhoods. Generally you can look at at rental listings on line, drive around the areas, and shop in the nearby stores and see if you like the surroundings.
Many professional blacks like that SE Phoenix area of Baseline Road. Walk through the stores at 24th St and Baseline and you can get a feel for what I mean.Go east to I-10 and Baseline Rd and walk through Arizona Mills Outlet Mall, and then 2 miles south to the Super Wal Mart on Elliot Rd and I-10 and see the racial mix of the shoppers. There is an area of Phoenix near the Wal Mart called Ahwatukee which you may like and feel comfortable in as well. The same goes for walking through the Fry's grocery store at 51st Ave and Baseline. Nice newer home in the area and very racially diverse.
Surprise is way out on the Northwest side of town bordering Sun City which is a big retirement community. It is VERY conservative out there, and not much is going on. I don't recommend that with you coming from Chicago.
Far north Phoenix, Glendale, and Peoria will be more white in the nicer areas, and not quite as liberal. More middle of the road and working class white, even though the houses may be modern.
Scottsdale is frequented by blacks A LOT, particularly Fashion Square Mall, which is where the good stores are, and the restaurants and night life around there is diverse. You can always drive there, even though you may not want to live in the area.
As far as soul food, we have Mrs Whites which is excellent and been here for years,plus they own Lolo's Chicken and Waffles which has a location in Scottsdale and South Phoenix, Papa Joe's Fish and Que, Honey Bears BBQ, 3 locations, Stacy's BBQ 2 locations all are very good and black owned. Plus of course 7-8 Popeye's, Louisiana Fried Chicken, and about 20 Church's fried chicken locations.
The politics sucks here, mainly because Arizona is flirting with losing it's Republican stronghold, and they are scared. We are close to losing the white majority here, and the good ole boys are doing everything unethically they can to hold on, and they're getting caught doing it. All the major cities around here are majority minority, LA, Vegas, Albuquerque, and Tucson is more liberal, so you see where I'm coming from.
It is finally good to see black americans fleeing hell holes that their so called black leaders have built for them in the likes of Chicago.
No jobs for black youths
Failing schools for all black students
Leading the nation in murders from black on black crime
I would discount though that the reason is racism....but rather tolerence of those who sell you that at your own expense...such as the Jacksons and Sharptons of the world.
In Arizona you will be allowed to make your own way, being paid, and benefiting from your skills, education and experience and less likely on who you are, what you are and who you know....at least thats my experience.
Black leaders have nothing to do with black people being poor, the schools being under funded, and the crime rates.
Until people like yourself understand the roots of crime come from years of segregation and racism,and it needs to be fixed, NOTHING will change.
People like Al Sharpton do a lot to help spread the message of equality in this nation.
Arizona is no utopia. Chicago is a corporate political structure, and black leaders don't control the money there. this whole country is corrupt, it is just corrupted in different ways state by state.
When the leaders of this state use the southern racial strategy to pit white people against non whites for political gain, I give this state an F. All we can do as individuals is live and exist in the best ways that benefit us.
The poster just wanted to know how she could function here as a person of color, and doesn't want to hear negative racial stereotyping about the black plight in Chicago.
Being a person of color in a majority white country is a big deal. Given that fact, it is natural for a person of color to have concerns when considering a major move in this country.
I am relocating to Phoenix or surrounding areas next year and have a few questions. While I have visited Phoenix and stayed with friends in Chandler, I don't know what living is like there. I am coming from a middle class black community in Chicago. I am young black professional and raised in a diverse area in Michigan. Racisim in Chicago is about as normal as drinking water so I would hope I can find a less racist place to live in the Phoenix and surrounding areas. My daughter is two and I would like her to live in a diverse community where she can learn to speak spanish and english at the same time. I have read a lot about Scottsdale and reasons to avoid this area. I would consider myself in the 40k-55k annual salary range so obviously quite a few places are cut off the list..please help with recommending locations that may be the best for our needs. I am leaning towards Surprise and Chandler but after coming from Chicago's segregated and racist structure I can't subject myself to the same type of environment so I am afraid to make the decision until I hear the truth from current/former residents. It's not mandatory that I am surrounded by one race or the other, I just want to be around kind people and in an environment where I wont receive as much racisim as far as careers as well (I'm a finance professional in the healthcare environment). Help!! Please be honest, I am not sensitive so be brutally honest if need be.
I recommend Tempe and live near McClintock and Baseline. Tempe isn't as socially conservative as other nearby areas such as Gilbert. As a Libertarian, the vibe of Tempe works for me. Plus, Tempe is centrally located about as well as anywhere depending on where you find employment. Plenty of decent rentals for under $1000/mth in decent areas of Tempe as well. Plenty of nearby shopping too.
Lastly, the under $1000 rentals are for homes in Tempe. I highly recommend renting a home as apartments are generally more restrictive. Examples: Can't BBQ on your patio. Many aren't pet friendly or require a large deposit and added bucks to your monthly rental. Plus far more privacy since just about all homes have those 6 foot walls.
Last edited by magnum0417; 07-29-2012 at 02:30 PM..
Reason: addition
It's not mandatory that I am surrounded by one race or the other, I just want to be around kind people and in an environment where I wont receive as much racisim as far as careers as well (I'm a finance professional in the healthcare environment). Help!! Please be honest, I am not sensitive so be brutally honest if need be.
As others have said, there really isn't a lot of racism overall here. Sure, there are going to be some intolerant idiots, and they can be found everywhere you go. The recent crackdowns on illegals have made some people around the country falsely believe we are against Hispanics & immigration in general. Of course, that is not true. Phoenix is actually one of the least racist major cities ... and a lot of it has to do with the large number of transplants from all walks of life who have moved here over the years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by magnum0417
I recommend Tempe and live near McClintock and Baseline. Tempe isn't as socially conservative as other nearby areas such as Gilbert. As a Libertarian, the vibe of Tempe works for me. Plus, Tempe is centrally located about as well as anywhere depending on where you find employment. Plenty of decent rentals for under $1000/mth in decent areas of Tempe as well. Plenty of nearby shopping too.
Lastly, the under $1000 rentals are for homes in Tempe. I highly recommend renting a home as apartments are generally more restrictive. Examples: Can't BBQ on your patio. Many aren't pet friendly or require a large deposit and added bucks to your monthly rental. Plus far more privacy since just about all homes have those 6 foot walls.
I agree wholeheartedly. I'm also a Libertarian, and I enjoy Tempe for the urban qualities and central location. I actually like Scottsdale better for different reasons, but it is definitely more expensive than most of Tempe, and not what the OP is looking for.
Wow. My take (not really to the OP) is that if you cannot handle diversity and you are white, you should move up to northern Vermont or Maine or NH. Small towns, great scenery, cold as heck most of the year, and nothing to do, but you'd be with your group.
To some people, Phoenix is in the southern U.S. so it may as well be in Alabama. But in Phoenix I had mostly interracial relationships and we were never looked upon as creatures from Mars. We felt comfortable in public and were not bothered.
It's 2012. Let's put the race cards away and live the words of the phrase "You cannot judge a book by its cover." To get the most opportunities in life you cannot think in terms of skin color or sexual preference anymore. I work in an environment with LBGs. My ex supervisor is gay. By being tolerant I have more doors open for me and it's no wonder I had only 8 weeks of downtime total between jobs since 1985 - and I worked at a lot of jobs coast to coast.
Here's a question within the question on this thread. I think part of the amicable blending of the races in public spots like strip malls and other places is based on not knowing who is carrying a firearm. Therefore, people tend to mind their business regardless of someone's background when running their errands.Back in NY, firearms were restricted outside of shotguns. Therefore, people were less afraid to spew their feelings when someone acts ignorantly. I don't believe the OP should have any worries so long as she respects all walks of life and minds her business in public here in AZ.
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