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Old 06-21-2022, 11:16 PM
 
Location: Phoenix
135 posts, read 124,712 times
Reputation: 213

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Phoenix is one of those big metros that often gets overlooked on the West Coast by LA, SF, and Vegas. For all those people who have never visited or lived in the Phoenix Metro, how would you describe the area re: vibe, pace, tolerance, etc?
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Old 06-22-2022, 05:16 AM
 
Location: Boydton, VA
4,601 posts, read 6,361,632 times
Reputation: 10586
To me, vibe wise.....Unbearable, brown urban sprawl for miles in every direction, interrupted with a small oasis every now and then. From someone who has lived in Sierra Vista, Yuma, Oracle, Show Low and Bullhead City...PHX would be my last choice for a place to live....except for Bullhead City.
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Old 06-22-2022, 08:13 AM
 
2,003 posts, read 2,880,361 times
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Dallas with cacti. Huge, sprawling, pretentious, terrible drivers.
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Old 06-22-2022, 08:22 AM
 
717 posts, read 1,058,219 times
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It doesn’t really get overlooked, there’s just nothing to see. It’s just an endless brown sea of ultra bland tract homes and strip malls. Unless you really love extreme heat or think sitting next to a hotel pool for days on end is a satisfying vacation, there’s very little to offer tourists, and locals are mainly just living a generic suburban existence taken to its most extreme form. It’s best used as a temporary base to check out Sedona or the grand canyon.
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Old 06-22-2022, 09:13 AM
 
Location: Chandler, AZ
4,071 posts, read 5,145,829 times
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And all the haters come out to play

Honestly, after the 34 years I have lived here, Phoenix Metro is not really anything special and it obviously has its drawbacks.

Like others mentioned, it is brown. Brown houses, brown buildings, brown overpasses and roadways...almost everything is a shade of brown. Even the foliage is not as green as other places I have travelled to, most are like a pale green with brownish tones mixed in.

It is hot in the summer, this goes without saying. Sometimes unbearably so and by August you are just done with it. But most folks go from an air conditioned house to an air conditioned car to an air conditioned shop/restaurant/office and really don't have to deal with it except in short bursts. Winter is absolutely gorgeous weather but you have to temper that with snowbirds/tourists showing up and jumping the population numbers.

A decade or so ago, it wasn't as crowded. If you were going to a destination in state or even on the roadways, it wasn't too bad. Now, partly because of Internet tourism and sites advertising lesser known attractions in AZ, everything is crowded. You are going to wait in line. Deal with congestion. You don't get a chance to have something to yourself and just enjoy it. You are sharing the space with 1000 other people.

One of AZ's draws back in the day was the affordability. Some will argue that it is still (comparatively) affordable but it is no longer a "single income can make it " affordable for the average person. This is kind of across the board from housing to dine out to groceries to fuel. Almost every activity in the Valley costs money and there are sunk costs to getting out of the Valley to go enjoy nature in the high country.

Economically...AZ has always been a satellite location, we have had a decided lack of company Headquarters for decades considering the size of the metro. There are some and satellite locations do provide jobs, just nothing gang busters that drives economies of say NYC, Seattle, SFO, LA, Chicago, etc.

What was AZ known for? Mostly tourism. We have a ton of Golf Courses, MLB Spring Training, Phoenix Open, Barrett Jackson Auction, Arabian Horse Show, we have hosted some Super Bowls, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Lake Havasu, Tombstone. If you want an "Old West" vacation...those things are still catered to with Chuck Wagon dinners (these are more upscale than they used to be) and that type of thing.

I guess the point is, everywhere has its plusses and minuses. Ours minuses are probably summer heat, more of a mid career job environment, forests are subject to wildfires and a volatile real estate market that is subject to large swings depending on the national economy. Plusses are (relative) affordability, relaxed type of lifestyle, no natural disasters (you could argue that water availability may be a "disaster") and outdoor activities.
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Old 06-22-2022, 10:02 AM
 
369 posts, read 269,233 times
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Default Big, sprawling, hot.

When I was younger the Phoenix valley was like a big cow town. Now it's bigger, more crowded and much more expensive.

Downtown has improved but still not a big draw. More urban centers sprung up away from Downtown. Things are scattered all around and people drive everywhere, which is why the traffic has worsened.

Summers are very hot, 110-115 is pretty common. The rest of the year has awesome weather.

Jobs are plentiful but there's an abundance of low and mid-range careers and a lot less opportunity to get into the higher brackets. Self-employed people seem to do pretty well here especially in property management.

The worst part about Phoenix is the drivers. Speeding aggressive maniacs all around. The souped-up cars and raised trucks are the worst of all, and there are more than enough of those out there.

Phoenix seems to be a clean city compared to LA and especially Detroit, Philadelphia or Baltimore. Those cities are segregated and entire neighborhoods are determined by ethnicity. Phoenix is integrated and doesn't have the awful ghettos like many cities do.

My home town is LA and I like visiting but I'd never go back there to live. Phoenix is no utopia but it's home to me and other cities are much more dangerous and dirty in comparison.
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Old 06-22-2022, 10:49 AM
 
9,196 posts, read 16,643,139 times
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I hate to say it but the "vibe" is largely dumb and unsophisticated. People that say "bro" and "hella" nonstop that work lower-level jobs are everywhere. Spend some time on the east coast with loads of young, educated go-getters and then come back here and it's very noticeable. There's a certain benefit to the laid back thing, but most take it too far and are unambitious and dull.
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Old 06-22-2022, 12:11 PM
 
1,551 posts, read 3,645,645 times
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Wow. I'm surprised with all the discontent.
I won't bore you with all my dribble about how much I love that this place is my home. I'll just say that I can't imagine living anywhere else.
Call me "dumb and unsophisticated" but I've been here 11 years now and I like it here more every day.
If you find this place boring, your just not making any effort to enjoy this state
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Old 06-22-2022, 12:49 PM
 
369 posts, read 269,233 times
Reputation: 896
Default It's discontent with Phoenix.

Quote:
Originally Posted by maverick974 View Post
Wow. I'm surprised with all the discontent.
I won't bore you with all my dribble about how much I love that this place is my home. I'll just say that I can't imagine living anywhere else.
Call me "dumb and unsophisticated" but I've been here 11 years now and I like it here more every day.
If you find this place boring, your just not making any effort to enjoy this state
I think most everyone was writing about Phoenix as a city mainly, not Arizona as a state.
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Old 06-22-2022, 12:52 PM
 
9,196 posts, read 16,643,139 times
Reputation: 11323
Quote:
Originally Posted by maverick974 View Post
Wow. I'm surprised with all the discontent.
I won't bore you with all my dribble about how much I love that this place is my home. I'll just say that I can't imagine living anywhere else.
Call me "dumb and unsophisticated" but I've been here 11 years now and I like it here more every day.
If you find this place boring, your just not making any effort to enjoy this state
Life's about balance. Give and take. Many people around here are in the hella dope bro crowd but the weather is beautiful most of the year, it's an outdoorsman's paradise, and we have a great beer scene. Balance.
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