Anybody ever live in Phoenix?

[PugnacAutMortem]

Had an interesting opportunity come up today but it would involve moving to Phoenix. Anybody ever lived there that can give me some input on how it is down there (other than hotter than a three peckered goat...something my grandpa taught me to say at a very young age to make my mom mad...still not quite sure I get the full scale of the reference even now as an adult haha).

Thanks in advance!

[lllRorlll]

Miss it everyday.
good people, good vibe.. Bunches of stuff to do

[GilpinGuy]

Puh-hoe-nix. Never lived there, but it was cool when I visited for work a few times. I know, not much help...

[ZERO THEORY]

PROS:
-Very affordable
-Awesome gun laws
-City is as easy to navigate as possible
-Comparatively small high-skills workforce. If you have a STEM degree or know a high-skills trade, you will be a commodity.
-Other cities are a stone's throw away just like Denver (Chandler, Tempe, etc.)
-You can run a 5K at 6 AM in February shirtless
-Plenty of open desert and foothills to go shooting in. Especially good for precision rifle work, if you're into really punching out.
-The most senseless amount of 9/10 women walking around I've ever seen. If you're not getting laid out there, reevaluate living.

CONS:
-West side is full of gangbangers
-Lots of 'undocumented aliens' and immigrants who will surely push the D vote and Mexican reform agenda over the next 12 years
-People like Gifford and McCain who will do their best to undo the strong red state base as the population changes (retirees and older conservatives passing on, and the previously-mentioned vote moving in)
-Have to go to Flagstaff to ski/snowboard
-No elevation

I've been trying to organize a way out there over the last few years. I love Phoenix, man.

[Hoser]

Friggin hot.

[Duman]

You guys are up WAAAAY to early, or WAAAAY too late.... :-)

[jerrymrc]

You guys are up WAAAAY to early, or WAAAAY too late.... :-)

Already been up 2 hours. Time to set up the garage sale now. [Flower]

[Great-Kazoo]

2 biggest issues, outside the HEAT that kept us away. ILLEGALS (bangers, and low life spectrum of criminal element) Ongoing influx of illegals AND WATER. We even took northern Az off the list due to the issues mentioned. The politics while semi red, ae not in line with us.

[Dave]

2 biggest issues, outside the HEAT that kept us away. ILLEGALS (bangers, and low life spectrum of criminal element) Ongoing influx of illegals AND WATER. We even took northern Az off the list due to the issues mentioned. The politics while semi red, ae not in line with us.

Beat me to it, water seems to be a growing problem for that area. My wife and I had thought about Flagstaff as a place to move, and illegals were always a concern, but with the new water arguments going on we're reconsidering.

[Doc45]

Haboob!!! Look it up. Lived in Tucson for a long time, my brother and his wife live in Phoenix, as pointed out damned hot most of the year (however we were 10-15 degrees warmer this past Thursday), huge issue with illegals and all that brings, decent home prices (except for Scottsdale-think of a whole city like Cherry Creek North or LA west and ditto on the women), beautiful in the winter. Gunsite is a lot closer lol as well as a few other great schools and top notch gun builders. Bad air pollution, good roads, great for motorcycles.

Like most places there's good and bad. Do your homework on residential areas, if you can tolerate the heat not a bad place though I liked the vibe in Tucson better but the economy is worse there (has the same problems and is more politically liberal on the downside).

[T-Giv]

Probably the best place to live for Golf in the country! So many sweet tracks down there. We have looked into as well but all I can seem to remember about it is a trip to the water park when I was 10 years old. I stood in the parking lot for like 5 minutes waiting for my parents and my sandal started melting and getting stuck to the pavement. Yikes!

[mackbamf]

We love to go down there and stay. Some don't like it but I have been going down there since I was a kid I think the desert is beautiful. We've been considering moving down there as well but the wife doesn't tolerate the heat as well as I do. Housing seems pretty affordable but as others have mentioned there is definitely some sketchy areas you wouldn't want to live in. If you can stand the heat I think it is a pretty decent option, within range of Vegas and SoCal if you need to get out of town. Oh and be sure to brush up on your Spanish speaking skills...

[Holger Danske]

I lived there many years. All the pluses mentioned above. For me it got too big, lots of smog now days and just too hot. Ive got family there and still enjoy a visit. OP do you know what part of town in which the job is located?

[Great-Kazoo]

We love to go down there and stay. Some don't like it but I have been going down there since I was a kid I think the desert is beautiful. We've been considering moving down there as well but the wife doesn't tolerate the heat as well as I do. Housing seems pretty affordable but as others have mentioned there is definitely some sketchy areas you wouldn't want to live in. If you can stand the heat I think it is a pretty decent option, within range of Vegas and SoCal if you need to get out of town. Oh and be sure to brush up on your Spanish speaking skills...

That is another reason PHX and ARRIDzona is off the relocate list. It's a great place to visit and enjoy yourself.

[PugnacAutMortem]

I lived there many years. All the pluses mentioned above. For me it got too big, lots of smog now days and just too hot. Ive got family there and still enjoy a visit. OP do you know what part of town in which the job is located?

Well its an opportunity in real estate down there so I would imagine I would be working all over the city, but I'm not sure where he's based out of specifically. We would end up wanting a place with great elementary schools (going to have two kiddos starting school inside of 4 years), other than that we are a "suburbia" type family.

[Hoser]

Probably the best place to live for Golf in the country!

Golf? Complete waste of a shooting range.

[boomerhc9]

I've got a ton of family on my dads side spread out all over arizona. Tuscon, prescott- weather is erily similar to colorado springs, phoenix, sun city, and most recently, my cousin about my same age moved to flagstaff.

The good majority of them live in northern, and southeast phoenix. when we went out to visit in july, we stayed with one of my uncles in glendale, which is a northwest suburb of phoenix. it was 110 during the day, when my uncle was showing off his new pizza oven in the backyard. The pizzas litteraly cooked in 2 and a half minutes each.

I went to tuesday night steel at rio salado the second day down there and it was 111 on the way there, and 98 on the way back at 9pm.
unfortunately, it was about an hour drive to get to the range.

[CO Retriever]

Love Phoenix, heading down next month for work. I want to move there but only for 5-6 months a year, would prefer to split time between CO and AZ.

[Holger Danske]

North Phoenix and North Scottsdale use to have decent schools. Also NE Mesa, and Chandler would be good places to look.

[ben4372]

My brother lives there. Last I was there was August. Monsoon season. Not a dry heat, still not unbearable. Seems to be a lot of driving around, not much is close by. Arizona seems to like guns.

[Doc45]

Arizona seems to like guns.

Oh hell yes lol! Heirloom Precision and Gunsite just to get you started. [Coffee]

Pisses off my anti brother every time I visit and take 2 days just going around to all the gun shops hah! He's a golf addict and I give him crap all the time about what great ranges those courses would make. He lives in Ahwatukee btw, nice area.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Golf? Complete waste of a shooting range.

I don't disagree with Hoser very often but golf is just shooting with a larger caliber and no optics. Same fundamentals of weight balance and follow-through, knowing how to apply Kentucky windage, etc. Plus, most women's golf outfits are much easier on the eyes than their shooting outfits -- and there are more women willing to go golfing than shooting.

EDIT: To answer the OP, golf is no reason to move to Phoenix. It's too damned hot down there. There's a reason so many courses offer $5 rounds at lunch time -- sane people don't hit the links at temperatures over 110F. I wouldn't go golfing there unless I could be sure I'd finish the round before 0900.

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

2 biggest issues, outside the HEAT that kept us away. ILLEGALS (bangers, and low life spectrum of criminal element) Ongoing influx of illegals AND WATER. We even took northern Az off the list due to the issues mentioned. The politics while semi red, ae not in line with us.


Beat me to it, water seems to be a growing problem for that area. My wife and I had thought about Flagstaff as a place to move, and illegals were always a concern, but with the new water arguments going on we're reconsidering.

Cadillac Desert is a dry (no pun intended) but very worthwhile read.
My parents are down there, and I've had the water discussion with my dad several times. He is in a gated development way TF out by lake pleasant. "Our well is tested for 100 years." Uhh…remember that straw thing from "There will be blood?" How do you know that isn't the case with your well? More: Even if your well is fine, Phoenix might not be and how do you think that town is going to go when they run dry? [panic]
What is worse is that while you Western Slope suckers are on water restrictions, his neighborhood has (I kid you not) water features all over the golf course throwing water way up into the air. Never to land again. (Yes, I understand - never to land in AZ again. Better?) I'm not an environmentalist by any stretch of the imagination, but it is unbelievable waste for the sake of waste. But hey, it draws PGA events. Whoopie.

It is going to go Blue at some point due to illegals.


Having said that, I do love to visit, I like the heat, and love me some Spring Training.

[n8tive97]

Grew up in Gilbert. Check it out. Great area. However it is freaking hot!

[beast556]

Not sure what parts of Phoenix some of you are staying in. I got family there and all I see when we go there is mexicans and meth heads. It is also hot as shit. The mountain town are the only tolerable places to live in AZ unless you like blistering heat.

[PugnacAutMortem]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. Not sure what we are going to do yet. I like the idea of a fresh start, but both my wife and I are CO natives and both of our families are all still here. We're thinking about going to visit Phoenix at the end of October to see what the feel of the area is. For those of you who lived there, what are some good spots to check out and where should we avoid?

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. Not sure what we are going to do yet. I like the idea of a fresh start, but both my wife and I are CO natives and both of our families are all still here. We're thinking about going to visit Phoenix at the end of October to see what the feel of the area is. For those of you who lived there, what are some good spots to check out and where should we avoid?


This is SO dependent on where work is. $0.02
Phoenix is huge in terms of sprawl. By highway, going from my parents (extreme NW side) to my grandparents (extreme E/SE side) was 90 minutes or so.
There are nice 'burbs all over, though. Given that my parents are W valley (Peoria by address, but N and W of Sun City even) and sort of W of Ben Avery, I thought parts of Glendale and Surprise were nice.

When I was out there this spring for the marathon, we were maybe central/north Scottsdale and parts of that were nice, if not older. This wasn't too far from where the Rox train now.
However, if I worked in downtown Phoenix, I doubt I could live in any of those places with the commute.

[esaabye]

I like the anthem and coal crewk areas, just north and up the hill from Ben Avery. Great place to rent a vacation home as well.

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

Anthem looked like a great little town (if not really far away too), but I thought they were having tons of problems with home foundations. (?)