Whats it like living in Phoenix, Arizona?
It depends on what part you live in, and how far you have to go to get to work. Some neighborhoods are for the very wealthy, and some the people live in tin shacks. I suppose that is true for any major metropolitan city, though. The rush hour commute is a killer, no matter where you live, so unless you live very near to where you work, be prepared to drive 45 minutes to an hour each way for an average 25 mile commute (from any of the suburbs to downtown Phoenix). Being English/Spanish bilingual is a huge plus for your marketable skills. Lots of parks and outdoor activities. Lots of nightclubs, restaurants, and entertainment.
Questions about Living in Arizona ?
I just answered a question similar to this so I'll give that to you and add some more. We have a very relaxed culture. You can go almost anywhere in bluejeans and feel right at home. Arizona has an influence of Native American heritage, Mexican heritage, and of course the American Cowboy. These cultures can be enjoyed via various cultural events during the year. Our heat differs from Greece in terms of humidity. It is much lower here! The largest undergraduate colleges in Arizona are ASU, U of A, Grand Canyon University, and NAU. All will provide good education and prep for your future occupation. Crime - that depends upon the area like in any big city. We're not high crime like in Barcelona or Athens where you have to watch your purse and surroundings at all time. Phoenix is a huge metropolitan area 6th largest city in the USA. We have numerous suburbs and it all runs together. For the most part you can travel to most of them without realizing you've crossed the city boundary lines. Good medium towns in Phoenix area would include Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, etc. Elsewhere in the state you'd like Sedona and Payson,. You want to live reasonably close to your job as traffic is a nightmare. We have great roads - MUCH better than California. We have numerous freeways but it can all get congested due to rush hour or a wreck. Arizona is a beautiful state with very diverse geographic areas. There is a the low desert with beautiful cacti including saguaro and the highest elevations of Arizona have pine trees with all 4 seasons including snow and the Snow Bowl near Flagstaff for skiing (2 hr. from Phoenix). Phoenix has 4 pro teams, numerous entertainment venues, symphony, museums and the city is referred to as "the valley of the sun" surrounded by beautiful mountains. Phoenix has an incredible university - Arizona State University in Tempe. We have not only the Grand Canyon in our state but many national parks. We're all about the out doors with many lakes and outdoor activities all year long - hot air ballooning, rafting the Salt River, 4 wheeling, fishing, boating, hiking, horseback riding, etc. So much to do! Arizona is for the adventurer and lover of the great outdoors. We have it all! The
What are the pros and cons about living in Phoenix, AZ?
you do no longer would desire to shovel warmth. and prepare now, as a results of fact it is going to by no skill supply up being mentioned: "that's a DRY warmth..." existence like expenses. Conveniences everywhere. that's a sparkling city, which keeps starting to be, so that is shockingly sparkling and new. Laughably undesirable and unsophisticated nightlife, aside from some small places. stable entertainment -- a great number of music to be enjoyed. video clips everywhere, as a results of fact that is incredibly the final motel for indoor relaxing in August while that is a hundred and ten ranges, and in the monsoon season while that's a humid warmth for a month or so. airborne dirt and dirt storms in the time of monsoon. Tragically aggressive using -- you learn new the thank you to relish endurance. spectacular, sparkling, SUNNY, suited, uplifting winters! And the warmth temperature all year 'around makes for a custom the place there is greater dermis shown than the conventional East Coast sea coast, lol. desire you like it right here! :)
How is living in Arizona?
It's a great place to live if you have asthma because it is very dry. Even if you get colds a lot, this will improve how you feel. One thing to be wary of is developing allergies to the unique pollens you will encounter here. During monsoon season it will rain, but not everyday and all day. You can see the thunderheads forming. Sometimes they blow away and other times there is thunder and lightening with massive downpours. Pay attention to the weather alerts. For the most part it seldom rains. It is significantly cheaper than the east. Having lived in New York City and Scranton, Pa. I know this to be true. Run a simple check on Craigslist between Phoenix and Boston, NYC, Philly etc and compare rental prices for 3 & 4 bedroom houses. You'll be blown away. ASU is a good school. It has about 65,000 students and a beautiful campus in Tempe. Tempe is basically just an extension of Phoenix, like La Jolla is to San Diego or Hollywood is to Los Angeles just to give you a comparative visual example. I like Arizona very much. I like the dry weather, the heat, the real estate prices, the golf courses, the mountains, the warm nights, the monsoons and the rains when they come. Still being in high school I would suggest taking Spanish as a foreign language because it can help you if you want to work while going to school here. A large segment of the population is bilingual, but that's just the way it is.
I live in Phoenix, so I guess I’m qualified to answer this question.Heat. I doubt that anyone has never heard of this one, so obviously you won’t like the climate unless you boil eggs on the sidewalk for a living.Size. Phoenix is spread out in a giant valley, so it takes a very long time to get anywhere. That’s also why it’s less crowded here, which may have its advantages, but it feels like a giant suburb compared to other cities with similar population. You’ll feel lonely in the valley.Old People. I might be evil for this, but what’s better than watching a bunch of eighty year olds walking their dog and complaining about your kids. If you like to see families, this surely isn’t your place.Snowbirds. Kind of like the previous one. Winter brings the annoying old people from the north that bring depression with them. Lots of them own a house on your block just to visit once a year and irritate you. They are typically unfriendly and don’t even try to be welcomed at all. (If you are old or a snowbird, don’t be offended)Feels dead. In part of the previous three reasons, this is not the place to feel energetic and alive. From lack of activity to lack of entertainment, watching cacti grow may be the liveliest thing to do. The entire Phoenix metropolitan area is like a ghost town shared by over four million people with an occasional coyote running in front of your car.Wildlife. The desert ecosystem is bad enough to live in, but worse than the desert itself is the nasty creatures that inhabit it. From rattlesnakes coiled up in front of your front door to ugly lizards humping the ground, there’s no doubt that the animals are almost worse than the people. Go search up the various species that thrive here and you may reconsider even considering Arizona as a possible home.No recognition. As someone from New York, there is obviously a big difference between the reputation of the two cities. Nobody knows what Phoenix is and nobody brings it up, which probably has its reasons why.Tdlr; If you’re an old man planning to retire and downsize your life, there are many reasons why this is your place. Otherwise, everything here is a dark side.
For most Europeans it would be like another planet. It is an uber modern city built for and by the automobile. Public transport is poor. Roads are excellent. Traffic is light. Parking is ample. It is spread out to an extent that is mind boggling by your home standards. I drive 20 miles to see family members in opposite directions from my house. This takes about 45 minutes thanks to freeways. You need a good car. Need!The look of the place will also seem foreign. Things are new…roads buildings art. The archetecture is a mix of modern glass and steel, concrete industrial, modern malls and strip malls, and a sea of quasi spanish colonial houses. Many from other places see it as a colorless, featurless sameness with little uniqueness. I like it, but it grew up around me so I am adapted to it. There are pockets of older buildings and some mid-century gems here and there.It is a desert river valley ala Mesopotamia. Open areas are Sonoran Desert with rugged sandstone, volcanic, and metamorphic mountains and ranges surrounding the valleys. In some cases mountains are right in the middle of a valley. It is one of the most diverse and lush deserts on earth. The mountains are nostly urban wilderness with amazing hiling, mount a in biking, or horse trails like no other city on earth. Parts of the valleys are well watered and green. Phoenix has way more water than Los Angeles with many fewr people.It is a city of enmigrants from other parts of the USA. Mostly Chicago, other Midwestern states, California, Texas and the East Coast. It is pretty welcoming as most are newcomers. There are a good number of immigrants from almost everywhere. Most are Mexican. Central America, India, and southwest Asia are well represnted. There are Canadians galore but most are snowbirds only here in winter.Phoenix has an off season (summer) and a “season” December to April. There is little tourism in summer and modest in Fall. Snowbirds live here the six coolest months and flee when it heats up. Even locals head for the hills in summer, going to high country north and east of the city as often as they can. California and Sonora’s coast are also cool off getaways. It is hot and peaceful in summer. It is balmy and crowded in season.
What's living in Phoenix like?
If you have lived on the East Coast your whole life, you'll probably have a hard time adapting to Arizona air. Even moving from Southern California to Arizona I still had more trouble breathing here. So make sure that's not something you'll have problems with before moving out here. In the summer time it's hot. H-O-T, hot. Around 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. In the winter, some times it snows a little, not enough to even stick to the ground though. I must say, the weather is really bipolar. In the winter one day it will be freezing cold and the next day it might feel like summer. It doesn't rain much but when it does it's either just a light sprinkling of rain or it totally floods. There's only hail about once a year. Most people who live in Arizona want out, but they continue to live here because it's cheap. Others love it, they don't have trouble breathing, they like the scenery, etc. It all depends on you. Houses here tend to be ugly and beige. Some of the older houses in Gilbert, Chandler etc are pretty nice looking but not that nice on the inside. Apartments here always look 'ghetto' because of the chipping paint from the heat, but there are some really nice and affordable ones in North Scottsdale and North Phoenix. If you want an apartment here, definitely go for ones in Northern Phoenix and Northern Scottsdale, if you want a house try to get into a master planned community if you can afford it. Always you're stuck in a dull house until you can afford to move to one of the nicer communities. Some people may totally disagree with me on how ugly the houses are but it all depends on opinion. For scenery-- that's why a lot of people choose to live in Northern Scottsdale. Great view of the mountains. In West Maricopa County, you still get some mountains, but not much. In all of Maricopa, there will be some streets that are lined with trees and might remind you of California, but mostly you will see flatness. Rocks and stubby cacti. While driving the sun can really almost blind you in the summer if you're facing towards it, even with the shade down. Also Arizona has a LOT of plants that lots of people are allergic to for some reason, no idea why, but they're around every corner. If I were you, I would stay on the East Coast. I don't even think I'm exaggerating at all in this post and reading it over it sounds pretty bad.
What are the pros and cons of living in or around Phoenix, Arizona?
1st off I must say people who say phoenix is nice are usually upper middle class and rich people who have money to leave in Summer and have air conditioned cars. Pros: no snow in winter. great fall/winter weather. scottsdale and tempe have lots of clubs, shopping, restaurants, resorts, native art and museums. desert landscapes and sunsets can be beautiful sometimes. lots of mountains to hike if you like that sort of thing. tons of golf courses in scottsdale paradise valley mesa etc. Cons: HORRIBLE Summers. summer of 2012 it was 118 degrees one day and most days are above 105.can you imagine waiting for the bus when its 118 degrees? even some cars get hot when not in use. lack of jobs unless you live in a suburb if phoenix. def not the most artsy or cultured place in america. You really need a car to live well here. public transit sucks and it is almost impossible to get to other parts of town on the bus. lots of homeless and ghetto people ride the bus too. tempe has the light rail which is nice though. In short if your are middle class or above, like suburbs, sunshine and mild snow less winters and can put up with the extreme heat in Summer then phoenix is a good place for you.