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Old 03-30-2010, 08:15 AM
 
Location: Durango, CO
91 posts, read 246,295 times
Reputation: 51

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My family and I are really excited that my husband has been job transfered to the Tempe area. After a lot of time researching and a trip down to see Phoenix area ourselves, we are even more excited.

Though people (our friends) tell us we are going to hate it after about a year. A friend of mine was visiting this weekend who lives in Tucson and she just loathes it. She had some good points that there is "rampid poverty", which truly does bring crime.

So I would like to hear from people who have/had relocated to the Phoenix area...I would like to hear both sides. Are you happy with your decision? Or not...and please tell me why in detail.Even those that had relocated and left. Thanks in advance!
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Old 03-30-2010, 09:36 AM
 
Location: North Phoenix
1,128 posts, read 1,645,195 times
Reputation: 704
I moved up here from Tucson in July of 2007.
The main reason I left is b/c I was just sick and tired of it there...personal problems and not a very big job market.
However, it took some getting used to. I got lots of work right away. But the weather was much hotter here and it has hardly rained the past 2 "monsoon seasons" I've been here. (The recent rain we've had the past few months is MORE than I've seen here the past 2 years!)
Then, I realized people here are not as friendly. There is a lot more racism here between everyone...which I don't like- my family is multi-racial and in Tucson people just got along much better!
I also found out how hard it is to do anything up here if you don't have a lot of money. If your well off...then life is great. There is quite a bit of poverty here in a big city such as Phoenix, and whenever people do try to do things that costs less, it gets swamped!! Like public pools in the summer...forget it. We stood in line once for almost an hour to go swimming! (Thannk God my daughter has a pool at her complex she lives at now!) And you cannot rent ramadas at parks for like B-Day parties...it's first come first serve! Can u imagine?? You cannot plan a party like that unless someone is going to be guarding ur ramada from dusk until the party starts! You try to go to Castles and Coasters or somewhere like that, very expensive...and you have to rush through it all!
Also, back in Tucson parks and Rec had discount summer programs for people with lower incomes so kids could do summer programs and not be bored or out in the street getting in trouble...well, I found out theres nothing like that here.
With all that being said, I have actually gotten used to it. Even though it's hard being a Democrat here and if you don't have money it can be tricky...I just work a lot (40-60 hours a week) to be able to do anything. I also have finally met cool people (uusually not PHX natives, by the way) and there is a lot to do here, and the mountians are great to go hiking in.
So all in all, I guess I'm better off here than Tucson. I'm glad I moved here.
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Old 03-30-2010, 04:52 PM
 
2,747 posts, read 3,317,505 times
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Overall, Phoenix is a nice place to live with a lot going for it-good weather, cheap, desert beauty, plenty of things to do, but like any cities it has negatives like lack of culture, mediocre educational system and its biggest flaw-generally poor job quality (except for real estate, medical and education fields). I plan on leaving soon because of poor job quality (and wish I had left earlier) but if you can get a good job and are happy with it- this is a pretty nice place to live and to buy a home (houses are cheap here compared to most places).
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Old 03-30-2010, 04:54 PM
 
9,091 posts, read 19,218,456 times
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mike - since you state lack of culture, could you please be specific to the type of "culture" you cannot find

i'm very curious to this specifically as I see it frequently stated, but it means different things to different people .... culture is a pretty ambiguous term and what it means to one individual isn't what it means to the next
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Old 03-30-2010, 06:01 PM
 
2,747 posts, read 3,317,505 times
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well, i have been here for 9 years and have not seen 1 full time jazz club in the whole city (not good for the nations 5th biggest city and i am not talking about a place that plays jazz music 2 nights a week) Also, i had a friend who graduated from U-Cal Berkeley which is regarded by many to be the best public college in the US and she said she could not find any place for poetry recitals (she later moved because of the lack of high quality jobs back to california). Symphonies in most big cities like San Francisco, LA and Seattle play year round and don't take 3 months off every year like the Phoenix symphony. Also, Phoenix has a rep as a poor live music town.
How is the music scene in Phoenix-Mesa area?
Most big cities like Phoenix have a full time acoustic jazz station (KJZZ only plays acoustic jazz from 8pm to 2am-most likely since Phoenix is not sophisticated enough to support a 24 hour jazz station. I am not saying Phoenix is a bad place to live, I like it here but I plan on leaving due to the generally poor job quality in this city. If i could have found the job I wanted I would plan on staying. Culture and job quality are not important to some people and if it is not, that is fine. Every city has its good points and its bad points. I like Phoenix and wish the people here well and hope they enjoy living here.
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Old 03-30-2010, 08:03 PM
 
9,091 posts, read 19,218,456 times
Reputation: 6967
that's fair - i agree that the jazz scene out here is pretty poor (as with the blues scene) - there is some talent and you can occasional find them out and about (glendale jazz fest is pretty good) - however, I do miss my sleepy jazz club in philadelphia that I hung out in while in college

I don't think this is a poor live music town at all though - pretty much any touring act of any size has a home to play here and there are a lot of local bands in the rock and country genres

I have no qualms with the symphony taking the summer off and can appreciate some of the unique shows they put on - i also liked that the target world music fest came through - the band of the irish guard along with the royal regiment of scotland show was pretty good and it was nice seeing jake shimabukuro in a context other than sharing a stage with Jimmy Buffett

i think the theater options are pretty good out here as well

that's why i'm always curious as to what drives that comment as "culture" is so broad .... many miss the ethnic enclaves in older cities, some miss a certain type of music, some miss mega art museums or well perserved historical sites

i've found by asking that question that sometimes I agree and sometimes I can help lead people in the right direction as everything here doesn't just slap you in the face
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Old 03-30-2010, 08:24 PM
 
Location: AZ
1,465 posts, read 4,575,071 times
Reputation: 793
So phoenixmike11, you're essentially saying that Phoenix lacks culture because it lacks a big jazz seen? Er....
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Old 03-30-2010, 08:56 PM
 
Location: North Phoenix
1,128 posts, read 1,645,195 times
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Iv'e heard of a club called "Cars Has the Blues" on 7th ave...anyone been there? I've seen it advertised in New Times.
I've been to a couple of museums here that were very nice. Also saw a play (granted,,,it was for kids but was really neat) it was Dr. Suess "Suessical" it was actually really good, and it was by Tempe Town lake (whats that place called?)
They also have free "Ballet Under the Stars" a few times a year at various parks in PHX...I missed the last one but the weather at night is something really nice to enjoy w/the family.
I think theres plenty of culture here, but everyone likes different types I guess.The weather is nice but summers are hot hot hot...be prepared to run your ac a lot during summer. I know I'm derading my electric bill at that time of year! And I'm cheap.....I'll leave it off long as possible and run the ceiling fans and keep the house dark!
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Old 03-30-2010, 09:03 PM
 
Location: Moved to Gladstone, MO in June 2022 and back to Minnesota in September 2022
2,072 posts, read 5,061,874 times
Reputation: 886
Quote:
Originally Posted by snowflake13 View Post
Though people (our friends) tell us we are going to hate it after about a year.
Everyone is different, not everybody will hate it after a year. Have your friends lived in Phoenix?
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Old 03-30-2010, 09:33 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
41 posts, read 133,812 times
Reputation: 27
Quote:
Originally Posted by phoenixmike11 View Post
well, i have been here for 9 years and have not seen 1 full time jazz club in the whole city (not good for the nations 5th biggest city and i am not talking about a place that plays jazz music 2 nights a week) Also, i had a friend who graduated from U-Cal Berkeley which is regarded by many to be the best public college in the US and she said she could not find any place for poetry recitals (she later moved because of the lack of high quality jobs back to california). Symphonies in most big cities like San Francisco, LA and Seattle play year round and don't take 3 months off every year like the Phoenix symphony. Also, Phoenix has a rep as a poor live music town.
How is the music scene in Phoenix-Mesa area?
Most big cities like Phoenix have a full time acoustic jazz station (KJZZ only plays acoustic jazz from 8pm to 2am-most likely since Phoenix is not sophisticated enough to support a 24 hour jazz station. I am not saying Phoenix is a bad place to live, I like it here but I plan on leaving due to the generally poor job quality in this city. If i could have found the job I wanted I would plan on staying. Culture and job quality are not important to some people and if it is not, that is fine. Every city has its good points and its bad points. I like Phoenix and wish the people here well and hope they enjoy living here.
Really you mean lack of culture that you find attractive. The city is full of "culture". NASCAR is a type of "Culture", Wrestlemania is a type of "Culture" just like poetry and jazz are a type of "culture".

I know you know this, just giving you a hard time=)
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