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| HOT!!!! - 12/24/2012
I love the sun, but this area is 110+ from May through November! Each year the hot weather gets hotter and the season gets longer. And it doesn't matter that there is no humidity because 110+ is still too hot.[read more...]
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| Finally Under 100 degrees - 10/16/2012
I admit it right up front, I am not a native Arizonian! I just survived my third Arizona summer and I am so relieved it is over. It is now the middle of Oct and finally we seem to be staying under 100. People say, "It's a dry heat". One person described it as a heat that melts the meat off of your bones. My personal assessment would be closer to the second description. I find it oppressive, able to catch my breath with its intensity when we are sitting at 115 midafternoon.
But boy do I appreciate the remaining 8 to 9 months of the year in Tempe, AZ where the weather is usually much more pleasant than most of the rest of the country.
So, just one person's experiences in the desert.
Thanks.[read more...]
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| It's true, you can buy a very nice house for your - 2/4/2012
any other positives here. Seriously, for Phoenix being a metropolis city that has grown leaps and bounds in the last 20 year's, it is a sad state of affair's. From our embarrassing politician's to the ridiculously high crime rate and everything in between, transportation, immigration, smog and employment, it is one of the most outdated and backward state's of this country. However, Heavenly, if you like to swing a golf club ;) [read more...]
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| Still waiting to catch up... - 6/10/2011
Tempe really is the hub of Arizona's Phoenix metro-area. Downtown Tempe Mill Avenue, blocks from Arizona State University, features a multitude of eateries and bars (not surprisingly) and lets not forget Tempe Town Lake which is a nice reprieve from desert landscaping. Mill Ave. also boasts the Annual Iron Man competition, Tempe Arts Festival, and many holiday parades.
On the flip side, parking is a beast with metered one hour parking spots and plenty of meter-maids to hand out tickets to the rogue parker but underground parking is available. Restaurants are run-of-the-mill, service can be mediocre and bars are always crowded. Summer is brutally hot and can start as early as May and continue well into October. Monsoon season is unpleasant with highs at 110+ and high humidity.
The recent opening of Tempe Market Place, about 2 miles east of Mill Ave., features many shops, a variety of family and high-end restaurants, a movie theatre, outdoor entertainment, and plenty of free parking. Difficult to enjoy during the summer if you don't like heat but nonetheless a highly active place to wonder around despite the weather. [read more...]
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| tempe - 6/11/2010
All these negative comments about tempe are ridiculous....take it from someone who's lived here for years, and lived in the valley since the 80's....Tempe is one of the best cities in phoenix metro area, it has the most to offer in terms transportation,entertainment,movie theatres, concert venues, tempe town lake system, buses run longer, more frequent, has the lightrail access to PHX and airport...many many restaurants and and culturally diverse as it can be for arizona due to the university, its mostly a college town, with ASU being focal point, its not too pretentious, its laid back, if you want high society look to scottsdale or newer cities, it has its nicer areas, and older junky areas, but like i said, its mostly for students, artists, regular people, and not pretentious. [read more...]
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| Love Tempe! - 4/26/2010
I just wanted to say, I don't care what the statisics say. I came from NY 16 mos. ago. Now my family and I live in Tempe and we couldn't be happier. I lived in NY state for 42 yrs, While I LOVE NY city, I CANNOT afford it. I lived outside the city ,About 2hrs. NEVER could afford to move back in. The jobs were not there and I won't even talk about the weather, HA! Tempe has georgeous weather and you don't get snowed in for 7mos. of the yr.
I've lived in the cold, the city , the country and now the heat! I'll take a HOT CITY, NOT FLA., been there done that, TOO humid, Any day of the week, Plus I feel AZ is a very gorgeous place to live!! Don't judge by what others say, try it out you may be pleasently suprised! No it's not near as expensive as NY either! :)[read more...]
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| ASU - 3/22/2010
Great college town near the ASU campus.[read more...]
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| Forget Phoenix Period! - 12/29/2008
If you like the outdoors, forget it. Six months out of the year it's at least 107 (may-Nov), you heard it right. An average of 107 for at least six months. There are jobs, but mostly call centers that pay $10-$12. (I work in sales but recently got laid off) the public services are worst then you ever experienced or read about. Most people here have never heard of getting anything right. The food is bad, the rental landlords take advantage of every law they can hand out. And do....Since the rental laws were written 60 years ago, and are still in force today and all on the side of the landlords. For instance: Should you rent, and have a problem with the owner, or management company or manager. They can evict you and you'll be on the street within 10 days. Wheather you show up in court or not. Let's say the manager does'nt like you for some reason. They can have your served to court, but not in person. The law here does not state you have to be served in person, so what happens is you come home one day and the door is locked, and you have no recourse but to move when you can, with the manager present. No proof is need that you were acturally served.
Yes, it's true, have a girlfriend who this happend to.
Smog is really bad, there's no real entertainment (unless you are a swinger since this is the swinger capital of the U.S.), the jobs dont pay, all services are way over priced and the people on the road are not even following the "basic" rules of the road because of the lack of officers on the road. What a mess. I'm leaving within the next 4 months never to return. Good Luck[read more...]
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| Tempe is just average - 8/5/2008
I've been in Tempe for several years and am not that impressed. The university area is ethnically diverse without being culturally diverse.
PROS:
The Weather from September to May is WONDERFUL!
The entire southwest is up-and-coming.
CONS:
Compared to other metro areas, there isn't much to do here.
This is the most lame university I've ever been around.
The people aren't friendly here at all.[read more...]
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| So much outdoor recreation locally - 8/4/2008
In Tempe we have cycling, running paths, hiking/climbing, rowing, and swimming most of the year.[read more...]
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| Seriously...... - 6/16/2008
You have GOT to be kidding me! I have read all the posts on this website and not a single positive response to Tempe? Why is it then Arizona, in particular the Phoenix Metro Area, is usually top 4 on places to move in the US? Could MILLIONS of people be has horrified as you all are? Yes, it's hot here. It's also BEAUTIFUL 8 months out of the year. Last I checked, I do not remember anyone digging their car out of the snow to get to work. Yes, our Governer does have her head in the sand, and for some reason keeps getting elected...(even the locals can't figure this one out). Yes, being the 5th LARGEST city in the US you are going to run into other people on occasion. Also, I do not remember going to the other top 5 cities and finding down-home, super friendly, small-town folk to sit on a poarch and sip lemonade with...nor have I found "light" commuting traffic. If you don't like big city, urban life, than STAY AWAY!!
Now, for you folks that love being less than 6 hours from a beach in 2 different countries, easy airport access for the corporate type, one of (if not the) largest Universities in the US, any sport imaginable, less than 5 hours to VEGAS, and many, many, many places to camp, hike, bike, walk, fish, boat etc.... then COME ON IN!!
Also, to those of you who have a problem with the illegals, well, as it turns out Arizona is a border state. Yes, Phoenix/Tempe is less than 3 hours from the Mexican border. Arizona experiences the same problems with this issue as California, New Mexico and Texas. There is also very LITTLE help from any other state, as well as the do-nothings in Washington. This is a desert, bordering Mexico...Where did you think you were moving to???? Next time, consult a map.[read more...]
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| Tempe - A city with a focus on development of cult - 5/3/2008
From my experience, if you live in the area of Tempe near ASU and Tempe Town Lake, you have some great cultural opportunities. One of the best cultural venues is the Tempe Center for the Arts which has an art gallary, a space for concerts, as well as plays. There are also a number of festivals held through all but the hottest months, at Tempe Town Lake. Mill Avenue is also getting an increasingly urban adult rather than a college student focus and there are a number of venues for live music - including the Loft and Rula Bula. I am in a new development of Brownstones about a half mile from the lake and the art center and have noticed a number of people looking in the area are surprised at the number of opportunities to experience cultural events. By the way, don't forget ASU, Gammage is a great venue for Broadway plays, speakers, and other types of cultural events.[read more...]
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| Never again! - 3/23/2008
I moved to Tempe 6 years ago to attend ASU. Being from the northeast, I wanted to experience warmer winters and less people. Aside from the comfortable winter weather, I was fooled about a lot of things!
First, the population boom is insane! More people are moving to AZ in record numbers than ever before and I would hate to be an urban planner in metro Phoenix. There are going to be more people than they will know what to do with in the next 5-10 years, it's sickening! The traffic problems are a nightmare anywhere in the Valley and I'd rather drive in midtown Manhattan on a friday afternoon than any hour of any day in the Valley.
The people there are not very friendly either. If you don't have a connection to the ASU community, forget about getting to know your neighbors. The majority of people are snobs and think they are better than everyone else. Throw in 100+ degree days from late march until mid october, it's a very unpleasant living environment. The public schools systems have consistantly ranked at the bottom of US states for several consecutive years, I wouldn't send my worst enemies children to school in that state!
I have recently left AZ and do not plan on returning, not even for a vacation. My wife and I are done with big city life and are hapily adapting to the idea of living the small town life for a change.[read more...]
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| Culture in Tempe - 2/10/2008
The Valley is full of shopping malls and parking lots. I moved to Arizona from Iowa two years ago, and I miss wooden Queen Anne mansions and the sense of history dating back before 1900; however, it must be said that culture is alive and well here in Tempe. Galleries and ethnic restaurants are abundant, and the diversity of a big university is apparent. Cost of living is not impossible, and the job market is good, so move to Boston, New York, San Francisco, if you have the money and the employability, and turn your nose up at Tempe. I say there's a lot here to love.[read more...]
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| nice but still big - 4/5/2007
Tempe has many great things about it..ASU, Mill avenue and cute neighborhoods. However, it is still a big city and getting to know your neighbors is still a task. We don't work in Tempe, and have to drive into Phoenix...with traffic it takes about 45 to 60 minutes, without traffic it takes 15 to 20 minutes. So, traffic is very, very bothersome. Of course the summers here are unbelievably hot (115 ish) and are getting longer each summer we are here. They last about six months. We will be moving back to my home state of Iowa in the next few years for a much better quality of life (slower paced life, focus on family, 4 seasons, cheaper to live, nice people, etc).[read more...]
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| The Best Place and sometimes the Worst Place to li - 7/18/2006
I live in Tempe where the city is the home of Arizona State University. This has good and bad points.The city is fun and in the middle of an urban housing renewal that's going to outprice anyone living there.
The public transportation in Tempe is better than Phoenix any day of the week for the residents. The bad? The college population that's driving up the cost of housing and bringing down neighborhood cohesion, good atmosphere amongst neighbors,and beauty. It seems like the locals in the greater Phoenix area are suffering from this and no one politically is doing anything to stop it. No one makes ASU build more housing and parking near Main Campus to keep their population close to campus and this affects the rather nice families that live surrounding the university and beyond those borders. Also this forces up rentals and housing costs and makes property taxes go up when salary increases aren't near the cost of living.
I loved the many shoppping places but now they're getting overpriced when you can take a flight to Las Vegas R/T for under $150 and still get the same items in another state cheaper and just fly back with your empty 2 check-in bags full. Does anyone see the sad part about this? There is not a dearth of jobs in the area to support the increases so you can at least find a better paying job.
So if you have a good paying job that's a pain in the butt,get a script for the Prozac (just joking) or know that the grass isn't greener...yet.[read more...]
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| Springfield MO beats Tempe, AZ any day! Arizona I - 7/12/2006
I am glad to have found this website. My family has lived in several states and I have to say that Arizona is the most horrible, disgusting, hottest state in the United States. The schools are the worst in the country. The health care is so bad that I went to see a doctor who prescribed me a medication that would have killed me if I would have taken it. I have also lived in Springfield, Mo and we were dumb to leave four years ago. We are moving back in a month! Yes! True, Springfield has meth labs but Arizona has plenty of meth addicts and Arizona gets its meth from huge meth labs in Mexico. The governor has her head in the sand (literally). She wants to do absolutely nothing about thousands of illegal aliens from Mexico that have taken over the state. The illegals are allowed to march in dowtown Phoenix, blocking traffic and demanding rights! Everything is in Spanish, even some street names. If you want to live in Mexico, move to Arizona. As far as I am concerned Arizona should be removed from the United States. It is a disgrace![read more...]
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| Very hot - 7/5/2006
Lived here 34 yrs. and each year it gets hotter and hotter as new people move here and create a heat dome. Would not recommend anybody to live here as summer starts in early April and ends after Halloween.[read more...]
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| Living in Arizona - 6/10/2006
I have lived here over ten years and I dont really like Arizona - married to a native. I think of it as endless suburbia, a concrete jungle built for machines (automobiles) not people. Its rare to see people outside, everyone is in their car. Even if there were more places to walk its too hot from May to September. The summer is crazy hot, not in a good way. But I am in the minority because most people who live here LOVE it. People I know like the weather, the desert hiking, cost of living (compared to big cities) and the desert landscape. I think the people here are great. There are quite a few wonderful lakes, owning a boat makes the summer much better. I like the city of Tempe because it has Mill Ave where you can actually walk along the street with shops ect. You dont have to drive to a mall.
There is tons of development, so many nhoods are behind walls. Not sure why, maybe it seems exclusive. But it makes it feel like Stepford, too planned and EVERYTHING looks the same. There are older nhoods with interesting buildings, but they are rare and not in the best places.
If you dont mind going EVERYWHERE by car and you like hot weather. This is your place. I have lived in 4 countries and many cities and for me, this is the worst. However, its the first place I have been where owning a house, a nice car, boat ect... is pretty common and atainable.[read more...]
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