Phoenix not as great as its made out to be
-
6/3/2009
I have lived in Arizona for 4 years now and can say that I almost hate it. I grew up in the Midwest (Chicago and Indianapolis) and moved here from Michigan and thought it would be a better place to live. Wow, was I wrong.
My first problem is the weather. The heat seems to be getting worse and worse. The sun is so strong, it stings and you get to almost disliking it and want cloudy days on occasion. I don’t care for Michigan very much but I’ve learned I like having four seasons. Arizona has four seasons too: summer’s coming, summer, summer’s still here and autumn.
I’m sick of all the brown; no real trees or grass or shade. Just brown dust everywhere.
I also don’t like the crime rate—its awful. Phoenix is a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants and the crime has grown as a result. You see on the news everyday of illegals being busted in drophouses. The illegal immigrant population has caused an increase in murders, robbery, kidnapping, prostitution, care theft and the drug trade. And to top it off, Phoenix now leads the WORLD in kidnappings, according to the national media.
The air pollution is also really bad in the summer, where there is almost a constant brown cloud over the Valley.
There’s also very few good paying jobs in AZ. It is a right-to-work state. And the illegal immigrants have brought down the wages for everybody else. It is not uncommon for a college grad here to be making $10 or $12 an hour. Most wages do not provide a living. AZ is heavily reliant on services that produce low wages. And as its two largest industries of construction and leisure/tourism have dropped off, the economy has been on a freefall. THERE’S NO JOBS HERE ANYMORE. You would think that a growing and formerly booming area like Phoenix would bend over backwards trying to attract high tech companies, big business, more jobs and more people, to attract educated people like me and many others I know. But NO. Politicians here only care about the illegals--and even invite them to live here, and act like they just want people to move on and move out.
The cost of living is over-rated and way out of line with incomes.
The education is horrible, and Arizona ranks as the single WORST state in education.
I think the Phoenix area has grown way too fast for its good and it has affected the quality of life; illegal immigration is the biggest factor. What used to ‘pull’ factors into the area has now become serious ‘push’ factors out of it. I want to move back to the Midwest when my apartment lease is up, but not necessarily to Michigan. I tried Phoenix, but didn’t like it at all. Its not a good place to live. If you’re thinking of moving here, DO THE RESEARCH or it could be a mistake. But this is just my two cents.
Darren | Phoenix, AZ