Rebuttal to last post
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2/20/2007
to "everything the other guy said is true"...
People in Phoenix do tend to lack a good education, but so does the average American city or suburb. America is not a well educated country (but look at how many foreigners attend our universities!) However, there are plenty of people in metro Phoenix with college degrees. As with any boomtown, those that are attracted to the 'fast buck' are the desperate souls who generally lack education. Las Vegas has the exact same problem to a more magnified degree than better established and more economically diverse Phoenix.
Real estate did shoot up from 2003 to 2006 and is now overpriced. Well, c'mon, how many other cities are now in a freefall real estate market? Can this truly be blamed on Phoenix? Las Vegas and San Diego should expect 8% depreciation in 2007 according to reports. Look at South Florida as another example. Our nation's economy has been nothing BUT real estate because putting your money anywhere else since 2001 has netted little profit. You can't blame that on Phoenix either.
ASU is not a prestigious university. The development of a quality college takes more years than Phoenix has been a large city. Are there any prestigious colleges in San Diego or Las Vegas? Certainly nothing on par with the Ivy League, as can be expected for booming cities of the last 50 years. I agree that the lack of a medical school in this metro area of not 6 but 4 million people is troubling. Since I haven't needed medical attention here, I can't comment on the state of health care.
I agree that the West Side is particularly unpleasant both physically (substandard housing and seedy businesses) and geographically (flat, no parks). I would say that "central to 67th" is an exaggeration as the housing from 15th Ave. past Central to 16th St. could best be described as an old money enclave.
I also have no qualms with your assessment of the business and political climate here. As with practically every city for which there are opinions on this website, one finds that local politicos are anything but ideal. Business interests trump personal concerns and liberties from sea to shining sea, or, perhaps, we are only now beginning to realize this. In short, it is not just a problem in Phoenix.
I strongly disagree about the summer weather. Chicago hit 100 with lows in the 80s back in the mid-1980s and literally thousands died. Phoenix hits 122 in 1990 and no one died. The heat only kills those without
Abhd | Phoenix, AZ