Leave your sanity behind ~ Phoenix is violent and
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6/28/2010
I moved from another state to seek work in the Phoenix area. As I was leaving a place with no viable public transportation, it seemed an extra benefit to use a bus and light rail system rather than relying exclusively on my car or "Chevrolegs" to get wherever I needed to go.
The first point I'd like to make: this city is not one I'd recommend to anyone other than my worst enemy. I was not in a BAD part of the city, yet every night it seemed, there were police helicopters shining lights through the apartment complex, there were loud and violent domestic arguments, the sound of animals being neglected and abused by their owners...poor creatures left out in killing heat, being screamed at when they cried to get indoors. If you tried to help, you ran the risk of being attacked for "not minding your own business."
People walked around like zombies or appeared to be suffering from PTSD. Most people went to work and then directly to their apartments, so punishing is the weather and the vibes are so ugly. Even in the "upscale" areas, there's a sense of stress and danger.
And the traffic, the road rage! The "logic" of the Left Turn Lanes which are only Left Turn Lanes between certain hours of the day and the fact that even with the signal red, the first car in the lane was expected to 'commit'-- regardless of whether the driver could see oncoming traffic due to a much larger vehicle being in the opposing Left Turn Lane and the stress of having people leaning on their horns and cursing me nearly caused me to be broad-sided on two occasions.
The bus service was disappointing, because apparently, only the down & out, druggies and people with an edgy, potentially dangerous aura ride the buses. The light rail was (and is) limited as transit, still being a work in progress. Waiting in the heat, dust storms, monsoons as more people piled into the inadequate bus "shelters" was not at all pleasant. Less pleasant was seeing the damage that people had done themselves through lack of awareness or downright stupidity. I'd see people who might be termed "middle class and middle-aged" with *cataracts* -- not wearing sunglasses, not wearing hats, not carrying a water bottle. I can only assume that the longer one stays in Phoenix, the less connection they have to reality.
It is an ugly place, a sea of asphalt edged with concrete which heats up but does not cool down (as do most desert environments. And statistical weather data shows that as recently as the mid-70's, Phoenix would heat up and cool down dramatically once the sun set). What this environment does to your car (tires and trim in particular) is beyond belief. I had covered parking, but this did not prevent my tires from separating from the heat of the asphalt. The lighting and "security" also did not prevent some idiot from attempting to pry open one of my car doors, setting off the alarm and awakening me at 2 AM. "No one saw anything", of course. That included the women HOOKERS in the parking lot. I must admit, I've never before and hope to never again spend time in a city where women wait until the sun sets to sell her services to whomever happens to pull into a "free" space and park.
I considered moving to the Paradise Valley or Scottsdale area, but it's just a more expensive version of the cutthroat situation I've described. Lots of upscale clubs filled with druggies and drunks who might as well be the homeless bums they imagine they're so far removed from being.
Better to take a job that pays less in a city that can be survived. As another reviewer stated about Phoenix: "This place is cursed!" I really felt this, too. It's a hell hole.
Skye | New Kingman-Butler, AZ