Reviews & Comments
Phoenix, AZ
2/10 City -
12/9/2020This is my honest take of the Phoenix-Metro area after being here for roughly (14 years). Let's start with the pros
Pros: >Grid street system. (having been in other states such as California and Oregon) the streets were engineered pretty well here, it's very simple and easy to navigate, not hard to find your way around if you were lost and didn't have a GPS.
>Infrastructure. In general the roads are in good shape compared to states like Maryland or Michigan, the homes aren't ancient like the east coast (which is a good thing or bad thing if you like that historic vibe) buildings and plazas tend to be in better condition than other places mainly because this is a newer state.
>Winter weather? Maybe? Normally the weather's great starting in October in the valley but I don't know if this is a good point anymore because this November we broke a record of 98 degrees. INSANE. And this seems to be the new trend here on out
OK NOW that we are done with the pros.
Cons: >Eternal damnation for 8 months. Most people like making the argument of "well its a dry heat", I like to say that a convection oven is also a dry heat, but it wouldn't be very pleasant to stick your head in one right? Going outside in the summer is honestly painful and I'm middle eastern, on top of that, get ready to pay a hefty electric bill for that big 2000 sq ft house that needs to be cooled 24/7 during the summer months. My average bill in the summer was 400$ a month for a 1600 sq ft house to put things in perspective. Seriously, don't underestimate the summer here, know what you're getting into before moving, it's not a joke.
>Lack of greenery. Different stokes for different folks and this is a desert after all, but living I found myself longing for trees and grass and forests, without having to drive 3 hours north :) just a simple drive to work in other states you'd see trees all around you, but in Phoenix its all brown and beige. The houses are brown and beige the highways are brown and beige the plazas are brown and beige etc, starts to take a toll on you after a while (again I know people are going to say "well flagstaff is just 3 hours away") but it's kind of a let down driving 3 hours to see some greenery then come back to this brown dull city.
>Housing costs. The valley was once a good spot to purchase a decent sized house at a reasonable price (I'm talking 90k for a 2-story house in Laveen). Those days are long gone, the housing market is absolutely insane as of now and I don't know why anyone would spend 300k+ on a stucco house when you'd be able to get more bang for your buck in other areas such as Houston or Atlanta, it's just not smart to buy a house right now in Phoenix.
>Traffic. This one is a given, with the influx of people moving to Phoenix, on top of the fact that public transportation is non-existent, the streets and highways are going to be strained. This city was kind of engineered around the car, it's not walkable unless you live in downtown Phoenix, so you'll find yourself in bumper-to-bumper traffic alot, wondering what it is about this piece of desert that's so appealing to 5 million people.
>Education. If you have children and you value their education, you might want to look into private schools or just home schooling them (if you can). Phoenix is rated 49/51 in education which should be alarming to future parents, or parents with school aged children looking to relocate here. The school districts in general are hit and miss (except Kyrene School District) and if you're fortunate enough to live in their boundaries, then your children are in safe hands.
>Location. (This one is subjective). Personally, the south-west location is not appealing to me, it takes me 12 hours to drive to Sacramento CA, that's the same amount of time it takes to drive from NYC to Savannah Georgia. Also, flying from Phoenix costs more than other places and you're more than likely going to layover at least once before reaching your destination. If you're someone that frequently travels it's not a good location.
There's a lot more I can touch up on, but I think this review is long enough. In general we all have different needs and perspectives, this was just my take on living here, if you have any other questions feel free to comment.