I’ve lived here since 1994.
Where is a good area of town to live in?
The whole place is kind of hit and miss unless you want very high $. The area I live in in north Phoenix is very nice and reasonably priced and kind of professional/family. I pay around $1100 in rent for a 1750 sq. ft. house. However, go 4 miles west and you’re in the #2 gang area in town. In general, with the exception of Mesa, the east side is better off and safer than the west side.
What is the job market like? (I am trained in marketing, hate sales, want advertising)
The marketing market here is atrocious. I’m in the field. I lost a gig in the end of the .dot com collapse and was 2 years finding another. Competition in marketing appears to be worse here than in most other cities, and advertising is significantly harder unless you have extensive agency experience.
What is there to do?
There’s great hiking and outdoor activities 12 months a year for the hardcore, 9 months a year for those of us who can’t envision biking on a trail in 115 degree weather. There’s also a huge number of community and professional theatre companies, performing arts venues, bars and clubs, etc.
Where can I meet people?
Anywhere. Like most big cities, there are lots of groups for any interest.
Where else can I go to do more research about the city?
Local chamber of commerce sites, the state board of tourism site, azcentral.com for news, etc.
What is the cost of living? (I guess compared to national averages and such)
I already told you my rent. Gas runs around $2.75 a gallon right now. Utilities are reasonable, comparatively, as are food costs.
And finally…What else do you think I should know?
The illegal alien problem is huge here, and we’re the kidnapping capital of the US as a result. We’re also a major smuggling route for both people and drugs, However, if you’re not into anything shady, you can probably live your whole life here without running into anything criminal or overly dangerous.
Lots of people here carry guns openly. They’re just normal people going about their daily business, but if you’re not from around her, it can be a little weird at first.
The county sheriff is a corrupt lunatic who also enjoys rampant support, particularly from the very large retiree community. You DO NOT want to get a DUI or otherwise arrested here. You will end up in one of the most restrictive and oppressive jail systems in the U.S.
The sheriff and county attorney have been at war with the county supervisors for a couple of years now, cross-filing lawsuits and launching counter-investigations against each other. That’s hopefully coming to an end now that the CA has resigned to run for attorney general.
The state is in the midst of a massive budget crisis. We’re not at California levels yet, but we’re not in great shape. There have been pretty major across the board cuts in the last couple of years.
Bus service is awful. Many stops don’t have pullouts for buses, so they sit and block the right lane of traffic, adding severely to the congestion they were intended to alleviate. Schedules are also apparently shifted at random.
People here are generally very friendly, but not necessarily the type to walk right up and start chatting. We’re sociable enough, but we’re also not inclined to pester anybody without cause.
Rush hour traffic is bad, but far better than any big eastern city or anywhere in California.
The housing market continues to drop, although not as far as it did at the height of the crash. Unfortunately, when the second wave of residential and commercial collapses happen, it’s going to be rougher here than in most other places. Currently a third of residential and a slightly lower number of commercial properties are in or in danger of foreclosure.
It has its problems, but its benefits far outweigh them. I don’t want to ever live anywhere else again.
When I was younger, I spent most of my weekends puttering around on Mill Avenue right near the University. It’s a nice combination of urban kids spending their parents money and smelly hippies who play drums and guitars.