I’ve been thinking of getting out of NYC for awhile, and especially thinking about moving to Phoenix. Major areas of interest: Weather, especially how hot it is in the summer, schools, cost of living, restaurants, tennis. And anything else you can tell me.
Thanks.
[lived in NYC for a while, visited Phoenix (in the winter)]
No one else has replied yet, so …
Major change: You need a car. No subways. Very spread out.
Restaurants: it’s a major urban area, so there is variety.
Phoenix is surrounded by National Forests, National Parks, etc.
I’ve never lived in Phoenix but I spend six weeks there during a heritage review of a defense subcontractor in Chandler.
You couldn’t pay me to live there. 100+ temps in April. Everything is the same non-color of tan. It’s basically a strip mall haven; the scenery is like the background in animation cells; it just keeps repeating over and over. You will drive…and drive…and drive…and drive. I think sidewalks are verboten, even more so than in SoCal.
Good stuff? There is some good hiking and biking, when it’s cool enough to be outside, and there’s a great Irish bar (Rula Bula) in Tempe, but on the whole I’d rather be in Philadelphia.
YMMV
Stranger
I’d like to stick up for my Metropolitan Area, but It’s hard to find reasons why.
It’s a city, with city stuff. Yeah, It gets hot in the summer, and we’ve adapted ways to deal with that. It’s easier if you’re already a Lizard. I think deep down, we know there is just no good goddamn reason for a city this large to be in the gaddam desert, but were just wierd and stubborn that way.
It got a lot less friendly when we went over the 2 mil mark. I’m not a native, but I’ve been here 20 years. Place just keeps growing. In a lot of ways, we truly are just L.A. East. But I remember living through winters in South Dakota, and smile, cuz you don’t have to shovel sunshine.
This about.com site has a wealth of information on Phoenix. This site is full of annoying pop ups, however. There is a relocation specific bulletin board on there which will give you every piece of information on the Phoenix area you will ever want to know.
Some of my department is in Chandler, and nobody’s given the place rave reviews. They say it’s hot, but the air conditioning works, and that you absolutely have to have a car. There’s not even a lunch place within walking distance of their building.