What is life like in parts of Arizona?

Question

Thinking about relocating from New York to AZ. What can you tell me about Mesa Phoenix and Tempe? For an individual no longer of college age, but not ready to retire ..... What is the job market like - is it hard to find work and what types of jobs are most popular? What is the cost of food like - grocery shopping? What is the approximate cost of eating out let's say for lunch? Being from the East Coast eating a lot of seafood, and access to diverse cultural foods....What's to eat in Arizona? With the hot temperatures - What is the style of dress for work typically and/or just hanging out (I'm guessing wearing all black isn't going to make it in Arizona)? What are the people like - laid back or constantly on the go? What is the wildlife like there? Guessing squirrels are not a common sight in Arizona. Is there acceptance of cultural diversity in these areas? What is the cultural mix like in Mesa? Why is crime so high in Phoenix?

I've live in Westchester County New York in the suburbs - never in NYC and hardly travel to NYC.

Answer 1

Well, I've lived in AZ all my life and I love it here. It's true the summer can be very hot, but you just have to spend a lot of time indoors. I always go to the movies a lot in the summer. As long as you have good a/c you'll be fine, but your first summer will be rough, it takes a little while to get use to it. It doesn't rain much, so the weather people on the news get very excited when it does.

I have lived in the east valley and I thoroughlly love it. I'm not sure why the people here talk like Mesa is trash. I have never been a victim of any crime here and none of my neighbors, family or friends have. Of course there are some poorer parts but I really like mesa. The east valley has beautiful mountains.Gilbert and Chandler are very nice cities. Rent is reasonable and they are smaller than Mesa. if you were to live in phoenix I would suggest the north part- it is much nicer.

Wildlife- I have seen squirrels here. But if you live on the outskirts you will get coyotes (they generally run when they see people). I have jackrabbits in my neighborhood all the time! Not too many bugs. You have to careful around rocks because scorpions like rocks, but there are not a lot of mesquitos here, which is so nice.

Dress- phx is so casual, especially in the summer. Everyone is in shorts, flip flops and tank tops. Business dress is pretty casual. Most business people will wear slacks and dress shirt and maybe a tie, not too many wear suits, but more so in the winter.

Jobs- there are quite a few tech related jobs. Honeywell is out here, boeing and intel. There are plenty of education jobs and downtown phoenix has many big companies. You'll find something.

Phoenix is more diverse than the east valley. But you'll mostly find whites and hispanics. I believe people here are open-minded. You'll find most people pleasant, but there is always going to be rude people anywhere.

Driving here can be hectic. The drivers can tend to be aggressive. The roads are pretty easy to learn, especially in the east valley all the roads are on a grid pattern. The freeways are nice. They are almost done completing all the freeways here.

Food- you can find anything you want here. There are excellent mexican restaurants here, but you'll be able to find good seafood.

Groceries aren't too bad here, but Fry's food has the best deals. Shopping is great here, lots of malls and high-end shops too.

I suggest making a trip here and just driving around and seeing places that you like and getting a feel for it here. I think you'll like it.

If you have any questions or want any detailed info feel free to e-mail me at: [e-mail]

Answer 2

The Phoenix area has lots of jobs, and is more like the big city. The biggest change you'll probably face is the weather. It's been in the 70s during the day this week. If you hate snow as much as I do (having grown up in Chicago and New Jersey) you can realy appreciate the beautiful sunny skies. Since I moved here I haven't touched my winter coat except for travelling out of state. I don't think you'll find quite as much diversity in Arizona, with the exception of a large population of Hispanics, but I think the acceptance is there. Lots of retirees are here. Arizonans are much more laid back than New Yorkers. We have the same types of fast food and restaraunt chains as the east, but there are tons of ma and pa type Mexican restaraunts, and chains of Mexican restaraunts. I don't think the seafood is quite as good here since it can't be quite as fresh, but you can still find it pretty easily. I think the work dress depends on the corporate environment, but the places that I've worked have been pretty casual (women definitely wear tank tops regularly) and I haven't worked with men that wear suits regularly. The hot summer is something you can get used to, and its just a matter of not staying outside for too long, and having good working A/C in your car and your home. There isn't too much wildlife to be seen in the Phoenix area, although my yard has little harmless lizards that eat the bugs. On occasion, you'll see a snake or a torantula, but you really have to get out of the city to see coyotes and Gila monsters. There are also lots of birds and at night some areas have bats. Hope that helps!

Answer 3

Oh my.... New York where?
I'm from Cali and moved to Phoenix, then Tucson. (now back in Cali)
This is what I liked: jobs are easy to get b/c they don't have enough qualified people, so if you are qualified, you will be able to get a job... I can't tell you what is most popular job, but there are good jobs available... food cost is considerably lower (than California - and I think NY and CA have similar high cost of living). Restraunts are cheaper than NY, I've been to NJ and to me it was pricey just to eat at a deli and order a pizza.
Arizona / culture - look for Mexican which is very different than the Spanish you have in NY - very different and Native American, and a good focus on "cowboys". It's nice.
Style of dress - totally casual. Flip flops in the summer are a must! Get a pedicure!!! LOL!!!
Ppl are very open-minded in Tucson, not so much in Phoenix - based on my own experiences - but the people are still very nice. Phoenix is a city city, not country at all! And yes, people are on the move in Phoenix. Tucson is not like that, Tucson is more country and laid back. Very different.
Wildlife - the wildlife is considerably different, but there are still squirrels!! Look for javalina (wild pigs), coyotes, lots of bugs. There are really nice outdoor trips in AZ.... White Tank Mountains in Avondale, Mt. Lemmon in Tucson - a MUST, Sabino Canyon in Tucson.

There is a big acceptance of cultural diversity in AZ. I didn't like Mesa at all. To me, it was a city mostly of Mormans, but that's because I worked with four or five girls who lived in Mesa and they were all Mormans (no offense, the girls were great) and not related. But I believe that's my sterotypical opinion and probably not true of the city itself.
Crime was CRAZY. I honestly believe it was mostly because of the heat. The heat makes you not think right if you ask me!!! I don't know, but the crime was really CRAZY! Tucson crime wasn't as bad.

Hope that helps. I say move, try it... you can always go back if it doesn't work out.

BTW all that I said about Phx also applies to Tempe. Tempe is a college town and all the "fun" in there. So if you're into that, Tempe is nice. Phoenix is kind of a metro, with Phx, Mesa, Scottsdale, Tempe, and other connected cities, so it all kind of blends in one way or another. Just be careful of living in the "Avenues" of phoenix, those were the bad areas 73rd Avene-ish to Indian School Road....

Look to Avondale and Northwest Phoenix areas too. Glendale, Peoria etc. But be careful not to move too far from where you will work, public transportation SUCKS and the traffic is sickening!!!

Well that's my opinion. Overall, I love Arizona. Even though I'm back at home, I miss it in the desert!!!

Answer 4

I would suggest to anyone moving from New York to first look at the Scottsdale area first for a lot of reasons. For starters it's in a great area and close to many featured restaurants, resorts, golf courses, arts and entertainment etc. I personally beleive it's the only suburb of Phoenix that cares about it's image.

Answer 5

-is going On. The illegals are nevertheless the following. The stupid Politicians nevertheless run the position. 0.5 the Neighborhoods are in foreclosure. There are not any jobs, & all people's Broke. -briefly, there isn't any longer something new. -except that it truly is meant to get close to 100 this Friday- for the first time this 12 months ! So it sounds like it truly is gonna be a lengthy warm summer time... :)

Answer 6

Hello. First you need to distinguish between Phoenix and the rest of Arizona. Most of Arizona is rural, small towns. But Phoenix is a large metro area - not like NYC, but Phoenix is larger than NYC in terms of land size. The population in the entire metro area is 3-4 million, depending which report you think is more accurate.

Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe are all considered to be part of the Phoenix metro area. Phoenix is centrally located, Mesa & Tempe are to the east and south. Scottsdale is east of Phoenix, and probably the nicest city in the metro area. Mesa is a mixed bag as far as crime goes - good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods. Tempe is a college atmosphere, much less crime than Mesa, but more expensive to rent there (but still reasonable). You want to stay away from south Phoenix - too much crime, gang activity, etc. West Phoenix/Glendale is also pretty bad with crime and gang activity, but if you get far enough out west, it's not as bad. Glendale/West Phoenix is one of the more affordable areas of the city. North and east Phoenix are the best parts of Phoenix - less crime in these areas, rents are a little more expensive, but reasonable. Central Phoenix generally has quite a lot of crime, but it isn't really violent crime - more property crimes in this area for the most part.

Phoenix is in an economic boom period right now - if you have education and work skills, I doubt you will have much problem landing a good job with a good salary. And the cost of living in Phoenix is much lower compared to similar-sized cities like Philadelphia or Chicago. Phoenix has a lot of technical positions, so if you have some engineering skills or computer programming skills, for example, you would be in high demand. But all kinds of jobs are available in Phoenix. Phoenix also has a lot of private schools, charter schools, etc. and a lot of corportate business - so teaching & training jobs are always abundant.

Cost of food is much lower than NYC - the only things in Phoenix that are probably above the national average are gasoline prices and homes. In Phoenix you will find many kinds of restaurants - I wouldn't say Phoenix is as culturally diverse as NYC. Most immigrant groups are from Mexico, Latin America, southeast Asia & Europe. The city is roughly 55% whites/Europeans, 40% Latino/Hispanic and about 5% others. Though you will find census reports that contradict this.

Phoenix dress, as you might suspect, tends to be casual, though you are still expected to wear dress shirts & ties in some businesses, even during the summer heat. But in many professional offices, you can wear polos and casual slacks. Shorts are typically only worn by those with outdoor jobs or casual office atmospheres. You shouldn't expect to wear shorts to your job if you are a professional type - even in Phoenix!

I would characterize most people in Phoenix as laid back, but Phoenix is a mix of people from across the country - especially people from Los Angeles, NYC and the midwest. The city has changed drastically from what is was 15 or 20 years ago - in terms of size, diversity and political tendencies. What used to be known as a very conservative city would more accurately be described as a moderate city now.

Wildlife? In Phoenix? Not much! What is the wildlife like in NYC? Same response! Though I'm sure in the desert surrounding the city you can find coyote, snakes, lizards, scorpions, etc. - remember, it's a desert!

Acceptance of cultural diversity? Hmm, I don't know if that truly exists anywhere! But Phoenix is the best place I have lived. For the most part, I would say people in Phoenix tend to mind their own business. Everyone seems rather busy with their own life, and Arizona (even Phoenix) has a sort of tradition of independence, more than other places in the country, I think. If you just keep to yourself, work, pay your bills, you should be fine!

Property crimes are high in Phoenix. I had the wheels stolen off of my car before, and almost anyone you will meet and talk to in Phoenix has had a similar experience or they know someone directly that has. So, get full coverage auto insurance! And get renters insurance! Or home owners insurance if you own a home. In Phoenix, you will probably become friends with your insurance agent! However, if you stay away from south Phoenix or Glendale, you will find that there isn't really much violent crime.

Phoenix's biggest advantage, I think, is the sunny weather and mild winters. If you are a sun worshipper, it's sunny more than 300 days out of the year - a very hot, dry climate with no natural disasters, little rain, and only 6 weeks of winter!

I also lived in tucson for a few years and I found that tucson was much more of a small, country town where people know each other and get in each other's business often. Which I didn't really care for! In Phoenix, you are much more likely to be left alone to live your life!

Answer 7

my cousin lives there and she told me on those hot summer days.....your shoes melt....They do, like they dont melt fast must they start getting a little bit slippery.

Answer 8

it not that bad. It depend on you interest fop rt jobs.

Answer 9

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