View Full Version : Anyone from Phoenix here?
Just wondering as I am planning on relocating there from Upstate NY either end of this year or early next year.
Just wondering as I am planning on relocating there from Upstate NY either end of this year or early next year.
Isn't Pheonix like the Florida of the West? :gomer: ;)
Isn't Pheonix like the Florida of the West? :gomer: ;)
Yes, but it's a dry heat. :gomer:
Actually I visited there last February and it is nothing like Florida with respect to blue hairs driving Crown Vics.
racer2c
01-24-06, 10:21 AM
I lived in Phoenix for two years in the mid 90's. I lived out by Camelback Mountain.
Too brown for my taste. Having grown up on the East coast, I never realized how much I would miss green trees!
The humidity is getting worse every year due to the golf courses and people going with grass lawns as opposed to the rock lawns that are normal.
it's spread out and takes forever to drive across. Basically it's a bunch of little mini towns all clumped together.
Lot's of white trash and strip joints on every corner. Not that that's a bad thing but if you're raising a family there it's a bit rough around the edges.
I don't miss Phoenix one bit. Sedona up north was absolutly beautiful to visit though.
DagoFast
01-24-06, 10:22 AM
Isn't Pheonix like the Florida of the West? :gomer: ;)
Well, for a city of almost 4 million, we only have about 8000 of these! :gomer:
Way less per capita than youse guys. And it's Phoenix, ya goober. :D
So Mapguy,
Whadda ya want to know?
I lived in Phoenix for two years in the mid 90's. I lived out by Camelback Mountain.
Too brown for my taste. Having grown up on the East coast, I never realized how much I would miss green trees!
The humidity is getting worse every year due to the golf courses and people going with grass lawns as opposed to the rock lawns that are normal.
it's spread out and takes forever to drive across. Basically it's a bunch of little mini towns all clumped together.
Lot's of white trash and strip joints on every corner. Not that that's a bad thing but if you're raising a family there it's a bit rough around the edges.
I don't miss Phoenix one bit. Sedona up north was absolutly beautiful to visit though.
If it happens I'll be moving to the East Valley (Gilbert, Mesa area) and, unfortunately, I didn't see any strip clubs there. :(
racer2c
01-24-06, 10:24 AM
Yes, but it's a dry heat. :gomer:
Actually I visited there last February and it is nothing like Florida with respect to blue hairs driving Crown Vics.
Did you visit Scottsdale? They're there.
Well, for a city of almost 4 million, we only have about 8000 of these! :gomer:
Way less per capita than youse guys. And it's Phoenix, ya goober. :D
So Mapguy,
Whadda ya want to know?
Just kinda curious about it. My best friend lives in Gilbert and (as I mentioned) visited there before. It was nice. Getting on the plane in Albany at 20 degrees, landing in Phoenix and it is 75!
The main reason for me moving is career related (although the climate helps!). The IT industry here in Upstate NY stinks. I have been trying for three years to get back into it since getting laid off in late '02. Being a small, shrinking, city the only real career here is getting into the State, if you're lucky. And they ain't hiring. So I looked at the most 'dynamic' cities in the US for IT and came up with Boston, Miami, Dallas/Houston, Phoenix and San Fransisco bay area of Cali. So I picked Phoenix.
Don't know if R2C's comment about the increased humidity is accurate, as my friend said that asides from Monsoon season it is dry as a bone.
What is monsoon season like? How about the dust storms?
racer2c
01-24-06, 10:39 AM
Atlanta and DC should have been on your list. Strong IT cities and DC is recession proof. Although I wouldn't want to live here even though I do. :)
My company has a service center out on Lathem. I can send you a listing of available IT positions if you want.
Atlanta and DC should have been on your list. Strong IT cities and DC is recession proof. Although I wouldn't want to live here even though I do. :)
My company has a service center out on Lathem. I can send you a listing of available IT positions if you want.
Thanks R2C. PM me the info.
As for the other cities. I didn't factor them in as I hate humidity and DC isn't my cup of tea.
I just don't see any future here in Albany.
Spicoli
01-24-06, 11:07 AM
If it happens I'll be moving to the East Valley (Gilbert, Mesa area) and, unfortunately, I didn't see any strip clubs there. :(
I have a rich cousin who lives in Gilbert. He likes to get likkered up and shoot guns and hates everyone but the Irish. He is a IRA sympathizer, and gives them lotsa money. And his wife got new boobies last year.
I can innerduce you if ya want.
Now for the important question... What is your proximity to Tempe and ASU campus going to be? :)
(Phoenix is the fastest growing metro area or something... so a pretty good choice for you!)
racer2c
01-24-06, 11:45 AM
Now for the important question... What is your proximity to Tempe and ASU campus going to be? :)
(Phoenix is the fastest growing metro area or something... so a pretty good choice for you!)
Most major cities claim they are the fastest growing metro area. Many times it's not always a good thing.
DagoFast
01-24-06, 12:17 PM
Just kinda curious about it. My best friend lives in Gilbert and (as I mentioned) visited there before. It was nice. Getting on the plane in Albany at 20 degrees, landing in Phoenix and it is 75!
The main reason for me moving is career related (although the climate helps!). The IT industry here in Upstate NY stinks. I have been trying for three years to get back into it since getting laid off in late '02. Being a small, shrinking, city the only real career here is getting into the State, if you're lucky. And they ain't hiring. So I looked at the most 'dynamic' cities in the US for IT and came up with Boston, Miami, Dallas/Houston, Phoenix and San Fransisco bay area of Cali. So I picked Phoenix.
Don't know if R2C's comment about the increased humidity is accurate, as my friend said that asides from Monsoon season it is dry as a bone.
What is monsoon season like? How about the dust storms?
Im in Gilbert as well. The east valley is a bit more "genteel" than the west side. I lived in Tempe from '87 to '98. When I moved here, Gilbert was a farm community of about 8500. I think it's pushing 200k today. So the "valley" is getting really big. I have friends that live up in north west phoenix and it's 50 miles each way to go see 'em. I ride motorcycles with a guy from Surprise on occaision, he's even farther out.
If you were here in February, you saw us at our best, 75 in the winter is sweet! You may want to re-visit in the summer to see the flip side. It's hotter than the hubs of hell. Normally up thru June is still tolerable, but by July we start to get the monsoons, which is usually a big dust storm that will blow thru in the late afternoon or evening that may or may not be followed by rain depending on where you are. It's possible to have a downpour one block over and nothing on your street. The monsoons move fast and are usually over with in an hour or less, leaving behind a big jump in humidity, and dirt in your pool. They last thru August. September is still pretty warm and true Chamber of commerce weather returns in October and lasts until early May at most.
The good news is Arizona is very diverse climate wise. In the summers, many folks head north for 2 hours to the mountains or San Diego is about 6 hrs away. Mexico's beaches are closer if you prefer it. I usually get up early and ride north and spend the day on some favorite curvy roads in the national forrests. In the winter, skiing is anywhere from 2.5 to 5 hours away.
We have very few "locals". Most people come from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, California. The biggest complaint I hear from people from those places (excluding the Califonians) is they miss the "community" they had back home. It's possible to live here and never know your neighbor. We're lucky, when we moved to Gilbert, all the houses were new and everyone was moving in at the same time, so we have great neighbors all up and down the street. The other bad part is, some of those have already moved on. Some out of state, others to another house in another area of town. Change is a constant. Some people really hate that.
The REALLY bad part is, the closest (and now only) ChampCar race is Long Beach. With Vegas and Fontana gone, it's slim pickens. For a brief shining moment in the late 80's, early 90's, we had CART, F1, NHRA and Nascar. Now there is only the latter two.
The freeway system used to be really behind the growth, but it's catching up.
Home prices are still reasonable by California standards, but have risen sharply in the last 4 years. The bad news is, it's pretty much starting to look like every place else. All the same houses, stores, resturants and buildings as everywhere else. Manufacturing has taken some hits (like the rest of the US) but construction has been booming for a decade from the tremendous growth and all the supporting business that brings.
Here's a site for info on Gilbert: http://www.ci.gilbert.az.us/general/sitemap.cfm?name=menu1
Regards,
Joe
Warlock!
01-24-06, 01:24 PM
My bud, Linc (aka 'Anal Ventor' on this site) moved there from Ohio a few years ago... seems to like it a lot. He golfs pretty much anytime he's not working, and he doesn't bitch about the heat too much either. Great food, and scantily clad wiminz. Linc followed another friend of mine who moved out there. As far as I can tell, they're two Ohioans that won't be back.
Conversely, I went out there for Linc's wedding a couple years ago in late September and could hardly wait for my plane to leave so I could go home... just way too hot for me. I could prolly stand it if it was 60-70 degrees year-round, but even then I'd only move there if I had to. I'm not a big golfer (well, I'm big... and I occasionally golf), and I found out when I was there that I'm a bigger fan of primary colors than I anticipated... it's pretty much just different shades of brown wherever you look.
From my Northern Californian point of view: the heat in Phoenix is much like the winters in upstate NY: it keeps you inside a lot if you can't take it. Just replace "heater" with "air conditioner".
We were considering Tucson for awhile (which is an awesome town, but a bit far from all the Phoenix area jobs), but the extreme summer heat would've kept me from my normal outdoor activities, and summer is my favorite season.
I love visiting Arizona, though, especially right now. We're talking about going to the Barrett-Jackson next year.
chop456
01-24-06, 02:14 PM
I'll take snow, possums and raccoons over snakes, javelinas, scorpions and heatstroke. That's just me, though. I've spent quite a bit of time in Mesa, Tempe and Gold Canyon. The brown comments are right on. And everything seems dirty all the time, too. Lots of hot Betties, though. :thumbup:
And they have In-n-Out, Jack in the Box and Del Taco, too. :D
I like saying "javelina".
BTW Mapguy, definitely check out the Pima air museum in Tucson - it's a very cool (but old) outdoor airplane museum. It's quite a collection! And, of course, there is the boneyards to check out. I think that's where Berlin did the video for Take My Breath Away!!!!! :gomer:
oddlycalm
01-24-06, 02:53 PM
Long term, my concern would be where the water is going to come from to sustain Phoenix. The CAP canal was the last of the divvy up of Colorado River water after the AZ vs CA water rights litigation in the 60's. That's the end of any new major water sources, yet Phoenix keeps on building and using water like there's an infinite supply. The resevior at Glenn Canyon is 100ft below high water mark, similar to other resevoirs in the area, and it's pretty clear to many that the current water usage is unsustainable. I would not want to own real estate there when the water situation becomes critical, which is a matter of when, not if. Water conservation has never been a topic of serious discussion and the man made lakes, gold courses and fountains just keep on coming. :gomer:
The comments about constant change are right on target. Phoenix has been a boom or bust town since Motorola and Honeywell became the primary employers in the 60's. Diversifications and the "retreat from winter" industry have partically mitigated that, but people come, people go. Buildings come, buildings go. Most commercial sites have seen 2-3 different building on them in the last 30yrs. My new in 1970 apartment on the Tempe/Scottsdale line was torn down 7yrs later, a new apartment building erected, then it was torn down and an office building was built, all within 30yrs. Typical.
The late fall, winter and spring are nice, but the summers are the flip side of winter in the Yukon. 100 degree days are the norm in May and don't end until October. The reality is when it's 110 you're trapped inside with the air conditioning blasting from early morning until well after dark. It does cool off down into the low 80's at night, which is when to drive that convertible. I never once spent an entire summer there, but I recall pre-season football practice vividly. Since moving away I've been back on business frequently and a week of 110-115 degree days is not a lot of fun to be jumping in and out of a 150 degree car every couple hours. :thumdown:
We have a family home in Sedona which is packed to the walls in summer by folks escaping the heat. These days they are burning expensive gas to cover the 100-150mi to the mountains. Also on the gas price topic, if you do move there, locate close to your work as trips across town and back add up to 100 mile drives. The only way to get around the sprawl is by car, so air quality on the average day is the suck. On the East end you also have smoke drifting down from the copper smelters.
This is a place that I loved during the 1960's with crisp clean air and wide open spaces, but since then it's just been an endlessly growing sprawl of mostly featureless strip mall suburbia. It's a major market town now so popular activities are accordingly crowded. It's always been a transient town as well and lowlifes looking to evade consequences along the I-10 corridor from California to Texas find it convenient and are never in short supply.
The upsides are great restaurants (hundreds of them), warm evenings and warm winters and more recently the employment opportunities. Major market status means stores for everything along with the weird little specialty businesses that have always been there.
oc
Warlock!
01-24-06, 03:05 PM
...javelinas...
Mmmmm... javelinas...
http://www.continentalranchtexas.com/images/javalina001.jpg
oddlycalm
01-24-06, 03:06 PM
Thread hijack alert
And, of course, there is the boneyards to check out. Had a buddy that got us into the boneyard at Davis-Monthan in Tucson right after Desert Storm. They had just parked load of A-10's and B-52's along with the acres of stuff already there. We spent all day and got lots of pics and video including some cockpit video and a segment with an F-102 that was being sold to Ethiopia or some such chained to the deck and getting a fuel system adjustment. Way cool when the tech crouching on the wing runs it up to 100% and the three-stage burner kicks in with a loud pop and the plane is quivering against the tiedowns. :D Also got some semi-close footage of a live gun shoot by some A-10's on the range near the Arizona / New Mexico border.
oc
oc, That's a good buddy to have! We were stuck on the wrong side of the fence, looking in.
There is a boneyard of sorts in Mojave, CA that is for mostly commercial planes, but a few military too. We were able to drive right up to the planes. I never realized how big a 747 was until I saw my truck next to it.
Thanks for the info all. BTW. I am looking forward to the boneyard and Pima. Just didn't tell Mrs mapguy. There is also a commercial 'boneyard' up in Kingman that is on my list of things to visit.
Boneyard! (http://local.google.com/local?hl=en&lr=&q=Davis-Monthan+AFB&btnG=Search&t=k&ll=32.15407,-110.829606&spn=0.017513,0.040126&t=k) Simply incredible. :eek:
Oh, I forgot. A big thanks to DagoFast and OC.
Anal Ventor
01-27-06, 11:00 AM
Mapguy, i've been here about four yrs now and love it. I havn't shoveled a bit of snow since i left Ohio.....yea it's really hot for about 2-3 mths but the rest of the time it's gorgeous... right now i'm still wearing shorts to work!
Warlock!
01-27-06, 01:04 PM
I'm still here.
Nice 2 1/2 years between posts. :D
Now get yer @ss to work finding Sebring flights!
devilmaster
01-30-06, 04:04 PM
Now I know its not Phoenix...
But i was goofing around with internet Searches today and found this one Mappy.....
http://jobsearch.monster.ca/getjob.asp?JobID=38752909&AVSDM=2006%2D01%2D30+06%3A05%3A00&Logo=1&q=racing&sort=dt&ct=EU&aj=Europe
http://media.monster.com/xracingukx/joblogo.gif
A position has arisen within the IT department for a Network & Telecommunications Analyst
to cover all support aspects of data/voice networks and for the telecommunications
systems for McLaren Racing.
The successful candidate will be proactive and be able to use initiative and will have
acquired excellent customer support skills gained from several years experience working
in an IT support environment.
Typical duties will be:
• general network configuration including patching, VLANing and port configuration;
• monitoring log files and tackling the issues arising;
• submitting and actioning recommendations for change/improvement;
• supplier liaison;
• monitoring and administration of Cisco OS levels, firewall patch levels etc.
• telephone system administration;
By taking responsibility for the above you will ensure that we keep up to date and
maintain high levels of security, stability and performance. You will also play an active
part in the IT Security working group and as such you will investigate, evaluate and
recommend technologies that would benefit the McLaren Group of companies.
As part of the role you will also support LAN/WAN communications including VPNs
utilised by remote offices and the Race/Test Teams. Training will be given in appropriate
areas, where necessary, but candidates must have at least 2 years hands-on
experience of Checkpoint Firewalls, Cisco routers, and Cisco CATOS/IOS switches.
A strong customer support background and extensive knowledge of a wide range of
Information and Communications Technology disciplines is essential. The role is very
demanding and it may be necessary to work long hours (late nights/weekends) to
resolve problems, with the ability to keep a cool head in a high-pressure environment.
Participation in an on-call weekend rota may be required.
Please submit your CV via the Apply On-line link detailing your salary expectations for this role
or call: 01483 261140 for an application form.
JohnHKart
01-30-06, 08:38 PM
I visited Phoenix and Tempe a year ago for a concert and I found people a lot more friendlier like the midwest than in LA where I live. The people at the concert (Steve Morse and the Dregs) were very approachable before the show and I ended up chatting with the people sitting next to me. This would never happen here. The next day I was at a circle K putting some anti freeze in my car and a guy approached me to talk about how it was running and gave me some advice. Now if this was LA I would surely be freaking out that someone would be bothering me....and chances are they were just trying to scam me or something. But the guy was just being helpful and had no agenda. The friendliness in both situations was surprising.
John
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