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[smokeandmirrors]

So I would say Phoenix (and much of AZ or TX) are an example of the US's awesome suburban planning. You see, opinions are like assholes.

Everyone has one, and they all stink.

but i mean, no, that's factually incorrect.

but enjoy your strip mall hell.

 

[YaBish]

So much sprawlllll...

But I'll be damned if the city doesn't look pretty from South Mountain.

 

[cwmartin]

Did someone say the beach is 5 hours away like its a positive?! Holy Moly.

3 minute walk from the beach and I wouldn't mind closer.

 

[H.Cornerstone]

but i mean, no, that's factually incorrect.

but enjoy your strip mall hell.

I can assure you being in Arizona and going to other cities, Phoenix being one huge grid is ten times better to get around then any other city I've been to. And we have exits every mile.

 

[Friend of Sonic]

I can assure you being in Arizona and going to other cities, Phoenix being one huge grid is ten times better to get around then any other city I've been to. And we have exits every mile.

I agree with this. I've done some driving else where and love how easy it is to navigate the Phoenix metropolitan area.

 

[boredofcanada]

I lived in Phoenix for a bit. I didn't mind the summers, even the first time I experienced them. A dry 115 feels hot, but as soon as you get back into AC you're perfectly fine again. In a way, it was even sort of refreshing. I visited Florida in the summer and 90 degrees plus high humidity is orders of magnitude worse. Once you start getting hot, you're fucked. You can't cool off. You get coated in sweat. It's hard to sleep. It's hell. I'd take a month in Phoenix's summer over a day in Miami's.

I lived in Miami for 36 years and now live in North Phoenix. I'll take the 4 months of heat here over the year round humidity parade, any day. It's 115? Go inside. Problem solved. It's 90 in Miami? Well, you are fucked. You'll be sweating all day, even indoors. And that's not even bringing up hurricane season, where you'll be stuck with no power in fucking August for two weeks, or more. Arizona doesn't have natural disasters.

Also all the areas that people say are nothing but never ending strip malls are the areas you don't want to go to. Tempe, Scottsdale, and Central Phoenix are nothing like that. The best part of living here for me is that I can just leave north whenever I want and escape the heat while looking at some seriously beautiful landscapes. Sedona and Oak Creek never get old.

 

[rjinaz]

Did someone say the beach is 5 hours away like its a positive?! Holy Moly.

3 minute walk from the beach and I wouldn't mind closer.

It's more 4-5 hours to Rocky Point, Mexico. But it absolutely is a positive. I mean obviously the people that live near the coast will laugh at that, but most of America is not on the coast. Living in Arizona in this heat, it's nice to have an escape you can reach before noon if you leave early enough in the morning.

You also have San Diego about 5-6 hours away and Las Vegas about 4-5 hours away. It's nice to have travel locations you can drive to on a whim if you so choose. Grand Canyon about 2 hours away.

Though if I really want to get out of the heat, I'll just drive to Flagstaff. It's about 2 hours away and is usually 20 or more degrees cooler.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I've heard good things about Phoenix.

 

[Cormano]

Isnt Houston heat worse than Phoenixs?

 

[boredofcanada]

Isnt Houston heat worse than Phoenixs?

Yes it is. Any city by the Gulf of Mexico has worse heat.

 

[Izayoi]

A great antithesis written about the supposedly positive aspects of Phoenix's growth can be read here.

Written by a Phoenician-turned-Seattleite. Sure to ruffle a few feathers. Choice quotes:

Phoenix, once so new, the city of tomorrow, is now hobbled by miles of linear slums — older single-family house subdivisions — and a massive underclass served, if that's the word, by some of the most underfunded schools in the nation. Despite low social services, the city has a significant population of the diverse cohorts labeled ”homeless." Exclusive and wealthy Scottsdale sends street people to Phoenix toot sweet.

Even being at the heart of the housing crash didn't change the fundamental reliance on cheap housing, back-office jobs and sunshine. Good luck with that. Temperatures have gone up 10 degrees in my lifetime and Phoenix faces a dire future from climate change.

It has no equivalent of Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Jeff Bezos. It has no sizable headquarters of a major worldwide company. The only real university is two branch campuses of Arizona State University. Attracting and retaining adults with bachelor's degrees or higher (where it badly lags) is hampered by hard-right Arizona's reputation for bigotry.

 

[titiklabingapat]

Biggest city list is a useless metric. Metro area population is a better metric.