Is there any reason I shouldn't buy a house in Phoenix?

I lived in Phoenix for a year and would never go back. I don't mean any offense, but I think you're nuts for wanting to leave a beautiful, cultured city like Vancouver to live in a hot, brown sprawling, cultural vacuum like Phoenix.

Anyways I'll break down the pros and cons of living in Phoenix for you. Here is everything you ever wanted to know about Phoenix but were afraid to ask.

PROS

* Fantastic weather (from about October through May)

* Dry air --> no mold, mildew, or car rust. Best of all, no mosquitoes.

* Very affordable housing/property costs

* Low taxes

* Beautiful purplish sunsets, desert fauna and nice landscape (tall palm trees, mountains, etc.,)

* Plenty of open space

* Close to L.A. and Las Vegas

* Lots of golf courses

* The area is nice and flat (even though it's surrounded by mountains)

* Modern city with good infrastructure and an excellent freeway system; for a city of this size traffic is not too bad; also it's built on a grid system so it's well laid-out and easy to navigate

* Overall the city is pretty clean even if it is brown and dusty

CONS

* The summer heat (...you're gonna have a very hard time getting used to this coming from a cool, rainy climate like Vancouver)

* Low wages

* Ubran sprawl, tract housing and Orwellian neighborhoods

* A very pedestrian-unfriendly city; very spread-out and with little or nothing within walking distance - not that you'd want to be outdoors walking anyway in that type of climate anyway

* Mass transit is practically non-existent - the valley's new light-rail system is a joke which no one will ever use in that hot climate

* HIGH utility bills, especially in the summer when you'll have your A/C running all day

* Very little cultural diversity (Mexicans and Native Americans, is about as diverse as it gets in Phoenix)

* Too many chain restaurants and anchor stores

* Almost impossible to find any type of ethnic food there (other than Mexican)

* Meth-heads

* White trash

* Rednecks

* Mormons

* Skin cancer

* Road rage

* Scorpions

* The drinking water tastes disgusting

* Rude, nasty, aggressive drivers (AZ is #1 nationwide in hit-and-run accidents, and for that reason, speed cameras are all over the freeways)

* Panhandlers and solicitors are EVERYWHERE

* Phoenix has probably the most boring downtown of any major city I've ever been in - the downtown is purely a business district with no nightlife or entertainment whatsoever (other than the two sports arenas); for any decent nightlife you have to head to Tempe, Scottsdale or to (even further out of the city) Glendale

* CRIME. A huge problem. Arizona is #1 nationwide in identity theft and #4 in car theft. Phoenix is #1 in the country in kidnappings.

* Illegal immigration - another huge problem in Arizona

* The public schools are deplorable; AZ's public education system is ranked #49 nationwide, beating out only Louisiana

* Car registration and insurance are expensive

* The people. Overall I found Phoenicians to be very unsophisticated, uncultured and unmannered - and that's one reason I would never, ever move back there.

In the summertime, the sun is so intense that you can't even let pets go outside. They'll suffer third-degree burns on their feet (literally). If you have a pool in your backyard, you have to wear flip-flops.

Living in Phoenix is such an unnatural, bubble-like existence where you spend your time rushing from your air-conditioned house to your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned office to the air-conditioned supermarket and back home, with maybe a trip to the air-conditioned mall or air-conditioned theater on the weekend. It all makes the people there rather isolated and unfriendly, but as I said, you WILL get accosted by people looking for money in just about every parking lot you drive into.

If you wish to visit Arizona, go to Sedona (about two hours' drive north of Phoenix) and the Grand Canyon during the fall or spring. Both are lovely areas. I've heard Lake Havasu is also nice (never been there, but supposedly a popular spring break destination).

I know a lot of people are going to sh-- all over me for some of the things I wrote. But I'm not out to trash Phoenix. I've written a lot of good things and a lot of bad things. The decision to move here is yours to make. I just want you to have all the facts. Good luck.

So you like hotter-than-hell summers then, I guess. I know someone who moved there and returned in less than a year. He said that in Phoenix, all summer everyone literally runs from one air-conditioned situation to another, just as those in colder climates run from one heated situation to another in the winter. He also said there's big business there in repairing melted dashboards!

You say you "intend" to get a US work visa. How do you intend to do that? You will need to have some rare skill/experience/education that's not easily found in US workers in order to get one [same thing for US citizens wanting to live in Canada].

Phoenix is more attractive than Vancouver??? I guess this is a case of the grass being greener [ha! - literally!] on the other side of the fence.

If you are thinking of moving to Phoenix, choose like scotsdale or Chandler area's. Sun Tan valley is also nice as well. Glibert is too (Mesa, Maricopa) I didn't like living in Tempe AZ too many gangs around there. Choose outside of the Phoenix area, a little more safer. I went to Gilbert last month very nice area. If you like the hot AZ is the place for you. 115-120 in the summer no heat, a lot of rain for the fall from the Monsoon season. Winter is 30-60's. I live in Bullhead City,AZ. :-D if you r looking for not too hot and cold, little bit of snow Flagstaff would be for you ;-)

In Phoenix during the summer, it is very hot, very dry, lots of dust, and more sun then you will know what to do with. The sun and dust gets into every thing, can't get away from it. Jan. and Feb. are real nice, the best of the year for me. Now about buying a house here in phoenix. Be very, very careful. Many of the houses here have been striped. By this I mean that anything that can be removed has been removed. Lots of luck.

We have a lot of new home owners here in the Phoenix from Canada and Alaska. If you can afford it, go for it. I'm sure you've investigated our weather and all the pros of living here.

Just be sure you can afford it and not lose it to the bank like so many hopefuls have done.

Good luck

Possibly you could visit Phoenix (renting an apt. or long-term hotel) for several months to a year, and then you can make a decision. Sometimes one really has to spend some amount of time in a place before they can make a major decision such as moving.

Bad economy, bad job market. Phoenix was one of the worst hit by the depression (oops recession..yeah right). I'd trade you for Vancouver citizenship any day!

Yeah there is. ........ It's in America! ... (But if you're in Canada, Phoenix is probably 'Paradise' in comparison.) I wouldn't live there if you paid me too. (it's got a nice name though. ,,, err, Phoenix I mean, not America.

Two words: leather seats.

It is awful

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