Might move to Phoenix... or Bay area. Thoughts on living there?

[Small_words]

Hey, for work I might be moving to Phoenix. I've been around Edwards AFB but never Phoenix, outside the airport at least. What are people's thoughts on the place?

-Edited title to include Cali. New job development

[Seanz0rz]

i was there for about 6 hours about a year and a half ago. i found the interchanges on the freeways confusing, other than that, looked pretty nice. im not real into the desert landscape thing, i really prefer trees and grass and stuff. even in november, it was hot in the evening.

bottom line: would I move there? probably not. is it a nice place, yes.

you being from oregon, you might not like it so much. you have the monsoons that come up in the summer, but thats about it for rain.

[JOSHH]

Weather wise, it's totally the opposite from where you are coming from. It's a big city, and spread out. We have our share of traffic because of it. Plenty of wheelin on the outskirts, lots of rocks. Houses are cheap right now. That's all I can think of right now.

[corax]

. . . . and if you get a ticket from the photo radar things on the 101 just ignore them. If you respond, you owe the money - otherwise after 90 days the ticket gets dismissed (by law )

[DHC6twinotter]

Last time I was in Phoenix was probably 15 years ago, but I remember thinking it was a pretty nice place back then. My aunt and uncle used to live there, and my aunt was a principle at a high school there. Not sure how it is now, but I've never heard anything bad about it (other than the heat). Personally, I'd probably never move there, but a visit would be nice. Flagstaff would be more ideal, IMHO.

All the little water mister deals throughout the city are neat, and the revolving restaurant on top one of the hotels is pretty cool too.

[4x4mike]

I visited in April a few years ago and it was hot. Even the pool was hot. I remember just as much smog as CA and going to sleep and waking up in the heat. My buddy's dad said they run their AC most hours of the day in the summer and tend to drink a lot because that's all there is to do to beat the heat. We did some mountain biking right out of town which was good, lot's of sharp shale. Another plus is open carry and just driving out to the desert to do some shoot'n and wheeling.

I hear my buddy's dad is getting a new car. I guess his old was one crushed when the suguro (sp?) next to his house fell over. Those suckers are huge and I hear, quite heavy.

[Robinhood4x4]

The most striking thing about phx is how brown everything is and how flat everything is. Traffic is a piece of cake compared to Los Angeles or the Bay area. The freeways are much easier than California because they don't have to follow the contours of the hills. The streets are on a grid and the freeways either run north and south or east and west.

The heat turns on around the end of april and finally cools off around oct or Nov. I think the rest of the year it's nicer here than northern or southern california. Our electrical bill can reach $250 in the hottest summer months because of the air conditioning, but we hardly use the heater in the winter.

People are friendlier here than Ca, the girls are pretty hot and they own guns. The firearms laws here are absolutely fantastic. Phx doesn't hold a candle to LA for smog. We have a brown haze sometimes that's supposedly from dust and cars. In LA you'd be lucky to see the mountains and certainly you can see the smog just by looking up the street some days.

[Small_words]

Thanks fellas. See, the problem is that I switched careers from being a pilot in the military to working for a big General Contractor in my hometown. The GC doesn't pay squat and I now have a child and my wife has to go back to work because...I don't get paid squat. PHX is attractive b/c I could get on with Southwest Airlines. After the first year, I'd work half what I do now, get paid almost 3x as much, and during my free time I'd be spending time with my family hiking and riding. Eventually we could get back to the Northwest maybe, but right now I don't earn enough to live outside the meth head neighborhoods in Portland and if my wife wants to see our little girl much, I've got to get a better job.

[4x4mike]

Would this effect you?
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...-spelled-doom/

Looks like a streesful job but I have no idea what these pilots make.

[DHC6twinotter]

From what I gather, Southwest is one of the best airlines to work for. You looking at flying one of thier 737s?

PHX is also a hub for US Airways, but I'd much rather work for Southwest.

I hope you find some work. I know it's kinda tough out there right now.