If you’ve kept up with this blog and many of the reader comments, then you’ve surely seen just how many times we’ve read somebody’s story about how his or her quality of life was turned upside down upon relocating to Arizona. A lot of people get suckered into moving out here with the false claims of nice weather, cheap homes, ton of activities, great & plentiful jobs, and a high quality of life. People are easily fooled when they see the palm trees, sunny skies, pools, and nicely manicured golf courses on their TVs or in Arizona relocation guides. Unfortunately, move out here for just a week or two and you will quickly realize that you are really in for a unique and unpleasant treat. Arizona is one of those rare places where you can try your hardest to make the most of it, and you will still be left feeling worn out, defeated, misplaced, disgusted, and just sick to your stomach. There’s just something about this place and it’s scorching weather, discouraging landscape, horrifying crimes, monotony, and lack of opportunity that will really get you down and will keep you down until you can finally escape.
Many, many people have reported moving to Arizona and realizing just how unfriendly and lacking the job market really is out here. There are NO good jobs out here – well, of course there are a few but you probably aren’t going to be fortunate enough to land one of these positions. There was an abundance of fast food, retail, landscaping, call center, and other ’strip mall jobs’ in recent years. However, as it became more clear that Arizona was greatly overbuilt in the past few years, the number of these jobs are on the decline while the number of applicants is on the rise. Not a good situation for you if you had dreamed of moving to Arizona and introducing yourself to the fast-paced world of Wendys. It might already be pretty clear to a lot of people, but I cannot stress enough that nobody should ever move to Arizona to look for a job or even with a job offer in hand. You might wonder why it might be a bad idea to move to Arizona even with a job already lined up, but the answer could not be simpler. It is not worth the risk or the hassle of relocating to Arizona. If you move out here even with a great job and get laid off, it will be next to impossible to find a similar position out here. You will be forced to relocate once again or take a huge pay cut with another organization out here. That’s certainly no fun and Arizona does have some of the lowest unemployment benefits in the country should you need to file a claim. Don’t be fooled by news reports and talk of Arizona having a hot job market – it certainly doesn’t now and probably never will.
You probably thought it was bad enough when you moved to Arizona and you couldn’t find work or were stuck taking a position far below your skill level. Once you landed a job somewhere and somehow out here, you probably had the pleasure of dealing with commuting and just driving out here in general. You soon realized one day as you were driving to your dead end job, just how terrible all the construction, traffic and the drivers are out here. Other states may have more traffic, but Arizona certainly has some of the worst drivers in the country. Arizona drivers are famous for driving drunk, driving in the left lane, cutting off others, having no concept of merging, blocking people who need to get past them, not signaling, throwing caution & trash out the window, running red lights seconds after the signal change, and just about anything else you can imagine. Living in Arizona will allow you to witness some of the worst accidents you have seen in your life and the opportunity to sit in the subsequent traffic backups. Driving in Arizona is a lot like playing Mario Kart, except out here you will be forced to dodge illegals, drunks, tire debris, ladders, and old mattresses. Driving in Arizona will anger, frustrate, and quite possibly kill you.
Managing to make it out of the traffic alive and into your first day of work, you encountered some of the lowest forms of life on the planet. People in Arizona are like one giant herd of sheep with no direction, no ambition, no work ethic, and piss poor attitudes. People out here don’t care about you, and you shouldn’t care about them. Most relationships in Arizona are built solely on getting ahead or taking advantage of a situation. People in Arizona who work hard and share their own ideas will only be taken advantage of. It really doesn’t matter whether you are working the drive thru or retail or with a small business or in a corporate office building in Arizona – you will still be surrounded by these worthless, uneducated, drunk cowards. And to make matters worse, it is almost always these people who manage to get ahead out here. You will NOT grow your career in Arizona and shouldn’t even bother coming out here and giving it a try.
You surely thought that even though your job and commute in Arizona was terrible enough, you can at least have a great time at home and out on the weekends. Right? C’mon now, you have a brand new house in far, far East Mesa with a pool, and you live right next to a half vacant strip mall. Life could not sound much better to the majority of these uneducated fools in Arizona. Although, you quickly realized that life in an Arizona subdivision, as well as everyone else living in Arizona will manage to piss you off in one way or another. People out here struggle with menial tasks including grocery shopping, fueling their car, checking their mail, and even walking their dog. The majority of retail and restaurant workers out here are lazy, not knowledgeable, pushy, and just unpleasant to deal with. There is no common courtesy out here and people tend to just do what they feel when they feel like doing it. From having landscaping crews show up well before the sun comes up to tying up a barking dog for hours on end to listening to awful, deafening Mexican music late into the night to people of all ages road racing down the streets of your subdivision – you WILL encounter it all in Arizona. People in Arizona will drag you down to their level and at some point you will probably just give up and take it. The longer you spend in Arizona, it becomes more and more likely that you will be that jackass who is out with a chainsaw at 5AM, drunk, naked, and cutting down that dead palm tree in your yard. Don’t let it happen to you – leave now while you can still think rationally.
And then there’s the weather. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse out here, April arrives and so do the 100 degree days. No matter how you slice it or justify it, the fact is that the weather in Arizona is miserable for close to half the year. Don’t be fooled by the idiots who tell you there are just three hot months, and then nine months filled with the best and most beautiful weather in the world. This is not the case, was never the case, and will never be the case. Being in Arizona is close to unbearable from May to the beginning of October. The winter months are a mixture of mild and cold, but one thing is certain and that is that you won’t regularly be laying out by your pool in December like some people would like to have you believe. Tell me how a state where you are just about forced to lock yourself indoors for months on end has beautiful weather worth bragging about. The bright, hot, miserable, dusty, and lengthy Arizona summers will take a toll on your mental and physical health.
You really can try your hardest to make living in Arizona work for you. You can do the opposite of everyone else in Arizona and be friendly, work hard, go out and see what Arizona has to offer, think for yourself, drink in moderation, and strive to get ahead. Unfortunately, you will quickly realize that it is all for nothing as you sit in a dead end job and fail to build any true friendships or meaningful relationships out here. Arizona will quickly turn even the best of people into depressed, worthless, demotivated zombies who look, think, and act like everyone else. Try and justify it all you want but there is no reason for settling down out here. Ever thought your life couldn’t get any worse? Come to Arizona because it can and it will. How quick did you experience the downturn in quality of life since moving to Arizona? The first week?
I would say the first week. I had moved to Arizona to further my education and I will never forget walking into my first day of class at the local college. I was horrified at the riff-raff I was to call my classmates. Most of them were kids from like local high school who picked up a college class so they could leave school grounds to smoke. There was a few ‘adults’ but more often than not they showed up reeking of booze. I actually had an instructor for one of my classes say that she thought it was a totally ethical nursing practice to “refuse care to AIDS patients”. What?! It felt like I had entered some sort of time warp where racism and bigotry were alive and well. It was absolutely unbelievable. I spent most of the 2 years I lived in Arizona very very lonely. The few times I was actually invited out by co-workers or classmates I ended up feeling very isolated. It felt like some bad high school scene. Keggers in nasty trailer parks and adults, I’m not talking early 20’s, I am talking 30 year old + ADULTS just drinking to get shit faced. All these posts about people stating they felt ‘dumbed down’ after living in AZ for a few years, I totally get why…Nobody had a care about what else was going on in the world; forget intelligent conversations, people just wanted to brag about how trashed they got the night before. It was really hard to find someone to relate to. I was a single 29 year old woman. I would say 90 percent of the women my age had 5 plus children, many of them by different men, and one more on the way. Yet, there was “something wrong with me” for choosing to not get married by 19. I worked with 8 women, whom while they were pregnant, not only smoked like chimneys, but would be unabashedly at the bar friday night, huge pregnant belly and all, drinking. Why worry about the health of a child when you can get on AHCCS to pay for any complications? I hate to generalize, and I consider myself a very open-minded, well traveled person. I hate labels, but it just seems like the entire state of Arizona is just so down and out. The worst part is, that most people seem to be content with that. I have never ever ever experienced anything like it, and since moving out of that state I hope to never have to again!
Way to go Anonymous! Not only that, but unless you talk like a “gangster”, you are just not in the loop of things. Many woman here are just that. Trash, or use their looks to get what they want. And then when you are financially drained, all they want is more. Hispanic women. Don’t get me started. Fickle and narcissistic. Navajo or any other, disloyal and alcoholics. To top it all off, Men treat their gals like crap, and yet it is acceptable. That is why there is so much domestic violence here in AZ.
As usual, brilliant blog. I remember the day it really hit me what I had done. I had moved here from a world class city for the same reason many do: buy a bigger place in a decent part of town. So I did. I woke up one morning, looked out at my beautiful yard from my beautiful bedroom and just said “What on earth have I done?” OMG!!!
It’s been downhill ever since and that was over six years ago. This place HAS sucked the life out of me to the degree I feel paralyzed to GET OUT! I keep thinking if only I try harder things could be different, but I have been thinking this way for six freaking years now and ask myself when is it just time to cut my losses and escape?!
I was at the grocery store last night and this guy behind me smiled and commented on my purchase. I thought, THAT is what is missing in this town! I think in all the time I’ve been here that is the ONLY person to do such a thing! I can only figure that people only exist here, not live. Is it possible everyone is as miserable living here as I am and they don’t know it?
My job is to figure out how to get out of here!!! I could go on and on about this place, but I will spare you all. Just know you don’t want to come here! Thanks so much for this blog as I know I am not alone!
One more point…I used to be a go-getter. I used to have plans and dreams. I used to have an interesting life. There were intelligent people to talk to, I wasn’t constantly subjected to this AZ Yeehaw mentality. I am single and forget about even finding anyone. I signed up on a singles site and the only men available wore cowboy hats with beer bellies standing next to tractors or big trucks. The one guy I did get together with turned out to be a big criminal featured on our local news!
See, in other places it makes sense to have plans and dreams. There are reasons to go to school (like jobs), put up with long commutes (get ahead) and strive to do better. Tell me, what is there to “get ahead” here for? To live in another part of town that is no better than where I live? There aren’t any jobs that pay anything here to even go out and spend money on chain restaurants. There is nothing worth doing here! Nothing!
So….in an effort to *do something* here I signed up at the local community college in a program so I can get *some* job. There, I sit with people who are excited at learning a “profession” that pays on average $12 an hour! What was I thinking?! Since coming here I haven’t made ONE good decision. If you want to sink to the lowest common denominator and watch your IQ drop precipitously, live here!
I lived in Arizona for two years (thankfully I escaped last summer). I went to Phoenix for grad school. However, I found most ASU grad students (and professors) to be about as intelligent as lobotomized high school school students. Big mistake.
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why the city of Phoenix exists. It’s not some kind of major port. There aren’t any natural resources. Phoenix doesn’t really produce anything. It’s just some kind of giant drain on the rest of the country. All the resources it takes to send goods to an inhospitable city out in the middle of nowhere just boggles my mind. All the water taken from the Colorado Basin. I just don’t get it…
It’s like for some reason the people that “designed” the city of Phoenix (and it’s suburbs) just decided to make the absolutely worst decision every time they were presented with a choice. Sprawl, boring and worthless buildings, 8-lane city streets that would pass for a major freeway in most other parts of the country, big box chain stores that drain money out of what little community there is here and send it back to the CEO’s in New York. I don’t know. This whole metropolitan area just seems so pointless to me.
Clayton, You couldn’t have said it more perfectly Re: your fellow classmates and professors being ” as intelligent as lobotomized high school students”. As i said in my first post I had made the move to further my education too, it was absolutely shocking to see how education is run (or not run) in Arizona. The majority of people I went to college with were reading and writing at a 5th grade level. One of my nursing classes spent an ENTIRE WEEK educating about how to have proper dress and hygiene; that when applying for a job one should ‘dress up’ and wear clothes free of holes, stains, or offensive slogans and be free of body odor. I was horrified that as a professional, I was paying for a class that felt the need to teach basic life skills. That’s the population Arizona houses though.
Hellhole survivor, I really feel for you. Keep your chin up. I know what 2 years of living in the armpit of America did to me. I was never more depressed in my entire life. After a while, I started thinking it was me, that I was the one with the problem. Now that I am out of there, I am starting to see more clearly and I can see things as they really are. When you are a healthy functional person, living in complete disfunction, you are the grinding axe. I wish you the best and many wishes for a speedy exit.
Yuck AZ, You always make me laugh. The thing about AZ women… they are an “Equal Opportunity Lot”. The trashy, manipulative, gold digging lifestyle expands across all races and creeds!
Thanks again for this blog! It really has been the therapeutic validation I was so desperately needing!
OMG, Anonymous, I was sitting in my community college class last night and the instructor took the time to read – straight out of the textbook – how to wash your hands!! Yes, I am in a medically related program and this is what happened. In one of our “labs” we counted pills! Yes, first counted 30, then 15, then 60. I am NOT kidding here!
I have an MBA from a real university. I signed up for this program to do something fast and cheap and to try to pull myself out of this rut that living here has sunk me into. The jobs here pay crap so I thought this program couldn’t hurt. I think I was wrong. I am glad I am not the only one astonished at the level of instruction in the schools here and the caliber of those who call this ridiculousness “education.”
BTW, I so do appreciate your warm sentiments. I will get out of here one day!
Well thank you anonamous. Who or whatever you are. I am glad I mad you laugh. But you don’t understand. It is the Hispanic women who want to be the “Jennifer Lopez” rap video type and it’s the Hispanic women screaming at the top of their lungs barking out orders at their “Raider Nation” clad boyfriends with the picture if cannibis on thier hat worn sideways. True to form, gold digging and trashy spans across many a race, but in Arizona, and a few other places, it seems like these are the “pitbulls” of the human race. They are also the most unenjoyable people to deal with. Fickleness and narcissism seem to take creedence with these types. Navajo and other native tribes down here seem to want to include the whole family in their relationships, as I was in a similar set of circumstances. Maybe the specific direct truth is too much for you as that is the reason why you you hide under the guise of “anonymous”. If you or others don’t seem to get the direct and specific problems with this state or people, you are really the one who is an idiot. Take that and swallow hard!!!!
Stop being nasty Yuck! You are the reason I want to get out of here! Anonymous said nothing wrong to you!
And typical Arizonan that you are, learn how to spell!
Admin wrote:
You really can try your hardest to make living in Arizona work for you. You can do the opposite of everyone else in Arizona and be friendly, work hard, go out and see what Arizona has to offer, think for yourself, drink in moderation, and strive to get ahead. Unfortunately, you will quickly realize that it is all for nothing as you sit in a dead end job and fail to build any true friendships or meaningful relationships out here. Arizona will quickly turn even the best of people into depressed, worthless, demotivated zombies who look, think, and act like everyone else. Try and justify it all you want but there is no reason for settling down out here. Ever thought your life couldn’t get any worse? Come to Arizona because it can and it will.
————————-
I just have to commend you for nailing this on the head so succinctly. I am sitting here racking my brains as to how to undo this huge mistake I made when I moved here.
Thanks for saying it so well.
I’m glad you enjoy the blog and thank you for participating in the discussions!!
At least people like us have realized what a mistake it was coming out here – I really feel for those out here who are living in some sort of fantasy land. Eventually they’ll open their eyes to what’s really going on in Arizona, well at least some of them will.
There will be a new update on here sometime tomorrow, I think…
Great, I look forward to it. You have a way with words and expressed so well what I have been thinking, yet second-guessing myself over, for so long.
I think ignorance is bliss, in a sense. I feel more for those of us who realize the colossal mistake made in coming here and yet feel trapped to leave. In this crappy economy, in this crappy place, it can seem like a prison. With the housing market as is, it’s tough to sell one’s house. With the lack of any sort of decent jobs, it’s tough to even apply for work. If someone is lucky enough to find a job, that someone will have to be happy with low wages. All the way around, it really does suck here.
This place is nothing more than a series of strip malls, houses, and freeways. That is it. And anyone looking at this place has to wonder how any sort of recovery will occur here when the influx of people occurred under the guise of lots of jobs, cheap housing and opportunity. No one has the money to spend to support all of these strip malls so the economy, I predict, will not turn around here. This place will just continue to spiral downward to the lowest common denominator that it is. Thoroughly depressing but a realistic point of view I think.
Mr. Hellhole, or perhaps it is Ms. Hellhole, depending on if you are one of those crossdressing types who hangout here on the “Miracle Mile” here in Tucson, you just contradicted yourself, by attacking me, you just catagorized yourself as one of those “Typical Arizonans”. I do know how to spell. I have a Minnesota education and a broadcasting degree that I can’t use down here in this wonderful state because I don’t appeal to Hip Hop/R&B crowd. It’s people(?) like you who make people like me so upset. Sometimes, I get so mad I cannot type or see straight. Time for you to go back to the bottomless pit you came from. Maybe you were bounced too many times as a kid and your parents had low ceilings. Now, idiot, does that sound like an Arizonan? Some thinking required there Jack.
I didn’t attack you Yuck, rather I defended someone else against YOUR attack. And how was I to know you could spell correctly, considering you did not?
And, surprise, surprise, I am a native Minnesotan as well. And I have an MBA, so there. No need for name calling.
Oh, and it is categorized, not catagorized, as an FYI. Now, peace and out.
I hate to get into a verbal assault, but now it sounds like your “Minnesota Nice” is coming out and you are backing down. You did call me a “Typical Arizonan who does not know how to spell.” Now, Mr./Ms. Hole, if I were the “Typical Arizonan” as you described, would I even be on this thing? And surprise there Gomer, I have a bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. So there. And in terms of defending the attack upon me, all I was doing was simply making a point that one needs to look at ALL aspects of this society of Arizona. Meaning you must look at the bigger and smaller pictures before making such a generalization. Now, if I remember correctly this site is used to educate the public on the atrocities and injustices that this state has perpetuated upon people’s lives. Let’s stick to the education part now shall we????????
Oh, by the way, it is peace out. Not peace and out.
And furthermore, Hellhole, why are you defending anyone else from MY attacks. Shouldn’t you be worrying about the people who LOVE this state?
Whatever. You’ve shown your true colors. I will not engage in conversation with you going forward, as that is not my reason for coming to this blog.
Enough of that — check out the new post, ‘Is It Really The Same Everywhere Else?’. It will be up in a few…
It goes along the lines of what ‘Hellhole survivor (so far)’ mentioned about the job market, housing market, and economy here in Arizona. It’s definitely not a brand new topic on this blog, but something I think is worth bringing up again and there is always something new to add.
And…I know a ton of people down here from MN as well. Some hate it, while others appear to love it down here.
Very true admin. There are many people who have mentioned the poor job market, housing market and economy. You don’t have to have an MBA to figure that one out. And more people are concise than others on this thing. And what about what I have mentioned. I don’t think anyone has mentioned about the fact that a representative from Mesa wanted to pass a law making it legal to carry guns to school? It all depends on where you are from in Minnesota. And what sort of mentality that has been instilled in your psyche since you were a kid. Most only concentrate on the fact that one cannot shovel sunshine. Nothing else. I am glad that I have shown my true colors. At least it’s not pink, or the yellow strip down Hellhole’s back. It is a lovely shade of black and blue. Just like his face will look whenever I see him/her/it!!!!
Wow!!! A friend of mine introduced me to this website. It could not be more accurate and true. My Goodness!! Sounds like this Hellhole guy needs to switch to decaf. Or perhaps seek some oral satisfaction. Oh well, the people in this state are so very confrontational no matter where it seems to be. And for those of you who think the smaller towns in this state are affordable. Try finding an apartment in a place like Flagstaff or perhaps Sedona!!! You have to sell alot of rocks to pay for rent!!!!!
I was reading in the Arizona Daily Star this morning that “sexting”, or sending pictures of one’s private areas via cellphone is a severe problem in many of the schools here in the Old Pueblo. What is anyone’s take on this? Looks like many of the kids are so bored with the education that they are receiving that the kids are resorting to doing this just to keep themselves from falling asleep in class. Perhaps Hellhole has the answer to this.
I gotta say in alot of ways I agree…..& then some….however i have done a bit of traveling the last cpl. yrs. and honestly its getting pretty bad everywhere…in conclusion…arizona must be the test model for the future america…..or how the international bankers would like for the future america to be…..just a bunch of stupid sheep…..I dunno…pretty sad :(
Yes, it is not what it used to be many years ago Tommy b. We just don’t live in the Leave it to Beaver generation. But can you honestly say that everystate has a horrible education system such as what the state of Arizona has? And how many homicides/kidnappings can a place like Fargo, ND have in a week? It’s sick out there Tommy, but you have to ask yourself, would I feel more safe in South Phoenix, or in International Falls?
And by the way, how do many of you feel now that the law against texting while driving has been voted down by our wonderful legislature? Feel safe?
With this economy I find it easy to believe that Arizona still uses Unemployment benefits that have not changed since 1939 and the max you can get in this sorry state is 240.00 while in Nevada it is 400.00 a week!!
Thanks Arizona and the right wing jerks who actually believe they are doing good, my statement of “”Arizona, the Right to be Poor State”" is so true, move here they get tax credits for you and use them to name a state horse, boy is that going to help our economy!!! Wake up and smell your own crap politicians and figure out what the hell is wrong.
Oh and as soon as we can we are out of this sorry no good state that sucks big time, scenery up north is cool but the state sucks
Education Rankings for Arizona 2006-2007 50th
Unemployment Benefits $240.00 Last Again
Unemployment only 22 states worse than here
This place will destroy you if you have ever had any type of success in your life. If you were born here you might fair better becuase this is all you know.
It’s who you know and how you act out here for the most part. There are a lot of people who’s kids/siblings work at work, and it seems to feel like they get preferential treatment out here just by having a family. You can be very bright, forward thinking, but if you don’t go out with coworkers to watch some stupid Cardinals game and talk about big screen TV’s and such they’ll catch on. When they realize you aren’t interested in flying to Las Vegas or driving to San Diego every other weekend or caught up on all the games or have a cruiser motorcycle or quad, they’ll assume you’re not like them and start spreading rumors. The rumor mill in AZ is redlined and about to blow up most of the time, people can’t wait to hear bad stuff or some disadvantage, no matter how true it actually is or of they’re experiencing the same thing or worse…
I mean, you can’t get much excited over Cardinals or any other professional AZ sports, or much else for that matter. I really don’t think AZ was ever strong in ANY sport yet people still want to be devoted. That’s the problem, AZ is not very strong in hardly anything but a few specialized technical and military fields. Human nature forces people to side with where they live, i.e community, but if there’s no real strong community and culture, it goes to materialism and rumor talking.
Most people come here form somewhere else, still attach themselves more to where they came from as opposed to where they’re at, and you just can’t tell if they’re happy to be here or just stuck and saving face.
Don’t come here from somewhere else and ask out loud why it’s so fu**** up. People will catch on and start the rumor mill.
Songs about AZ…
you gotta a bad old habit of making people sad
you got a bad old habit of making people dead
did you think you were cool?
I don’t really understand it
did you think you were cool?
I don’t even understand it
so cool
hey makes it alright
you keep on taking your chances
you killer of mine
look at yourself
just look what you’ve done
just take a look
did have some fun?
did you think you were cool?
I don’t even understand it
did you think you were cool?
I don’t really understand it so cool
when the night falls
I lay my head on shallow ground
covered by the sand of desert dunes,
I will be found
write your name with fingers in the sand
and it’s blown away by sandstorms
and
I’m gonna leave this ghosttown
I’m leaving, leaving, leaving this ghosttown
I’m gonna leave it on its own
lost souls on dead ground
and all the memories
that come at night
and steel my sleep
the neverending game
of love and pain
I’m in too deep
rattlesnakes draw circles in the dust
and while I watch them I realize I must
leave this ghosttown
Anon,
you couldn’t have stated it better. The rumor mill is almost (if not worse) than the obsession with material gain. I lived outside of Payson, Az for almost 2 years. I had never before seen such a fixation on quads, jacked up trucks, and weekend trips to San Diego or Las Vegas. Most of my co-workers drove the latest quads and bragged about how much money they pissed away gambling, drunk, while in Vegas or Laughlin; however, most of them were on ACCHS with 5 kids and used food stamps. It always seemed like such skewed values. I had moved to Northern Arizona thinking that since it was in the mountains and surrounded by national forests that there would be somewhat of an outdoor recreation scene. I couldn’t have been further from the truth. I was looked at as a weirdo by my co-workers because I “ate green things” (spinach salads, broccoli, and vegetables in general) and I was into trail running, mountain biking, cycling, and good old fashioned hiking. It was like it blew their minds. They we’re always saying “Why would you hike ten miles on foot when you could ride a quad?” or “I can’t believe you actually eat that crap!” as they sucked down their daily super-sized fast food regimen. Now don’t get me wrong, I am nobody to criticize someone’s diet, however, because I was different I was gossiped about constantly. I worked in healthcare and I can say every single person I worked with smoked like a chimney. It didn’t matter if they were on oxygen or pregnant. I would also go as far as to say that I bet as much as 2 hours a day, of company time, while on the clock, were spent as smoke breaks. When you’re not outside in the employee courtyard abusing company time (and your body for that matter), and you’re actually doing your job, leading a healthy lifestyle, modest about how you spend your money, practice right speech and don’t engage in gossip, and responsible to your commitments; apparently people in Arizona seem to think there is something wrong with you and will talk about how “un-christian” you are or how weird you are. It got to a point, after I had witnessed my boss (a married man and clergyman in his church) pre-sue and sexually harass another employee, where my boss would call me into his office and tell me he thought I was morally sick because I didn’t go to his cult-like backwoods church. I was eventually terminated for… drumroll please…. “an amoral lifestyle”. When I asked my boss to define what this meant, I was given the answer “You’re anti-family. You’re an unmarried 29 year old woman living alone, you don’t have a family and you don’t go to church. You’re co-workers have confessed concern.” Um what? If that wasn’t a wake up slap in the face, the fact that I had no legal recourse because of Arizona’s “Right to Work” law certainly was. After that, I decided I had had enough of the backwards twisted small mentality. I had had enough of being judged and backstabbed. I had had enough of the trashy women, reeking of cigarettes and booze, with 5 children out of wedlock from various different men calling me “anti-family”. I had had enough of the leathered, home tattooed, meth mouthed men calling me a lesbian behind my back because I wouldn’t sleep with them. I threw in the hat, and in desperation, I did something I never imagined I would ever do in my adult life, I called my parents in Nebraska and begged them to help get me out of there. Within a week they were there, and I for that, I will forever be indebted to them. I never imagined I would be living in Nebraska. People knock the mid-west for it’s boring endless cornfields and flat endless terrain. However, coming from the hell of Arizona it doesn’t seem so bad.
The Midwest is not so bad! At least up there they know the meaning of benefit-of-doubt!!!
Well it appears that that our stupid and ignorant governor has decided to have a vote on fighting the national healthcare bill that was just passed thereby screwing the people in this state again just like always. We have a budget crisis yet they don’t give a rats ass about the people nor the state only there fat asses is all that matters. Maybe a class action lawsuit by the people against these ignorant politicians will change there mind, but then again I guess you can’t sue because of stupidity. Bend Over Arizona Here It Comes Again and again and again.
Most states have a moral majority here it is a MORMON Majority
Arizona the Welfare State
I’m calling it quits. All I need to do is to clean up this house and plop a for sale sign in the yard. I’ll be walking away from wasted years and no life. It’s time to throw in the towel. To the owner of this site, thank you. You have helped push me to a place I think I’ll actually be able to do this.
You’re welcome and good luck to you with the home sale/move!!
OMG I can’t wait to read the whole blog. I HATE THIS PLACE! And I am stuck here for now and have been for seven years. It took me a couple of years to hate it because until we moved off the army post I didn’t see how bad the real Arizona is. By then we’d bought a house. Now we are stuck with it in this crappy little hell hole of Sierra Vista.
You made some good points. I started dating my girlfriend from work, and the rumor mill started talking about marriage after 3 months. I’m sorry, that isn’t enough time to know. We moved in together with a family member as a buffer and to save money. Well, the word got out around work and all of a sudden it was extremely bad to live together and not being married. We’re still together and have decided to live separately for awhile while we both go back to school.
The important thing to get out of this is a hollow hard right wing card gets played around here a lot. I’ve lived in Houston awhile and worked in Louisiana, people here don’t know shit about about right wing. Try living in the south.
Here they will gang up on you with backtalk rumors if you’re older than 22 and not married. For awhile at work it was no big deal, no one discriminates. All of a sudden people at work are talking about family and how important it is. People at work are getting pregnant and indirectly mention it’s the only way to move up the ladder. I agree it’s very important, and as such you shouldn’t get into it until you’re ready, which includes having enough money saved up.
But no, all of a sudden people who decide my fate at work are really starting to focus on family people i.e. people with kids and house notes. In fact, I’m starting to get squeezed out at work even though the work I do is productive. There are people at work who are single and extremely smart with multiple degrees, and they get cubicles.
Family is important, so important you better have your stuff together 100% before you jump in. EX_NOAZIAN, you were surrounded by people who are closeted unhappily married and turn the ideal of family values to shame other people into it, in hopes they will be just as miserable as they feel.
Marriage is great, it’s important. So are families, The world has gone to shit the last couple of years everyone is wondering about basic stability in life. Even if they are right, and it’s somehow wrong to wait until you are ready for marriage, what kind of parent would you be to send your kid to the lowest rated school system in the country?
I agree with most of you to a point. There seems to be a lot of “blame” being on put on the state and where you live as opposed to yourselves. Everyone has an idea of the “perfect life” and lets face it, chances of anyone having a “perfect” life are slim to none no matter where you live. We all need to take charge of our own lives and stop living the American way of passing the buck. If you like AZ, congrats, I wish you well. If you hate AZ, then leave and I wish you well also.
Interesting but im stuck here because I put down 170K on my home and it was purchased for over four hundred Thousand bucks. It now sells for less than 150K. Its an acre horse property and we have over 5 foreclosures selling for nothing. I am stuck here for the long term (probably ten years). I also own a vacation place in Showlow outright that wont sell either. I have had two decent paying jobs here. The first was working for a mexican owned web development company for forty K. Funny thing is at the time I thought that was crap pay because it was half my salary in Los Angeles. Problem was they were criminals. They took money for work and hid in mexico and never delivered. That closed then I was stuck working low paying call center gigs. Finally worked my way out of the phones to supervisor making over fifty K only to be laid off when the company got bought out by another and moved out of AZ. Now I have been on unemployment again and just took another call center job paying 12.50 an hour that starts on Monday. All I do is look for work, move up the ladder get laid off and start over. I have consistently job hunted for most of the 2.5 yrs I have lived in Phoenix. Job hunting seems to be a necessity to survive here since nothing is long term. Companies pay shit and if you get something good they end up going under.
Oh and when we moved my wife was supposed to keep her six figure job and work remotely but her company in Los Angeles changed their mind and nixed it on the day we moved to hell, uh Phoenix. I was supposed to do freelance work and stay home. Instead we got stuck here looking for lame jobs to stay afloat.
Interesting but disagree — should people really blame themselves due to Arizona’s piss poor job market and terrible economy? No. The one thing we can all blame ourselves for is the mistake of moving to this dreadful and defeated state, but unfortunately some people do move out here and end up getting stuck. All you have to do is read the above posts to see why. A lot of people who bought homes out here in recent times are essentially stuck or set to lose a ton of money. It is on each of us to get out of this hell, but it is easier said than done. With that said, I think my Arizona farewell is coming soon…
You people are ALL whacked out.
We’ve been here only 5 years but I keep asking myself why I didn’t move here a lot sooner. I absolutely HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE the mid-west and the northeast and the southeast and the south. Reasons? Cause I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE snow and constant wet and months on months of cold only to turn into months of HUUUUUUUUUUUMID crappy wet heat. My only gripe with Tucson is the lack of good paying jobs but I make up for that with my little computer business along with my full-time job. I love the weather, the scenery, the summer monsoon season and that I don’t have to cut my grass (no grass) and shovel snow for months on end.
There’s a whole lot more to a place than the weather.
You’ve only been here five years — come back in another five and let us know what you think. I bet your opinion changes to some degree, unless you are content with the nothingness (and it sounds like you might just be).
Arizona’s piss poor job market is not just in AZ. The entire country is trying to get back from everything hitting lows. Anyone who knows anything would have seen this coming years ago when the housing market was hitting all time highs and everyone decided to come to AZ for the “American Dream”. Things were too good to last but noone was looking at the future. Simple law, everything that goes up must come down. Now we are ALL down and want to blame it on the state you live in? Please! I don’t buy it.
Some fair points, but Arizona has never had a real good job market. Care to try again?
Well start my third new job in 2.5 years on monday. 12.50 an hour call center. oh well its better than 265.00 unemployment.
Im done complaining. This is my life now. It took 2.5 years to finally accept it and call this place home. Im stuck here probably for at least ten years. Housing probably wont recover for that long if at all.
I think that Interesting has been snorting too many pixie sticks!!!!! Obviously this person does not live in this state or perhaps is not paying attention. Arizona has always had a shitty job market long before the housing crash was even created. True, folks are hurting all over, but this state is far worse off than most considering that this place has bottom-of-the-barrel wages. I work in the janitorial field. Back when I lived in the Midwest 12 years ago, I was making nearly 11$ an hour doing general cleaning. I move down here to lovely Tucson and the most I could get paid was 5.50/per hour. Absurd! To top it all off, there were no jobs here in T-town let alone any that paid anything. Did you ever think Mr/Ms Interesting that that is the reason why so many folks are on unemployment in this state because there are no jobs here to speak of??? What an idiot!!
Desert Mutt, you are on crack! I guess you fit in this fold pretty well. If I were given the option of freezing my ass off or working my ass off for piddly wages and maltreatment by my employer, I would choose freezing my ass off in the winter. At least I would still have an ass when it was all said and done. I HAATTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEE PEEEEEOOOOPPPPLLLEEEE LIKKKKKE YOUUUUUU WHOOOO OONNLLLY LOOOOKKKKK ATTTT ONNNE THHINGGGG and that is the WEATHER! When your kids(I hope you have some) only can read at a third grade level, and the person who hooks you up to life support can’t read the directions because they dropped out of Apollo College, I hope it hits you hard that this state is not what is cracked up to be. Now, go chase a parked car Desert Mutt!!!
Admin- Dismissed after a fractional repsonse like AZ has never had a real good job market? Nice grammer on that one, by the way. All I’m saying is you’re so caught up in what you can’t have nor make happen for yourself, that you take it out on where you live. I predict you will move, and in 5 years (seems to be the time limit you give eveyrone else) you will be living in another state and your blog will be titled “Will living in (insert state here) suck the life out of you?”.
Paradise not here- Whats up with all the extended words?? Is that the best way you know how to make a yor point? Way to go third grade reading level.
Apparently, Interesting, you missed the point. All you have to do is look at your head. I was simply making fun of the way that you said HAAAAATTTE and HUUUMID! You missed the humor and satisfaction that I get from making fun of idiots like you! If you love AZ so much, why do you continue to be on this thing? You don’t need to slam administrator as well. He does a great job with this website! If only you were smart enough to do a little research and take your head out of your proverbial ass, you might begin to realize what a hellhole state this is! And by the way, what happened to our good friend Hellhole Survivor??? Can you, Interesting, make a point using facts besides running people down?
Interesting but disagree — I find nothing more amusing than people such as yourself who try to attack someone’s grammar, but have no idea how to actually spell the word correctly. I could easily attack your spelling and questionable sentence structure, but that’s not what this blog is about.
Can you tell me when and where Arizona had a real solid job market? You probably can’t because one never existed. It might not be the fifty page response you were looking for, but it was simple, to-the-point, and a very straightforward reply to the argument of why Arizona’s problems are not the same as everywhere else. Jobs are necessary for most of us, and what are people going to do when there is a very finite supply of good jobs in an area? Now, if you can put together a meaningful, well-structured argument on this Arizona job market that I am not seeing or have ever heard of, then I would love to read it.
Are you trying to make some sort of point via these blind assumptions about myself and what I have done in life? I have plenty and I’ve made plenty happen for myself in Arizona and elsewhere. I have lived in more places than the average person, and so far I have only felt the need to setup one blog. Nowhere is perfect, but Arizona is a state full of evils and this blog is one way to express these thoughts and learn from the stories and opinions shared by others. This blog is not and was never meant to be just an expression of my times in Arizona, but instead it is a real look at life in Arizona from someone who is not trying to sell you into an Arizona home, timeshare, or a vacation out here. I am fortunate enough to not be affected by many of Arizona’s major problems, but I realize that many are and cringe at the thought of even more people being swindled into moving out here under a mountain of lies. Look around you – a lot of people out here are out of work, underemployed, or have ended up content working a dead-end job. Tons of people out here have lost their homes, and many are still holding on tight for a rebound which may never come. The public school system is appalling out here and it holds a lot of kids back from pursuing dreams they might have once had. It really shouldn’t be all that difficult to see and realize that Arizona has some shortcomings that are significantly worse than many other areas.
If you like Arizona, take it and enjoy it. Just don’t assume that I have created some sort of story-telling, fictional blog in order to spread lies about life in Arizona just because my life apparently sucks. Many people go after me, instead of arguing my points because deep down they realize that the thoughts expressed on this blog are actually true. Do you have any idea how many people end up on this blog a day by typing the phrase ‘Arizona sucks’ into their search engines? I think you would be surprised just how many people share a similar opinion. Would I say the majority of people hate Arizona? Of course not, but there are a lot of people who truly realize what a chaotic mess this place is. It’s up to you who or what you want to believe, but I’m just putting the reality of Arizona living out there for everyone else to see and share their feelings on.
Well said admin-take a bow!!! I know I should stop the bashing of one’s grammar, too, but since I moved down here from Minnesota nearly 12 years ago I find it hard to believe that so many people like it here!!! Sure, the weather is agreeable for awhile, but ultimately, what does this state have to offer anyone under 50? The surrounding states seem to do much better in terms of education and other social/political issues. Can you imagine a state like Colorado allowing handguns into public schools? Or how about an education state like Maine or Minnesota having a superintedent just throwing their arms in the air and leaving a school district that is poor shape in even worse condition. Only in Arizona my friends, only in Arizona!!!!!!!!!!!
Amen!! I am blown away right now at how you literally took the words right out of my mouth…I am so sick of bitching about this place and I am sure that everyone that has to hear me complain about this dump is sick of it too….but I am so happy to have found this blog so that I am not alone!!! I have found my therapeutic release for the next two years that I will be stuck here…thank you, well said
This blog entry (Will Living in AZ Suck the Life out of you?) really says it all, completely on point. Wow. I couldn’t have said it better myself. OK, well, in the part about driving, I would have added “and dodging palm branches on the freeway as they fly off landscaping trucks”. And yes, I found this blog by typing “arizona sucks” into a search engine! This place is hell, and unfortunately I’m stuck here. I am lucky enough to have a job, and a reasonably decent paying one, but it’s pointless because there is nothing worth spending money on in this place. I think one major point that people who post about how it’s bad in other places are really missing is this: In places other than AZ, there may be negatives to living there, but there are good things too. I lived in Washington DC area for awhile. Lots of traffic, lots of lawyers speeding on the Beltway while shrieking on their phones, lots of racial tensions, lots of crime. BUT you had amazing culture: museums, REAL movie theaters that even showed foreign films! (good luck finding one of those in AZ), all kinds of restaurants, and beaches and mountains that were not so far away you couldn’t reach them during the weekend. In addition to a temperate climate. In AZ you will have similar types of problems you will encounter elsewhere (like stupid people) but you will find more of them and they will not be counter-balanced by anything that makes having to live here worthwhile in any way. I despise this place and wish I could move.
And that right there is what a lot of the Arizona faithful cannot seem to grasp. All states do have their downfalls, but they also have redeeming qualities which make up for the negative aspects of living there. Arizona does not.
Thanks for the good post!
Not only that but have you noticed that so many people here are “cookie-cutter-cardboard-cutouts” here? Back in Minnesota people have what is called INDIVIDUALITY! And what do you have here? Shaved head, goatee, Raider gear, and a Marjiuana shirt. Along with the spinning hubcaps on their Escalades. Just goes to show that everyon wants to be SO-CAL!!!!!!!!!
Amen, there’s no culture and you have to be brain dead to be alright with it. Once you start thinking about the future or better anything, forget about it… you’re stuck with jacked up trucks, DUI’S, and cheering the Cardinal’s in Chili’s.
Problem is, didn’t like Houston for being so damn redneck, but it had The Heights, Downtown, Galveston, libraries dwarfing anything here, Memorial park. Won’t go back, but damn, there’s no culture worth it’s weight in toilet paper here. If you’re marginally bright or educated, you’re screwed. Damn.
I would like to thank all of you, who have written this. My cat was killed by me today and as Murphy’s law reads it has happened. I came here with my family for a better life. Lets go no work,Bankruptcy,Foreclosure to be coming,no friends, and no family they are back East. I have not run into the rude people and have not run into the Mormon Mafia. I do get tired of seeing all The Mac Mormon’s, how many Billions have they collected. I guess if I converted I would find all the work I could get. I will never accept this as a home I am from the East coast and would rather deal with my own kind.Everything I have read here is so true. I wish I had found this sight before I signed my papers to buy her. If I had one wish it would be to go back home. In my sad day this has put a smile on my face. Thank you everybody.
Hi Anonymous, I wish I’d known you were there. I would have at least asked you out – just for sane conversation if nothing else. I do know the isolated feeling of which you speak – fitting in can be challenging – I even feel different when I’m in the ‘in’ crowd. Funny that.
Good luck to your future ventures.. my time forget the rest.
-Alex
I tell all my friends back home in Los Angeles, not to believe the lies they tell you about Crapizona…this place sucks and I’m stuck here for a while…I have very few regrets in life and moving to this hell hole backwards state is one of the them…probably the biggest regret of my life, and I can’t wait to leave.
Well, when is the right time to leave? California’s unemployment rate is horrific, or I’d go back there. No, I’m stuck here with this roof over my head. It is paid for so I just have to sit tight in this hellhole. It would seem to be the prudent (albeit stupid?) thing to do. But then the sun has baked my brain and my IQ has dropped living here, so that’s my excuse.
Anonymous, you’re on a gold mine, and not the one of the 1800’s which never existed and attracted some of the worst behaving people of the country/world to dig for shit in the AZ mountains that wasn’t even there…awww shoot, there’s no gold!
If it’s paid off you got tons of options. Plan your escape, do all the research you can about where you would like to live and how you get there. Save up the cash so when the time is right you get the eff outta here! If I had a paid off house I’d sell it for a loss or turn it into a rental an agency takes care of.
There are a lot of places even now which are better off for the same wage/etc. California ain’t one of them, and AZ is a huge CA halfway house. It’s not normal to desire a 1,000 Sq Ft house for $550,000.
Give it two years, pack away all your cash, and when the housing is turning around sell and get the eff out. Don’t consider AZ as an investment opportunity, don’t buy a second house in AZ, etc.
AZ is for real estate sucker rallies and this current one people are going to remember. AZ is mostly done as a real estate investment for about 10 years, unless you’re old money that’s well off, then there’s tons of opportunity.
Great blog! much appreciated.
I feel so bad for all the people who were suckered into moving to AZ by false representations. I was one of those people, I lived in a rather nice area too – Gilbert. I was there 2 years and those were the 2 saddest years of my life, and I once took care of a fiancee of mine who died of brain cancer. I saw my son be bullied so badly he didn’t want to go to school anymore, and he was the popular one in Boston. He didn’t want to play baseball anymore because the heat was so bad. He had no friends at first. People don’t come out of their houses there. I was lucky enough to at least make some friends with people who moved to AZ from another state and out of desperation for their kids finally came outside to play in the winter-spring. I felt like I was in Shangra-Lai, everyday is sunny. I would pray for a cloudy day. Everything looks the same, cookie cutter, no originality except for an occassional blue house every few miles. HOA’s who won’t let you son store a basketball hoop in your yard because it’s 2 inches higher than your garage will store. Meth being passed out at my son’s elemantary school, strawberry quik or some shit. To transient to keep friends. I missed my family terribly. I missed lilacs, grass, the ocean, rain, squirrels – good chinese food, culture. When my sons’ dad got laid-off (which I knew was only a matter of time) I thanked god. He wanted to stay, and I pleaded with him to go. He didn’t want to sell things we worked all our lives for. So I told him fine go find a job then. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to there because I watch the news and was aware of the unemloyment rate in AZ. He finally gave up, we sold almost everything we owned, and came home to MA. We werent’ even here a week and he thanked me for getting him back to family & friends. Trust me – things are only things; Life can be short. Be happy – and if you’re not don’t be stuck there because of things, you can eventually get things again. I don’t feel like I’m in hell anymore. I thank god everyday for getting me back to Massachusetts. God Bless everyone here and good luck getting out of that horrible place.
Atlantic, that is great advice. I hate Arizona..these have been the worst five years of my life. I want to leave so bad but my husband has a job here. We paid 275 for our modest 1600 sqft home that is now worth less than 150. We are not rich, we just wanted a decent neighborhood to raise our daughter in. The neighborhood is nice but the people aren’t very nice. I just want to pick up, get out, and start over!
I’m sorry to hear that cc, and I know exactly how you feel. I was lucky enough to have rented a house and not buy one, because I would have taken an even bigger loss. It still would have been worth it to me though. I’m curious where are you from originally and do you have family where you are from that could possibly help you out while you get back on your feet. Luckily I have a sister who let us stay in her 1 bedroom condo (it wasn’t easy) but we were back on our feet in a month, with better jobs & better health insurance, and our own place again. If I didn’t have my sister I was prepared to camp at a campground til the fall. I even bought a new tent at Bass Pro shops (how desperate was I – lol) Good luck cc, I’ll pray for you :)
I feel sorry for anyone who lives in this state. I think of this as the twilight zone. It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do, people are very in your face rude, bitchy, and customer service is lacking anywhere here in Arizona. I am planning to leave in a few years(hope it will be possible) so at least a can have a shot at a normal life elsewhere.
There is one word for all you bozos who do not like the State of Arizona…MOVE!!!!
STFU Asshole State University trash.
Arizona has in fact sucked the life out of me. I have to agree with dumphole. I grew up in the Mid West (Michigan) and was in for quite a culture shock when I moved to AZ. This stated is the most ridiculous cowboy ass state I have ever seen in my life. And yes, I have lived in Chicago, Tampa, Houston, Denver, Ft. Bragg, and now here.
I have never seen so many smart asses who run their mouths without any thought of conciseness. People here have God Complexes and are about as smart as a rock. I feel like I am talking to a rock most of the time when I try to carry on a conversation with the idiots in this state.
Personally, my exit plan is in place and I will be leaving Arizona never to return within 1 – 2 years, THANK GOD!
If anyone would like to rant with me (Hope it’s okay to plug my site here since it’s on the same level), come to http://www.azsucks.info. It’s just a forum but would be glad to see some comments from people who hate this armpit of America as much as I do.
preach on brother Az hater preach on.
wgd, true funny story. When I lived in AZ for 2 years, the people I tended to connect with the most were New Yorkers’ and all of the people I met from NY would refer to AZ as the Land that time forgot. I would laugh so hard everytime I heard it.
My lifeforce has been just about sucked dry. Can’t wait to get out of this craphole!
I have to re-post as I typed my URL in here incorrectly.
http://www.ArizonaSucks.info – just a forum if you want to bitch about how shitty Arizona is, post pictures and videos of stupid Arizona, and so on.
To call this place the armpit of America is giving this state way too much credit…it’s definitely the asshole of America…I say that we start a support group and designate a meeting place/time for those of us unfortunate souls who are stuck here (only two more years for me!!)
I agree anti. There should also be psychological disorder for having to put up with so much crap in this state. And could a medication to cure it be far behind? If you want a meeting place we could use my house. I have lots of crying towels!
world’s greatest dumphole!!!, I think the natives have already concocted a medication for having to live in this lousy hell hole, but it doesn’t cure anything. It’s called alcoholism and meth addiction. Zombies everywhere. Can you blame them? That’s their fix for dealing with the reality of dirt, rock and nothingness.
I agree bsug, i feel like im around zombies.
Living in AZ is sucking the life out of me, until stumbling upon this blog. I’ve gained weight from being stuck inside for months during the summer and having to dodge snakes, coyotes, ugly views of cactus, etc and I’d just about lost my sense of humor and optimism. I WAS down right depressed for a while. This blog is a relief. Zero quality of life here.
I have never been more ashamed of the general public. I have never seen more bigoted, rude, racist, and generalized comments in my life. I grew up in east mesa, and while my small family was never priveleged, we led a good and honest life in arizona. Lots of the girls that get married at 19 are mormon and it is taught in their religion to get married early. They have many children but are all raised in respectful, well dressed, polite, intelligent, and mostly musically or athletically inclined. I think e very negative thing that was said about arizona on this page can be copied and pasted besically verbatem for anjy of the 50 states depending on where you go. And you should all be ashamed of yourselves for being so…for lack of a better word close-minded. No one should bother responding to this, I never plan to visit this site again. Good riddance to all of you.
The majority of these posts talk about the state, it’s backward laws, its oppression, the lack of jobs, the unrelenting heat, the drug problems, the high alcohlism rates, and a few experiences people have had with people they have met here. The truth hurts doesn’t it. I made many friends in Gilbert who were Mormon and I admire their loyalty to family. Not all my experiences were good, but overall I have not decided to hate Mormon’s because a few mean ones treated me like shit because I wasn’t married. That’s the great thing about this country, religion cannot be forced upon others. People are entitled to their opinions, and I for one wish I found this site before I moved to SHITTY AZ! It would have saved me about $40,000.00 and my credit.
Anonymous – I’m sorry, did I hurt your feelings?
And what is with you people who live in this fantasy land where you actually believe that every other state shares the same exact problems as Arizona?
I am now starting my fourth job on monday since being laid off do to a merger last December. This is how it works in AZ. You get a bunch of crappy jobs to survive on. You work them for about 3 months because you are looking for another job the entire time that pays a bit more than 11 an hour. You do this going thru about 3 jobs until you find one that pays decent. Then you work that job for about a year or two until they lay you off and then you start the cycle again. One year you make 11 bucks an hour, the next you make 40k, the next you make 11 bucks an hour. and so on and so on. This has been my life here since moving from Cali 3.5 yrs ago. In Cali my job history was 6 yrs at 40k, 3 yrs at 50k, 7 years at 75k plus OT. Im the same person the only difference is my location.
I can honestly tell you that the site is not interchangeable with other states. People here are just plain evil and it’s so hard to meet people because they put up fronts. I agree that there are some real poopheads in this world, but none like Arizona. I am from the midwest and I wish I could move back just to experience the ethics, morals and friendliness again. As well as the job opportunities and high pay.
I must say that after moving to AZ I never thought that there was ever a place that would care more about what race you are then who you are. I have been in AZ for 15 years and lost two jobs just because I was the white guy in a company that was mostly Hispanic or African American. I was told by my both boss’s that AZ is a minority State and if most of the upper management is African American or Hispanic they will push to hire minorities over white people so that the State will offer more incentives for the Company and the community. Reverse racism has become so bad in AZ that some news channels were targeted by Hispanic and African American organizations because they the news would mention if the crime was committed by a African American or Hispanic or White person. So because most of the crimes were being committed by minorities some news stations have decided not mention if the criminal is Hispanic or African American but if they were White that was still ok to mention. I just find it very sad that when watching the AZ news you see organizations that go to the Hispanic and African American communities but what you don’t see are Hispanic or African American people helping in these communities you mostly see White teens and the White elderly people helping in these communities.
What I find most hurtful is that in the 15 years that I have lived here in Arizona the Hispanic communities have become more resentful towards white people and this State. Arizona and the people of Arizona has taken in so many Hispanic immigrants and a lot of immigrants from Africa and we’ve allowed there children to illegally go to our schools yet the Hispanic people don’t see that. I have been in stores were Hispanic people thought I did not know what they were saying but I do and the things that they would say were the things that they say themselves is racists when it’s said against them. I have some friends that are Hispanic and African American and both say that its both the parents and the Communities that need to change. I find it funny when some Hispanic and African American people will want to move to a mostly white area because the crime is low and gang activity is practically non existent but they will say they hate white people when talking to each other.
The people who run this boring craphole state will not be content until everyone who moves here is either
A.Happily married with kids (preferably white btw) or
B.Over 60.