I’ve heard it, you’ve heard it, we’ve all heard it several times – ‘it’s the same everywhere else’ – it has slowly but surely become the go-to argument whenever a negative story or comment is shared about how life really is in Arizona. This argument has really increased in popularity out here over the last few years as many have tried to relate Arizona’s problems with that of the nation’s struggling economy. There are some people out here who may actually believe that other states are having the same economic, real estate, crime, and job struggles which we are dealing with in Arizona. Maybe you’ve even wondered if it really is this bad everywhere else in the country?
Not a chance. Do other states share some of the similar problems? Absolutely. Do other states have their own issues to deal with? They sure do. How many other states are stuck with permanent economic and social issues? Not many. Could it be the economy? Elsewhere, yes – in Arizona, not really. Is it just that the future for Arizona and its residents doesn’t sound all that appealing? Probably.
Anyone who really believes that the problems we are experiencing in Arizona are ‘the same as everywhere else’ either has never left the state of Arizona, has been stuck here so long that the heat has left them with no rational thought left, or is just ignorant to what is really going on around them. Look around you – most of these issues found here are not plaguing the rest of the country. Arizona does share some similar struggles with the rest of the nation, but the main difference is the rest of the country will probably recover at some point. Three of Arizona’s major struggles which will continue for the forseeable future include the housing market, job market, and increasing violence. I’ll keep it pleasant and much, much shorter by leaving the weather, schools, residents, drivers, traffic, and lack of things to do out of this one.
Arizona’s Housing Market – finished. I really don’t think there is a simpler way to describe how the real estate market is going to continue playing out here in the coming years. The growth over the last 10 years fueled a real estate boom like something never seen before. Brand new developments went up all over the Phoenix area and each new development managed to get farther and farther away from the center of this mess. The homes continued to go up, but the population growth did not. The homes became larger, more feature packed, and pricier, but the number of unemployed and underemployed in Arizona increased. Arizona now struggles with tons of vacant homes, foreclosures galore, and a population struggling just to make rent. Who is going to buy these houses now? Arizona has always relied on growth to keep the bulk of its economy moving along, but what happens now as the growth continues to go down? More foreclosures and extremely cheap housing for anyone dumb enough to still move out here. Investors will certainly be shopping around for the best bargains, but might be in for quite a surprise when they realize nobody wants their home or they have to accept Pesos just to get someone to rent their home. I’ve said it before, and it needs to be said again – avoid the Arizona housing market all together unless you plan on staying for a very, very long time.
Arizona’s Job Market – almost non-existant with the exception of the retail, call center, and fast food industries. Even the construction jobs have vanished since we have vacant homes, offices, and strip malls for years to come. It will be interesting to see how the restaurant and service industry fare in Arizona since disposable income is just another thing running dry out here in the desert. Arizona’s job market will not rebound like that of the rest of the country because it can’t come back around since there was never really any jobs here in the first place. The so called HOT job market in Arizona was one of the more elaborate schemes coming out of Arizona which was pioneered, abused, and a success story for many Realtors around the state. It was simple, but it worked – create a false job market, persuade people to relocate to Arizona, and then sell them a home. The result was thousands upon thousands of people who made the voyage to Phoenix in the hunt for a piece of this bogus job market. So many people moved out here thinking good jobs were abundant, bought homes, and then could never find work. Want a good job, maybe even a career? You probably want to avoid Arizona, unless you want to push shopping carts around while it is 117 degrees outside.
Arizona’s Escalating Violence/Gang Activity/Drugs – they say crime is going down in Arizona, but picking up a newspaper, watching the news, or just keeping an eye on what is going on around you would tell you otherwise. The crimes out here seem to get crazier and more intense every year. Arizona criminals are desperate and will go after anyone and everyone including kids, the elderly, cops, the homeless, and even your pets. Fanatical crimes happen everywhere in Arizona from the white trash trailer parks to the illegal ridden apartments to the so-called affluent area of North Scottsdale. Drugs are all over the place as well, and what were once normal people will now do anything to get their fix. The schools out here can’t brag about the education your children are getting, but they do offer great exposure to gang activity and hard drugs. The number of gangs is on the rise across Phoenix, and the bulk of it is originating from our friends down South. Drug, human, and weapon smuggling is commonplace in Arizona and something you probably don’t want to get in the middle of. The most alarming part about all the violence and crime in Arizona is that it is only going to get worse as more illegals creep in, more people lose their jobs and houses, and the meth use continues to rise. It is quite the situation out here and it is definitely not the same everywhere else.
Still think Arizona is exactly or close to being like anywhere else? Think again.
Welcome to the Arizona Version of “”HOTEL CALIFORNIA”" you can check out but never leave hahahahaha
How true. This blog mirrors my life. In May it will be three years here. Three years ago I weighed 25 pounds less. Three years ago I had a salary of 75K plus OT. Three years ago I was happy. Three years ago I had a career. Three years ago I had a nice car. Three years ago I had money to do more than rent videos and eat out at Dennys on Saturday. Three years ago I would have laughed if you told me I would be a telemarketer. Three years ago I lived in California and worked on big budget films.
Now I am out of work. Have worked at four call center jobs. Sold my new toyota tundra to pay the mortgage. Drive an old bronco that used to be a weekend toy. Have no money. Rent from the redbox for entertainment. Buy whiskey and little cigars and eat shit food thats cheap. To depressed to exercise. Lost my gym membership. Look for jobs all the time even when employed. Live in Arizona and work for thirty K if Im lucky.
All I know is, I moved here and have been doing well but am getting increasingly hassled and ignored by my peers. “Slow down, you’re doing too much” Nope, just doing what everyone should be doing, solving problems and going to the next one.
Mostly all the bright people I know at work get trash faced drunk on the weekends to escape, we’re talking professional people with advanced degrees. There is a huge who you know, not what you know mentality. I understand a lot of other places also have it, so I’ll be forced to leave this one alone, but still…
People just glare and talk crap when you do really good, unless you’re in the click. The only way out of this is to fit in, and I’ve heard the conversations of those who really get along. We’re talking like never mentally graduating high school here. We’re talking about bragging about largest pool and big screen TV and the latest episode of some childish shitty reality show and why it was the best episode ever. Or quadding to play paintball and then playing World of Warcraft when you’re flipping 45 years old. Not much conversation of world events, environmental problems, energy supply, etc. etc. Not much talk of the future, really…
I understand a lot of places have degraded to this level, almost want to guess about half the country is like this. It won’t suffer from earthquakes, hurricanes, and 4 weeks of three feet of snow, but will have food, energy, and water issues within 20 years.
I see people who are really happy over here, but the majority are over 45 (have cash from somewhere else and looking for a place to die) or under 25 (still in college mentality or just don’t care or know better).
Maybe all of you are just a bunch of fuck ups that would be miserable losers even under the best of circumstances?
Um, no, John duh…
Rob, I really feel for you. I left CA six years ago to come to this hellhole and my experience was that of leaving a $70K job and now in this economy I’ll be lucky to get 12 bucks an hour – if I’m lucky.
It’s amazing how much this place will bring a person down. I myself have turned into a Walmart-shopping (cannot afford Target anymore), polyester-wearing (if I’m lucky) fat woman who can only remember the way I used to look when I worked in the Financial District. It’s a real pity.
I’ve realized my one goal is to get out of here alive. To this end, I’ll be putting the plug in the jug (wine does help ease some of the pain from having made such a colossal mistake), put the past in the rearview mirror and just hope I make it out of here one day.
Regarding the blog, dead on as usual. It just pains my brain to realize it’s all true. Well done and well said! Thank you!
Well, Ms. Hellhole. You have shown your true colors. To repeat an old cliche. This website is not dead. I guess it’s not over until you decide to sing. This is very interesting to know how badly people have been shafted in this state. I too, was making nearly 90K a year, but I had to move to this state from the Upper Midwest to care for an ailing relative. Boy, what a rude awakening! Anyone who thinks that the sunshine will pay the bills is on crack or just is so apathetic that he just doesn’t care. Keep all the stories going! If we can prevent one person from moving down here and making a mess out of their lives, this website has done well. And now Ms. Hole. No name calling!!!!
Thanks Hellhole, John Doe is just upset. I bet he’s over 45 and plays WarCraft all the time.
I wouldn’t really assume I’m a fuckup, you haven’t even seen my resume.
The housing/commercial real estate does not seem to be moving much at all. I see more and more signs for lease/rent every month. Only good, productive jobs will bring this back up, I’m pretty sure a lot of outsiders wouldn’t touch AZ with a 20 foot pole, especially since it’s right next to CA. We’ll need some serious productive job growth, a mini silicon valley or the world’s largest solar farm. The country’s top supplier of some sort of food.
When I moved after researching, the Manpower yearly statement said Phoenix is the largest growing area of tech with expected 15% job growth, I was told by friends things were good when I moved. When I arrived, the contacts weren’t really there, and the market was not very strong, it just took actually moving over to find out.
It isn’t totally hopeless, but a huge number of people will have to get their shit together and develop some major industry the world still wants.
No more DUI’s, no more stealing shovels for drug money, no more meth heads humping trees and chasing someone with a machete. No more stealing credit card numbers. No more fraud and scamming old people. No more aimless life filled with tattoos and personalized license plates. It the sum of everyone’s life which determines this crap.
Well Anon, you hit the nail on the head. However, there are some good industries in this country that Arizona could be using. But the wonderful Arizona legislature, and the pure stupidity of the people in this state, simply forbid anything innovative from moving forward. For example, Arizona could have a corner on the solar power industry. Where are any solar panels in this state? I hear that next door in NM, there are actually some solar power industries that are setting up shop and trying to convert energy to the masses. My friend, who lives in Portland, Oregon, told me that there is more solar power energy being used up in the Northwest as opposed to Arizona. Gee, how could you figure that considering there is more abundant sunlight here than up there? Blame the geniuses who run this state who see no reason to do anything inventive!!!!
By the way, I have thought about visiting New Mexico. Can anyone tell me, is it any different there than here in Az? How about the Mesilla Valley/Las Cruces area?
Arizona moving towards solar energy would indeed open tons of jobs out here, and it would be a wide variety of jobs too. There would also be the obvious energy savings for the state and residents alike. A state which raves about its number of sunny days should have pioneered the solar industry, but instead Arizona is about dead last once again. Typical.
No kidding admin. This state is so lame. You’ve got people like John McCain whose only accomplishments include marrying a Budweiser heiress and leading the party of NO! What does he do instead of leading the charge for a brilliant idea like pioneering solar energy? He comes out the day after the health reform bill passed and asks for money to repeal it. Let him sell one of his eight houses to pay for it!
I hate this state so much. I wonder how much longer I am going to be able to endure it. My one hope is that I don’t die here! I must escape!
My husband and I relocated here from Washington D.C. almost 3 years ago. We both had decent jobs lined up. I found a great job as a teacher and he worked at a Bank. We gave up our $100,000 a year income and took $30,000 pay cut to move to AZ. We heard that the housing market was cheeper here than Washington D.C. (and it is).
After 2 years of living here, my husband lost his job. He found a job at a call center and makes a fraction of what he was making at his bank job. Soon after, I lost my teaching job due to “Cuts in Education” and I have not been able to find a job anywhere… Even Fast Food/retail.
We want to move, however it is difficult for me to get teacher certification in another state, and due to the fact I have not had a job in 8 months, our money to to tight to move back to Washington D.C.
I feel trapped between a rock and a hard place.