Arizona Sucks

First things first – there is absolutely nothing wrong with bike riding whether you do it for fitness, pleasure, to save on gas, or because your car recently got repossessed. However…

The fact is that riding a bike on Arizona roadways is really not a smart decision, whether you can manage to keep yourself in the bike lane or not. With Arizona being a state where the majority of people don’t even feel safe in their own cars, I really have to wonder about where the common sense is when I see people who willingly choose to ride a bicycle on Arizona’s busy roadways. You would think the terribly hot weather for most of the year and the amount of pollution precipitates would be enough of a deterrent to keep people from biking on the roads. But somehow it will be 110 degrees outside and you still see these idiots peddling down the road. It also doesn’t sound like the smartest idea to try and share the road with the amount of terribly reckless or drunk drivers we have around the state at all hours of the day. With all these potential dangers on Arizona’s roads, you really got to give it to those bikers who brave the roadways with no helmet on or the ones on the cell phone with a cigarette in their other hand.

Some cities in Arizona have done their best to paint themselves as having biker friendly streets by putting in a limited amount of bike lanes. It is important to note that these lane designations are often ignored by both auto drivers and the cyclists. It is an all too common occurrence to see or read about an Arizona cyclist being taken out because somebody wasn’t paying attention, failed to stay in his or her lane, or ignored the rules of the road. A lot of cyclists seem to think none of the driving rules apply to them and I frequently see them running stop signs/red lights or driving the wrong way or holding up traffic one way or another. Of course, most drivers in Arizona don’t really follow any of the rules of driving a car or use any common sense either. It is no excuse for unsafe driving, but if you do something stupid with your car, you are at least reasonably protected. One mistake on your bike and you’re dead.

So, Arizona cyclists, how the hell do you do it? Have you been hit yet or almost hit? It will happen and it won’t be pretty, so best of luck to you.

In a state where the average citizen can barely file their own taxes or even balance a checkbook, some brilliant individual decided it would be a great idea to have these people check themselves out at grocery stores, convenience stores, and even the occasional fast food joint in the area. Now, self-checkout and the problems it potentially presents are not exclusive to Arizona, but the unbelievable incompetence found across Arizona really lends itself to some interesting scenarios. To actually witness the whole process is something I can’t quite put into words, but something you just have to stop and admire.

Obviously, from the viewpoint of a store manager, self-checkout sounds like a great, cost-saving idea. Promote it as fast and fun, and you are already two steps ahead of the competition. Plus you only need one cashier to oversee 4-8 scanning stations, instead of each employee working only a single register. However, it’s never that easy when you combine the lack of customer service skills in Arizona and the incompetence of the greater public. You might think having all these additional scanning stations plus a few normal registers open would speed up the shopping experience, so there you go – you get in the self-checkout line.

To the left, you have that one guy who can be seen continually waving his item in front of the scanner, without a clue that the barcode on the package needs to be scanned. Sometimes, you give them a while and they will eventually get it, and other times they get frustrated and move on to their next item. Only striking out again and again. You know he has to be wondering why some items will scan for him and some don’t. And you know just throwing the items in the shopping bags has crossed his mind as well. If I can’t figure out how to scan it, then it is free, right!?

In front of him is the woman with six kids running around, and a cart overflowing with processed treats in typical Arizona fashion. She is under the impression that she can get out of there quicker by checking herself out, instead of using the seasoned cashier just one aisle over. She averages about an item scanned every 2-3 minutes, between hunting down the kids and taking calls from their fathers and her parole officer.

To your right, is the customer who has eaten herself so fat that she rides around on a scooter and is unable to comfortably get up, but will still attempt the self-checkout from the seated position. She will have to continually call over the attendant because she realized she cannot reach all the treats she had tossed in her basket when zipping around the store. Another bonus is that she will often come with the ‘you should feel sorry for me, it is not my fault’ attitude, even though the host of Twinkies and TV dinners in her basket say otherwise.

The customer directly in front of you cannot figure out how to pay. He hits the Credit Card button, but then wants to pay in cash. Then he realizes he doesn’t have enough cash. So, he wants to put half on his credit card and pay the rest in cash. Call attendant. Void. Attendant. Void. Attendant….

Then you get stuck behind someone trying to buy fresh produce, bakery items, just about anything sold by weight, or anything else with out a barcode? Go ahead and move to the next line over now. People in Arizona can’t understand the concept of placing something on a scale and punching in a 4 digit code – it is one too many steps for most people out here to handle. Remember, just scanning a barcode proved too difficult for many.

And, finally, I will never understand why do I have to choose between English or Spanish? Give it a few more years, and it will probably default to Spanish out here….

Looks like the 100 degree days are gone for a few months.  Regular updates returning soon …

Thanks to everyone keeping the site active by visiting, sharing comments, and letting their friends, family, and colleagues know the place to learn the real truth about Arizona!

It’s about that time of the year again – the four months of close to unbearable weather are now upon us. You can hear AC units buzzing all around and the majority of outdoor activities are being put on hold for the next few months. High temperatures are expected to be around 107 degrees by the middle of the coming week. And for those of you who haven’t experienced an Arizona summer yet – it will get another 10 or so degrees warmer in a month or two. Are the two beautiful months of the year really worth it when you have to endure a long and hot Arizona summer each year? Do some people actually enjoy this insane heat?

Most everyone, everywhere will go through some sort of honeymoon phase whenever he or she moves somewhere new. Many of you who have or are considering relocating to Arizona just based on a short visit out here will be in for a real treat once you make the move. Life in Arizona is a lot different when you are actually living here – just like almost anywhere else. Within two weeks of moving to Arizona, chances are you will be wishing you had stayed where you came from or had moved elsewhere.

Weather – the weather might have seemed nice during that March visit especially compared with most of the rest of the country at that time. Just wait for those summer months when the temperature hits 119 degrees. Arizona residents like to justify it as only a dry heat – the fact of the matter is 119 degrees is 119 degrees. That is easily 20 – 30 degrees warmer than most of the country during the summer months.

Traffic – the traffic might not seem so bad during a visit when you are more likely to be on the road while everyone else is at work. If you make the move, be prepared for hour long commutes with the worst drivers in the country. The commute is even more enjoyable when the temperatures climb over 100 outside.

The people – they may seem nice at your hotel, they may even seem nice at some restaurants. You will notice within two weeks of moving here that the majority of people are unfriendly, arrogant, and you will be judged solely on your material possessions. Everyone tries to one-up each other out here, even though there really is not much money here to begin with.

Leisurely activities – it may seem like there is a lot to do in Arizona if you come out here for just a week. Move here, and you will quickly realize there really is a limited amount of activities out here, besides getting drunk every day like most residents end up doing.

How long did it take you to realize that Arizona sucks after moving here? Two weeks? A month?

In the past, one of the very few reasons for actually relocating to the Valley was the low-cost of living. Everything was cheap, and real estate was extremely affordable – just about anybody could actually afford to buy a decent sized home with a pool and actually make the payments. As time went on, Arizona real estate prices would become increasingly more expensive and many Arizona locals were effectively priced out of the market – or forced to try and buy in the far, far outskirts of town. Obviously, real estate has risen in price across the entire country and not just in Arizona. However, the job market and average Arizona salary has remained quite stagnant over the years and has left many people struggling to buy their own home and actually make the payments.

Home prices across the Valley have not (and may not) fall back down far enough where the majority of Valley residents will actually be able to afford to own their own home. Many have been priced out of the Arizona real estate market due to the abundance of poor paying jobs in the area.

Arizona can attract tons of people and we can continue to build tons of new housing developments – but if there are very few who can actually afford their own home, then what will happen to all these homes? Who is going to buy them? How many people will be forced to leave Arizona due to the lack of high paying jobs?

Unless you are retired, actually work in the area, or you work from home – you may want to think twice about buying that home on the Valley’s fringes just because the initial investment sounds quite a bit cheaper. Arizona has a ton of relatively open land so the real estate trend has always been to build out, and not up – resulting in suburban sprawl which spreads for miles and miles. These new areas often offer brand new housing, shopping centers, restaurants, and schools – but are they just too far away from everything else and do they offer many jobs outside of retail/restaurants? How successful can these fringe cities be if they can’t offer good jobs in the immediate area?

For the most part, the majority of jobs in these fringe areas are service-oriented to meet the daily demands of the residents in these new areas. Many of these jobs include grocery stores, restaurant chains, movie theaters, and gas stations. If you are planning on working for any of the few big employers in the Valley, you are almost guaranteed a lengthy commute every single day. The roads leading out of these fringe cities will be extremely congested as just about EVERYBODY has to commute elsewhere for work.

Many of these fringe cities may have grown too fast and too far out because of the recent housing boom. How much planning actually went into these cities or were they rushed to meet the Arizona housing demand of recent years? Will they stand the test of time or will they be abandoned by people hoping to move closer to everything else?

Arizona homes built in fringe developments may seem a lot cheaper initially, but are they really cheaper in the long run? What do you think?

Creative lending schemes and ARM’s were all the rage just a couple years ago during the peak of the Arizona housing boom. Just about anyone and everyone was buying real estate – most were buying homes they could never even afford and should have never qualified for. Everyone believed he or she would be the next real estate tycoon and would be retired months later from buying and re-selling these grossly overpriced homes. In typical Arizona fashion, many of these home debtors never considered that the boom would have to end and their ARM’s would adjust at some point. Well, the fake Arizona housing boom is definitely over and done with, but what about those ARM’s?

In the coming months, a number of these ARM’s will adjust and those who are already struggling to make their mortgage payments will no longer be able to continue to make the payments. What does this mean for you? The prices of these homes will be slashed in order to try and avoid foreclosure – which also means all the property values in the area will go down as well. Or these homes will enter foreclosure which will also drive down home values. Keep waiting, because Arizona real estate prices sure have not bottomed out yet.

A blog post inspired by a reader comment from earlier today …

AZ employment is like a tall, shaky tower. The foundation of the tower is construction. I think we have reached our maximum amount of construction and it’s all a downhill race from here. Making up the rest of the tower is everything else: teachers, service workers, janitors, executives. Once the foundation is compromised, the rest of the tower will fall. Phoenix could become a modern day ghost town. – Furreal

A lot of people do not seem to understand that Arizona’s economy is almost solely tied to construction, mainly the building and selling of homes. Ever since Arizona’s housing bubble burst, there has been a steady decline in the construction industry. There is such a surplus of homes through out the entire Valley (which are not selling), that it wouldn’t make any sense to plan and build any new subdivisions. This surplus will remain high for quite some time now that loans are only approved for those who can actually afford to make the payments. Not to mention the fact that Arizona home prices continued to climb while average income levels remained relatively stagnant, which has effectively priced a large percentage of Arizona’s population out of the housing market.

Currently, the only thing holding the construction industry together is the building of business offices and industrial properties. Unfortunately, commercial development will be hit hard in the coming months/years due to new increased credit standards for commercial construction.

Less and less developers/builders will be able to secure financing in a market that has such a surplus and is as risky as the Arizona market is. How much longer will it be before the tower completely crumbles? And do you really want to be around when it happens?

Supply and demand – inventories of available homes across the Valley are extremely high. There are more Arizona homes out there, than there are people who wish to move into them. Less demand – prices will go down.

Foreclosures – Arizona can brag about having one of the highest home foreclosure rates across the nation. Over the next couple years, many more homes will end up in foreclosure due to thousands buying homes they could never afford. What happens as more and more homes go into foreclosure? Supply of homes goes up and this will continue to drive Arizona home prices down. You can thank your neighbors who bought homes they could never afford for driving the value of your home down as well.

Lender owned homes – what happens when these repossessed homes end up sitting vacant? One of two things is more than likely to happen and both WILL drive down the value of your home. Vacant homes can often be very poorly maintained and this can deter any potential buyers browsing YOUR neighborhood. Or these lender owned Arizona homes are sold at below-market cost, which will effectively drop prices in your subdivision.

Qualifying for a mortgage – the days of mortgages for anyone and everyone are long gone. Good luck buying a house without a modest down payment, income verification, and/or credit verification. Fewer and fewer people are able to qualify for a mortgage which is keeping the supply up and bringing Arizona real estate prices down.