Arizona Sucks

The game is officially over for so many in Arizona as we watch our population numbers continue to plunge. Arizona and so many of its residents counted on this growth and expansion to keep their jobs, businesses, and the local economy intact. The state of Arizona now has fewer people moving in, zero need for any new developments, people are running out of money, businesses are closing their doors, and jobs are running dry. This downturn in population growth has hurt a number of industries and has put a number of construction workers, Realtors, mortgage/loan consultants, strip mall, and restaurant workers out of work with nowhere to turn to in this beaten Arizona economy. Maybe, just maybe people are starting to wise up to the fact that Arizona is not a tropical paradise, but really a dusty, lackluster, hopeless, dreadful, terrifying, dead end place where you never want to find yourself. A few lurking surprises will await you should you choose to relocate yourself to a life out here in the sweltering desert, and these could just be a few of the reasons people are now saying NO to Arizona.

Traffic / Drivers / Congestion – the huge population surge in recent years has absolutely hammered Arizona freeways and surface streets. Most of the major roadways in Arizona were built far before the extreme population growth and have been at max capacity for quite some time. Travel around much of the Phoenix area is a mess right now especially during the rush hour, in construction zones, or whenever there is another accident. And in Phoenix, there are a lot of accidents. It is pretty much a fact that Arizona roadways just are not a safe place to be and you will witness this every single time you get in your car. You are guaranteed to see some of the most bizarre accidents and driving techniques while driving around Arizona. It doesn’t help that everything in Arizona is so spread out and driving is an absolute necessity to go anywhere or do anything. Most people live so far away from their jobs that it creates long, hot, and treacherous, commutes for the majority of residents out here. Of course, it is completely expected that a city the size of Phoenix will have some traffic and congestion concerns. However, it is the toxic amalgamation of drunk, illegal, inexperienced, aged, incompetent, and otherwise terrifying drivers out here that is really the icing on the cake, and will make you really wish the next time you got in your car that you were driving out of Arizona forever!

Low wages / Lack of jobs – we get it, a lot of Arizona Natives are perfectly content working in dead end jobs with no advancement and minimal pay. However, Arizona organizations are not going to attract or retain solid employees with this mindless business model. It has become shockingly clear to people just how poor the job market is in Arizona and people have stopped moving here looking for work because of this. People are not going to move to Arizona to make 30K (and often even less) while working in call centers, fast food restaurants, or mailing out DVDs. The lack of real, good jobs is going to keep the bright, educated, and innovative people out of Arizona unless there is a significant turnaround at some point. There is a reason that get-rich-quick, pyramid schemes, selling magazines door-to-door, and other scams are so popular across metropolitan Phoenix – the majority of jobs out here pay at the high school level no matter what your education or experience level may be.

Crime – in a big city, crime is certainly expected. In Phoenix, crime is running rampant and seems to be getting worse every year. Shootings, armed robberies, mail theft, drugs, property damage, stolen cars, rape, senseless killings, child abductions, hit-and-runs, human smuggling – you name it, we have it in Arizona and it is probably flourishing in your own neighborhood. You may have heard otherwise, but the crime in the Phoenix and Tucson areas appears to be on the rise and can only get worse as the desperation continues out here. Sadly, it has really become a question of when, and not if something will happen to you. Everyone in Arizona is a target at this point, even those who most of us look at as having just about nothing left. Have a car, a house, a MP3 player, a case of Ice House beer, a watch, a pack of cigarettes, or maybe just a dollar in change – you are next. It is only in Arizona that you will regularly hear these mind-boggling violent news stories that even the most fanatical Hollywood writers could never even dream up. In other words, you can’t make this shit up.

Phoenix, Arizona – it’s affordable for a reason!!

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.

In case you missed it or are fortunate enough to be outside of the Phoenix area, a local Arizona news station ran a piece last week about how life out in Arizona might be portrayed to the rest of the country. Viewers were left to ponder the question of whether or not the state of Arizona has a national image problem. Surprisingly enough, this is a great example of the typical Arizona attitude for you – instead of considering what the necessary steps are to begin fixing the multitude of problems currently plaguing the state and its millions of residents, even the news stations out here are more concerned with only how Arizona and its people LOOK to the National eye. With that being said, it is pretty clear to most people these days that Arizona does have an increasing image problem because the truth about Arizona has been exposed as the population growth went way up in recent years, and also as a result of the mortgage fraud and subsequent real estate meltdown out here in the last few years. Here are just a couple of Arizona’s many problems grabbing attention in the national spotlight:

Worst school systems in the country – that’s right, every single other state around the country outranks Arizona when it comes to public schooling. Education is not valued in Arizona and this certainly affects all facets of life out here from the workplace to the grocery store to eating out at a restaurant. You can continue to make excuses, move your children to another Arizona school district, or even continue lying to yourself – it does not matter though – you are putting your children’s safety and future at risk by sending them to any of Arizona public schools. If you have kids or plan on having children, you really should re-evaluate settling down in Arizona at least until your children are in college.

Increasing violence and hate crimes – every single year, the violence in Arizona seems to be getting worse and increasingly more violent. Nobody wants to admit to it, but these crimes are increasing and becoming even more commonplace – and don’t think you can escape it by moving to a supposedly higher income zip code or to a gated community. Arizona boasts some of the craziest, most unbelievable crime stories that you could not even make up if you wanted to. Watch just one day of the local Arizona news and you will never want to step foot in this place again.

Weather – the one problem that can never be fixed, but it is still important to continually point out how dreadful and depressing the summers can be out here. You know the weather in Arizona is terrible when even people who are just quickly passing through on a cross-country road trip still feel the need to complain about how high the temperatures are out here. It’s never going to get any cooler in Arizona, so stay far away unless you are prepared for month-after-month of the extreme heat, and the famous Arizona dry heat argument goes right out the window when the temperatures are over 100 degrees.

Economy – what economy? Arizona population growth is dwindling, construction is way down, there were never any great jobs in Arizona, and now we have a surplus of houses and commercial buildings. How is Arizona going to turn it all around this time? Can Arizona rely on its economic growth strategy with such a poor national image? Probably not – Arizona is a retirement and winter golf state, at best, and that is all it should have ever been provided there was enough water for all this grass out here.

What it really comes down to is what does the state of Arizona have to offer you? Is it the comparatively warmer winters? Or is it all the congestion, pollution, violence, and blowing dust storms? What does Arizona offer you that you can’t find anywhere else, except for those 4-5 months of temperatures over 100 degrees? Don’t wait for Arizona to try and fix its deteriorating image – get out while you still can and still have your sanity.

The simple, honest, straight-to-the-point answer is no. Is Phoenix a hotspot? Weather wise, it certainly is.

Why would you be asking such an easy to answer question anyways? I recently came across an Arizona relocation guide that tried its best at painting the Phoenix area as a vibrant, affluent, cultured, and unrivaled metropolitan area where the rich come to live and play. Just from reading this relocation guide, it would be easy to fall into the trap that almost everyone in Phoenix is cultured, affluent, social, and that the area is just full of both indoor and outdoor activities. This could not be any further from the truth and sadly there are some people who actually buy into this nonsense. In reality, the Phoenix area is boring, revolting, uncultured, and has few redeeming qualities. Sure, there are some wealthy people living here – but just a small fraction of the general population like most other places. The main difference out here in Arizona is that the greater majority actually believes they are wealthy, or that they have money to blow on lavish items such as regular meals out, expensive wines, trips to the spa, trendy outfits, and top shelf margaritas. While, the truth is that many in Phoenix are below the poverty level, and a number aren’t doing too much better than that. Here were just a few of the mentions from the relocation guide on how everybody supposedly lives out in Arizona.

Upscale restaurants and $10,000 Margaritas – let’s be real here. Even if Phoenix was overflowing with upscale restaurants, who is going to eat there? Exactly, and that is why a number of the more upscale places that were out here have shut down in the recent past. It’s not so much the economy, as it may be in other places, but instead reality set in that most people in Arizona are stretched treating themselves to a meal at Applebees or Chilis. If the money was flowing out here as much as these relocation guides want you to believe, then why have so many restaurants shut down and others are forced to offer budget specials just to get folks in the door? Fortunately if you do own one of these pricier bars or restaurants in Arizona, one thing and one thing only is keeping you in business when you never should have survived in an economic climate like we permanently have in Arizona. This ever-burning desire and fascination to look and appear wealthy in Arizona makes it that much easier to sell overpriced, only premium in Arizona, beverages such as Corona, Blue Moon, bottom-shelf margaritas, and what not. Cheap, vile cuts of steak plastered in A1 Sauce and any other cut of meat or poultry smothered in Jack Daniel’s flavored BBQ Sauce is a favorite out here too. Many in Arizona will buy the highest priced items on the menu like a steak dinner just because it costs more or will pay more for a trendy beverage such as a Corona – not because they necessarily like the taste better but to keep up that Arizona image.

Upscale resorts – sure there are a couple nice spots, but these destinations are aimed more at out of town visitors and mostly during the comparatively warmer winter months. These resorts are not just in business because everyone in Arizona stops in weekly – though these places are infiltrated with the so-called Scottsdale elite, but only during the summer season when rates are much, much lower and they will make weekly trips to these resorts until their credit cards are finally declined. Arizona people are also famous for staying in these resorts/hotels just miles away from their home as a way of briefly escaping the meth heads and murderers right outside their bedroom window for just a couple nights.

World class museums and concert venues – sorry, no. Nobody visits, let alone moves to, the Phoenix area for our appreciation of the arts. A night out in Arizona goes a little more like this – start out with some overpriced and overrated Coronas at dinner, continue to get plowed as the night goes on, and it’s not finished until you pass out after banging your buddy’s wife. Wake up still drunk the next morning, search the room for your Ed Hardy tough guy shirt, and then take a cab home. Sleep off the hangover and repeat.

Unfortunately too many fall into the trap of taking these ‘relocation guides’ at face value. Remember who writes these so called relocation guides – Realtors and home builders – all they really want to do is get you out here and get you locked into a property out here before you really realize just how bad things really are. And remember this, even if a place truly had world class restaurants, resorts, museums, and theater – what’s it to you if could never afford it anyway – oh that’s right, Arizona people love trying to look like they all have tons of money to spend or at least try to group themselves with the few that really do, which is what is keeping the few upscale and pricier places alive here in the desert.

Thought Arizona real estate prices would be leveling out by now? Think again – these foreclosures can and will continue to drive down the prices of homes across the Valley. Some areas will be affected more than others, especially outlying areas like Buckeye. What does this mean if you plan on buying a home in Arizona? Home prices will continue to drop – there is no reason to rush into buying anything except for your absolute long-term dream home. What will this mean for those trying to sell a home in Arizona? Unfortunately, as lenders are forced to slash prices to unload these foreclosed properties the value of your property will go down as well. When will the Arizona housing market stabilize? The Arizona real estate market will not stabilize until the foreclosure rate drops down to more average numbers. Prices will continue going down as long as there is an excessive amount of homes being foreclosed on. Once again, you can thank your neighbors for buying homes which they could never afford and thus lowering the value of your home as well.