Arizona Sucks

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.

Don’t be fooled. There are very, very few good jobs in Arizona.

Simply put, there is pretty much nothing here. The Phoenix Metropolitan area is essentially houses and strip malls. If you want to work construction (even these jobs are drying up these days) or in retail or the service industry then you will have no problem finding a job in Arizona. Minimum wage jobs are quite abundant out here and easy to find. Want to actually further your career out here? Good luck. Definitely don’t even consider moving to Arizona thinking you’ll be able to find a good job at some point. It won’t happen and you will end up supporting your family working the drive-thru window. Moving here with a job offer is a bit less risky, but if you are let go for one reason or another – you will probably be forced into moving all over again. Sure there is plenty of small businesses and start-ups out here – what nobody will tell you is many of these business cheat, under-pay, and over-work their employees. If you happen to have secured yourself one of the very few good jobs in the Valley – congratulations – just realize that this is not the norm and many Arizona residents are struggling to make ends meet due to an abundance of poor paying jobs.

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?

Everyone knows by now how useful the Internet can be when researching just about anything. There is a wealth of free and easy to find information scattered through out the Internet. Unfortunately, anyone can create a website and there is a lot of information on the Internet that is anything but factual. Websites aimed at Arizona relocation more often than not paint a picture of the Valley as a tropical, oasis in the middle of the desert that everyone dreams of visiting and moving to some day. These websites are owned and maintained by Arizona Realtors who are trying to sell homes, so of course they want to make the Valley look inviting. One of the many reasons why this site was created was to offer a REAL look at life in Arizona and not just tell people what they want to hear. Here are some of the most laughable LIES I have stumbled across on Arizona relocation websites.

‘The Arizona economy is very strong’ – of course nobody wants to relocate to an area with a declining economy, so why not tell potential clients that the economy is doing great? Unfortunately, the Arizona economy is just about done for after the housing bubble burst and the chances of a strong rebound are quite slim. Construction and real estate jobs are drying up across the state as there is no real reason to continue building more homes when very few are actually buying/able to afford them anyways.

‘The people are very friendly’ – sorry, but this really could not be any further from the truth. Arizona is home to some of the most rude, arrogant, and unfriendly people on this Earth. The trash, fakes, and frauds who could not make it anywhere else all seem to collect in this place we call the Valley of the Sun.

‘A beautiful year round climate’ – the weather in Arizona is beautiful for 2 months of the year at best. Temperatures well into the hundreds for close to 4 months is about as far from beautiful as you can get.

‘Affordable real estate’ – Arizona real estate prices may be falling, but prices are still high considering what you get. Not to mention if you make an average Arizona salary you will be hard-pressed to even qualify for a mortgage, let alone actually make the payments. And the cheapest real estate is found on the outskirts of town which works fine if you are retired, work-from-home, or work at the neighborhood grocery store. Otherwise you can brag about your 40 mile each way commute to work, while being stuck in traffic and getting repeatedly cut off and getting slammed into by illegals with no insurance – all while hoping you or your car doesn’t overheat from the 100 plus degree temperatures.

Everyone always talks about all the hot new jobs across Arizona. The Arizona job market has always been a main selling point used by Realtors trying to trap people into relocating to the Valley. Sometimes it seems as though there are more jobs than people across the state. What a lot of people simply overlook is that there is a HUGE difference between quantity and quality of jobs. So, why are there so many jobs popping up across the Valley?

Growth. As more and more people decided to move to the Valley – more homes, schools, restaurants, and shopping centers had to be built. The construction industry was most affected by this growth, and countless new construction jobs were created. Most of the other hot new jobs were necessary to meet the service needs of newcomers to Arizona. Somebody has to work in the restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, and shopping malls.

As long as people continue moving to the Valley, there will always be a number of construction and service-oriented jobs. The growth has to end sometime though, right? What will happen to Arizona, its people, and an economy tied to building and selling homes when growth starts to decline?