Are people forced to live in Phoenix due to various factors?

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â™¥ Andelyn's Mommy â™¥

I wouldn't necessarily say that! It may be cheaper to live here than Cali but its definitely not cheap! It is a fast growing city and its a nice place to live most of the time, except when its next to a million degrees, like it is now.

lotmsotd

Yes and no. Forced is too strong a word, but there are general trends.
Phoenix, though incredibly hot during the summer, has no other weather - no hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, blizzards, high winds, heavy rains. (One inch of rain is "heavy" for Phoenix). So some people like the climate. As a newer and fast growing city, it has some very nice neighborhoods, and good schools.
On the other hand, if you want a job in Arizona in most career fields, you only have a few cities to choose from - there are plenty of towns across the state, but most with few jobs. So if you want a job in advertizing, business, hospitals, call-centers, entertainment, or even fast food restaurants, you have to move to a city. This is the way it is nationally.
Arizona's cost of living is higher than much of the country, but still lower than the west coast state, and NY & Florida. So people who can't afford to purchase a $500k entry-level house in LA or SF, find the Phoenix metro area to be a bargain. Of course, they could find even cheaper housing in Kansas City or Detroit, but depending on their careers, there may not be jobs for them at these locations, or they prefer Arzona's climate.
There are plenty of other areas with good-sized cities, and fairly strong economic growth (New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Nevada, North & South Carolina), so though someone may feel that they "have" to move from where they are, they do have choices on where they end up.

For every person who hates Phoenix (such as myself), there is one who loves it . And I'm not planning on moving soon, as though Phoenix may not be perfect (to hot), there are worse places to be.

Steven C

I have lived in the Phoenix area for 18 years my father transferred here from Texas because he got a job at Intel.

Raines

I decided to move to Phoenix because I did some research on the internet and found that Phoenix seems to have the most jobs on careerbuilder and the housing is amazingly affordable on craigslist, compared to where I was living, Hawaii. That's why I decided to move to Phoenix. I have never been to Phoenix before but just decided to move here because of the cheaper housing and that there are more jobs. I have a hard time with housing in Hawaii and also I have always wanted to move to the mainland, so that's why I moved.

I think that what you say may be true for some people but not true for others. Housing in some places are more expensive than Arizona, but then everyone's situation is different as some people can afford it whereas some other can't...

AZ Imagined

Arizona's unemployment rate of just 3.7% certainly does attract people looking for jobs...but nobody is holding a gun to people's heads forcing them to move here.

Beyond the bored kids that would complain about their lives no matter where they lived, most people actually like living here. Putting up with a few months of blazing heat is really no different than having to put up with a few months of bitter cold in other parts of the country.

ajh

In the past, it may have been the case that people moved to Phoenix for the lower cost of living but Phoenix's cost of living for housing and apartments has increased and is less affordable. While there may be more job growth in Phoenix than some cities because of Phoenix's high growth rate, no one should feel forced to move to Phoenix (or anywhere) to find work. Unless you are a child with no control over where your parents move, an individual should have some say in where they move. While some Californias may move to AZ for cheaper housing, they are choosing to leave behind CA, not being forced.

xdarkcloudhowlx

I know that alot of people moved out here because of job oppurtunities and low cost of housing. I moved here from Southern California, and California is way too expensive to live there even getting groceries is expensive.

Blue T T

This is a urban legend.

Jellicle Cat

There maybe some truth to this but I have not personally experienced it. I love Phoenix. I love the weather. I love our NBA team. I love how laid back it is. And as far as low cost,maybe in the city city of Phoenix but where I live is by no means cheap.

jumbos_mom

No one forced me to move here, I love living in Phoenix and really can't imagine going anywhere else...though in retirement I wouldn't mind living in a cabin in the mountains...Arizona is the perfect state from heat to snow in two hours!

Peedlepup

Not true. Phoenix is a very nice city (although it gets very hot in the summer), and the people who live there do so because they choose to. That is why Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.The only people who are forced to live there are the inmates in the correctional facilities.

Any Republican 2012

Peedle, what do you work for the Arizona tourism department or something??

Anyway, I think it's true to some degree, but I don't know exactly what percentage are here when they don't want to be. You cannot deny that many Californians have come to Phoenix due to how expensive it is to live now in CA. And I moved here from back east for a job, a big opportunity for me, and there is no way I would be here were it not for that job. The economy was bad where I'm from.

pugs5678

no people come here because it is a awesome place with awesome weather and lower cost of housing and forced haha come now

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