The purpose of this thread is to draw response from either those who currently live in the Greater Phoenix (or valley area), Maricopa County...or those who are thinking about moving to Phoenix, Arizona. Its understandable that many choose to relocate to Phoenix for the dry sunny climate, but with the overwhelming rate that Phoenix is growing at, there are many other locales within Arizona such as Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma to reside in that are not so heavily populated, so why do so many still yet choose to converge on already crowded Phoenix?

OK, I will admit to be quite ignorant on Arizona specifically - but, my guess would be JOBS.

It's hard to find a smallish city with a diverse economy. This is my opinion from my own research in trying to find a good, smallish town to relocate to near good big-mountain skiing. Easy to make a living in a big city - Denver, SLC - and be close to great skiing. Not so easy, in, say, Bozeman, MT or Steamboat, CO.

So, I'm guessing that's the comparable AZ answer. I know people who actually DID pick Tucson to re-locate. They never could get decent jobs there, had to pack their bags & leave after a year.

yeah, that would be I guess the most probable answer. Now that I ponder that response it seems that America's largest towns owe their growth due to successful strategies enacted to attract businesses to locate there,.no matter what city it may be: Los Angeles, Chicago, etc. Lucrative tax incentives and other propositions over the course of time have turned small communities into sprawling metropolitan areas. Our bodies need food and water to survive and our lifestyles require money. So where the jobs are-the people go.

In the eyes of those coming, it's a midwestern LA; SoCal with out the nut contingent. That's not true, of course, but it's the perception.

Perhaps because overall there are more things to do there besides staring at the sand.

As a longtime Arizona resident, please let me throw in my two pesos.

First, Phoenix is the state capital. It is the largest state capital in the nation. Lots of jobs involve working for or serving state agencies.

Second, Phoenix is one of the largest electronics manufacturing bases in America. Once upon a time, Arizona's economy was based on copper, cattle, citrus, and cotton. No longer.

Third, Phoenix is a distribution and transportation hub. Lots of warehouse, trucking, and aircraft employment.

Fourth, many resorts and conventions are there. Many schools, too. Arizona State University is one of the largest universities in the country. Many medical centers, too. Service jobs abound.

Fifth, agriculture -- and industries that serve the citrus, cotton, meatpacking, and food processing industries.

Those are just a few reasons. Plus glorious weather when much of the rest of the nation is frozen. The list could go on and on. In the long run, Phoenix will continue to grow at a high rate until its citizens wake up to the fact that it has an Achilles' heel: sufficient supplies of water. We are now in the eighth year of a prolonged drought, with no rain for about 125 days. Eighty per cent of the state's water consumption today involves irrigation of crops. This must change if population growth is to be sustained or supported.

I live in Tucson (which is growing like mad too .. and incidentally, so is Yuma, however except for a few large employers PHX is the best bet in AZ for relocation job market wise). A few other reasons people relocated to "populated areas" such as PHX or Tucson, rather then isolated towns (other then the obvious job/school reasons) is that they like to be near medical facilities, stores, entertainment offerings, airports, sports to name a few.

While the wide open spaces may appeal to some there are others who do not want to drive 100+ miles to a major mall or to see a doctor or attend a ball game/show/whatever. The country is great for those who like country living, but for those who like to be "near things" then city/suburban life is the obvious choice.

I guess I forgot to mention many of those relocating to AZ that I speak to say they are getting out of the snow/cold weather and/or large cities "back east" that have major crime related problems. Many re-locatees also come from CA (where I also lived a long time) -- Housing costs in CA are out of this world and if you sell your home over there you can normally buy something pretty nice elsewhere and have money left over. Many CA relocatees also mention how CA has changed, again more crime, the immigrant problem (yes, it is huge issue in AZ too, but CA has a larger population of everything, including immigrants-legal and otherwise). I am not mentioning this to start a flame war - please - but it is a fact of life and one people need to be aware of when they question why people move to a particular area.

USNR--Good job! Our DD works for ADEQ and SIL has just finished his PhD at ASU. That's one couple hitting 2 out of 5 on your list!

They love to hike, rock climb and camp and in an hour can be in the mountains around Payson, 2 to Sedona, 4 to the GC...and then there are all those places in between. Want a quick workout...head to South Mt. Yet they live with all the conveniences a big city has to offer. An express bus gets her into town in no time for work...at a cost to her of .35 as the gov't subsidizes it for their employees. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. They are going to have to move now with his having graduated and entering the teaching market, and are dreading relocating, knowing there's slim chance of ending up in a place that has as much to offer them as the Phoenix area.

The largest source of persons moving into Arizona is exactly what you might expect -- California. It is the largest population center nearest Arizona.

Second-largest source is about a tie: Texas and Illinois. Then come New York and Florida.

When Air Canada began direct Toronto-Phoenix service, the influx of winter visitors from Ontario leaped. Before this nonstop service began, most Canadians from the eastern provinces went to Florida. We have always had many winter visitors from British Columbia and Alberta.

In early March, the northward migration begins. Minnesotans and Iowans leave by the hundreds. Perhaps by the thousands. Many decide never to return to their home states. Traffic ebbs, towns become more livable, and the pace of life slows. It's a regular cycle, year after year. Weather today: in the 60s, cloudless, gentle breeze from the south. Any takers?

I am hoping to move to Scottsdale in the fall. While I am in the process of getting my Masters in Counseling, it will be some years yet before I can have a private practice. meanwhile, I have alot of experience working for government - city, county and state and hope to be able to find a job in state gov't in Phoenix until I get my degree. My reasons are: I love the southwest ambiance, weather (hate hate hate winter), my hair stays curled, close to my favorite places to visit such as Sedona, Santa Fe - almost every place in the US on my list is in the western part of the country. however, I can't afford a house in Scottsdale and I'd like to experience upsizing before I downsize so am also looking at homes in Ft Worth but having an apt in Scottsdale...

I always wonder what percentage of the state's water supply goes to keep the golf courses green. It always amazes me to see so much green grass growing in the desert.

Almost all the water used to keep golf courses green in Arizona is re-processed water from sewage treatment plants. Odorless, but perfectly safe. Tertiary treatment does the job quite well.