r/mesaaz • u/TheOgLemonHaze • 4h ago
Thinking of moving to the area
I'm a 24 year old queer man currently residing in the new England area, looking for a fresh start and AZ is calling my name. (Especially with the thrill of no snow)
Here's my question to the locals, what do you like, what do you hate? Why would you recommend az or should I look elsewhere?
Thank you for your time and input
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u/Slight-Wash-2887 3h ago
It's 106 degrees right now, and only getting hotter for the next few months. It's normal to be 100+ degrees from April to Halloween. It also doesnt really cool off at night in the city, too much asphalt and concrete.
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u/Xklonewolfxk 4h ago
Honestly, my biggest complaints are how expensive everything has gotten, insurance rates, terrible drivers, and the insane number of people moving here every year. I also hated APS when I had it and would take SRP over them any day. One thing that really annoys me is people moving here and immediately saying, 'We didn't have this back home, Arizona needs one,' when Arizona doesn't need to become a copy of wherever they left. Other than that, it's mostly great, aside from the occasional idiot who thinks threatening people is a personality trait.
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u/TheOgLemonHaze 4h ago
Sounds like where I'm living right now honestly, on Cape cod you can't even get a 200 sqft house for under 200000, it's ridiculous
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 3h ago
Coming from New England, you will find the area to be much less expensive. For example, I think the median house is ~480k these days (but don’t quote me). However we also find that wages/pay are low….so there’s that.
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u/TheOgLemonHaze 3h ago
I've been looking at some manufactured homes for 40-80k
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u/Madreese 1h ago
That's unusually low and probably not in a great area or community. Many of the manufactured homes are in 55+ communities and they are much more expensive than that.
Also realize that in a manufactured home community you do not own your land. There are a few where you can purchase the land, but not for $80,000. So you won't own your land, you will have to pay rent for the land (some are paying upwards of $1800/month for lot rent). You will pay many of your utilities depending on what is included in your rent. For sure you will pay electricity and maybe water.
You might want to explore this: https://housing.az.gov/programs/office-of-manufactured-housing
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u/WhereRtheTacos 1h ago
Those will either have crazy high lot rent or be old and in the middle of nowhere or 55+ community which again lot rent. Just fyi. Look at actual condos and apt for rent or buy before deciding to make sure u can really afford it. We would all live in 80,000 homes if we could lol. That was years and years ago.
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u/leitmotif70 1h ago
There are plenty of mfg homes here in the East Valley. Plenty of snowbirds flee back to north boofoo, so there's always places to buy/rent
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u/GandalfTheGrey46 2m ago
Be careful with that. Several have been sold off to developers with the tenants being kicked out. Be sure to research the covenants and what the owners are up to.
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u/unclefire 3h ago
My bro and his family live up there - mass, Connecticut and I think Vermont too. Ya it’s wicked expensive there. Cape cod is probably worse than other areas.
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u/ElkBit 3h ago
I moved to West Mesa in 2021, but have experience different parts of the Phoenix area since 2010. What I love about my part of town is that we're close to three different highways (Loop 101, Loop 202, and Highway 60), we have an amazing Asian district with great food options, and we're close enough to Downtown Phoenix for events (I love going to concerts). Some parts of Mesa are a little rougher than others, but generally it's a pretty good area. I'm a gay man and I haven't had too rough of a time, but that's just the experience of one person.
I took a glance at your account and saw that you've got some geek hobbies. We do have a non-profit LGBTQIA+ organization called the Phoenix Gaymers where we strive to be an all-inclusive community of geeks who love different types of games from video games to table top and everything in between! I can send you an invite to the Discord if you are interested in learning more! I don't know if this applies to you, but we also have some furry groups as well!
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u/unclefire 3h ago
Mesa is pretty big and a bit of a mixed bag. I’m in the NE part near falcon field and the Boeing plant. There are plenty of chain eateries and some gems- Italian, sushi/tapan, bistro type, etc. we do have a theater nearby and one microbrewery. Some music/entertainment places. A lot of Mormons but mostly decent people from my experience. Housing is a mixed bag of multimillion dollar big houses and more modest stuff, some townhomes and apartments.
Downtown Mesa has a bunch more stuff for eateries, bars, entertainment.
My area is close to the 202 and connections to other freeways. If you live further south the superstition/60 will be the freeway and that can have a ton of traffic depending on your commute.
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u/PaleExtreme7399 3h ago
If you're set on Mesa, stay on the west side, closer to Tempe. There's a bunch of queer culture around the Valley, mostly in Phx, though.
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u/pufsullivan 2h ago
FWIW, I (gay male, 34) moved to the Phoenix metro five years ago from the Midwest. While you may be right that Phoenix/AZ aren’t as progressive as New England, I’d say this state is solidly purple. And it’s similarly diverse in almost every other way. Age/orientation/race/religion. You’re bound to find your community here. And geographically, too! The Sonoran desert is the wettest, most biologically diverse desert on the planet. It’s beautiful. From Phoenix you can be in the forest, the mountains, or at the ocean in just a few hours.
Yes, the weather is insanely hot for a few months a year, but just like the winter in cold places, we mostly stay inside until it’s comfortable to be outdoors. Yes, it’s very brown here - houses, landscaping…it’s all some shade of brown.
Nowhere is perfect, and that includes Arizona. But I have not regretted the move a single day since I did it.
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u/griffeyjr90 2h ago
fear of brown is greater than the fear of gays. The amount of people who talk about they won’t go north of 60 or az mills is far greater than people who care about lgbtq stuff.
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u/Halcyondorah 2h ago
People are scared of brown people?
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u/GandalfTheGrey46 4m ago
Yeah I’m not seeing that. Arizona is pretty diverse and people freely intermingle socially and in dating.
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u/Miserable-Flan-9524 3h ago
Mesa is the spot north side main I’d say. I’m near stapley and mckellips and it’s such a chill place.
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u/Born_Flower_6921 2h ago
Anywhere you go you will experience hate no matter who you are. Mesa is cool but dont expect everyone to be friendly.
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u/Ok_Character5519 4h ago
To be honest, there is a lot of homophobia and transphobia here right now. I think that is a serious consideration when looking at moving to Arizona. That said, there are also incredible allies here too. What I like about Mesa, AZ is that we are only two hours away from cooler climates (the pine forests in Payson and Show Low) and plenty of artificial and natural lakes for recreation.
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 3h ago
Maybe in Mesa? (I don’t know) but Phoenix & Tempe are very progressive & blue & LGBTQ friendly.
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u/Ok_Character5519 3h ago
Yes, Tempe is a lot better and Phoenix is relatively better but it depends where. Tempe is just so expensive!
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u/TheOgLemonHaze 4h ago
Thank you! That's a big part of why I'm doing research before moving, I know that nowhere is gonna be quite as progressive like the north down south but it's better than texas I hear, would you agree?
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u/Ok_Character5519 3h ago
As someone else mentioned, Tempe is pretty progressive. And, as far as Arizona goes, Tucson and Flagstaff also fairly progressive. I'm a fifth-generation Arizonan so I don't want to dissuade anyone from moving here. Just as a queer person myself, I am seriously thinking about moving out of state to a "blue" state because of how things are right now.
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u/Either-Strain-1506 4h ago
I think so! There is a fairly large queer community in central Phoenix. Pride, meet ups at the parks, first fridays, and the queer clubs are mostly downtown. If you live in Mesa, it will be much cheaper than down town. It's generally perceived that the further east you are, the more country and redneck it can get.
Edit queen to queer
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u/TheOgLemonHaze 3h ago
Thank you for your input!
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u/Nervous-Bench8090 3h ago
I've lived in Mesa 34 years. We are way more progressive than we used to be, literally just this past weekend in Downtown Mesa was a Pride event! It's not as big as Phoenix Pride (always a huge event) bit it was still a great turnout and very fun!
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u/pumpkaboos00 3h ago
I’ve lived here my whole life and my husband is FTM and came here from Texas. We have never had any issues living here and everyone has been incredibly friendly while we’re out and about. The area is pretty religious but it seems like a lot of people keep to themselves and aren’t rude about it from what I’ve personally experienced. Downtown is pretty lgbtq+ friendly and a lot of local businesses are friendly as well. The worst part is I think it’s built up so much, a lot of Mesa’s charm has been removed in terms of too much building going on and the removal of the groves and farmland near where we live.
Theres a lot of great places to eat and hang out to meet people. I think you’d like it a lot here if you gave it a chance. My husband loves it here and is so glad he left Texas.
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u/TheOgLemonHaze 3h ago
This is so encouraging, thank you so much!
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u/pumpkaboos00 3h ago
Yeah no problem! If you’re also into any hobbies I know there are a ton of hobby groups around too for all sorts of things to help you feel more welcome! Good luck to you my friend 💜
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u/ElectricalAd910 2h ago
So are you asking for just general living or for the Gay verson of living here? or overall, just in general?
What do I like - well, I will say some of the common things that people like. the weather for the most part. 3 months, maybe 4 at the most, the head is intense, but most people just go from place with AC to Car with AC to place with AC. The whole Phoenix metro area is spread out. I recall moving from SLC in UT to here, and there were a lot of strip malls. not good or bad, but you can always go somewhere. But overall, it's just home. Mesa. Hard to say anything specific without knowing what you like to do and things like that. There are frequent bikers (peddle) around the area, you even see the groups on weekends some times durring the year. Oh, and the biggest for me, NO SNOW
What's bad? Sometimes people have driving issues, not often you get news or odd free way driving, wrong way drivers, yes, even heard of a freeway downing years ago. There is the monsoon season, which can be muggy and dust storms, but those are about 3-4 months as well when the heat is here, so it's just washing your car a lot there is a lot of talk about housing shortage, rent prices food ect but I think that's most major cities, Keep in mind this is one of the largest metro citys in the US. I think it's because California people are moving in, and the focus on job growth over the last few years.
As far as being Gay in Mesa, from my experience, it's just normal. I am low-key gay, not many bars, etc., but not places I don't feel safe without not feeling safe for any other reason
To be more helpful, I would ask that you ask about more specific interests, so that we can give you better answers. But after all, places don't make people feel at home, people make places feel at home; everywhere has good and bad, it just depends on what you focus on and what annoys each of us.
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u/ph-acetious 1h ago
the greater valley area does tend to lean a bit more progressive, but it's nothing like a safe haven! that said, mesa has a few queer coffeeshops and other friendly retail spaces, so if you know where to go, it's not difficult to surround yourself in safe pockets! there's also a tiny gayborhood (a quarter mile strip) up near downtown phx and a great queer dive bar in very southeast phx :)
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u/Super-Slip-9054 52m ago
Phoenix or mesa!!! But downtown mesa!! Yay for another queer folk added to the community :)
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u/Relevant_Ad_246 15m ago
You would hate it here, it gets hot enough to melt lead in the summer. Culture is meh. Try somewhere else.
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u/Nervous-Bench8090 3h ago
I've lived in Mesa 34 years and love it! Will never leave AZ! Very LGBTQ friendly as well here
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u/basicbong 3h ago
Mesa was founded by Mormons fyi. They are a pretty closed off community (not bc you’re queer but just to non-Mormons).
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u/Ok_Character5519 3h ago
It hasn't been like that in decades in my experience. Mesa is more than 500,000 people now the majority of whom are not Mormons. Although, the Mormons are some of the nicer people in this town.
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u/basicbong 2h ago
I never said Mormons weren’t nice people. But if someone is looking for a queer friendly spots, Mesa is not it. And it’s difficult to build a community with people who only socialize with their church. Just to keep in mind.
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u/Ok_Character5519 1h ago
That’s for sure; it is not very queer friendly. I mostly stick to my own friend community and steer clear of the maga hats.
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u/Lonely-Attention2946 3h ago
Based on others replies,
Bad drivers are people coming from other states who don't understand or don't care how ED live in AZ. *" Bad driver" needs to be defined. It's legal to speed in AZ but state law. Speed cameras are set to 11 over. Many people do 11+ on the freeway. Others do 10- on the freeway.
Otherwise AZ can be hot in the summer. Snow in the winter.
Plenty of LGBT persons out here.
Two hour drive you're in the cool pines, at a lake, fishing, or out with friends. We have a whole river lake system on the east side of Phoenix, the Salt River. Saguaro, Apache, Canyon, Roosevelt lakes. Other lakes up north, easy, West and south.
We even have a real life old fashioned London bridge that used to span the Thames in London here in Lake Havasu City.
Plenty to see, experience, and behold in AZ.
Utility companies vary by area. Phoenix area has two major, Mesa has it's own downtown. Florence is on the native reservation electric utility. Flagstaff and Northern AZ are on APS.
Tucson and area may be Tucson or APS.
Come for a visit, experience a lifetime.
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u/Beautiful_Maximum_75 3h ago
Gay Mesa AZ native here, downtown Mesa is pretty progressive and I feel very comfortable around the bars/restaurants there. The hardest part is how spread out the valley is. You must have a car. The “gayborhood” is in PHX and at least 20-30 min from Mesa. We do have a lot of MAGA fools, even in the queer/gay community. It all depends on what you like to do and the vibes you prefer.