About Phoenix (Tucson, Scottsdale, Gilbert: subletting, apartment, rent)

[msGypsySolo]

thanks everyone who replied to me.

I'm in my early 40s.

I think I might want to go to scc, but haven't completely ruled out nau (yes I know it is in flagstaff, thanks)
chaparal is part of phoenix or scottsdale? is there a scc campus in tucson?
I'll consider tucson as a possibility, but was thinking more of scottsdale.
that's good to know that there are apartments listed that will take pets.
I will have to see how I can manage rent in arizona while attending school
and trying to keep my apartment here and paying rent here so that I have a place to come back to during the summer months.
does anyone know if it might be possible to sublet something in arizona? what might the costs be for doing so?
should I try to unofficially sublet my apartment here in Massachusetts

(I get rent assistance and may not be able to do so unless was unofficial).

thanks.

[country pride]

Are you prepared for long, brutal summers? Though its not 'that' common, we do get our fair share of 101 degree nights (at 10 pm!) or like right now, 85 degrees at 5 AM. This time of year, a lot of places are already down to the 60's or 70's.

[msGypsySolo]

yes I know about the very hot (mostly dry except for monsoon season) sommers there and to me, it is similar to new england winters,
in that you stay in as much as possible during the summer months, or go to the mountains
or to other locations where it's not as hot.
the same way we have winters in new england and spend more time indoors and less outside.
hopefully though I can come back here to massachusetts sometimes during the summer months,
catch up etc with family and friends here.
but yes I think I'm prepared to spend much time indoors when the summer heat arrives, just as I do with winters here now.
thanks.

[msGypsySolo]

ivanabacowboy and/or anyone else.:

so what are the good areas of the city/town?
what stores, restaurants, businesses are near the good areas?
can you give stores, restaurants, businesses addresses and contact info
and maybe a map of the areas that are good?
oh and if you know or can find out, what bus routes serve the area?

and what are the ones I want to avoid?
what stores, restaurants, businesses are near the ones to avoid?
can you give stores, restaurants, businesses addresses and contact info
and maybe a map ot the areas to avoid?
oh and if you know or can find out, what bus routes serve the area?

thanks.

[bigfez]

Originally Posted by msGypsySolo

ivanabacowboy and/or anyone else.:

so what are the good areas of the city/town?
what stores, restaurants, businesses are near the good areas?
can you give stores, restaurants, businesses addresses and contact info
and maybe a map of the areas that are good?
oh and if you know or can find out, what bus routes serve the area?

and what are the ones I want to avoid?
what stores, restaurants, businesses are near the ones to avoid?
can you give stores, restaurants, businesses addresses and contact info
and maybe a map ot the areas to avoid?
oh and if you know or can find out, what bus routes serve the area?

thanks.

I have lived in Phoenix/Scottsdale for 25 years. The most important thing you should know is that Phoenix is a VERY LARGE city in population, as well as square miles. Unlike most large cities, Phoenix does not have much in the way of public transportation. Bus service is limited. Light rail is not finished yet, and will be limited. It is nearly impossible to get along here without a car. SERIOUSLY. You will have a very difficult time in Phoenix without a car.

Scottsdale Community College is on the edge of Scottsdale, and butts up against an Indian reservation. Aside from the cafeteria on campus, there are no restaurants within walking distance. There are some apartments nearby, but nothing within walking distance.

Phoenix is so spread out that I wouldn't even know where to begin on the "what areas are good" and "what areas are bad" questions. In relation to what?? Although there are some new loft style condos and apartments in Phoenix and Scottsdale that have retail/restaurants on the first floor, they are rare and expensive. I don't know what you mean by our "live/work/shop/dine" places). That concept does not really exist here.

I live in an area of central Phoenix where it is easier to get along without a car using bus service. But to get from my neighborhood to SCC (about 25 miles) would take at least 1 1/2 hours by bus. I'd love to take the bus to work, but it would take me 35 minutes to go less than 4 miles. Most importantly, when it's 115 degrees you won't want to be walking to a bus stop.

[msGypsySolo]

bigfez (and/or anyone else):
the "live/work/shop/dine" reference was about someone else's ?
and one of the replies, it sounded interesting and like areas that I might want to consider, so I asked ?s about it.

the area that you mentioned with restauants and businesses on the first floor sound interesting
and maybe that is one of the areas where people "live/work/shop/dine"
does this area have any apartments set asside for low income?
(public housing, section 8 approved private landlord apts
set aside for low income-senior citizens, working poor, disabled)

from what I can see from checking out the: Bus Routes (http://www.valleymetro.org/bus/Bus_Routes/ - broken link)
it seems at least somewhat comparable to buses in the northeast.
there are several routes and they seem to run on schedules that are somewhat comparable.

what stores and businesses are in areas where the bus routes are?
(I'm particularly fond of and generally tend to shop at health food stores like wild oats, whole foods, trader joe's,
which there are some of in various locations around here now.)
(for convenience (and pharmacies-though I don't generally use for pharmacy except occasional otc)
I like walgreen's, imho they often have good sales, buy one get one
(and sometimes more than one) free deals.) for pharmacies I like cvs)

what buses go to apartment complexes?

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by msGypsySolo

thanks everyone who replied to me.

I'm in my early 40s.

I think I might want to go to scc, but haven't completely ruled out nau (yes I know it is in flagstaff, thanks)
chaparal is part of phoenix or scottsdale? is there a scc campus in tucson?
I'll consider tucson as a possibility, but was thinking more of scottsdale.
that's good to know that there are apartments listed that will take pets.
I will have to see how I can manage rent in arizona while attending school
and trying to keep my apartment here and paying rent here so that I have a place to come back to during the summer months.
does anyone know if it might be possible to sublet something in arizona? what might the costs be for doing so?
should I try to unofficially sublet my apartment here in Massachusetts

(I get rent assistance and may not be able to do so unless was unofficial).

thanks.

I would say if you are going to NAU, just go over to Gardner, same exact thing. I would get the experience of what AZ is all about if I were you. Scottsdale would be fun. You are single, and able to experience the good side of the valley. Go for it!

[GirlinAZ]

Originally Posted by msGypsySolo

(I get rent assistance and may not be able to do so unless was unofficial).

thanks.

If you want to move to Scottsdale and need housing money from the city-you are out of luck. There is a five year wait list.

[bigfez]

Originally Posted by NanawaleJulie

If you want to move to Scottsdale and need housing money from the city-you are out of luck. There is a five year wait list.

The way I understand it, she doesn't just want housing assistance in Scottsdale - she wants to KEEP her housing assistance in Massachusetts, AND get housing assistance in Scottsdale. Wow. I'm doing it all wrong! Here I am working hard, paying a mortgage, hoping against hope that someday I'll be able to retire. If I really get lucky, maybe I could spend part of the year in Arizona, and part back home. But apparently all I really need to do is apply for social services in two states!

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by msGypsySolo

bigfez (and/or anyone else):
the "live/work/shop/dine" reference was about someone else's ?
and one of the replies, it sounded interesting and like areas that I might want to consider, so I asked ?s about it.

the area that you mentioned with restauants and businesses on the first floor sound interesting
and maybe that is one of the areas where people "live/work/shop/dine"
does this area have any apartments set asside for low income?
(public housing, section 8 approved private landlord apts
set aside for low income-senior citizens, working poor, disabled)

from what I can see from checking out the: Bus Routes (http://www.valleymetro.org/bus/Bus_Routes/ - broken link)
it seems at least somewhat comparable to buses in the northeast.
there are several routes and they seem to run on schedules that are somewhat comparable.

what stores and businesses are in areas where the bus routes are?
(I'm particularly fond of and generally tend to shop at health food stores like wild oats, whole foods, trader joe's,
which there are some of in various locations around here now.)
(for convenience (and pharmacies-though I don't generally use for pharmacy except occasional otc)
I like walgreen's, imho they often have good sales, buy one get one
(and sometimes more than one) free deals.) for pharmacies I like cvs)

what buses go to apartment complexes?

It seems like your questions are difficult to answer. I can tell you have never been out here, as your questions would be better suited for a SMALL town with 8000 people instead of the 4 million or so that we have here in PHX Metro.

Virtually all major streets will have a busline running here. I believe the bus system is better than most believe it is. LOTS of people don't have cars and only rely on the bus system, so it can be done. Is it preferable? NO!

As a super large city and super large suburbs, we have everything you will need and virtually on every corner. Most major street corners you will find 3 or 4 corners filled with stores of some kind. The more you go into Scottsdale the more limited the buses.

SCC is just one of the many community colleges in Maricopa County. No, Tucson does not have an SCC campus, they will have their own colleges there.

Lower income is not really something that Scottsdale will have a lot of. Section 8 is hard to come by. It's Scottsdale for goodness sakes! You should look more west of Scottsdale and then jump on a bus to SCC. Looking into the less expensive areas will get you the low income housing. You could look into Phoenix CC as it's in a much less expensive area and you would have a better commute I'm sure. Also, try calling the college and see about student housing or sharing an apt with another student. Try Craigslist and rent out a room.

The comment above about live/work/shop/dine was referring to some of the most upscale areas of Scottsdale-- only reserved for the rich!

All in all, do more research for yourself. Many of your questions could be googled or searched on this site. For example, you won't get maps of good areas from us, that's too much for us to do. Good luck!