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Old 10-10-2006, 12:24 PM
 
1,477 posts, read 4,395,422 times
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10% lower? It might pay off. Living here is generally pretty cheap.

Hey, try it and see if you like it. If urban life is not important to you, Phoenix may be your thing. At the very least, you will get to experience something different for awhile and maybe learn more about yourself. That is the only beneficial thing I have gathered from my experience out here; now I realize what I find more important.

Just remember, leave the winter coats at home. You won’t need them!

 
Old 10-10-2006, 12:30 PM
 
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Urban life is important for sure, but you can't expect everything from one place, as I said the most important is not to drive & walk in dark streets, I love sunlight in the day times -not a problem at all in Phoenix- & street lights at night -not sure about that-

I see 10% lower is not a good deal, I was hoping for the same salary & then the price differences -if any- will allow me to live better, but then it's the start & for sure when one gets better at work, there will be a reward

I heard that Flagstaff is as cold as Toronto, if so that's amazing because it's just 2-3 hrs away, right?

What are the best urban areas to live in Phoenix where you can be safe & get some life style?
 
Old 10-10-2006, 12:43 PM
 
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I don’t know about Flagstaff being as cold as Toronto. It gets snow, but it really isn’t that bad of a climate; similar to Western Canada (Alberta). It’s not that far away but the drive has a big elevation change. That’s why the climate is so different. I like Northern Arizona a lot, but there is not much up there in terms of jobs or population. Pretty though.

If I were in your shoes, depending on where I was going to work, I would look into living around the intersection of Shea and Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. It’s a lot a strip malls up there, but has some decent entertainment. Other options would be around Old Town Scottdale (Indian School and Scottsdale Road) or Mill Ave. in Tempe (which where I live). There are trying to build up Mill Ave (condos, etc). but it is a little young. All those places have street lights, but nowhere in Phoenix are you going to get the big city lights like Toronto. It’s just a consequence of this place being so suburban.
 
Old 10-10-2006, 12:50 PM
 
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Irwin,

Thank you for the advice, my work will be in the field itself, so it doesn't matter where I live because I won't have a typical 8-5 office job, that allows for more freedom to select a decent place to live, but budget wise that could be a problem especially with rents hiking from November till April as I heard
 
Old 10-10-2006, 12:51 PM
 
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Not sure if it's been mentioned earlier as I just skimmed through the posts, but you'll probably come out ahead even with a 10% reduction in salary simply from tax relief.

We have some friends from Brampton, Ontario who have been here for several years and will never go back because of the high taxes and socialized medicine, etc. They love Canada, but said the taxation eats them alive!

I've never been to Toronto, but I've heard it's a very cosmopolitan city, and diverse, liberal, and cultured. Phoenix is a century or two behind many eastern cities in the culture aspect, but the city itself is much newer overall than it's eastern counterparts.

Re your questions in the above post:
Flagstaff gets colder at night in winter than TO, but it's much sunnier, so even though the daytime highs are around 40, it feels warmer.

Best urban areas? Phoenix is really a SUBurban area, very little 'downtown' urban areas like most cities. They are starting to build lofts and condos in the central corridor, but it's a work in progress. Try central Scottsdale, near the Fashion Square Mall.
 
Old 10-10-2006, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Perth, Western Australia
9,589 posts, read 27,715,380 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smartcuty View Post
I heard that Flagstaff is as cold as Toronto, if so that's amazing because it's just 2-3 hrs away, right?
That's just about all altitude, not latitude difference though.

Wow, you're more cold hardy than me; I find all our winters rough.

A week ago we got out of a gloomy weather pattern. In almost 40 days, we had maybe 5 days with sunshine. Of those 35 days overcast days we might have only had some rain for maybe 8-10 days. It's kind of funny; this year we didn't really get a transition from summer to fall as far as a temperature change. Summer was warm to hot sunny days, cool to warm nights. Starting in the end of August we had cool and dark afternoons; you could tell it was night when it was a bit cooler and darker than midday.

I heard on some other forums a guy from Arizona wishing he could see more overcast days, he thought they looked cool! Well if anyone has seen Lord Of The Rings, us Torontonians are all very familiar that kind of overcast, especially the darker overcast scenes. (minus the fire and smoke from volcanos and smoke from the battle scenes, lol)

I didn't spend much time in L.A. actually; we stayed in San Diego most of the time. We loved it there! I have several relatives who were either born there or moved there back in the 1950's. Orville Redenbaucker almost hit our rental car at a local mall. We also saw a bit of L.A. like Univeral Studios and up to San Fran for a few days to visit friends. San Fran was chilly, but fun anyways. I found it fun trying to walk up the sidewalks; more of a climbing motion in some places. We also went on the cable cars.

What do you mean by 10% lower exactly?Their dollar is worth 10% more and many items are cheaper there, for example automobiles, gasoline and alcohol. (okay, maybe not the best or most desirable examples, but it's what I know)

Let's say you have a generic car that's base sticker price is $30,000 Cdn, I can almost garuantee you it's American base price would be closer $23,000. So just by the exchange rate you've already spent about 20% more. Now if you buy it in Ontario, you will have to pay 14% combined sales tax on that $30,000 which comes to $34,200 Cdn. Let's say you buy it in a state with 8% tax. (could be lower in AZ) that's $24,840 U.S. Convert the final Canadian price and you get $30,438 U.S. or approximately $5,500 more U.S. for the priviledge of buying that car in Ontario. Even if that car was $25,000 base it's still costing $3000 more to buy it here.

Sorry if I bored you with numbers. There are probably many things that are also cheaper. You'll likely save money unless you need to visit hospitals frequently.

Last edited by ColdCanadian; 10-10-2006 at 01:17 PM..
 
Old 10-10-2006, 12:56 PM
 
1,477 posts, read 4,395,422 times
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To be honest Cold Canadian, I think one thing I miss out here is variety. It is hard to imagine, but I miss cool fall days back east. I don’t miss the snow and ice though, but in D.C. it really wasn’t that bad. Certainly not like Toronto.

I have a friend in San Diego and he says the same thing…misses the seasons.
 
Old 10-10-2006, 01:03 PM
 
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Monsoon74,

Tax brackets in Ontario, Canada are like 25-35% off your income with another 14% you have to add on all products you purchase except groceries, but you get basic healthcare FOC

Brampton is good but not as good as Mississauga or Toronto, in my opinion Mississauga is the cleanest city in the GTA, but then the weather is cold almost everywhere

I don't like temperatures in the 20'sF during daytime & 10'sF during nights, that is the main concern about Canada plus dark days could make you feel somehow depressed

Phoenix a century or two behind North East American-Canadian cities in the culture aspect!!! That's a big difference, I have been only to Charlotte, NC & to New York & I would say that people were more or less like Toronto, with NY even more advanced & NC more warm
 
Old 10-10-2006, 01:09 PM
 
1,477 posts, read 4,395,422 times
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Charlotte is more of a city than Phoenix. I have a couple of buddies that work in banks down there and the finance shops there really bring up the education and sophistication level of the populace. A lot of former Wall Streeters moving down there.

Remember, a building built in the 1970’s is “old” for Phoenix. Everything is brand new out here and hence, there just isn’t the neighborhood culture or history you get back east. I was never in the suburbs of Toronto, but go to the newest exurbs of Toronto, a place with a lot of planned tract housing and strip malls. Now imagine everything is brown and cactus…that’s Phoenix.
 
Old 10-10-2006, 01:15 PM
 
78 posts, read 420,121 times
Reputation: 57
Quote:
Originally Posted by smartcuty View Post
Phoenix a century or two behind North East American-Canadian cities in the culture aspect!!! That's a big difference, I have been only to Charlotte, NC & to New York & I would say that people were more or less like Toronto, with NY even more advanced & NC more warm
I was being facetious, but only to an extent. We do have culture such as the theatre and symphony and the like, they're just not as established/famous as they are back east.

Oh, and not to open a can of worms about this, but you state healthcare is free of charge. I suggest you read the first part of your sentence about the 35% tax rate...then tell me where the 'free' part fits in! Trust me, it's not free..it's being paid for on every payday!
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