Moving to Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson, Surprise: real estate, houses, rental)

[mikec34]

Originally Posted by ssundown

I really haven't thought about exactly where to go. I was thinking of the Sedona area. It sounds really nice. I know I can get a job anywhere in the medical field, but house painting is what I am worried about. He's been painting for 30 yrs and is really good. It's just that the winters are getting hard for us as we are in our late forty's and he has been to AZ and New Mexico and loved it there. He'd like to go back. From what I have been reading it sounds like AZ is more populated than we imagined. He remembers it being nice and not as many people like up here. Don't know what kind of decision to make now. Do you know anything abot New Mexico and is it as populated as AZ seems to be now? Can't seem to make up my mind !! Thanks for all the input. Would appreciate more opinions.

maricopa county, the one that houses the phoenix metro area, is, i believe, top 5 largest counties in the country, even larger than Queens (burough)NY. It's not small by any means, with over 3 million residents. these cities are only separated by imaginary border lines, so there's little to no distinction between each town/city in the Valley. it basically feels like everything is just one big phoenix to me.

i've only been to southern new mexico, and nobody lives there ;-)

AZ (again, the phoenix metro area, not flagstaff where it dropps well below negative at night in the winter) is basically plain ol' hot most of the year, and even when it's cold in the witner it's not that cold and never for long. mostly the nights can get cold at best. so, if you have a need for this, then it'll be great. i personally hate the dry heat. dry heat can make for uncofortable breathing, especially when you wake up and your facial glands are dried up. nose bleeds, though not often, will happen more here than in humid weather. this all varies per person.

i think texas is a great western state in terms of warm to hot weather, but with more of a full range of seasons. dallas is what i'm talking about, not houston. but i think dallas has funky weather sometimes too, with changes between night and day being insane sometimes. however, it's still warm most of the year. texas is flat though, so no mountains and the trees are more like shrubs in the dallas area, but green.



AZ is a hotspot for medical field professionals. i've seen several articles put out that AZ is very lacking in this field, so jobs should be hot for you.

use State and County QuickFacts
for information that is accurate, though sometimes outdated, it can provide a powerful tool in your research.



from sedona, to flagstaff, to show lo, etc etc, you'll find beautiful mountains and streams amongst the fairly dense pine tree forests. still, these are often times 'truck driver' towns, or scenic hot spots, with little economic growth compared to a major metro area like phoenix.


gilbert and scottsdale will be amongst your better suburbs in the east Valley. so check those places out if you visit. expect to drive 25-50 minutes living in those places if you work in phoenix though. still, not terribly far. gilbert is a nice family town and better class than say mesa or chandler or glendale (west side of Valley), in my opinion. there are tons of houses, but it's suburban sprawl at its best and probably less dense than places you might be familiar with. stores are located on most corners, as well as gas stations, so convenience is good.


good luck with whatever you decide. much of what i my is my opinion, so remember that. ;-]

[blacknite]

If you move to Sedona, ask where the "vortex" is located...? Let me know. Thanks.

[mburnell]

If you like Sedona take a look at the Verde Valley. Homes are less expensive than Sedona, yet you are only 15 - 20 miles away. The weather is cooler than Phoenix in the summer and warmer than Flagstaff in the winter. Snow on the mountains but no snow in the valley. Lots of homes that need paint if he paints exteriors.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by ssundown

Yes, I see Sedona seems to be little bit expensive. Prescott looks nice too. How is home pricing and the job market there? I will spend lots of time looking around. AZ just seems so beautiful. Don't know where to start. Thanks for all your help.

Home prices are softening. We're down at/a little below 2005 pricing now (2006 was our peak here in Prescott). Prescott is quite a bit pricier than Prescott Valley (PV). Just for an ex. New(er) build 1800 sf in Prescott will be $350k to $450k depending on location/upgrades, etc. In PV, you'll get a similiar home for about $250k to $350k.

Jobs ~ depends on what you're looking for. Medical is in BIG demand right now - a new hospital and lots of medical building going on. OTOH, construction trades are down right now until the housing market picks back up - that is unless you have a speciality that's in high demand in custom homes (which seem to still be going pretty strong here). Other types of jobs you just have to check out. Generally, the pay is less than what you'll get in Phoenix. Some sources to check out for jobs are The Daily Courier online on Sundays (our newspaper) and www.BetterPrescottJobs.com.

While Prescott is pricey, housing prices are quite a bit less than Flagstaff and Sedona. And Prescott Valley is probably about the most reasonable prices for a town of its size in Northern AZ. Kingman prices would probably be lower.

[jenkaye]

What about Northern Phx? Cave Creek..etc. We have the Mayo hosiptal down the road and in these planned communities we have to have our houses painted to always keep them fresh looking. The association is now giving penalities for houses that are looking a little worn on the outside. I think a painter would do fine out here and in our developement alone we have 6,000 + homes, most built in the 90's and ready for a new coat of paint!

[ssundown]

Thanks for all the info. Now more confused. I guess all the talk about the heat is getting to me. When my son was there he absoutely loved it. Said it felt like a breezy warm day than hot and sticky like it gets here. Thanks for all the info on Verde valley and Cave Creek. I will check it out. Isn't northern Phx getting snow in the winter? Don't want to deal with icy roads. Trying to get away from that. lol I will check out these places and get back to you all that have helped. Thanks again for the newspaper links.

[Gretchen B]

No snow in Phoenix. Temp never drops below 32 except on very rare occasions. Even areas of N AZ that do get an occasional snow (Sedona, Prescott Valley) you won't find it to get icy. It's just too dry here, plus the temps melt any snow within a few hours. Once in a very great while it may be icy in the very early morning if the temps have dropped during the night after a rain. Even in Prescott, we've had some winters where it's been too warm to snow and we get rain instead. If you never want to see another snowflake, though, Phoenix is your kind of town. :-)

[saffordpastor]

Try my hometown...Safford. It is a great little city with decent weather (not near as hot as the valley or Tucson) wonderful scenery, and a thriving construction market. There is about 35-40,000 in the immediate area and it is full of nice folks and has a great hometown feel to it. Lots of outdoor opportunitys near, hiking, camping, birding, rafting, rockhounding, hunting and fishing etc to do. Great mexican restuarants here too.

[ssundown]

Where is Safford near? Never heard of that one. It sounds like it would be nice. Where exactly is Kingman? I have been reading pros and cons about that city. Sounds interesting. How is the cost of living there? I know to many questions. The way I figure it , everything is probably pretty close to things in Ohio. Gas and food prices are up everywhere. I would be swapping heating bills for cooling bills I suppose. Thanks for info. Will try and check out Kingman and Safford. Thanks!

[isabella20948]

Hi I just found this site too! REcently moved here to Arizona from Florida Its really nice here Currently renting in Surprise Very nice Not to expensive We are renting for one year, to get a feel for the area. So far so good. Good luck Isabella