How many Zonie natives here? (San Luis, Queen Creek: real estate, apartment, big house)

[locoenlacabeza]

Hi everyone, I was just wondering how many native Arizonan's we have here. It seems like there are fewer and fewer of us left each year.
Being born and raised here, I never thought that I would leave. Az had it all, or so I thought. Little bit of everything, all rolled into one. I have either lived or spent a significant amount of time just about every where in the state. I always thought I was an Arizona girl through and through. But I think I am ready to give somewhere else a try. Anyone else ready to move on? And where are you thinking of going?

[RBH Automotive]

after growing up there (20+ years) and 10 years active military being anywhere but there. Az. has turned into a Kalifornian refugee camp. Now they seem to think that because Az. is not Kalifornia they are all idiots. Isn't that fast paced shallow lifestyle what they were trying to escape?

Anyway, I have now bought a home on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. A super small community that is everything that I left and lost. Arizona in it's original form was wonderful, now I'm afraid it's just an extention of the misery next door.......


Time to move on, there is no beating stupidy in numbers like that.

[CodyW]

I'm a native.. Born and raised. And yes, I think its time to move somewhere else.

I plan on attending PSU in Portland, Oregon.. So that will be my first step! =D

[sablebaby]

I am also a Native. I was dead set on moving somewhere when I was done with grad school, but now it's been a couple of years later and I'm still here. I was going to go to the suburbs of Chicago to live as that is where my BF is from. Even though I live Chicago and it's burbs we have decided for now not to move there (mostly due to the weather being too cold or too humid, and being a little too close to family).

I have learned to be ok with AZ for now, maybe until I find somewhere greener (in my experience nothing has ever been greener on the other side!). I have looked at Denver, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Iowa, New York, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and some others (not all in person of course) and have basically ruled them all out for one reason or another. I'm kinda picky about the weather. I HATE humidity!! The bit that we get during our monsoon season is too much.

The only place that I have found perfect weather for me was California, but everything else makes me say no. I took a trip in Sept to OC and FELL in LOVE with the weather. I've been to CA a bunch of times before but this time was different. I seriously was ready to move. I totally understood why half the world has moved there, that's until I opened up the real estate section in the paper and saw similiar homes to mine for 3x what I paid. Then my dream was crushed. (really I did know that the dream was crushed before then.)

So, now I'm here until I figure out or make more money to travel the country to find my perfect home. I swear the only way I will be able to find something is if I rented a big RV and visited each state in person. That would be cool.

[irwin]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

I am also a Native. I was dead set on moving somewhere when I was done with grad school, but now it's been a couple of years later and I'm still here. I was going to go to the suburbs of Chicago to live as that is where my BF is from. Even though I live Chicago and it's burbs we have decided for now not to move there (mostly due to the weather being too cold or too humid, and being a little too close to family).

I have learned to be ok with AZ for now, maybe until I find somewhere greener (in my experience nothing has ever been greener on the other side!). I have looked at Denver, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Iowa, New York, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and some others (not all in person of course) and have basically ruled them all out for one reason or another. I'm kinda picky about the weather. I HATE humidity!! The bit that we get during our monsoon season is too much.

The only place that I have found perfect weather for me was California, but everything else makes me say no. I took a trip in Sept to OC and FELL in LOVE with the weather. I've been to CA a bunch of times before but this time was different. I seriously was ready to move. I totally understood why half the world has moved there, that's until I opened up the real estate section in the paper and saw similiar homes to mine for 3x what I paid. Then my dream was crushed. (really I did know that the dream was crushed before then.)

So, now I'm here until I figure out or make more money to travel the country to find my perfect home. I swear the only way I will be able to find something is if I rented a big RV and visited each state in person. That would be cool.

You are going to have to decide what is important to you. Is it important to live in a certain area or is it important to have a big house? You weigh the factors and decide. But, often, you can’t have both.

I am moving to Boston in May. I love the Northeast and living in the city, but I also know I am not going to be able to afford the size of home I could afford in a place like Arizona. You live with it. Part of the reason I am going to live in the city is so I don’t have to spend my life locked away in the suburbs. But unless I hit the jackpot, at least for the time being, I am not going to be able to afford a mansion in the city. There are things more important than playing the “I have a bigger house than you” game.

[sablebaby]

I don't think i applied that I was only looking for a big house. I just don't want to live in a shack just scraping by. My big thing is weather and there are many other reasons why I wouldn't live in CA than just the cost of housing (which is important anyway). I live in a 1500 sq ft house which I don't think constitutes as large and I'm not looking for a mansion. CA's air quality is bad, traffic is horrendous, it's overpopulated, the list goes on.

Let's get back to OP topic which is about Natives and where we are thinking of going. Are you a native?

[irwin]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

I don't think i applied that I was only looking for a big house. I just don't want to live in a shack just scraping by. My big thing is weather and there are many other reasons why I wouldn't live in CA than just the cost of housing (which is important anyway). I live in a 1500 sq ft house which I don't think constitutes as large and I'm not looking for a mansion. CA's air quality is bad, traffic is horrendous, it's overpopulated, the list goes on.

Let's get back to OP topic which is about Natives and where we are thinking of going. Are you a native?

Sorry. Since home size was the only factor you mentioned, that was what it seemed you seemed to be implying.

I would agree that there are other problems with Southern California. I hate the fact that you have to drive everywhere. But, if weather is that important to you, there are few places better.

I’m not originally from Arizona. I moved out here from back east for grad school. I had visited several times and it seemed like a good place to “settle.” Well, having been here for about a year and a half, I’ve come to realize I don’t like this place. Again, it is all about priorities. I would rather have a small apartment in a historic city than a large home (and 1,000 sqft isn’t small) in the burbs. But that’s just me!

[aj661]

I'm not a native either, but I've lived here longer than most natives. My parents moved us here in 1962 when I was very young. I still love AZ, but the people are mostly outsiders who've forced their beliefs and lifestyles on us. I've got a friend who has owned a small restaurant in Apache Jct for over 30 years. At least half of her customers smoke. She's thinking about selling now. I have to agree with her; it's her property and if she posts a sign that says smoking is allowed, that should be enough. If it's so offensive to non-smokers, they don't have to go in. It's really a matter of principles for me and has nothing to do with smoking. The government shouldn't be able to tell her she must ban a legal activity inside her own building. Then there's the others that buy houses near Air Force bases and farms, only to complain to the local governments that it's too noisy or it smells bad. Give me a break! It is definitely time to get out of AZ.

I'm with 'sablebaby' on moving to CA. Not LA or San Diego. Sablebaby, if you like the weather here, you might want to look in the same area we are going to: Inland from Morro Bay about 15 miles is a small town called Santa Margarita. The elevation is about 1000', similar to here. It's just east of Hwy 101, between San Luis Obispo and Atascadeo. I found property online that's reasonable, even for here. From the pictures, it looks a lot like Queen Creek before the massive housing build up. Unfortunately, we're stuck here for at least 5 more years. Sometime in the next 6 months, I'm going to do a recon of the area.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by irwin

Sorry. Since home size was the only factor you mentioned, that was what it seemed you seemed to be implying.
Again, it is all about priorities. I would rather have a small apartment in a historic city than a large home (and 1,000 sqft isn’t small) in the burbs. But that’s just me!

I seriously don't want to bring this up again, BUT... I never once said anything or implied anything about house size, let alone be it the only thing I was factoring in. My main priority was weather. I think you need to read a post more thoroughly before you start preaching about priorities and values.

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by aj661

I'm with 'sablebaby' on moving to CA. Not LA or San Diego. Sablebaby, if you like the weather here, you might want to look in the same area we are going to: Inland from Morro Bay about 15 miles is a small town called Santa Margarita. The elevation is about 1000', similar to here. It's just east of Hwy 101, between San Luis Obispo and Atascadeo. I found property online that's reasonable, even for here. From the pictures, it looks a lot like Queen Creek before the massive housing build up. Unfortunately, we're stuck here for at least 5 more years. Sometime in the next 6 months, I'm going to do a recon of the area.

Thank you! I will have to go look that up on a map, or maybe google it.