Me and my family wants to move to arizona (Phoenix: apartment complex, for rent)

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by Lanisha26

Wow that is crazy and scary I have two little kids and I don't want them to be around that but yes me and my husband and my kids are planning to come visit I think in January. SO hopefully we will like it. I don't really know anything about Phoenix except you said it's a big city so I would like to see what you guys are talking about. Now the cities where we want to move to is a big questions because again we don't know anything about arizona or no family oriented city to raise a family of four.

Did you mention where you'll be working? That more than anything will dictate where you live as the area is very spread out.

[Lanisha26]

That the problem I am looking for work out there now. I am a medical assistant, teacher assistant and I will be taking a nurse assistant while I'm here and work until we moved out there n then transfer everything to arizona

[goolsbyjazz]

Lanisha, I am glad to hear you are planning a trip out here in January. There's no substitute for actually setting feet on the ground to get a feel for an area. There is a lot to like about Arizona and the Phoenix area, in particular. You just have to find where you fit and you should be ok.

[Lanisha26]

Okay thank you I just doesn't know anything about arizona or phoenix but I would really like to everything

[BIG CATS]

Don't visit in January. That's the SINGLE BIGGEST MISTAKE people make when relocating here. They come in January, are enamored by the 70-degree temps and lack of snow, and then move. Then 5 years later they leave because its too hot for them. Come in June sometime when its 117 degrees. Then again in August when we've got humidity on top of the heat.


Phoenix has an unbelievable high turnaround rate. In fact, I'd be willing to bet its the highest in the country. Rarely do people stick around more than 10 years. Ive only been here a handful of years myself, and in that relatively short time, ive seen 6 coworkers move here after I did, and then leave 2-3 years later because they just cant handle the longevity and intensity of the summers. And they did what you plan to do: visited in winter and loved it. Moved here and hated it.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Don't visit in January. That's the SINGLE BIGGEST MISTAKE people make when relocating here. They come in January, are enamored by the 70-degree temps and lack of snow, and then move. Then 5 years later they leave because its too hot for them. Come in June sometime when its 117 degrees. Then again in August when we've got humidity on top of the heat.


Phoenix has an unbelievable high turnaround rate. In fact, I'd be willing to bet its the highest in the country. Rarely do people stick around more than 10 years. Ive only been here a handful of years myself, and in that relatively short time, ive seen 6 coworkers move here after I did, and then leave 2-3 years later because they just cant handle the longevity and intensity of the summers. And they did what you plan to do: visited in winter and loved it. Moved here and hated it.

I would love to see some statistics on this although I doubt they exist since it's hard to track how long someone's been in a place at a macro level; all the stats I see just show internal migration but don't tell you how long people stay in one place.

I haven't observed the trend you're seeing among transplants, BUT, it does seem like so many of the kids who grow up here move someplace cooler/rainier for a while. They seem to often come back but I've had a lot of coworkers who were natives move to places like CA, OR, WA because they wanted a cool rainy climate, or thought they did.

It's interesting because a lot of kids who grew up here really do not handle cold weather well, but then they move some place cold and find it's too cold and wet for them. Even myself, I've sadly come to the realization that living here has really affected my cold tolerance. When I was a kid I'd wear shorts and no jacket in 50-60 degree weather. I used to go winter camping, sleeping in a tent in freezing snowy places and enjoying being out in the cold and the snow all day long, and now I'm the guy who brings a light jacket to the movie theater and uses a blanket on the couch at home because my wife likes the AC at 76 or so, and that's a bit chilly for me now. I do fine in cold temperatures if I'm dressed for them, and I really enjoy when it gets cold here because of the variety of it all, but if you stick me out in the cold not dressed for it, I just can't handle it like I used to.

I guess the good news is when I visit other cities in the summer time and they're all sweating and complaining, I'm talking about how awesome and pleasant the weather is.

[Lanisha26]

I love the hot weather n my kids loves it my husband some what likes it but weather be in the cold . But thank you everyone

[teddyearp]

Lanisha, it is good that you plan to visit. There is no better way to get to know a place than to visit it first.

As far as the potential for crime goes, though you may misread this opine, Arizona is one of the states that does little to deter Law Abiding citizens from owning and carrying firearms. Many others may come along and detract and disagree with this, but personally, I am always happy to see fellow law abiding firearms owners legally carrying.

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by Lanisha26

I love the hot weather n my kids loves it my husband some what likes it but weather be in the cold . But thank you everyone

I don't think you know what hot weather truly is.


Ever stepped into a 200-degree car? Handles and seats so hot that you literally cant touch them? Pavement so hot that you can get burned from it? Heat so intense that it drives everyone indoors? A Phoenix summer is a strange one... streets are quiet, playgrounds are empty, skateparks abandoned... the only things youll hear are people in the pools and the hum of a/c units.


Make no joke about it, the heat kills people here every year, without fail. Most of the victims are people like yourself who think they can handle it, then their bodies shut down. Its not a laughing matter in the slightest sense.

[stephenm85]

I'd agree with most people on here talking about the medical stance. There are a lot of old people and it ain't getting younger. I'm not too sure about barber work here though but I'm in the tech field so it's not something I look at. It's best to look here first before moving though but that's the same as any place really.

As for the racism, to be honest like everyone has said it's everywhere. I'm from Dallas and looking to move back soon. I've seen and heard racism there, here, California, so it doesn't matter. As for someone who has been here most of his life I can tell you that it's about the same as anywhere. The grammar I wouldn't work about because I can talk funny sometimes but people still understand me. But I did loose my accent for a couple years but slowly gaining it back.

Cold weather, unless I'm riding a bike I walk outside in the "winter" time in jeans and short sleeve shirt and I'm fine. It can be 45/47 and I'm fine. Though my brother does seem to have an issue with 60 degrees. Summer you might want to stock up on sun screen because it gets bad here. Also drink a lot of water. The one thing about humidity that seems to work best for me I sweat but I'm not as thirsty though it could be my body tricking me. Anyways summer you normally keep in doors unless you need to go outside and "winter" is really what you can handle.

Schools are not the greatest honestly. Like I said I grew up here and the schools back in Texas were better and I was only 7 when I moved out here. But being in tech I know that schools can be an activity online so I'm kinda bias on that really. Usually inter city schools do worst then say something in north Phoenix area or maybe east Mesa. Like everywhere else schools are getting crowded, shutting down, and teachers that worked here for years either have to get a 2nd job to meet ends meet or just leave.

So personally I have good things and bad things to say about AZ. But you'd have to experience for yourself.