migrating to Arizona from Ireland (Phoenix, Peoria: relocating, property taxes, tornado)

[ljr]

Hi myself and my fiance and little girl are trying to migrate to Arizona We are born and bread in Ireland.
We are finding it difficult and need HELP.
Firstly is Arizona the right place to relocate out of the whole of America.
If so were in Arizona it has to be family orrientated and the schools have to be good, it would also have to be very very safe.
We have to get jobs over there and need them to sponsor our visas.
We are both employed in Ireland I myself as a recruitment consultant but also have 6 years in banking, my fiance works in the biggest hospital in Ireland as a mdt coordnator and has held various positions there. Would anyone know if these are the types of position that would sponsor visa..if so are there agencies over there that would help..
what is the climate like does it rain much or to little do you suffer from earthquakes tornados does it snow???????
I know these are silly questions but ireland is like a different plant to you guys..
I mean we dont have zip codes not exactly sure what they mean??? Do you pay tax for owning a home..If so how much how is it calculated.. We get tax back if you own a home..
I dont expect anyone to know all the answers if u can help in anyway this is our dream and want to make it happen...We have to get out of Ireland it is soooo bad!!!!

[MotleyCrew]

Quite a journey. My great grandparents on both sides came from Ireland.
Arizona would be vastly different from all the greenery you are used to. It is very hot during the summer and I know you are on the cool side. If I were to pick one of the best places to live in the USA, I think I would choose Napa California for the beauty of it. Jobs are in the tourist/ winery sector. Very expensive to live there. Parts of San Diego are also very nice, but again expensive. You don't mention how much you have to spend on a home. We pay tax in the form of property taxes yearly and nope, cant get them back. I may go to Ireland! We have state income tax here in AZ as well. Some of the states do not have an income tax but the property tax is usually a little higher to make up for it. Phoenix is very large and the downtown section is a traffic nightmare. We do love the outskirts and happen to have landed in Peoria, AZ. It is a very clean, fairly new city with tons of housing choices. The schools are better on the west side according to the other posters. I am sure jobs in your field would not be impossible to find, but you might do some checking before heading out.
We do not have earthquakes like California has, nor do we have tornados, but I understand they can happen anywhere. We actually saw a small one touch down in Sacramento Calif and take a roof off of a commercial building there. We have monsoons, high wind, rain preceeded by dust storms. I happen to like them.
We left Calif because of the high crime, taxes and general nuttiness.
You should rent and travel to the different states before making a final stop. Lots to see here.
Good luck to you.

[bojo4444]

Moderator cut: competitor links not allowed
I am sorry I cannot answer more questions, but I am a little unsure about many spots in the country. However, for weather, I would recommend the Northeast or Northwest if you're looking for weather similar to Ireland (it's not the same, but would be the closest). However, most Europeans I know prefer moving to warmer areas like the west and south, although the humidity in the southeast is sometimes a turn-off.

Once again, good luck and try to visit if you can.

[jaada]

wow i had an aunt who was born and grew up in ireland, she said it was beautiful there green and rainy. well az is not. its wayyyy to hot unless you go to the northern region, it is desert, with cactus, and not much beauty. if you like that sort of thing then you will like az, 121+ weather, snowbirds over crowding your streets, crime, no trees except a few palm trees, low wages, and high cost of living. this of course is only the southern parts of az not all of az is completely like this.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by ljr

Firstly is Arizona the right place to relocate out of the whole of America.

That depends on what you're looking for by relocating to the US. One thing to keep in mind is that the US is enormous compared to Europe. Many US states are larger than several European countries combined, particularly in the western US. Each state has several regions that are known for one thing or another.

Originally Posted by ljr

We have to get jobs over there and need them to sponsor our visas.
We are both employed in Ireland I myself as a recruitment consultant but also have 6 years in banking, my fiance works in the biggest hospital in Ireland as a mdt coordnator and has held various positions there.

I'm not sure what an MDT coordinator does, but there is an enormous need for health care workers here in the US, in all states. Your fiance should contact local hospitals and see if they have a program that could help with the sponsorship. You can do a google search for Pheonix and hospitals and you'll find quite a list to begin with.

As for your skills and experience for banking and recruitment, again, do a Google search to see which banking institutions are located here. There are a TON of company headquarters in Phoenix so you may be able to find a company willing to work with you.

Originally Posted by ljr

what is the climate like does it rain much or to little do you suffer from earthquakes tornados does it snow???????

Northern AZ, (areas like Flagstaff), is fairly temperate with rain and tolerable temperatures throughout the year, including snow in the very early springtime.

The valley, (areas around Phoenix), is a extremely dry with the majority of the yearly rain totals coming during the monsoon season in late summer. It's not unusual have to an inch of rain within an hour.

You occasionally hear of a freak tornado in northern AZ during the monsoon season because of the storms, other than that, though...no tornados. And no earthquakes.

Originally Posted by ljr

I mean we dont have zip codes not exactly sure what they mean???

Zip codes are postal codes that tell the post office where to send your mail. The entire US is divided into zip codes to help streamline the postal service. This link has some good info about them, if this helps:

http://inventors.about.com/library/i.../blmailus4.htm

Originally Posted by ljr

Do you pay tax for owning a home..If so how much how is it calculated..

Yes, if you own property, you pay property taxes. The calculations can vary by city, county, and state. We fund a lot of our education and emergency services, (ambulances/paramedics/firefighters), by property taxes. If a school district or emergency services district has had some bonds passed by a vote, the taxes in that district are higher than a district without any education bonds passed. Yes, you'll have slightly higher taxes, but you'll also usually have better schools and emergency responses.

Originally Posted by ljr

I dont expect anyone to know all the answers if u can help in anyway this is our dream and want to make it happen...We have to get out of Ireland it is soooo bad!!!!

I don't pretend to know all the answers, but I can certainly help you find them. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

And, this is a little off topic, what's so bad about Ireland that makes you sound so desperate to leave?

[suzanne7575]

maybe i can be of some help to you as i am from Scotland. I don't have any experience of living in the US or Arizona as yet, but it is where we are headed and it is likely we will be going to Arizona.

The US is a nightmare to immigrate to unless you have a lot of money to invest in a business, or have specialist training such as nursing, or you do a job that cannot be filled by a US citizen. I am a nurse and that is how we ar planning on coming over. I'm afraid i do ot know an awful lot else about different types of visas as the greencard is the oly one i am eligible for. However i do know that as a Irish citizen you can apply for the green card lottery.

Not sure wether you are northern ireland or Eire but this site might be of help to you www.britishexpats.com

Feel free to PM me if you would like any more help

[cloud dweller]

Irish couple,
Take heed.Stay in Ireland,regardless of the weather.If you are interested in moving anywhere,you should visit four or five times first.I have been to Eire and Belfast countless times and I love it.I am an Irish-American.You will be better off in Boston.
Also,remember this always American cities are not safe at all,period.You
will be making a big mistake.Stop watching American movies and read as many American newspapers as you can get your hands on and go to the library,for heaven's sake.

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by cloud dweller

Stop watching American movies and read as many American newspapers as you can get your hands on and go to the library,for heaven's sake.

This is really good advice. If you're interested, the local newspaper in Phoenix has a great online version.

azcentral.com

And crime is definitely a consideration. The crime rate for Phoenix is pretty nasty. But there are some areas of the US that have very low crime and great livability.

Personally, I'm not fond of larger, metropolitan areas. I prefer smaller towns so I have a bit of a bias. In larger communities, you don't know who the freaks are. In smaller towns, you usually know who the freaks are, their family, their co-workers, and likely their neighbors. It has its advantages and disadvantages. I hated it as a kid, but now that I have children, I will DEFINITELY be living in a smaller town as soon as possible.

[kathy58]

I hope I can mention these sights, if you check out http://www.city-data.com and http://newspaperlinks.com/home (broken link). you can get alot of info. Someone recommended these to me back a few months ago, and there is lots of info on these.

[suzanne7575]

Originally Posted by cloud dweller

Irish couple,
Take heed.Stay in Ireland,regardless of the weather.If you are interested in moving anywhere,you should visit four or five times first.I have been to Eire and Belfast countless times and I love it.I am an Irish-American.You will be better off in Boston.
Also,remember this always American cities are not safe at all,period.You
will be making a big mistake.Stop watching American movies and read as many American newspapers as you can get your hands on and go to the library,for heaven's sake.

You have to rememer visiting somewhewre is not the samne as living somewhere, yes Ireland, scotland and the Uk are beautiful. I live in Scotland and am surrounded by some wonderful scenery, mountains, waterfalls, picturesque villages, but the scenery is not everything. The Uk is a difficult place to live at the moment. The cost of housing and the cost of living is astronomical. There are no nurses jobs which is why I am planning on coming to the states, and what jobs there are are in poor understaffed dangerous conditions. The cost of living is very hard, for one we are taxed very highly. My husband earns approx $60,000 and is taxed around 40%. You may think $60,000 is a good wage but we are struggling some months to even feed our kids, let alone have anough money to buy them new clothes and shoes, a house in our area, which is a good area i must admit, start around the $700 mark for a very small 3 bed house. We can never afford that which is why we are still renting. Don't get me wrong i know life in the US is not going to be a bed of roses, and i am prepared for that but it is something we have always wanted to do and whilst we have no ties back home then we may as well give it a shot because of not i am going to have to throw 4 years training down the pan and go work in Asda (walmart)