Thinking about Relocating to Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson: apartment, rent, how much) - (AZ) - City-Data Forum

pcdoctor · 02-12-2009, 08:45 AM

Hey Everyone:

I currently live in the state of MI which has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Reasons of why I want to relocate are because of the fact that we had one of the worst winters ever here, and it's just so hard to find a job, but I'm sure that's everywhere. I'm looking to move into a small to medium sized city that gets little to no snow. I would like to know about how much one would expect to pay for a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment a month, I would like to know what sorts of things there are to do in different cities and other stuff. If anyone can help me out, please let me know.

Thanks

Debbie SE MI · 02-13-2009, 04:31 PM

Hi PCDoctor
I just relocated from SE MI Dec 1st 08, I'm in the Verde Valley we are about an 1-1 1/2 north of Phoenix. The weather is cooler then Phoenix and the pace is a lot slower and the scenare is beautiful. Their are meny web sites, I started with newspapers.com to get an idea of jobs and housing then just google arizona. Their is so much information but you should do your homework and visit the area. Being so new to the area myself I will let someone who has been hear awhile supply you with more information on this area of Arizona.
Just remember not everyone on the site is happy with arizona and some are just negative about everything. You will get a variety of opinions, and that is all they are.
Debbie N AZ

Headin4AZ · 02-15-2009, 02:03 PM

I'm a resident/native of SE Wis and am ready to go south too. I'm fine from May 1 - Nov 1 but after that forget it. My husband lived in Tucson when he was in the Air Force and has always wanted to go back. We are finally at a stage in our lives when we are really thinking of making the leap and I am so excited.

We've visited or been through many different towns from the Grand Canyon to the Mexican border. We bought land in Sun Sites a few years ago really cheap and have visited it about 4 times and while the area is growng, it is so desolate there that we think we'd rather try Sierra Vista/Hereford. The hardest part is trying to coordinate finding a new job with buying a new place, selling the old place, etc.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. Can you imagine trying to make a life change like this before the internet?

R_Cowgirl · 02-15-2009, 02:23 PM

Read the thread just above this one "Arizona, city by city" -- that will help. And come here before making any plans to move here. Fly into Phoenix and rent a car. Go visit the cities you read about on this forum. The money you spend will save you a lot of money down the road. No matter what we say on here, you have your own tastes and needs. Make your list out of what you must have, can't live without, and would be willing to compromise on. Just saying "no snow" isn't enough. If weather is a big concern, make sure you spend some time in Arizona during the summer. You don't like the cold, can you handle 90 days straight of over 110 degrees? Each area has its challenges. It's always a trade-off. What bugs you might not faze someone else.

The economy sucks everywhere right now. We are all in the same boat. You can do an online search of economic indicators, or on unemployment stats. So don't leave a good paying job if you have one. Hang on until you know for sure you have one here. JobIng and Monster.com can give you some ideas.

Also, go online and find the newspapers for the areas that look attractive to you. Do some searching on things like weather reports, traffic reports, job listings, crime, community projects, government... all that will help you find the kind of community you seek.

Take your time- this is a big move.
Good luck!

anneMyu · 02-15-2009, 07:36 PM

Just for the record, AZ has a really bad unemployment rate. You may have better luck in the North East, like NH, Ma., they have the LOWEST unemployed amount of people. If you are into computers and/or medical, then extremely good chance you'll find a job. Right now home in Az are so inexspensive, but, there are no jobs to pay morgages. I'll sell you my house right now, $50,000 AND get you a job.

azdr0710 · 02-15-2009, 09:36 PM

as far as snow goes, you can draw a line diagonally from the NW corner of Az to the SE corner and everything SW of that line, approximately, gets little or no snow....higher elevations, of course, always get snow - places at about 3500' will get maybe one or two dustings a year that melt by noon...and we have a few ski areas in the state, so, you know...................

LordBalfor · 02-16-2009, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Headin4AZ

I'm a resident/native of SE Wis and am ready to go south too. I'm fine from May 1 - Nov 1 but after that forget it. My husband lived in Tucson when he was in the Air Force and has always wanted to go back. We are finally at a stage in our lives when we are really thinking of making the leap and I am so excited.

We've visited or been through many different towns from the Grand Canyon to the Mexican border. We bought land in Sun Sites a few years ago really cheap and have visited it about 4 times and while the area is growng, it is so desolate there that we think we'd rather try Sierra Vista/Hereford. The hardest part is trying to coordinate finding a new job with buying a new place, selling the old place, etc.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. Can you imagine trying to make a life change like this before the internet?

I hear you about Sunsites. We looked at some property there - and really liked the look of the community, but it was just too far away from major shopping and medical facilities for us.

Ken