MovingtoAZ (Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa: relocation, real estate, housing)

[no user name]

You repeatedly refer to things being "here" and "there" so I have no idea what the hell you're talking about! "There is a lot of crime, and people are not as nice"...WHERE???
"It is very cultural here"...WHERE???
"we are on the border of Mexico"...WHERE??? CHANDLER??? PHOENIX??? GILBERT??? NONE OF THOSE ARE ON THE BORDER! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!

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Originally Posted by twiggy

Gilbert is a good place, so is Chandler, both if you live in the Suburbs though! The old parts of both are bad. Don't forget how much it cost to cool your house from April to November. It will run you about 400.00 to 600.00 a month. It is usually hotter than average quoted temp,s. Today it will be 112. ouch!! There is a lot of crime, and people are not as nice. If you get to know them they are but everyone here is from somewhere else so you really have to try and get to know the people on your street or you will never talk. Maricopa is a up and coming suburb, its south by 30 min. from Phx. Housing is very affordable but it won't be for long. It is very cultural here, half hispanic a lot of Indians. A lot of good mexican food! Freeways are crowded, gas is high, and the air quality here is really bad. If you have asthma or any lung conditions I would reconsider your move. Kids with asthma have a hard time with pollution warnings which we get half the year. (traffic and heat, bad combo). My father wrote a book on the history of Phoenix, so if you have any questions? My family and I are looking to relocate somewhere on the east coast. We want the seasons. Out here you have summer in the winter and hell in the summer, ha ha 115 to 120. Winter is nice around 75 to 90 but I must say it's hard to eat thanksgiving dinner while your sweating!!! Santa Claus cactus and roadrunner rain deer are getting a little old. If you are sick of the snow though you'll like it. High rate of teen suicide and car accidents though, so pay attention to your kids moods through high school. There are a lot of drugs out here, we are on the border of Mexico. Teens can get there in 3 hours, maybe you'll find a charter school like I did( smaller and more controlled atmos.). Well good luck, Robin from Chandler AZ

[ITChick]

I'm in Chicago and at one time I seriously considered moving to the Phoenix area. So much so that I visited there five times before deciding against it. It can get to 120 in the summer (go visit between July and August to see if you really can handle the weather), and doesn't cool down until end of October (into the 80's). But no snow ever which is nice!

When I began looking at several homes in Chandler, the neighbors did not seem very happy to be living there (I guess there is some crime) and many discouraged me from looking further in that area. I can't say much about Gilbert but at the time it seemed nicer than Chandler.

Nothing in Arizona from Phoenix to Tuscon looked similar to anything in Illinois so it would be a nice visual change if that's what you are looking for. I would check all the stats here at city-data.com for each of the cities you are interested in.
-itchick

[leavingPhoenix]

I just read "twiggy"s message and had to laugh (and had to agree) I'm also taking my family out of Arizona for the same reasons. I've visited the east coast many times and plan to make it my home soon. Arizona is NOT the place for my kids. Plus I'd love the 4 seasons. We never wore long pants last year! We had one cold day that I remember.....

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by twiggy

Gilbert is a good place, so is Chandler, both if you live in the Suburbs though! The old parts of both are bad. Don't forget how much it cost to cool your house from April to November. It will run you about 400.00 to 600.00 a month. It is usually hotter than average quoted temp,s. Today it will be 112. ouch!! There is a lot of crime, and people are not as nice. If you get to know them they are but everyone here is from somewhere else so you really have to try and get to know the people on your street or you will never talk. Maricopa is a up and coming suburb, its south by 30 min. from Phx. Housing is very affordable but it won't be for long. It is very cultural here, half hispanic a lot of Indians. A lot of good mexican food! Freeways are crowded, gas is high, and the air quality here is really bad. If you have asthma or any lung conditions I would reconsider your move. Kids with asthma have a hard time with pollution warnings which we get half the year. (traffic and heat, bad combo). My father wrote a book on the history of Phoenix, so if you have any questions? My family and I are looking to relocate somewhere on the east coast. We want the seasons. Out here you have summer in the winter and hell in the summer, ha ha 115 to 120. Winter is nice around 75 to 90 but I must say it's hard to eat thanksgiving dinner while your sweating!!! Santa Claus cactus and roadrunner rain deer are getting a little old. If you are sick of the snow though you'll like it. High rate of teen suicide and car accidents though, so pay attention to your kids moods through high school. There are a lot of drugs out here, we are on the border of Mexico. Teens can get there in 3 hours, maybe you'll find a charter school like I did( smaller and more controlled atmos.). Well good luck, Robin from Chandler AZ

This is a great post This hit the nail on head. It is very true. What Robin is referring to is here is Phoenix in general. Gilbert and Chandler not the old parts have some nice neighborhoods also some nice neighborhoods in
Glendale. I heard people defend bad comments here by saying things happen only in bad neighborhoods of Mesa and Phoenix. That is false we have high crime in all neighborhoods here. I live in an upscale Gilbert neighborhood and these rich kids are out of control. I would say check out those suburbs even Mesa has some ok parts suburbs check out the 85212 zipcode. I know they just had the 5 murders there but that was an isolated incident. Higley 85236

Good Luck

[enlightenme]

I had tossed the idea around about relocating to the Phoenix area two years ago and I am so glad we didn't do it!! My observations from a view of just a week of intense exploring are tons of chain restaurants and chain stores. People drove really fast and switched lanes a lot. Young guys weaving around on motorcycles. People seemed like they would be friendly only if you made the first move. HOT - it was over 90 degrees in the beginning of November. Kind of ugly unless you like the barren dirt with scraggy cactus look or the fake golf course style of landscaping. Lots of cookie cutter houses. And my number one complaint - no real downtown area with a cute main street. I could be wrong, but it seemed like nothing was "mom and pop" and if you were to go out it would have to be a strip mall like setting for Applebee’s right next to the Blockbuster. Is that considered the downtown area of these new developments??? I was not impressed.

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by enlightenme

I had tossed the idea around about relocating to the Phoenix area two years ago and I am so glad we didn't do it!! My observations from a view of just a week of intense exploring are tons of chain restaurants and chain stores. People drove really fast and switched lanes a lot. Young guys weaving around on motorcycles. People seemed like they would be friendly only if you made the first move. HOT - it was over 90 degrees in the beginning of November. Kind of ugly unless you like the barren dirt with scraggy cactus look or the fake golf course style of landscaping. Lots of cookie cutter houses. And my number one complaint - no real downtown area with a cute main street. I could be wrong, but it seemed like nothing was "mom and pop" and if you were to go out it would have to be a strip mall like setting for Applebee’s right next to the Blockbuster. Is that considered the downtown area of these new developments??? I was not impressed.

Stink to NC we are doing the right thing. It's funny how you pointed all that stuff out. I've been here for so long I thought this was normal.

[SpeedyAZ]

I had tossed the idea around about relocating to the Phoenix area two years ago and I am so glad we didn't do it!! My observations from a view of just a week of intense exploring are tons of chain restaurants and chain stores. People drove really fast and switched lanes a lot. Young guys weaving around on motorcycles. People seemed like they would be friendly only if you made the first move. HOT - it was over 90 degrees in the beginning of November. Kind of ugly unless you like the barren dirt with scraggy cactus look or the fake golf course style of landscaping. Lots of cookie cutter houses. And my number one complaint - no real downtown area with a cute main street. I could be wrong, but it seemed like nothing was "mom and pop" and if you were to go out it would have to be a strip mall like setting for Applebee’s right next to the Blockbuster. Is that considered the downtown area of these new developments??? I was not impressed.

The driving here is not for the faint of heart but after a while you'll get used to it. Nothing is "mom and pop" since the greater Phoenix area didn't really start to develop until the 70's, you won't find many "generational" businesses.

[AZbabysunshinekids3]

Yes, I have to agree with most of the above. We have lived in Apache Junction for 11 yrs. now having relocated from Connecticut. The schools out here are one of the worst in the country, you really have to do your research as far as a good school for your son. I found a wonderful charter school for my children and am very happy there. Even with the charter schools, you have to do your research as some as some do not mandate Master degreed teachers, etc.The whole area is growing at a very rapid pace in the last 2-3 yrs. and is bringing in more people from out of state. The areas are becoming more crowded and polluted and unfortunately, the people are not friendly here anymore. Yes, in the winter you have the influx of the snowbirds which bring even more overcrowding to our already crowded streets and freeways!We are actually doing home improvements and are looking to relocate to the southeast in another year. The area has unfortunately changed a lot, in my opinion, not for the better.
If you have a choice, i would relocate elsewhere or do A LOT of research to determine where is the best place to raise your son.
Best of Luck !
Michele

[bmarouan]

hello everyone im moving in 3 months to gilbert/chandler and i would like to know how it cost to rent an appartment for a single man there.i also want to have your opinion about the level of life there , does 30.000$/year will be enough to have a decent life there ?!!! thanks a lot

[Goin to AZ]

Originally Posted by bmarouan

hello everyone im moving in 3 months to gilbert/chandler and i would like to know how it cost to rent an appartment for a single man there.i also want to have your opinion about the level of life there , does 30.000$/year will be enough to have a decent life there ?!!! thanks a lot

The answer to your questions can easily be googled or have already been answered on here multiple times. a 1 bedroom apartment ranges from 600-1200. The level of life includes overpopulation, traffic, lots of crime, lack of culture, bad schools, and cost of living is very high. Please visit and do lots of research before you make the move. I thought i wanted to live there untill i visited.