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Hi Everyone! I really never expected as many replies as I got!
The area I would move to is Chandler, which is outside of Phoenix. I have been out there and really liked it. Although...I was out there in April and May, so it was not as hot as it gets. I hate the cold weather and I hate snow, so the heat doesn't scare me, its not having my family 5 mins away that does.
My BF is very adaptable blue collar guy and has worked in so many fields, I am not worried about him finding work. Plus, with the raise I would be getting I would be able to support us for a while.
I need to make a decision in the next week or so. And although, I could eventully come back to NJ it could limit further career opps. The arizona office is growing, where as NJ is not. I could prolly expect another promotion within a year if I went out there.
Thanks to everyone for the advice....keep it coming! I flip flop my choice everyday.
Hi Everyone! I really never expected as many replies as I got!
The area I would move to is Chandler, which is outside of Phoenix. I have been out there and really liked it. Although...I was out there in April and May, so it was not as hot as it gets. I hate the cold weather and I hate snow, so the heat doesn't scare me, its not having my family 5 mins away that does.
My BF is very adaptable blue collar guy and has worked in so many fields, I am not worried about him finding work. Plus, with the raise I would be getting I would be able to support us for a while.
I need to make a decision in the next week or so. And although, I could eventully come back to NJ it could limit further career opps. The arizona office is growing, where as NJ is not. I could prolly expect another promotion within a year if I went out there.
Thanks to everyone for the advice....keep it coming! I flip flop my choice everyday.
Chandler's very nice. If there's a career opportunity out there in Arizona, go for it. I would also recommend the following:
1) Renting a house, not an apartment in a complex. You'll find that a lot of homeowners are renting out.
2) Visiting the area you want to live at both day and night to make sure it's not a "bad neighborhood".
3) I understand about not having your family close. As I said before, flights home are relatively cheap, and direct.
Hi Everyone! I really never expected as many replies as I got!
The area I would move to is Chandler, which is outside of Phoenix. I have been out there and really liked it. Although...I was out there in April and May, so it was not as hot as it gets. I hate the cold weather and I hate snow, so the heat doesn't scare me, its not having my family 5 mins away that does.
My BF is very adaptable blue collar guy and has worked in so many fields, I am not worried about him finding work. Plus, with the raise I would be getting I would be able to support us for a while.
I need to make a decision in the next week or so. And although, I could eventully come back to NJ it could limit further career opps. The arizona office is growing, where as NJ is not. I could prolly expect another promotion within a year if I went out there.
Thanks to everyone for the advice....keep it coming! I flip flop my choice everyday.
I used to always stay in Chandler and I worked up in Tempe. It took me 10 minutes with slow traffic, 5 minutes without. I often went to work at 4:30, 5:00 AM (due to the nature of the project) and there was more traffic on the road at that hour than I've ever seen in NJ that early. (Same thing happened in Washington state, also, actually - weird). But still, it was abouut 5 minutes.
But I loved Chandler, and I almost moved there myself. I was a little older then than you are now and had an opportunity, but it wasn't going to work for me because my father was sick so I stayed home in NJ.
There are great food options in the area, I believe a great thai place and they had Whataburger which was awesome...anyway, you'll find it all when youu go. I used to go to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens, still one of my most favorite places in the country, just to walk and de-stress. I also enjoyed going to Casa Grande monument, and San Tan mountain, etc. to hike around in the beautiful weather!
I really hope you make the move. Your family will be OK, and you can get easy flights for very little if you plan in advance. Also, they can come to visit you. Go for it!
Location: The Land Mass Between NOLA and Mobile, AL
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To the OP: here are a couple of things from someone who's recently moved here from TX (not desert part, but still).
In AZ, forget about good Italian and good bread. You won't find much that's too much better than Olive Garden, and if you do, it will be expensive. (I'm a good cook and I'm picky about food, but YMMV).
Forget about a lot of the good ethnic food you can get here--it won't be as good simply because there won't be large numbers of immigrants from those countries.
The exception is SW style and Mexican (not necessarily Tex-Mex), which will be great.
It is suburban sprawl, which means that there won't be good mass transit, and driving on the highways will not be picturesque by any stretch of the imagination. It also means that suburbs will not really have little down towns, but rather box stores and strip malls everywhere. Traffic in these suburbs can make most NJ traffic snarls look like child's play. This is because these suburbs tend to be poorly planned.
The desert is beautiful in its own way, but you may miss all the green trees here.
Summer will feel endless and oppressive. You might jump for joy when the temperature dips to 60 and you can wear a sweater.
These are the potential cons I can think of. I added the last thing because my boyfriend is at a conference right now in Phoenix, and the first thing he said to me on the phone is, "it's so brown here." I don't know if these things are important to you, so I'm just throwing them out there. I don't think I'd be happy there, but everyone is different. It's also kind of Wild West--you can pack heat there openly. You don't need any permit to buy any kind of legal gun there--you only need one to carry. I find that kind of scary. In any case, good luck!
If you want to move, do it! I personally would hate the hot weather in AZ, but it doesn't sound like that's an issue for you. A fresh start is a huge motivation for people. Are you, by any chance, with CDW?
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