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We were told that N. Scottsdale would be a good area because it's a reverse commute to West Sun City, but I guess that is not correct from what I'm hearing from you and others on this blog. How bad would the commute be to downtown Phoenix from N. Scottsdale?
You are so right about driving ourselves crazy if we try and wait til everything is perfect! I really wish we would have made the leap earlier when we had the chance now.
It's really not a reverse commute, and it's a LONG one. It would get tiring very fast. You can find those mountain views up in some newer very nice neighborhoods in north Peoria, too, as others have suggested.
Definitely check out north Peoria if the job is in Sun City. Commuting is a drag and if you don't need to do it, avoid it! Vistancia is a nice community and there are others in the NW valley that are nice too. Your best bet might be to rent for a while until you get to know the area. The Valley of the Sun is quite spread out and very diverse.
My 2 cents as a midwest native living in AZ for 7.5 yrs - only move here if it will truly benefit your family financially, as in a move up. Really. The weather sounds amazing - I had the same ideas when I moved here years ago. And it is nice...except the summers are absolutely horrible. And a pool will do you no good in the summer b/c they feel like bath water. Pollution is pretty intense - my allergies and asthma are much worse here. Depending on your thoughts of the political atmosphere of Seattle, well, let's just say it's the exact opposite here. Housing is something I'm completely nervous about. We currently have a 2 yr old and want another. However we absolutely do NOT want to raise our family here for many many reasons so we are afraid to buy right now b/c we want out of here in 3 yrs or so. Maybe it'll be fine, but maybe it won't. It's so hard to say b/c this area was one of the top areas for the housing bubble. Ahwahtukee is def a nice area and supposedly will retain value b/c it's "land-locked" so-to-speak. The schools in AZ are generally horrible. We know that if we are stuck here we'll have no real choice but private, which is $$$$. Don't take my word for it, do some legit research. We really do have some of the worst schools in the country. Now some people will blame "illegals" for that...but public schools are getting their budgets cut left and right out here and you can't blame that on illegals. Our biggest concerns w/ raising a family here? Schools, of course. We don't like the proximity to Scottsdale which is like a "mini-LA" - lots of drugs, lots of materialism, lots of plastic in the body. Also the driving - seriously, I've driven all over this country, Canada, and in Europe. Hands down this is the worst driving I have ever seen. Anywhere else there may be a fatality and people will read about it and be sad and surprised. Here the general response is about how long the traffic will be backed up b/c of all the extra investigation work. It is so bad. I have seen cars flipped over in residential areas, up to 5 cars at a time will go through almost *every* red light - even semis. I have a friend whose fiance was killed, another friend whose friend was killed, my boss's son witnessed a man beheaded in an accident while riding his bike, there was an accident a couple yrs ago where a man was hit several times by rush hour traffic and there were literally body pieces all over the highway to clean up, one of my classmates at ASU was killed (& we actually had the scheduled exam the next day, I guess it's so common or something, I don't know but I was shocked.) I am not exaggerating. I had a speeding ticket and took the safety class and it was even listed in that class - how high the number of accidents and fatalities in this state. Shocking.
But I digress, sorry, lol. Honestly it sounds kinda like you have stars in your eyes w/ the possible move to AZ...and believe me, I had the same as do many from colder or less sunny climates. It wears off. I miss the seasons. I despise the summers. I hate seeing brown everywhere. However...mobility is important in career success so if this is an upward move then do what you have to.
ETA my hubby is from TX and has been here 10 yrs. He would agree w/ every single thing I said. The only reason we're not moving right now is b/c we know the drs and hospitals already and want another child. We're waiting to do that and then hopefully we are out!
Last edited by sws9; 06-05-2013 at 04:02 PM..
Reason: mention hubby
My 2 cents as a midwest native living in AZ for 7.5 yrs - only move here if it will truly benefit your family financially, as in a move up. Really. The weather sounds amazing - I had the same ideas when I moved here years ago. And it is nice...except the summers are absolutely horrible. And a pool will do you no good in the summer b/c they feel like bath water. Pollution is pretty intense - my allergies and asthma are much worse here. Depending on your thoughts of the political atmosphere of Seattle, well, let's just say it's the exact opposite here. Housing is something I'm completely nervous about. We currently have a 2 yr old and want another. However we absolutely do NOT want to raise our family here for many many reasons so we are afraid to buy right now b/c we want out of here in 3 yrs or so. Maybe it'll be fine, but maybe it won't. It's so hard to say b/c this area was one of the top areas for the housing bubble. Ahwahtukee is def a nice area and supposedly will retain value b/c it's "land-locked" so-to-speak. The schools in AZ are generally horrible. We know that if we are stuck here we'll have no real choice but private, which is $$$$. Don't take my word for it, do some legit research. We really do have some of the worst schools in the country. Now some people will blame "illegals" for that...but public schools are getting their budgets cut left and right out here and you can't blame that on illegals. Our biggest concerns w/ raising a family here? Schools, of course. We don't like the proximity to Scottsdale which is like a "mini-LA" - lots of drugs, lots of materialism, lots of plastic in the body. Also the driving - seriously, I've driven all over this country, Canada, and in Europe. Hands down this is the worst driving I have ever seen. Anywhere else there may be a fatality and people will read about it and be sad and surprised. Here the general response is about how long the traffic will be backed up b/c of all the extra investigation work. It is so bad. I have seen cars flipped over in residential areas, up to 5 cars at a time will go through almost *every* red light - even semis. I have a friend whose fiance was killed, another friend whose friend was killed, my boss's son witnessed a man beheaded in an accident while riding his bike, there was an accident a couple yrs ago where a man was hit several times by rush hour traffic and there were literally body pieces all over the highway to clean up, one of my classmates at ASU was killed (& we actually had the scheduled exam the next day, I guess it's so common or something, I don't know but I was shocked.) I am not exaggerating. I had a speeding ticket and took the safety class and it was even listed in that class - how high the number of accidents and fatalities in this state. Shocking.
But I digress, sorry, lol. Honestly it sounds kinda like you have stars in your eyes w/ the possible move to AZ...and believe me, I had the same as do many from colder or less sunny climates. It wears off. I miss the seasons. I despise the summers. I hate seeing brown everywhere. However...mobility is important in career success so if this is an upward move then do what you have to.
ETA my hubby is from TX and has been here 10 yrs. He would agree w/ every single thing I said. The only reason we're not moving right now is b/c we know the drs and hospitals already and want another child. We're waiting to do that and then hopefully we are out!
Wow! Thanks for your honesty. Sorry your time here has not been what you had hoped. Hopefully your next move will find you in a place more suitable to your family's needs and desires. I understand.
My 2 cents as a midwest native living in AZ for 7.5 yrs - only move here if it will truly benefit your family financially, as in a move up. Really. The weather sounds amazing - I had the same ideas when I moved here years ago. And it is nice...except the summers are absolutely horrible. And a pool will do you no good in the summer b/c they feel like bath water. Pollution is pretty intense - my allergies and asthma are much worse here. Depending on your thoughts of the political atmosphere of Seattle, well, let's just say it's the exact opposite here. Housing is something I'm completely nervous about. We currently have a 2 yr old and want another. However we absolutely do NOT want to raise our family here for many many reasons so we are afraid to buy right now b/c we want out of here in 3 yrs or so. Maybe it'll be fine, but maybe it won't. It's so hard to say b/c this area was one of the top areas for the housing bubble. Ahwahtukee is def a nice area and supposedly will retain value b/c it's "land-locked" so-to-speak. The schools in AZ are generally horrible. We know that if we are stuck here we'll have no real choice but private, which is $$$$. Don't take my word for it, do some legit research. We really do have some of the worst schools in the country. Now some people will blame "illegals" for that...but public schools are getting their budgets cut left and right out here and you can't blame that on illegals. Our biggest concerns w/ raising a family here? Schools, of course. We don't like the proximity to Scottsdale which is like a "mini-LA" - lots of drugs, lots of materialism, lots of plastic in the body. Also the driving - seriously, I've driven all over this country, Canada, and in Europe. Hands down this is the worst driving I have ever seen. Anywhere else there may be a fatality and people will read about it and be sad and surprised. Here the general response is about how long the traffic will be backed up b/c of all the extra investigation work. It is so bad. I have seen cars flipped over in residential areas, up to 5 cars at a time will go through almost *every* red light - even semis. I have a friend whose fiance was killed, another friend whose friend was killed, my boss's son witnessed a man beheaded in an accident while riding his bike, there was an accident a couple yrs ago where a man was hit several times by rush hour traffic and there were literally body pieces all over the highway to clean up, one of my classmates at ASU was killed (& we actually had the scheduled exam the next day, I guess it's so common or something, I don't know but I was shocked.) I am not exaggerating. I had a speeding ticket and took the safety class and it was even listed in that class - how high the number of accidents and fatalities in this state. Shocking.
But I digress, sorry, lol. Honestly it sounds kinda like you have stars in your eyes w/ the possible move to AZ...and believe me, I had the same as do many from colder or less sunny climates. It wears off. I miss the seasons. I despise the summers. I hate seeing brown everywhere. However...mobility is important in career success so if this is an upward move then do what you have to.
ETA my hubby is from TX and has been here 10 yrs. He would agree w/ every single thing I said. The only reason we're not moving right now is b/c we know the drs and hospitals already and want another child. We're waiting to do that and then hopefully we are out!
Jazz, Thank you so much for the insight! I am not surprised about anything that you said, and that is one of the reasons we thought maybe Chandler or Ahwatukee area may be less "plastic" and more family oriented. I do believe we will miss the seasons after a couple years, but I will not miss the 9 months of rain and lack of sun that we deal with here in Seattle and the cold dampness. Another plus is we really like the idea of being so close to CA, we love going to Disneyland and San Diego.
After looking into N. Scottdale and the west valley, I think we are more comfortable with the east valley. My husband is interviewing for 3 different jobs and one is in the east valley. The other is in downtown Phoenix and the 3rd is the one in Sun City West. I'm hoping the one in the east valley works out.
I keep hearing how bad the schools are in AZ but everytime we look at neighborhoods and research the schools on Greatschools.com they have the highest rating of a 9 or 10. Can someone please explain this to me? Again, we are looking at high schools since our son is currently a freshman.
I'm curious, where are you thinking about moving to when you do move?
Do you take vacations in the summer to get out of the heat? That would be our plan.
Education is as much about the home and parents as it is about the schools. I have a co-worker whose kids went to public school in Ahwatukee. One of them is now on a scholarship at MIT, and another is at Princeton. So they somehow managed to do okay in AZ public schools!
Summers are hot, sure, but there are only a couple of months when it's not nice all day long. Here we are in the first week of June, and today's high is supposed to be 107. Sounds awful, right? But this morning was very pleasant outside. Air temp was 72 and pool temp was 81. My wife and I had a nice cup of coffee on the patio and I took a short swim before getting ready for work. We are in Gilbert.
I keep hearing how bad the schools are in AZ but everytime we look at neighborhoods and research the schools on Greatschools.com they have the highest rating of a 9 or 10. Can someone please explain this to me? Again, we are looking at high schools since our son is currently a freshman.
My kids are at schools that get ratings of 9 and 10, and it's completely fine. Like everywhere, much of a school's success is based on having an 'easy' catchment of kids from homes that value and support their child's education.
We're expats, so my kids have attended 7 schools in 3 countries (UK, Switzerland and here), and been educated in 2 languages. The US schools they're currently at are like all the other schools they've been to: largely very good, with caring teachers making the best of overburdening admin and testing requirements, and the kids are making perfectly good progress compared to their UK peers. Sure, there's a few niggles - no geography at all? Really? Are you sure the self-conscious mid-teens is the best time to start a foreign language..? And does writing an essay have to be that formulaic that you're telling the kids how many sentences to include in each paragraph? - but overall I'm 95% happy with their schooling. Just as I've been in every other place we've lived, because we've lived in 'nice' areas.
My 2 cents as a midwest native living in AZ for 7.5 yrs - only move here if it will truly benefit your family financially, as in a move up. Really. The weather sounds amazing - I had the same ideas when I moved here years ago. And it is nice...except the summers are absolutely horrible. And a pool will do you no good in the summer b/c they feel like bath water. Pollution is pretty intense - my allergies and asthma are much worse here. Depending on your thoughts of the political atmosphere of Seattle, well, let's just say it's the exact opposite here. Housing is something I'm completely nervous about. We currently have a 2 yr old and want another. However we absolutely do NOT want to raise our family here for many many reasons so we are afraid to buy right now b/c we want out of here in 3 yrs or so. Maybe it'll be fine, but maybe it won't. It's so hard to say b/c this area was one of the top areas for the housing bubble. Ahwahtukee is def a nice area and supposedly will retain value b/c it's "land-locked" so-to-speak. The schools in AZ are generally horrible. We know that if we are stuck here we'll have no real choice but private, which is $$$$. Don't take my word for it, do some legit research. We really do have some of the worst schools in the country. Now some people will blame "illegals" for that...but public schools are getting their budgets cut left and right out here and you can't blame that on illegals. Our biggest concerns w/ raising a family here? Schools, of course. We don't like the proximity to Scottsdale which is like a "mini-LA" - lots of drugs, lots of materialism, lots of plastic in the body. Also the driving - seriously, I've driven all over this country, Canada, and in Europe. Hands down this is the worst driving I have ever seen. Anywhere else there may be a fatality and people will read about it and be sad and surprised. Here the general response is about how long the traffic will be backed up b/c of all the extra investigation work. It is so bad. I have seen cars flipped over in residential areas, up to 5 cars at a time will go through almost *every* red light - even semis. I have a friend whose fiance was killed, another friend whose friend was killed, my boss's son witnessed a man beheaded in an accident while riding his bike, there was an accident a couple yrs ago where a man was hit several times by rush hour traffic and there were literally body pieces all over the highway to clean up, one of my classmates at ASU was killed (& we actually had the scheduled exam the next day, I guess it's so common or something, I don't know but I was shocked.) I am not exaggerating. I had a speeding ticket and took the safety class and it was even listed in that class - how high the number of accidents and fatalities in this state. Shocking.
But I digress, sorry, lol. Honestly it sounds kinda like you have stars in your eyes w/ the possible move to AZ...and believe me, I had the same as do many from colder or less sunny climates. It wears off. I miss the seasons. I despise the summers. I hate seeing brown everywhere. However...mobility is important in career success so if this is an upward move then do what you have to.
ETA my hubby is from TX and has been here 10 yrs. He would agree w/ every single thing I said. The only reason we're not moving right now is b/c we know the drs and hospitals already and want another child. We're waiting to do that and then hopefully we are out!
I agree with some of your points but your post reads as if you are very unhappy with life in Phoenix.
Phoenix has upsides and downsides, what city doesn't? Maybe you can find someplace where the grass is literally greener, the pollution is lighter, and people follow all the traffic rules and drive like perfect angels.
My 2 cents as a midwest native living in AZ for 7.5 yrs - only move here if it will truly benefit your family financially, as in a move up. Really. The weather sounds amazing - I had the same ideas when I moved here years ago. And it is nice...except the summers are absolutely horrible. And a pool will do you no good in the summer b/c they feel like bath water. Pollution is pretty intense - my allergies and asthma are much worse here. Depending on your thoughts of the political atmosphere of Seattle, well, let's just say it's the exact opposite here. Housing is something I'm completely nervous about. We currently have a 2 yr old and want another. However we absolutely do NOT want to raise our family here for many many reasons so we are afraid to buy right now b/c we want out of here in 3 yrs or so. Maybe it'll be fine, but maybe it won't. It's so hard to say b/c this area was one of the top areas for the housing bubble. Ahwahtukee is def a nice area and supposedly will retain value b/c it's "land-locked" so-to-speak. The schools in AZ are generally horrible. We know that if we are stuck here we'll have no real choice but private, which is $$$$. Don't take my word for it, do some legit research. We really do have some of the worst schools in the country. Now some people will blame "illegals" for that...but public schools are getting their budgets cut left and right out here and you can't blame that on illegals. Our biggest concerns w/ raising a family here? Schools, of course. We don't like the proximity to Scottsdale which is like a "mini-LA" - lots of drugs, lots of materialism, lots of plastic in the body. Also the driving - seriously, I've driven all over this country, Canada, and in Europe. Hands down this is the worst driving I have ever seen. Anywhere else there may be a fatality and people will read about it and be sad and surprised. Here the general response is about how long the traffic will be backed up b/c of all the extra investigation work. It is so bad. I have seen cars flipped over in residential areas, up to 5 cars at a time will go through almost *every* red light - even semis. I have a friend whose fiance was killed, another friend whose friend was killed, my boss's son witnessed a man beheaded in an accident while riding his bike, there was an accident a couple yrs ago where a man was hit several times by rush hour traffic and there were literally body pieces all over the highway to clean up, one of my classmates at ASU was killed (& we actually had the scheduled exam the next day, I guess it's so common or something, I don't know but I was shocked.) I am not exaggerating. I had a speeding ticket and took the safety class and it was even listed in that class - how high the number of accidents and fatalities in this state. Shocking.
But I digress, sorry, lol. Honestly it sounds kinda like you have stars in your eyes w/ the possible move to AZ...and believe me, I had the same as do many from colder or less sunny climates. It wears off. I miss the seasons. I despise the summers. I hate seeing brown everywhere. However...mobility is important in career success so if this is an upward move then do what you have to.
ETA my hubby is from TX and has been here 10 yrs. He would agree w/ every single thing I said. The only reason we're not moving right now is b/c we know the drs and hospitals already and want another child. We're waiting to do that and then hopefully we are out!
As someone who moved here from MT with similar weather patterns to Seattle (except way colder) I'd agree with almost all of what you say, the exception being the driving/drivers. It's that way in any large metro area.
We've got one maybe two years left here unless I can convince the other half to leave early then we're outta here.
The desert, just like the snow/cold is not for everyone. I'd suggest, just like I've suggested to people wanting to move to "oh my god it's so beautiful Montana" to come here in the middle of summer for a week of HOT,HOT and more HOT. If it still seems workable then go ahead and move.
Winter here is like the best summer day in MT or WA, summer is like the worst winter day.
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Also the driving - seriously, I've driven all over this country, Canada, and in Europe. Hands down this is the worst driving I have ever seen. Anywhere else there may be a fatality and people will read about it and be sad and surprised. Here the general response is about how long the traffic will be backed up b/c of all the extra investigation work. It is so bad. I have seen cars flipped over in residential areas, up to 5 cars at a time will go through almost *every* red light - even semis. I have a friend whose fiance was killed, another friend whose friend was killed, my boss's son witnessed a man beheaded in an accident while riding his bike, there was an accident a couple yrs ago where a man was hit several times by rush hour traffic and there were literally body pieces all over the highway to clean up, one of my classmates at ASU was killed (& we actually had the scheduled exam the next day, I guess it's so common or something, I don't know but I was shocked.) I am not exaggerating. I had a speeding ticket and took the safety class and it was even listed in that class - how high the number of accidents and fatalities in this state. Shocking.
