Bay Area to Phoenix relocation early 2014 (Mesa, Scottsdale: home, safe area, public schools)

[KurtAZ]

Alright now...we all know tolerance is a 2 way street. You can't say you are tolerant of other people if you are only tolerant when they agree with your views. Yes, The Mormon religion (LDS Church) donated millions to promote Prop 8. Saying ALL MORMONS are intolerant of same sex marriage is very narrow minded (in my opinion) ALTHOUGH there is a certain clique-ish element to the Mormons as a whole that would make an outsider think they are all drones. Unfortunately that would be prejudiced...based on my opinion...and I grew up in the Church. So, long story short...yes it was extremely intolerant of the OP to state that she didn't want to live around Mormons BUT in her defense...and of course I am assuming that she actually knows some Mormons...maybe she has formed her opinion not based on the Church as an organization telling her that her love was un-natural...but an actual individual doing this. We can throw accusations and prejudice about a lot of "groups" around all day long but if she has personal experience to back it up...done. I don't want to live next to white trash...so I avoid them.

I think the gun thing is totally ridiculous as well...it has been beat into the ground but I am an avid gun owner and the only time I carry one in the car is when I am going on long trips...especially when driving to CA on the 10. I hate that trip.

[Kimballette]

Originally Posted by Thennafrey

My first post here didn't get off to a good start.

We don't have any objections to Mormons. I thought that I had explained what we were looking for, but given the way that the rest of my post was read, I must not have done well with that part!

I have no political intentions here but since you asked, what we want is for our children to be raised with awareness and respect for cultures and religions that are not their own, as they are being raised today. We don't want them to be in an environment where they may be treated differently as a result of religious doctrine which in recent history, has lobbied against legitimate families like ours.

Detroit and 43 gave you excellent advice. Your family will be fine here in the Phoenix metro area. Aside from some areas of Mesa and Gilbert, no one will raise an eyebrow about your family composition. As you can see, jackasses exist all over the country.

Since you plan to send your kids to private schools, you might want to focus your search on areas near those schools, so you don't waste a lot of time driving back and forth. The metro area is vast geographically, far larger than most newcomers realize.

The area of central Phoenix does have a higher concentration of gays, but that area also doesn't usually have as many pools as other parts of the city. Since you're coming from the Bay Area, I assume your budget will be sufficient for the nicer areas. If you provide your preferred price point, people can provide more relevant suggestions. Here are a couple of pages for you to explore historic areas of Phoenix.

Welcome to Historic Phoenix. Phoenix Arizona's largest and most comprehensive collection of Historic Information and Historic Phoenix Real Estate in the Downtown and Central Neighborhoods of Phoenix Arizona

Historic Preservation - Official Site of the City of Phoenix

You can see the size of homes and nearby amenities vary. There are a few neighborhoods in Phoenix that would seem to fit your requirements pretty well. Specifically, check out Arcadia, Roosevelt, and North Central.

Your concerns about the gun culture have already been addressed, so I'll leave that alone.

Trips to Flag are very common for Phoenicians, especially as a getaway from the monotonous summer heat. You might want to pose some questions in the Flagstaff forum for specifics. Many of us have favorite restaurants and places up there.

Best wishes on your move!

[Thennafrey]

Sorry--again--I stuck my foot in my mouth. My partner is going to get a kick out of this when I show it to her. I have a habit of doing that very thing on a daily basis and after all these years, I haven't gotten better at it but I have figured out how to manage the fallout pretty damn well!

Once more, we're really not trying to light off a debate, just settle in on a place to live. I would rather have not mentioned anything about our family or our kids, but tossed it out there because even though it shouldn't be, and may not be an issue in some places, we try to be realistic in understanding that not everyone sees eye to eye on certain things. When those certain things can't be changed, sometimes it's just better to agree to disagree.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Thennafrey

Oh my God, I really didn't do a good job of reading my post before I posted it

We're moving in early 2014, it's Bethany Home, not Homo, and rest assured that we aren't nutty people who are going to go twirling guns around in our cars. I'm sorry for that confusion; I'd like to blame it on a shortage of coffee in the house this morning, but in reality it was my carelessness. What an introduction!

Thank you so much to DetroitN8V for the advice. I guess we really didn't know that North Scottsdale was so much more educated and upscale than our choice area of Phoenix, although we're glad to hear it now, from someone who lives there! Those are the things we can't know without being more familiar! We're just not that familiar with Scottsdale, and we had the idea that as a suburb, it probably lacked things that the city offered.

We somehow came to the conclusion that Central Phoenix would have some of the educated and urban qualities that we enjoy here. We hoped to live where our kids could grow up in an area with a bit of diversity and a bit of urban character, while still enjoying a nice house and the fruits of our hard work, and around kids of parents who had similar ideals. The last thing we want is to end up in a situation where our value system and goals are divergent from those who surround us. I completely understand Phoenix is different from our current home in the Bay Area and it's hard to compare the cities.

I think you will find just as "well educated" areas in Central Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler, and other parts of the Valley. As far as Mormon influence in any of those areas, it is far less than in Mesa or Gilbert. I should point out that the actual percentages of LDS population in both those cities is far less than one might think, but the city governments of both are high percentage of LDS, particularly Gilbert. In most areas, you are going to be left alone in terms of your lifestyle. A good neighbor is a good neighbor.

The idea that you need to buy a gun here when you arrive to deal with aggressive motorists is quite disturbing. I see now that you are backing away from that comment, but you did say it. No law enforcement agency would advise you to deal with an aggressive driver with a gun. Nor do you need to "run right out and buy one" for any other reason.

[observer53]

General debates related to the OP's sexual orientation (but not related to the topic of this thread) need to go somewhere other than this local forum. Thank you.

[DetroitN8V]

OP, fortunately the posters on this thread do not represent the views of just about every person I've met since moving here. Most will not see you and your family as a threat whatsoever and will welcome you, provided you are a good neighbor in general. To avoid potential Mormon discrimination, stay out of Gilbert and Mesa and it's a moot issue. With children involved, you'd be wise to look elsewhere IMO. I'd stick with Tempe, Central Phoenix or Scottsdale. All are great places to live. Again, welcome!

[LBTRS]

What "views" are you referring to? I've seen no ill-will towards the OP in this thread.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

What "views" are you referring to? I've seen no ill-will towards the OP in this thread.

Observer has asked us several times to keep this on topic so this is my last response to you. Views that gays want to "push their lifestyle" on others and that when they gain rights, the lives of others will be negatively impacted. As if they don't simply want equality, but want to take over the world. Those are extremely hurtful things to imply and if that's not ill-will, I don't know what is.

[Thennafrey]

Thank you SO much to everyone who commented on our upcoming move. This information has been very helpful and I recelved numerous very nice direct messages (I can only send one per day, I guess).

We're still trying to put all the pieces together and we'll probably make several more trips out to do some neighborhood scouting and eventually some house hunting. I'm sure I will have some more questions, but for now thanks again!!!

[twright2100]

Originally Posted by Thennafrey

Hello! After some deliberation and several visits, we've decided to make the big move to Phoenix in early 2013! I have family in Phoenix, and we're very excited to move closer to them as they move into their golden years. We've lurked around this forum for a while and finally decided to ask some questions.

First, a little background. We're 40-something, well educated, married lesbians with two children under 8 years old. We are both white, one of our children is Korean, and the other is my natural child. While we're not overt about our sexuality, we definitely feel that it's in the best interest of our children, and their friends, to see an open, compassionate, committed relationship between two people of the same sex, as it's perfectly normal. Having said that, we have decided on moving into Central Phoenix and are currently looking for homes around Central Avenue and Bethany Homo Rd as we have heard that we would be accepted in that area and it is near so many conveniences such as the farmer's market downtown, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and other amenities. We also like its established but slightly liberal vibe, and coming from high property values of the Bay Area, we're going to be able to afford much more for the same price.

Since we both work from home--me for a large multinational and my partner for a well known charity--commute isn't an issue, but we do like the close proximity to the airport as both of us travel from time to time, especially my partner. We currently send our children to private school, and will do so in Phoenix also.

We have a couple of concerns before we take the plunge, however, and you could say we're getting cold feet, so we'd really appreciate it if you could weigh in on these few worries before we make the commitment.

Mormons are a concern to us. We're very open minded, but the Prop 8 issue was very concerning, and while we want our children to be accepting of faith and culture, we also don't want our children falling victim to a cult of intolerance. We know Mormons are highly active in Gilbert and Mesa, and that they don't tolerate our family unit, so we plan to keep our distance. Are there Mormons in Central Phoenix? Should we be concerned? Are there other areas you would recommend instead?

The gun culture is another one. We hear about it a lot but we didn't see anything telling when we have visited. We don't own a gun but we would be purchasing them when we got there as my partner is insistent that it is needed when driving in that area due to hot headed motorists. I have to admit, reading through this forum can be scary in that respect (no offense)! That is not my main question though; I'm wondering how you recommend introducing your children to firearms, for the purposes of safety? Are we crazy? My partner is very well acquainted with guns, but I am a newbie!

Swimming pools. We won't buy a home without one! But, we have concerns. All parents know how fast children run off. Ours are good swimmers, but we noticed most homes don't have pool fences. Is this legal?

Drive to Flagstaff. Anyone do this frequently? We thought of moving there, but it just doesn't have what we need. We still plan to take advantage of being so close though because we love the mountains!

Thanks so much in advance!!! We're looking forward to becoming neighbors!

How was your move?