Considering Move - Questions About Area (Phoenix, Mesa: apartments, rentals, condos)

[RubyJune]

Background:

I'm a single, late 30's female, no children, considering a move to Phoenix area for several reasons.

I work from home, so I can technically live anywhere, but my company has a location in Scottsdale so I chose this area in case I should decide to re-enter office life. Plus, the weather seems to add a definite perk over the midwest.

I currently live in St. Louis. While I love city life, and St. Louis is a great city, I don't need to tell you if you've been paying attention to national news that we have a lot of problems right now. Plus I'm over winter. And being originally from the north, I know St. Louis winters don't even touch "real" winter, but it's enough.

So, on to my questions:

1. I'd prefer to rent a home, but am open to an apartment/condo so long as it is decent. Where are the best areas to look that would give me a reasonable commute to Scottsdale (based on Google Maps, just on the other side of a river from Tempe)? I need to rent for the first year since I'm not 100% sure I will want to stay. People are warning me about the summers. I've never actually been to Phoenix. I was in Vegas in July and it was 105, so I'm not entirely unaware of the desert heat, but having only dealt with it a week, I'd like to give a bit more of a trial period before buying.

2. This is going to sound really stupid, but please be kind - I just bought my first stick shift car and am still reluctant on steep hills. I don't get much opportunity to practice this. Obviously I am aware of the mountains in the area, but in general day-to-day life in the city areas, are there lots of steep hills and mountain areas to drive through and around? I'd like to know so I can weigh the idea of keeping my car or replacing it with something I won't panic if I have to stop on a steep hill.

3. I've searched websites and have found several to be widely varying in their numbers. Plus, I know numbers are garbage. Remember, I live in St Louis, which is often at the top of the crime charts, but I can vouch that those numbers are pretty biased because they actually only account for a small part of what locals actually consider St. Louis, so it's really not as bad as it sounds if you just look at figures. So, tell the truth - is the area high in crime?

4. Scorpions and rattlesnakes - plague, genuine cause for fear, or non-issue?

5. How bad are the summers - really. Can you still go outside? The worst I've seen in the desert was the previously mentioned 105 degrees and I was fine with that. I was shopping, walking the strip, lounging by the pool. Does it often go higher than that? (105 in a humid environment is unbearable. You just become a sweaty, disgusting mess and you can't breathe because it feels like there is an extra 20 lbs sitting on your chest. I hate it.)

6. My move, if I decide to pull the trigger, will be July/August. Is this a good time for rentals to become available?

Thanks in advance. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I consider this further.

[observer53]

First, your mountain question. The Phoenix metro area is pretty flat. In your day to day life around the Valley, you are not going to have issues with your stick shift car. There are some gradual inclines and declines in a few places that you may or may not encounter, but that's really not an issue for the vast majority of people.

Scottsdale is a long, narrow city. So, where your employer's office is in Scottsdale will make some difference.

Like many metro areas, some parts have higher crime rates than others. There's some crime everywhere, but there are many areas that are quite safe.

Rattlesnakes not an issue unless you are out hiking in the desert when they are active, and not necessarily even then. The scorpion issue is not a deal breaker. Yes, some people have issues with them, but for the most part they are more of an imiagined issue for those who don't live here than an actual issue for those who do.

No one can answer for anyone else how they will react to the summers. Of course you can go outside. Life doesn't stop here during the summer months. People do shift their schedules to do more strenuous outdoor activity early in the morning or in the evening. Yes, temps can frequently go over 105, but the hishest temps are usually in the driest pasrt of the summer, and our more humid season in late summer is still less humid than you will see in St. Louis.

Yes, you should rent if you are not sure how long you will stay.

[sandy6879]

1. Definitely rent before buying. There are plenty of SF homes here for rent, not just apartments or condos, and they typically can be in the same price range. If you want a house, not an apartment, it won't be an issue. Scottsdale commute - Tempe, parts of West Mesa, parts of Chandler are all within a reasonable commute. Do your research on the areas of Mesa...not all are really nice but there are some nice neighborhoods right over the Tempe border. Some not-so-nice ones too.


2. I still can't drive a stick so you're one up on me No hills unless you are going up to Prescott. The rest of the area is pretty flat.



3. There are some areas that are high in crime. A good rule, no matter where one lives - if the price seems too good to be true, there's a reason. Stick to median range price levels, and definitely do your due diligence in looking at the crime maps.

4. Scorpions and rattlesnakes - plague, genuine cause for fear, or non-issue?
We've encountered scorpions in the 4+ years we've been here, maybe a few times a year and 95% of the time, dead when we saw them in the home. Have not seen a rattlesnake but we also don't go to the desert areas where they reside. We use a pest control company and that takes care of the scorpions food which means they go elsewhere


5. They aren't the level of humidity you're used to. But - 105 is pretty normal if not even on the low side for some parts of the summer months. It's not unusual for temps to hit 115 and sometimes (rarely) up to 120. (2x in the 4 years we've lived here I've seen that). Honestly, I'm good up to about 110. Above that, it's rough but it doesn't stay like that the whole summer, sometimes about a week. We go outside, to the pool and we'll stay in the pool the full day on the weekends all summer long at the high heat times. If you don't like that heat, everywhere has AC.

6. We moved here July 29. My husband had come down earlier to look for rentals and saw something like 22 in one day (it was ridiculous). Now, that all depends on the year but yes, I would think that you'll be able to find a good amount of rentals to see.

Best of luck!

[Llep]

You will adapt to the stick shift really quickly. All of my cars for the last 37 years have been sticks so I don't even think about it now but steep hills were very intimidating just starting out. One tip I was given that really helped me was when I came to a stop on a steep incline was to engage the emergency brake and then disengage it when I was ready to move again as I was letting out the clutch. This way you won't have to move your foot between the brake and the clutch so quickly until you are ready.

[WriterDude]

Great questions, and great answers so far.

I'd especially repeat the observations about heat and humidity, because 115 in Phoenix is more tolerable for me than 90 degrees in humidity. The biggest issue is that Phoenix has 107 days a year over 100 degrees. However, there are also about 70 days each year where the cold temperature is over 80 degrees. That can be wearying, especially if you don't have a way to create a daily routine that will mitigate the heat. (You should be able to hit the pool or stay air conditioned most of the time, so whether this will be a problem for you is something you'll have to see in person.)

At the same time, 107 days of hot means 258 days of not-too-hot. And if you're more sensitive to cold than heat, you might prefer the southwest to the midwest. (We also don't get tornadoes.)

[RubyJune]

Originally Posted by WriterDude

Great questions, and great answers so far.

I'd especially repeat the observations about heat and humidity, because 115 in Phoenix is more tolerable for me than 90 degrees in humidity. The biggest issue is that Phoenix has 107 days a year over 100 degrees. However, there are also about 70 days each year where the cold temperature is over 80 degrees. That can be wearying, especially if you don't have a way to create a daily routine that will mitigate the heat. (You should be able to hit the pool or stay air conditioned most of the time, so whether this will be a problem for you is something you'll have to see in person.)

At the same time, 107 days of hot means 258 days of not-too-hot. And if you're more sensitive to cold than heat, you might prefer the southwest to the midwest. (We also don't get tornadoes.)

Do I like extreme heat? Not especially. But yes, I have learned that I tolerate heat better than cold. And I tolerate dry heat better than humidity, which is why I'm looking at AZ and not Florida where our other office is located. I'm usually the one complaining that the A/C is on way too high and wearing a sweater in the office. I am currently in slipper socks and slippers and my feet are still frozen from my brief walk with the dogs. So, yes, I'm thinking I can handle this a lot better, but I guess I won't really know for sure until I give it a go.

No tornadoes is definitely another perk. I haven't taken a direct hit, but I've had some amazingly close calls.