Possibly moving to Phoenix, are there plenty of outdoor activities? (Scottsdale: appointed, apartment)

[MNoelW]

I may be moving to Phoenix for a job opportunity, and I was wondering if there were plenty of outdoor activities here and in the surrounding cities. I live in Chattanooga, TN and I love going hiking and swimming. I also love the mountains. Are there activities like this in and around Phoenix?

My job will be in Phoenix but I'm considering living in a city north of Phoenix. Any suggestions on cities north to live? I'd prefer my commute be no more than 45 minutes. I saw some cities were Surprise, Scottsdale, and Peoria. Are there outdoor activities in these cities? I am a single mom with two children so I would like to live in a good neighborhood with good schools. My kids go to a private school where we live now because the public schools here are horrible. How are the public schools in the areas around Phoenix?

I was offered a job in San Luis Obispo, CA and it is wonderful there but the housing costs are unbelievably high, I'd never be able to own my own home. Even renting a home is an incredible expense. After doing some research, I can see that the cost of homes in Phoenix is much more affordable.

Just trying to make a fully informed decision.

[azdr0710]

Originally Posted by MNoelW

I love going hiking and swimming. I also love the mountains. Are there activities like this in and around Phoenix?

wait, what??....are you kidding???!!!.....

sorry for being snarky, but you will find a TON of trails, pools, and mountains out here!!

others will offer comments on schools....

the entire Phx metro area is just one big urban city....so the choice of city or suburb will much depend on where your work is....can you tell us that yet?....

[PNWGuy]

He/she probably thinks phoenix, with a population of ~1.5 million, is a barren cowboy town, with dust bunnies rolling through the streets, gun racks on every cars roof, and illegal running through our backyards ��

[smoochaz]

Hi MNoelW,

Hiking is probably the #1 activity here so you won't be disappointed. There are so many choices for schools, in addition to public, there are plenty of charter schools as well as private - please check out this website for more info > Arizona Department of Education | The Official Website of the Arizona State Department of Education

I just sent you a private message regarding your location search -

[chaparrito]

Originally Posted by PNWGuy

He/she probably thinks phoenix, with a population of ~1.5 million, is a barren cowboy town, with dust bunnies rolling through the streets, gun racks on every cars roof, and illegal running through our backyards ��

Sigh..... the good old days.

[MNoelW]

Originally Posted by PNWGuy

He/she probably thinks phoenix, with a population of ~1.5 million, is a barren cowboy town, with dust bunnies rolling through the streets, gun racks on every cars roof, and illegal running through our backyards ��

Did not think that at all. It just seems like everyone has different opinions about Phoenix and Arizona. I'm trying to get some idea of how different the culture may be from Chattanooga so I don't go through too much shock. I know that Arizona has plenty of outdoor activities, what I'm really wondering is how far am I going to have to travel to get that. Where I live now it's a ten minute drive to get to river activities. I'm wondering how far will I have to go to get near some water if I'm living in or near Phoenix.

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by MNoelW

I'm wondering how far will I have to go to get near some water if I'm living in or near Phoenix.

The Phoenix metropolitan area is enormous, so it's impossible to be more specific without having some idea where you'd be working.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by MNoelW

Did not think that at all. It just seems like everyone has different opinions about Phoenix and Arizona. I'm trying to get some idea of how different the culture may be from Chattanooga so I don't go through too much shock. I know that Arizona has plenty of outdoor activities, what I'm really wondering is how far am I going to have to travel to get that. Where I live now it's a ten minute drive to get to river activities. I'm wondering how far will I have to go to get near some water if I'm living in or near Phoenix.

There is at least one good sized lake (water skiing etc) within an hour or so of most of the metro area. It could be as short as 1/2 hour. Three hours gets you to Lake Havasu and the Colorado river or to the ocean in Mexico, depending. 5/6 hours and you are at the Pacific in California or at Lake Meade or Powell, both huge impoundments. There are mountain trout fishing lakes and streams anywhere from 2-5 hours away.

[Sabiya]

Personally speaking, stay away from Arizona if you want "a good school" for your kids. The public school system in Arizona is three years behind the North Eastern states, I am not kidding. When I moved here, I went to a year-round jr.high and the subjects my teachers were teaching in 7th grade classes for the "first time" (student's first time, not teachers) were already subjects my 3rd and 4th grade teachers covered in elementary school!

Needless to say, it was VERY easy to pull off straight A's, I felt horrible because these kids are so far behind academically, that my getting straight A's should've been an accomplishment not a snooze fest! I stopped getting the upper advantage once I reached Jr year of high school though But, knowing that I could've been several years ahead academically if I stayed in the North East killed me. I didn't want to get straight A's because the rest of the class was stupid, you know what I'm saying? I wanted to be on equal footing academically with my classmates and actually have a challenge. The only challenge I got in my public school jr. high and high school education were from home-schoolers!

Well this was then, now AZ public education is even WORSE. There are more charter schools than public schools because the state cut funding for public education. The state already cut funding for public community colleges earlier this year. So unless your children are university age and want to go to NAU or UofA (I tend to shy away from ASU because their reputation has fallen in recent years -and- ASU is now advertising on TV and the radio with as much frequencies as the for-profit scam colleges like UofPhoenix, ITT, Ottawa, Everest, etc.), if you move to AZ they will be held behind academically.

Not a problem if your kids are C and D students, this would probably be an easy A for them for a long while.... but, do you really want them to be this behind academically? If you don't, and you're still hell-bent on living here... then go to a charter or a private school. These schools have curriculum that are up-to-date with the rest of the nation, public schools do not. I fear AZ's public education would be like New Mexico in the upcoming years.... a total and complete laughing stock.

EDIT: I'm guessing on the charter schools and private schools education being up to date. My cousin's children are in private school, and short of stalking them in their classes, I really do not know how they fare. My family says they are fine academically, but judging the state of AZ's public school education and the fact that teachers are FLEEING Arizona... it makes me wonder if private and charter schools are not gimped either, who knows?

[dusky_beauty]

There is a lot of outdoor opportunities as Phoenix hosts "outdoorsie" weather 9 months out of the year. Its particularly enjoyable if you like dessert scenery and environments. (As an outdoorsy person who has a taste for green and trees, its tough on me, but I'm from oregon originally and I miss the woods and wine country terribly. I'll say that pictures of Tennessee woods make ME homesick.)

Lots of hiking, lots of outdoor concerts of all genres. I keep seeing a lot of schools and parks hosting outdoor family movie nights. If you like to hang out in the city, enjoying restaurants, shopping and attractions, and look at "outdoor activities" as leisure/weekend and can afford to haul some toys to the lakes or up to flagstaff every other weekend, it's a lot more fun.
If you're going to be living on a comfortable budget but without that flex to allow you a lot of travel to escape the heat, its a lot less fun.

Whether you will like it here really all depends on you. How urban you are, and if this environment meshes with your preferences. After living here for 4 years, I've become photosensitive. That is, when the sunlight sits on my skin during summer while being outdoors, or even driving in a tank top, (that's WITH sunscreen) I break out in itchy hives. It's stupid. I've never had issues with the sun before. I can count all the sunburns I've ever had on one hand in all my 32 years.

"Dry heat" is a joke. The punchline is having to start your july and august commutes with oven mitts.

Still with me so far?
Great!
For schools we have very nice "charter schools". These are free alternative schools similar to private schools. We also have more religious private schools. So many options forces the public schools to attempt to be competitive. The downside to Charter schools is that because they run on tax money, they have to teach to the current common core standard, and participate in common core testing. (That is it's own snake barrel, and opinions are much divided. If you don't care for standardized tests or common core, you'll want to look for a private school, but if that's not an issue for you, you have MANY options of where your children will attend school.)

I strongly recommend before putting money down on a house or apartment, that you visit the area and check out what your commute to your place of business would be during rush hour from the areas you are interested in. Some freeways are worse than others.

Scottsdale has a reputation as a ritzy (snooty) area of affluence. It's very pretty, and has a lot of shopping and leisure opportunity. I cant say for Peoria other than people I talk to who live there seem satisfied with life there. Surprise I know a little more about. It's a little more newly constructed, has a lot of nice homes and neighborhoods. The main drag of town has a lot of green lawns in its parks, and most of the main streets are lined with palm trees. It's a very pleasant place, and if the commute works to get you to work, it's a GREAT exit point of the metro to all that outdoorsy activity out of town that you'll probably appreciate. Out of the 3 options, its the one I'd pick.
Worthy of note; There are many areas inside the metro that are zoned for horses and hobby livestock, so if your kids are the types that are into horses, FFA or 4H, even in town living offers opportunities for keeping horses, goats, pet chickens, etc. It all depends on the neighborhood, and the homeowners association. Speaking of HOA's.... take them very seriously. Read all the bylaws and covenants when looking at a potential home. They certainly take themselves seriously XD