Almost pulled the trigger.... Shame on you Valley.... (Phoenix, Glendale: established neighborhood, living in)

[asufan]

Originally Posted by strato58

Also im trying to keep my house budget to $350k or so. Im looking to get as much as I can for that kind of money. The valley has gotten expensive again.

West valley is certainly less expensive, but will you be willing to drive to East Mesa or Gilbert for example if that's where the work is? I knew a guy in Tempe who did appraisals, he said he averaged over $3,000/week and only worked the SE valley and South Scottsdale. I would bet a bulk of the work is in those areas. just food for thought

[strato58]

Im going to stick to the east valley which is my original thought. Ive been appraising for 31 years. Citibank moved me to Mesa for 2 years in the early 90's and I absolutely loved it. Been wanting to get back for years but life happens. I heard there is a shortage of appraisers in Az and im hoping thats the case because im moving out without a job or clients.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by strato58

Im going to stick to the east valley which is my original thought. Ive been appraising for 31 years. Citibank moved me to Mesa for 2 years in the early 90's and I absolutely loved it. Been wanting to get back for years but life happens. I heard there is a shortage of appraisers in Az and im hoping thats the case because im moving out without a job or clients.

Maybe talk to some clients and see if there's a shortage in the West valley vs East before buying something. I do remember hearing about an appraiser shortage here when rates were lower last year.

[strato58]

Yes very rate sensitive. Last year was very strong mostly due to refinances here but that is now done.
Thanks for the conversation and thoughts.

[atlaw]

you need to find some other place

[Minntoaz]

I applaud you OP. It was informative and you made it clear what you did and did not like. I think this is valuable information for those who may be persuade by all the positive posts.

I chuckled because for the 20 shades of tan comment, my husband feels the exact same way. Additionally, his family is from the Seattle area and they tried to tell me the "mountains" weren't mountains lol. Moral of the story it's all one's perception and experiences that make up their likes and dislikes.

After further review I see you are also from Minnesota. Yeah, Phoenix is NOTHING like Minneapolis. Not even a little bit. Politics, schools, infrastructure, housing, the people... I mean literally another world down there. When I moved to the Valley when I was 18 I literally questioned whether I was still in the USA. I lived all over the valley (Tempe, Chandler, North Scottsdale) for 6.5 years and then we returned back to Minneapolis area. Lived there for 2.5 years and came here to the PNW we will be returning to the Valley in August for various reasons. No, Phoenix will never be like Minnesota and not super glamorous but it's homey and easy-going and to me that's appealing. I don't care if my house is tan. I care more about the environment I live in and the people I interact with on a daily and for us we have a huge network of incredible people down there. Our social support system in Arizona is far greater than anywhere else we've lived. So what may seem questionable to some, proves to be a definite yes to others. Best wishes in finding your perfect locale.

[BIG CATS]

If you don't see the beauty in the desert, you don't belong. Stay in MN. Please.

[Voebe]

Thanks. Very nice of you to post at such length. I wouldn't have used the word "lifeless," but it might fit. And "neutral" certainly would, not just the architecture, but the people. Smart to investigate so well.

[petroglyphin]

Darrrr I thought the desert would be a lush green jungle

[locolife]

The best thing about this thread is that within 7 hours of baseless rant there are 7 pages of people responding, mainly explaining how uneducated and short-sighted most of the original points were and questioning the "shaming" tone that is completely unjustified.

The community reaction and passion in these responses makes me all the more happy to call the valley my home. Yes, it's not perfect, but I do love it here.