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Hello, My wife, two kids and myself are seriously considering relocating from the Chicagoland area to the Chandler area. Both my wife and I will be able to transfer with our jobs so that will not be a problem. However, we have a soon to be 18 year old daughter and soon to be 4 year old son. Our concerns are the schools for our little one as he will be going to pre-k in July/Aug. I hear that the school districts in the area, the kids get 2 weeks off for spring break, christmas,etc. Our daughter will soon to be leaving the nest ( I hope) in the next couple years as she will attend Community College for the 1st couple years. However, we do not have family or friends in the area (well friends that we would feel comfortable leaving our kid with). Anybody who has small kids that will have any advice on day cares or schools that have after school options that help make the transition smooth and less stressful. This is a big concern of ours any feedback will be great. If you have additional questions to ask in order to get a clearer picture, please ask. thanks
P.s. We just visited the area last week and loved it.. I know we haven't witnessed the summer heat but I think we would be able to handle it
Hello, My wife, two kids and myself are seriously considering relocating from the Chicagoland area to the Chandler area. Both my wife and I will be able to transfer with our jobs so that will not be a problem. However, we have a soon to be 18 year old daughter and soon to be 4 year old son. Our concerns are the schools for our little one as he will be going to pre-k in July/Aug. I hear that the school districts in the area, the kids get 2 weeks off for spring break, christmas,etc. Our daughter will soon to be leaving the nest ( I hope) in the next couple years as she will attend Community College for the 1st couple years. However, we do not have family or friends in the area (well friends that we would feel comfortable leaving our kid with). Anybody who has small kids that will have any advice on day cares or schools that have after school options that help make the transition smooth and less stressful. This is a big concern of ours any feedback will be great. If you have additional questions to ask in order to get a clearer picture, please ask. thanks
P.s. We just visited the area last week and loved it.. I know we haven't witnessed the summer heat but I think we would be able to handle it
Ohhh, every Phoenician has heard that sentence a million times. Come out in late June, spend a week or two.
Remember, you have kids. They have just as much of a say in the move as you do, IMO. People would disagree, but they have lives to live, and all lives are equally important. One thing I did not consider when we moved here is that when kids are off of school for the year, its ridiculously hot out. My son was massively depressed knowing that he couldn't be outside all day long in the summer like he could back home in IL. He couldn't spend hours upon hours in the sandbox. He couldn't frolic in cool grass. Our yard is rock (as yours will most likely be, too). He couldn't walk down the street to the local lake and take a dip (lakes here are far away). Skate park? Wait til night (and its still over 100 degrees). Hiking? Get up super early. You get the idea. He spent most of his summer in the pool, indoors playing video games, at friends' house playing games, or at the Scottsdale Fashion Square. The heat truly plays a BIG part. You cant come in April and declare you love it. That would be like someone visiting Chicago in June and deciding to make a move, completely disregarding the winters. Ask your kids how they feel about the move, and then be sure to visit when its 115 degrees. And be warned, the pools aren't even refreshing in the summer. Theyre downright warm, like bath water. And by mid-October, theyre frigid (unless you wanna pay to have it heated). AZ's weather is strange. And it gets colder than you think here, too. Its not Chicago levels of cold, but after years of our summers, all of a sudden 32 degrees here feels like sub zero to me! hahaha
There are a ton of threads talking about Chandler...but let's see if we can keep this short. I can address the East side of Chandler (CUSD 80) as far as the school district is concerned...the West side of Chandler is Kyrene School district.
CUSD operates on a modified year round schedule. The year start the end of July and gets out late May/Early June. This year our last day is May 31. There is a 2.5 week break in October, about 3 weeks for Winter Break and another 2.5 weeks in March for Spring Break. Summer Break is approx 6 - 7 weeks. CUSD is one of the better rated school districts in the state but be aware, as with all schools in AZ, there is an open border policy which allows out of boundary students to attend any of the schools.
CUSD also has a Pre-K program...you could look into that or any of the other private Pre-K schools around. Cut off age for Kinder is 5 years old as of September 1st of that year. They are pretty strict with this date as well. Kinder is all-day, I believe Pre-K is 1/2 days.
As far as the COmmunity College system, there are campuses for Maricopa County Community Colleges all over the place. They have feeder programs into ASU, UofA and NAU as well...so start your 4-year program at a less expensive CC and transfer after 2 years. There has been plenty of debate about our colleges...but ASU is turning into a very respected Research college and has a Poly-Tech campus here in the East Valley. NAU is more of a Forestry and Hospitality school...they have other degree programs but it is normally trading places with UNLV for the top Hospitality school.
Anyway, glad you visited and enjoyed our March weather...it is going to be heating up here soon so good luck on the move.
Chandler schools have before and after school programs called kids express, they also have camps for fall, winter, spring and summer breaks. Daycares in the area include tutor time, kids Inc, la petite, but when they are school age you can do the cusd program I mentioned. I wouldn't worry about the heat at all, my kids are outside year round but it helps having a pool
Ohhh, every Phoenician has heard that sentence a million times. Come out in late June, spend a week or two.
Remember, you have kids. They have just as much of a say in the move as you do, IMO. People would disagree, but they have lives to live, and all lives are equally important. One thing I did not consider when we moved here is that when kids are off of school for the year, its ridiculously hot out. My son was massively depressed knowing that he couldn't be outside all day long in the summer like he could back home in IL. He couldn't spend hours upon hours in the sandbox. He couldn't frolic in cool grass. Our yard is rock (as yours will most likely be, too). He couldn't walk down the street to the local lake and take a dip (lakes here are far away). Skate park? Wait til night (and its still over 100 degrees). Hiking? Get up super early. You get the idea. He spent most of his summer in the pool, indoors playing video games, at friends' house playing games, or at the Scottsdale Fashion Square. The heat truly plays a BIG part. You cant come in April and declare you love it. That would be like someone visiting Chicago in June and deciding to make a move, completely disregarding the winters. Ask your kids how they feel about the move, and then be sure to visit when its 115 degrees. And be warned, the pools aren't even refreshing in the summer. Theyre downright warm, like bath water. And by mid-October, theyre frigid (unless you wanna pay to have it heated). AZ's weather is strange. And it gets colder than you think here, too. Its not Chicago levels of cold, but after years of our summers, all of a sudden 32 degrees here feels like sub zero to me! hahaha
Thanks for the foresight regarding the kids.. I think you make a good point regarding the summers and how it could/would affect my son. I don't think it would much of a difference to him since he is so young. I do know that he would miss his grandparents. I do worry about my daughter, she is graduating H.S. this year and I think she will be affected the most. However, I tell her that she will be going to college next yr and will most likely have to make new friends all over again. This whether we move or stay anyway. If we stay we will probably have to move somewhere away from where we are now. Wifey is ready for a home purchase and I am disgusted with the property tax rates in Illinois. Not to mention, I am tired of the winter's here.
There are a ton of threads talking about Chandler...but let's see if we can keep this short. I can address the East side of Chandler (CUSD 80) as far as the school district is concerned...the West side of Chandler is Kyrene School district.
CUSD operates on a modified year round schedule. The year start the end of July and gets out late May/Early June. This year our last day is May 31. There is a 2.5 week break in October, about 3 weeks for Winter Break and another 2.5 weeks in March for Spring Break. Summer Break is approx 6 - 7 weeks. CUSD is one of the better rated school districts in the state but be aware, as with all schools in AZ, there is an open border policy which allows out of boundary students to attend any of the schools.
CUSD also has a Pre-K program...you could look into that or any of the other private Pre-K schools around. Cut off age for Kinder is 5 years old as of September 1st of that year. They are pretty strict with this date as well. Kinder is all-day, I believe Pre-K is 1/2 days.
As far as the COmmunity College system, there are campuses for Maricopa County Community Colleges all over the place. They have feeder programs into ASU, UofA and NAU as well...so start your 4-year program at a less expensive CC and transfer after 2 years. There has been plenty of debate about our colleges...but ASU is turning into a very respected Research college and has a Poly-Tech campus here in the East Valley. NAU is more of a Forestry and Hospitality school...they have other degree programs but it is normally trading places with UNLV for the top Hospitality school.
Anyway, glad you visited and enjoyed our March weather...it is going to be heating up here soon so good luck on the move.
Thanks for information and the break down of the school breaks. This is a huge concern for my wife and I. It is tough making a move like this we just want to make a well informed decision. I heard that Mesa Community College is also good for Nursing/Medical field. She is interested in pursuing a career in physical therapy.
Chandler schools have before and after school programs called kids express, they also have camps for fall, winter, spring and summer breaks. Daycares in the area include tutor time, kids Inc, la petite, but when they are school age you can do the cusd program I mentioned. I wouldn't worry about the heat at all, my kids are outside year round but it helps having a pool
Thanks! This is good information to know. I will definitely research the before and after school programs you mentioned. This may help reduce concerns regarding what to do with our son when it is a break or vacation, even just knowing he has somewhere to go until we can pick him up after school.
If you have a family, there is no better suburb than Chandler or Gilbert. Chandler schools are top notch.
If you can swing in, south Chandler by Ocotillo is fantastic.
You are the second person who I heard mention South Chandler.. I am sure it is great. My old manager moved out to Chandler 2 yrs ago and that is where he stays and he loves it!
I don't know but definitely get the heck out of the Chicagoland area if you want to buy a home. It sounds pretty questionable on the way they are assessing property taxes up there. My husband and I toyed around with the idea of Chicago for a bit before fully realizing the tax gouging and failing government. I can't blame you for wanting to bail.
About Arizona. I've lived in the Midwest (Minnesota is where I was raised then Arizona for 6 years and then Minneapolis and so on) and the two are vastly different. One has four seasons and the other does not. One has green, the other does not. One is hot for six months the other is cold for four months. One is conservative and the other is liberal.
It's about priorities. I can say for fact that for mental health reasons you will need to get out in the summer. Preferably a total of 2-3 weeks or more. I would literally go into a depression (albeit functional) if I didn't get out after a few months. So factor that into your cost analysis. Honestly even with two or three vacations it's still cheaper to live than most places in this country.
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