Relocating to AZ

[gemini2daheart]

I have noticed that AZ is seperated by two things, Race and ecomonics. I live in Phoenix, right outside of Avondale, and there are a nice amount of AA in my area, but cross the road and it's ALL Hispanic. I guess people go where they feel more comfortable. There are two grocery stores by my house, ironicly the AA's/ White/ Other shop at one and the Hispanics shop at the other. I grew up around all type of people so I never felt it was ever an issue, until I moved here. I think the Mexicans are so used to people frowning on them and downing them that most of them are just MEAN.. I am a pretty friendly person so this was very odd to me, but I found that when I went to the "other" grocery store (cause some of their food is cheaper!! ) I don't get any eye contact and I get this really short ( HELLO) from the cashiers while the Hispanic person in front of me and behind me gets all the conversation in the world (in Spanish may I add) the funny thing is my husband and I do understand spanish, but I don't choose to disclose that to the cashier, while she gives me a Hello in English which is very dry. So I choose to go to the other grociery store where I feel more comfortable and can get a warm smile while Im spending way too much money.. But thats just my perseption. Good luck..

[LorineLovett]

Hello Tancee,
My husband and I relocated to the Phx area in 2003 from California (Los Angeles). Initially, I was a bit nervous because I am Hispanic and my husband is Caucasian and wasn't sure how people would respond to us being a "mixed" couple, even though I never think of us as such. Ironically, when I would tell people that I'm from CA, many would respond with "I'm sorry" which I thought was odd and got a little offended, but honestly I could see where they're coming from. Everyone we come in contact with has been extremely nice compared to CA. People would greet us without any animosity and we have been very pleased with the folks out here! We initially lived in an apartment in N.Scottsdale because we were more familiar with all the amenities it has to offer, but ended up building a home 30 miles outside of Phx in the West Valley and couldn't be happier! Yes, I could say that Arizona has been good to us! People either love it or hate it out here. That's just how it is.

There is a huge mix of nationalities as well as transplants from many other states. We didn't have any children when we moved here, but are now adopting a 19mo old girl from the state system and will have concerns as a parent to ensure she is in a good school. To be quite honest, since the influx of people in the past 4-5 years, the school systems had to get caught up with the growth of newcomers, so many of the schools are new and just coming up to speed with the education. Where I live, I feel very comfortable with the school system thus far and have heard no complaints from other parents in our community. If you need any information on housing (rent or buy), feel free to contact me offline at my email: lorine@lovettazhomes.com and I can assist your family with many of your relocation needs and send you additional information on the Phx metro area. Change is always difficult no matter where you come from and it was difficult for me initially with changing careers, building a new home, newly married. A place you relocate to is really what one makes of it. A good thing to do is to come out for a visit and get a feel of the area(s). Wish you the best!

[NatureFriend2]

Hi Tancee,

I relocated to Phoenix myself a few years ago. I am a visible minority but not an AA. I have also not seen much racism here. There are quite a diversity of minorities as well, and it seems to be increasing. I see more ethnic restaurants going up each year.

I have met many aa's and there is quite an established community in Phoenix. I don't know what particular areas have more or less of any minority, but there are quite a few organizations and businesses owned by aa's. Therefore, you may be pleasantly surprised if you move here to Phoenix.

What may not be pleasantly surprising is the hot summers. I understand MN would be much cooler all year round. If you and your family can subsist on air conditioning in the car and at home for 4-5 months out of the year, you should really enjoy it here. Also, we are about 7 hours from LA or Las Vegas, so Arizona in general is a good location to live in. And, if you like to explore the state, there are numerous places to visit including native reservations, old mining towns, the Grand Canyon, natural waterfalls, the "wild west" (in Tombstone). You can also get away from the Phoenix heat in the summer by travelling north only 2 hours.

Good luck with everything!