Moving to Phoenix from the Bay Area. Anyone done this before ?

[AZSunDevil83]

Originally Posted by Movn-on

I always love Barrio Queen.

Please don't go to that knock-off spot. If you want the real authentic experience, please visit Barrio Cafe on 16th St. Trust me, you won't be disappointed

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by 49erfan916

Technically, I was born in the bay area but I moved to Sacramento when I was 10 years old.

What I did was I scouted the Phoenix metro twice: The first time was to see if I actually liked what I saw. The second time was apartment hunt. I got a job very close to the area that I picked out to live in. (I did it backwards)

I'm not familiar with Chandler but it's a big suburb of Phoenix and you can cycle through the Chandler threads that people post on here.

The heat....yea the heat is a different issue. Even though I am still new to the area, the heat can be an issue for some. If you're coming from a coastal city such as SF, Pacifica, or Daly City, then Lord have mercy. It will be a DRASTIC change for you. If you're coming from a far out East Bay city like Concord, Brentwood, or Pittsburgh, then the heat here wouldn't be steep of a change. I will take Phoenix's 110 heat than Sacramento's 100 heat any day of the week because Phoenix's heat is extremely dry. Also, IT DOES NOT COOL OFF AT NIGHT. I was driving around 10pm and my phone said it was 105 degrees and it felt like it. That's the one thing about California that I do miss.

I don't regret it so far. I like it here and Phoenix does remind me of California. There are so many transplants here! The only thing I would say is that the Mexican food in Phoenix isn't that good.

I spent one summer in the East Bay and thought it was actually hot - not as bad as Phoenix but still hot and dry. I used to walk to work during a summer internship and just remember the blazing heat. By contrast, a short drive to the Berkeley labs led to a major drop in temperature.

I think most guys from Silicon Valley would like Phoenix because the gender ratio on a typical Friday night can drop from 5 to 1 or 10 to 1 (male to female) in Silicon Valley to roughly even in Phoenix - lol.

But seriously, I grew up in AZ and never saw scorpions in an apartment. I did see a lot of roaches at
some apartments but never scorpions or tarantulas. In my current apartment near Chandler I haven't
seen any scorpions, spiders, or roaches at all. Modern pest control compared to the 1990s when I was
at ASU seems a lot stronger.

The scorpions would be out in the rural AZ desert along with centipedes, tarantulas, their predators,
rattle snakes, the rare Gila Monster lizard (poisonous), etc. An isolated cabin out in the Pinal Mountains,
an old ranch home out in Graham County near Safford, etc. would have scorpions. I have seen many
out there. But I have never seen a scorpion in Phoenix - not even up on Piestewa Peak at night or
Papago Park at dusk.

The scariest centipede stories I heard were along a trout lake near the Salt River. It has many
huge boulders near the lake, and there were many rumors about unusually large centipedes crawling
in that area. There was also a bear attack on campers. This area is about 100 miles northeast of Phoenix.

But Chandler should be great - I'd recommend it.

[49erfan916]

Originally Posted by LS Jaun

Thousands of Mexican restaurants in Phoenix metro area on Yelp and you are dissapointed

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_des...nix%2C+AZ&ns=1

Garbage food is garbage food. I can't help that some places taste bad.

[_Charles_]

I moved here to Phoenix from San Francisco in 1986 and never looked back. Phoenix was and is a middle class paradise compared to the Bay Area.

[_Charles_]

Las Dos Molinas located in Tom Mix's old house on (south) Central Avenue in Phoenix. Best TexMex in the Valley.

[Angelino19]

Originally Posted by 49erfan916

Technically, I was born in the bay area but I moved to Sacramento when I was 10 years old.

What I did was I scouted the Phoenix metro twice: The first time was to see if I actually liked what I saw. The second time was apartment hunt. I got a job very close to the area that I picked out to live in. (I did it backwards)

I'm not familiar with Chandler but it's a big suburb of Phoenix and you can cycle through the Chandler threads that people post on here.

The heat....yea the heat is a different issue. Even though I am still new to the area, the heat can be an issue for some. If you're coming from a coastal city such as SF, Pacifica, or Daly City, then Lord have mercy. It will be a DRASTIC change for you. If you're coming from a far out East Bay city like Concord, Brentwood, or Pittsburgh, then the heat here wouldn't be steep of a change. I will take Phoenix's 110 heat than Sacramento's 100 heat any day of the week because Phoenix's heat is extremely dry. Also, IT DOES NOT COOL OFF AT NIGHT. I was driving around 10pm and my phone said it was 105 degrees and it felt like it. That's the one thing about California that I do miss.

I don't regret it so far. I like it here and Phoenix does remind me of California. There are so many transplants here! The only thing I would say is that the Mexican food in Phoenix isn't that good.

You say "Mexican food in Phoenix isn't that good".......I find that absolutely hilarious. Mexican food in the Phoenix area is some of the best in the entire southwest.

[Tokinouta]

I've lived in both and stayed in Phoenix if that's any indication. Cheaper, beautiful, clean, new, everything. No gloom, no freezing wind with rain, and little grim. You will be surprised by the amount of dust you'll get in your home but you get used to it.
Also, invest in some flip-flops and shorts.

You will have to adjust just because you're used to sights, smells, and weather of SF, but once you adjust you'll love it.

I hear we might go blue this year, and we have been blue before. It's a pretty even mix. Not a lot of fringe. Neither side is really dominant. People are pretty laid back here.

Good luck!!

[49erfan916]

Originally Posted by Angelino19

You say "Mexican food in Phoenix isn't that good".......I find that absolutely hilarious. Mexican food in the Phoenix area is some of the best in the entire southwest.

I stand corrected. I found a couple of places that are absolutely wonderful.