Looking to relocate from Delaware to Phoenix, AZ - Need advice/help (Scottsdale: appointed)

[leahde1]

Hello everyone!
I know this request has been posted often, but I'm new to this forum and need some advice/help! We, my fiance' and I, are looking into relocating from Wilmington, Delaware to the Phoenix area. We are in our early 30's and are very active. We will be relocating without children and plan to have children within a year or so after we relocate so area and schooling is very much important to us (we hate to move and pack so we are looking to relocate and stay there for a while). Any areas for us to look into is greatly appreciated. Also, what is the job market like for us (we degrees and work in the advertising/marketing field and the legal profession) We are looking to rent initially, but then purchase down the road once a family has been started and we have settled into our new environment. Leah

[Tailofdogma]

Originally Posted by leahde1

Hello everyone!
I know this request has been posted often, but I'm new to this forum and need some advice/help! We, my fiance' and I, are looking into relocating from Wilmington, Delaware to the Phoenix area. We are in our early 30's and are very active. We will be relocating without children and plan to have children within a year or so after we relocate so area and schooling is very much important to us (we hate to move and pack so we are looking to relocate and stay there for a while). Any areas for us to look into is greatly appreciated. Also, what is the job market like for us (we degrees and work in the advertising/marketing field and the legal profession) We are looking to rent initially, but then purchase down the road once a family has been started and we have settled into our new environment. Leah

Look at Raleigh, NC instead.

[PhxBarb]

That certainly wasn't very nice, Tail of Dog.
I would suggest you look into the Kyrene School District and maybe look in Ahwatukee for housing.
Kyrene has one of the best school districts in the area. Ahwatukee is closer to downtown, where legal people work. I don't know about advertising/marketing, but again, these jobs are probably concentrated in downtown. Or Scottsdale.
Anyway, welcome to Phoenix and enjoy the heat !! Also, unlike DE, we DO have sales tax here.

[leahde1]

That wasn't very nice, but out of curiousity, why would you tell me to look in Raleigh, NC.

[leahde1]

Thanks for the feedback PhxBarb! I will look into the areas this weekend and do my research and let you know what I think.

[rcarbuilder]

If the both of you don`t have jobs waiting I would stay where you are. The people who do the hiring here are not fond of newcomers. It will take you several months at best to find a GOOD job. The odds are the only person to hire you will be from the northeast and they are in the minority. The difference in your cost to own a car is another thing. If you have newer cars, the tags are alot higher than other places. Insurance can be high. It goes by your zip code. There are some good deals on houses but make sure they aren`t the ones built out of chicken wire. Get a block house only. If your not now you will become a conservative or you`ll be one of the record number of personal bankruptcies done by people who get in over their head. It`s real easy to do here because of the nice weather and all the toys we can`t live without. The bottom line is: if you don`t have a job, some good friends or family already here, you better bring enough cash to live on for at least 6 months. I`m not trying to be negative just tell you how it is. I lived in the east and hated it there and I like it here. I would never go back.

[Tailofdogma]

Originally Posted by leahde1

That wasn't very nice, but out of curiousity, why would you tell me to look in Raleigh, NC.

It was not intended as a slight. You have similar posts for San Diego, Charlotte, and Miami. Of those options, none of them are outstanding, although I would argue that Charlotte is likely the best of that lot, including Phoenix. (San Diego being awesome, but expensive, Miami being, well, Miami, and Charlotte despite having spiking crime rates offering enough variety.)

However, if you were to expand your interests, you really should look at Raleigh, NC. The RTP area consistently ranks very well on quality of life surveys. There are good jobs there (there are those here as well, but they are harder to come by) multiple universities, some of the country's best hospitals, stuff like that. They even have 4 seasons, as opposed to six months of nice, six months of brutality.

The people that like it here really dig it, and thats fine, but it seems to take a certain type of person. My wife loves this place, I miss every place I've lived in before. You won't know until you do it I suppose, but there are probably better options.

[luv_it_here]

Well, housing prices are on a downslide on all sides of town, so that will be a plus when you look to buy. Rentals are pretty even now - but you may not find something nice, and in a price range you're looking at, and in your dream area the first time around.

I myself am slightly biased against most of the far outlying suburbs of the east side. If I had to choose to move back, I would look in Tempe, Scottsdale, or possibly Northwest Peoria.

As for schools - some school districts are better than others, but you almost have to see the schools individually. Some of the school districts are still boasting their great ratings from 2 years ago, before the housing market started to turn, and their population changed a great deal. It will be hard to see which schools fared the best until we have about 2 more years of stats - then you can see where teachers started to bail, because they were faced with a more "challenging" classroom environment, and where schools that once were considered wealthy had to make massive budget cuts because attendance numbers changed so rapidly with houses getting foreclosed, and people moving to more reasonable areas of town.

As for jobs - advertising/marketing and legal should be fairly easy to come across in Phoenix, depending on how skilled you are, and what types of positions in those fields. There are several very large law firms concentrated in dowtown Phx, but there are lawyers all over the city - I don't know if that's the norm in all bigger cities, or just because Phoenix has such a highly transient population, with almost no roots to the area - I think sometimes that makes people a little mean, and I think the heat makes them a little crazy. Advertising/Marketing I'm sure you could find something in Downtown, my next guess would be Scottsdale, followed up by Tempe, but again, I'm sure there are options all over the city, if you look hard enough.

Please don't misinterpret anything I've said. I think Phoenix is a great choice. But, I don't advocate anyone moving unprepared. Checking the forum is a great start. But, I hope you have jobs secured before you move (at least one of you) a financial plan in place to cover your first two years in the area while you acclimate, and learn the culture, a good understanding from multiple sources of the top 3 areas you would like to live in (I recommend choosing 3, not 1, because you never know what will be available when you start to look, and the school options quite frankly, will probably be very different when your kids start school, if you don't even have any kids yet).

The weather isn't so much of an issue as I'm sure you know it's hot, and there isn't anyway around that. The traffic is pretty bad most of the time, especially if you choose to live in Ahwatukee, or Queen Creek, or Anthem, or any of the other far-reaching suburbs. There are plenty of cultural opportunities available, but the PHX metro area is really spread out, and sometimes newcomers are disappointed by how far they have to go to find something they enjoy to do.

[roundball]

I would move to Raleigh in a heartbeat.

My sister-in-law is moving today and we will no longer have any family here. To top it off, while at one of our daughters soccer games, @11:30 my wife had a mini freak-out about the hot weather. Maybe were closer to moving than I thought.

I like the Valley of the Sun. I just like the Research Triangle better.