Possibly looking to relocate, where-to for a 23 year old? (Phoenix: renting, condos)

[Stratocaster86]

I live in SW Pennsylvania and need a change of scenery very badly. I'm a 23 year old male education major and will be looking at attending a few job fairs in the Spring to see where I end up. I'm presently looking at Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. But basically I'm interested in Phoenix and Tempe as far as Arizona goes. I don't need a lot of money to be happy...hence the teaching profession; it's a passion and I love it so far. I'm interested in moving just to have an upgrade in the quality of life department.

My prospects are simply that I'd like to go to a place with:

1. Good school systems.
2. Potential to live happily/comfortably on $40K a year.
3. Opportunities for musicians of all varieties.
4. Nice music scene whether large or small.
5. Tons of down to earth and overly friendly people(...people who don't look at you funny when you open a door for them, haha).
6. Great weather.
7. Large 20s crowd/great for the 20-30 age group, but still great to settle permanently.
8. A "modern" yet laid-back vibe.
9. People who are actually proud of where they live.
10. And most importantly...A place with a lively 20-30s dating scene where there's potential for meeting somebody who's actually interested in building a long-term relationship.


Any comments, suggestions, or advice would be appreciated. Would I be able to live comfortably renting out at the median rate with a $35-$40K starting salary? Thanks.

[sablebaby]

You definitely described Tempe!

[zenkonami]

Originally Posted by Stratocaster86

I live in SW Pennsylvania and need a change of scenery very badly. I'm a 23 year old male education major and will be looking at attending a few job fairs in the Spring to see where I end up. I'm presently looking at Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. But basically I'm interested in Phoenix and Tempe as far as Arizona goes. I don't need a lot of money to be happy...hence the teaching profession; it's a passion and I love it so far. I'm interested in moving just to have an upgrade in the quality of life department.

My prospects are simply that I'd like to go to a place with:

1. Good school systems.
2. Potential to live happily/comfortably on $40K a year.
3. Opportunities for musicians of all varieties.
4. Nice music scene whether large or small.
5. Tons of down to earth and overly friendly people(...people who don't look at you funny when you open a door for them, haha).
6. Great weather.
7. Large 20s crowd/great for the 20-30 age group, but still great to settle permanently.
8. A "modern" yet laid-back vibe.
9. People who are actually proud of where they live.
10. And most importantly...A place with a lively 20-30s dating scene where there's potential for meeting somebody who's actually interested in building a long-term relationship.


Any comments, suggestions, or advice would be appreciated. Would I be able to live comfortably renting out at the median rate with a $35-$40K starting salary? Thanks.

1. Can't speak to the school systems, but there are good schools and bad schools throughout the Phoenix metro area (which includes Tempe.)

2. You should have no trouble living comfortably on $40k a year in the Valley.

3. I have experience on this one...there are musicians of all varieties, but Phoenix / Tempe have their dominant genres and instrumentalists...plenty of guitarists / writers / "singers" and quite a few bassists, with some drummers and horn players but few keyboardists, which leads right into:

4. Music scene is erratic. Lots of metal, lots of blues, some decent jazz, lots of norteno, some country, some hip-hop. Of course, you can find other stuff, but it's not a real solid or cohesive scene. Very competitive and often unfriendly. Venue owners / managers are more typically crooks than music afficianados or smart entertainment entrepeneurs.

5. Arizonans are, as a rule, friendly...as long as you don't pull out in front of them in traffic You can strike up conversations easily enough in coffeehouses, bars, music venues, grocery stores with almost anybody fairly easily (or at least, I have)...also, the service industry is quite good in Phoenix for the most part. People are friendly, helpful and tend to make an effort for the customer, which is nice compared to some places I've lived (cough, cough, Los Angeles.)

6. Winters: Mild, 40-70 degrees, good for hiking
Summers: Hot, 90-120 degrees, dry (spend five minutes standing directly infront of an open oven...while you sweat, see if running a blow dryer across your skin makes you feel any cooler )
Monsoon (Late Summer): Still hot, dust storms, thunderstorms, downpour of rain, muggy in the morning by AZ standards, though easily tolerable if you're from back east. Probably the most fun weather of the year.
Note: The weather through most of the year is BORING in Arizona. If you like predictable, clear (and I mean clear) blue, sunny skies and dry heat every day for weeks on end, you'll enjoy it plenty. If not, look to it. Phoenix has a lot of concrete, and yes you can cook an egg (or the soles of your shoes) on the sidewalk in the summer.

7. Tempe. A lot of those students never leave Tempe. Not sure they ever stop going to school either, but everyone needs a hobby. Mill Ave is the main drag in Tempe and it's pretty during the school year, and more personal during the summer months.

8. Modern? While, I suppose technically speaking, sure, though the metro area is just now getting a transit system beyond just busses. Streets are nice, new and relatively clean. Phoenix has been home to some tech industry over the years. Air conditioning is modern, yes? Laid back? Certainly. Sometimes too much, but if you want a relaxing place to be, Arizona is a good choice. Be sure to get out into the desert. Amazingly serene.

9. People who are proud of where they...live...yeah...well...The other poster mentioned Tempe, and people from Tempe are usually pretty proud of it. Same often goes for Scottsdale just north of Tempe. On the whole, though, you'll be hard pressed to find people who will acknowledge that they live in the Phoenix area at all. Everyone is "from" somewhere else...not only literally (that happens in lots of places), but spiritually speaking if you will. People who have lived there for most of their lives still say their prior city when asked "where are you from?" It's kind of funny because now that I'm in L.A., I'm "from Phoenix." Anyway, civic pride is not something most of the Valley does well yet...

10. It's a decent place for singles, though no L.A. I'd say you have the usual 50/50 mix in the Phoenix area, with obviously more opportunity in Tempe (college town, you know.)

Hope that helps, one way or another. I'm not a big fan of Arizona's cities for the most part, with the exception of Flagstaff (where there just isn't any work.) I find Phoenix dull, Scottsdale snobby, Tucson dirty and Tempe...well, Tempe at least has the right idea. The best part about living in Arizona, though, is getting into the city parks (Papago, South Mountain, Camelback, White Tanks, Thunderbird Paseo, etc...) and even out of the city into the wilderness (desert in the low country, pines further up.) It's a hauntingly beautiful State.

Good luck!

[homesweetazhome]

Wow, Zenkonabi really took your question to heart. He's right you will like Tempe. There's 50,000 students there, so lots to do. Tons of condos, too that are really going cheap due to the market. The Tempe Public Schools vary greatly from school to school. If you have Special Education Cert. you are going to have School Districts fighting over you. And if your Bilingual, you should hurry and get out here. Tempe has a lot of music venues as does Scottsdale and Phoenix. Good luck! Oh and check out this website which shows Mill Ave. Tempe pretty well: http://www.millavenue.com/

[Nanny Goat]

Have you thought about Austin?