relocating from SEA to PHX??? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: construction loan, real estate, property taxes)

[anyone101]

I am, originally, from Portland, OR and moved up to Seattle, WA for work and currently living in Seattle, WA. The job market up here is very strong hence why I would want to stay in the Seattle area and overall I liked living up here. But, the cost of housing has ALREADY gone through the roof in a lot of places but still affordable in others like Tacoma, WA and Everett, WA (which may begin to climb as other places in Snohomish Co (north of Seattle) had already gone through the roof).

So this time around if I were to move it would be because the housing is affordable. Is that still true? Particularily for Scottsdale, Tempe, and possibly some of the N Phoenix area around the Camelback Colonade & the Biltmore resort on either side of the 51. But, one thing I notice is that downtown area is cheap yet NO downtown life compare to Seattle. Lots of vacant land too. So is downtown the next hot area? What's the potential for property appreciation around downtown and which direction should I look around there? How about the areas north of the 10 from downtown like around Encanto Park and the state fairgrounds?

YES, I've noticed that in some areas of Scottsdale housing has already gone through the roof. But, how about the areas south of downtown Scottsdale (yet still WITHIN Scottsdale city limits, east of Papago Hill/Park just north of Tempe? Seems like a number of places there are reasonable?

Any comments on Tempe? The places I noticed that are shabby seems to be east of McClintock towards the 101? Is that right? How about the areas west of the I-10 between the airport and Tempe? Like by the Frye's Electronics Store opposite the freeway from Arizona Mills mall. Noticed that a lot of affordable houses there too? How about the areas of Tempe south of US60? Any good?

The areas in Tempe I am looking at are like within 5mi of ASU in any direction simply because of the downtown revitalization there, the proximately to a university, all makes for good long term appreciation.

What I mean by "affordable" house is something < $225,000 on basis of my income and how much I can make the payments. Not much of a house but I have to make do and I've been hard pressed at the amount anywhere in King Co, and the southern portions of Snohomish Co (Edmonds, Lynnwood, Bothell, Mill Creek, etc). Only thing that comes up at that is a studio or 1br/1ba condo or a house that seen better days and is ready to be demolished which means extra $$$ for construction and those construction loans are EXPENSIVE, plus $225,000 seems expenesive for land cost if you can only build a single dwelling on there.

Here's my concern is about the overall job market. It seem like it would be a hassle if I were to move, work at XYZ Architects & Engineers, LLC for x months, and they be let go because of lack experience or didn't like the job and left on my own accord. So the concern is that if the job market is on the soft side it would be harder to look for another job then in a stronger market. Here in Seattle I can almost, instantly, find another job. Simply post on monster.com and some recruiter will be calling me. No exaggeration, sarcasm, nor boasting either but that is EXACTLY what happened and it surprises me too. But, then no hurt nor co$t to me to post my resume on Monster.com so why not?

FYI I work as an architectural draftsman.

In fact, I've noticed on craigslist.org that Seattle employers are already posting for other cities outside the area looking for people to re-locate up to Seattle. But, no such thing from Phoenix. So not sure how the economy is doing and what the job market is turning out to be in the Pheonix area?

So any former Seattlites &/or Portlanders living in the PHX area like to comment on the manner? How does property taxes compare to Washington state? The reason for me to go down there, now, is because the housing is more affordable there before it shoots up to the roof while Seattle is becoming like S Francisco/S. Jose in many ways?

Anyways any comments on the above? Also before moving to PHX have you compared w/ Austin, TX or Las Vegas, NV? If so why you moved to PHX over the other two?

I am also wandering about the economic base in Phoenix and how diversified it is compared to Seattle which is home to not only Microsoft & Boeing but also for Nordstrom, Costco, Univ WA, Amazon.com, Starbucks, Nintendo, T-Mobile USA, etc etc. So that means if one industry goes bust there are others to keep the city from tanking. So how doe Phoenix compare to that and is it a bubble economy like Vegas or Detroit? In fact, Seattle used to be a bubble economy 30 some years ago relying solely on Boeing and when Boeing had a mass lay-off around 1977 the city nearly became a ghost town. There were signs posted on the way out reading "Will the last one out, turn off the lights".

[anyone101]

Oh and in the above I am picking areas that have potential for home appreciation in the near future as well as near potential places for employment. The places I found hiring are seemingly located around either north Scottsdale or Tempe. So living in either city seems more sensible.

[nevercoldcall]

I lived in the Phoenix area for 7 years before moving to CA a week ago, and I lived in many areas so here's some input:

First off, forget about south Scottsdale near the Tempe border. The crime there is just damn insane. I lived in south Scottsdale off of Hayden and Indian School roads and moved out because there were 20+ burglaries every month just in my neighborhood alone. My girlfriend also lived in the area and her car was broken into twice, as was another friend's who lived nearby. Forget anywhere in Scottsdale south of Camelback Road. Costs are low for a reason.

I can't comment on Tempe as I haven't lived there but know that the area near the Scottsdale border isn't very nice, while areas further south, particularly the Lakeshore Dr area, are very nice but also pricey.

Having lived in 4 areas of the Valley, here's my take on each one:

- South Scottsdale: Insane crime rate and very redneck/white trashey
- North Scottsdale: Very unfriendly, snobby area, rude people, overpriced.
- North-Central Phoenix: Wonderful area. Safe and the people are friendly. Downside is that it's out of the way from most of the restaurants and nightlife of the Phoenix area. It's also pricey with people like John McCain and other wealthy families in the area.
- Arcadia: Also wonderful, but seriously expensive, more so than Scottsdale. The upside though is that it's very close to both the Biltmore corridor as well as the downtown Scottsdale nightlife and tons of shopping, and it's probably the only part of the Valley that's very lush green with lots of trees & grass & shade. A bit snobby but not bad at all compared to Scottsdale.

So there's my take on the 4 areas I've lived in and my experiences there. Hopefully that helps a bit.

As to comparing Phoenix with Vegas, there's no comparison, I've lived in both and would take Phoenix anyday over Las Vegas. Vegas is a scum town and a horrible place to live.

Economically ... well ... the #1 industry in the Phoenix area is real estate, and it's all downhill for the next few years. Probably not the best economy over the next several years.