Anyone from Chicago?! (Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale: transplants, to rent, crime)

[pop77]

Hello All!

I have found your forum incredibly helpful/educational as we look to relocate. My wife and I are in our mid-30's with no children now or planned. We currently live in NW suburban Chicago and enjoy most everything but the Chicago winters (5-6 months) and the cost of living. For a better "quality of life", newer and more affordable (or reasonably priced) housing, we're looking to relocate to PHX.

We've read the posts dedicated to moving to PHX (http://www.city-data.com/forum/phoen...area-read.html) which were extremely helpful. We're looking specifically at the PHX area N of downtown / S of Happy Valley Rd, also Glendale & Scottsdale.

However, wondering if there are any former Chicagoans out there like us (from suburban Chicago, married, in our 30's both working) who might be able to shed some light on comparison between the cities and surrounding area/suburbs. If you have such experience, we'd like to know...

*** Young, friendly families/neighbors/communities and social life (not bars/clubs)...just good, normal people to BBQ w/, play poker, sit out by the pool, etc.? Easy to find friends with similar lifestyles?

***cultural diversity & activities (in a positive way)?

***tennis clubs/organizations/popularity out on AZ?

***Landmarks...Chicago has several man-made wonders as opposed to Arizona's more natural...we like both...but any specific man-made wonders worth seeing? How do they compare to Chicago?

***Insects/snakes...is it really anything to worry about if you're in a highly developed area like our target of central Scottsdale, N/NE Glendale or Central PHX (South of Happy Valley)? More confined to the outskirt regions of the city or anywhere?

Again, any insight would be helpful, but particularly from anyone originally from (or around) Chicago.

Thanks!

[synapse]

> However, wondering if there are any former Chicagoans out there like us
> (from suburban Chicago, married, in our 30's both working) who might be
> able to shed some light on comparison between the cities and surrounding
> area/suburbs. If you have such experience, we'd like to know...

Well, it's kind of different out here...there are a lot of Chicagoans, but they're rather scattered. There aren't defined neighborhoods like there are in the city of Chicago (i.e. the yuppies of Lincoln Park, the frat boys of Wrigleyville, the artist types of Bucktown, etc.) Nor are the suburbs rigidly defined - there's no "Naperville" or "Highland Park," with its respective stereotypes.

That said, there are neighborhoods with a pretty active social life and young community. The ones that come to mind immediately are Old Town Scottsdale and the area just north; the Biltmore area just east of Camelback and Central, and areas just east like Arcadia; northeast Phoenix, particularly in and around Desert Ridge; the Arrowhead community of north Glendale; and the Westgate area of west Glendale. All of those are around activities, shopping, close to other interesting areas, and tennis courts (and north Glendale is close to Vito's Pizza, which in my opinion comes about as close to Giordano's as you're going to get here.)

As for landmarks...again, in Phoenix, you're not going to find landmarks like Navy Pier or the Sears (Willis?) Tower. It's not as walkable, one of the frustrating things about Phoenix as opposed to Chicago - it's just too sprawling. However, there are landmarks such as Camelback Mountain, the Arizona Biltmore, downtown's sports stadiums, Tempe Town Lake, and Papago Park. They're just more scattered than Chicago's landmarks.

***Insects/snakes...is it really anything to worry about if you're in a highly developed area like our target of central Scottsdale, N/NE Glendale or Central PHX (South of Happy Valley)? More confined to the outskirt regions of the city or anywhere?

More outside. There *are* scorpions and snakes, but you need to be further out in the desert, usually. The fiercest creature most people encounter around Scottsdale are rabbits.

[artvandelay]

My advice is to rent first. Some midwesterners never adjust to the changes: scorching heat, general lack of greenery, endless sprawl, no defined "hot spots" whether cultural, sports, music, etc. Scottsdale is the closest thing to concentrated entertainment here. Since you don't have kids, you shouldn't have to worry too much about the overall poor schools here. People will say so and so schools are "excelling" status, but it's not the same as Chicagoland. I've heard several people say the best schools here are not as good as the best schools in the midwest/east, and the average school here is poor.

The other thing to consider is to hedge against job loss. The abundance of professional jobs here doesn't come close to Chicagoland, so relatively speaking, it's slim pickins. Taxes are low, property crime is high, it takes more effort to find cultural activities (but they can be found). You won't get most of the world-class culture that Chicago offers (Art Institute, Field Museum, etc), but I'd guess that you can replace maybe 80% of cultural stuff.

Good luck.

[LocoAZnative]

We had this women at my job and her family moved here from Chicago. All she did was complain and one year in they ran back to Chicago.

[synapse]

My wife and I have had the same problem. While the job market for both of our fields is better here, we do miss the relative walkability of Chicago. The nice areas - green areas, good restaurants, cultural opportunities, etc. - can be found. It just takes more effort than it does in Chicago.

[artvandelay]

Originally Posted by AZnative4Life

We had this women at my job and her family moved here from Chicago. All she did was complain and one year in they ran back to Chicago.

Yep, for some transplants, it's just not what's expected, and the vibe is SO different here. I give her credit for leaving a situation she didn't like, and not trapping herself here.

[Orangeish]

Originally Posted by AZnative4Life

We had this women at my job and her family moved here from Chicago. All she did was complain and one year in they ran back to Chicago.

And? Is that some sort of anecdotal evidence to try to show that people from Chicago cannot adjust?

I lived/loved the NW suburbs as well. I loved the proximity to the city, yet the distance from it as well. I recently moved to Charlotte and love it here too. Good luck and I think you'll do fine

[laadback37]

There are too many FIBs out here already...

[traveler26]

We are relocating to AZ in 2 weeks, and both my husband and I have grown up in Chicago and have never lived anywhere else. We are renting for two months first, but are looking to buy in Gilbert, AZ. We are in our late 20s and plan on having kids within the next couple of years so school districts are important to us. Gilbert seemed very family friendly and will also be where my husband is working so it was the est choice for us. We can also get a nice sized house with everything we want in our price range. We both love Scottsdale and if we could afford the same type of property there as in Gilbert and if my husband wasn't working in Gilbert we would probably have lived there. We travelled to AZ multiple times at all different times of the year to make sure we could handle the heat in the summer, etc. We are sick of the cold weather and are ready for a change of scenery and cheaper cost of living. I can update this post once we have lived there a bit and see if my feelings are still the same, but I have been there often enough that I don't see why I wouldn't live living there permanently.

[pop77]

As always, EXTREMELY HELPFUL! I'm hoping AZ natives are as friendly and supportive in-person as they are in these forums!!!

I actually expected the responses given. Yes, few places compare to Chicago. Neither my wife or I hate the city...in fact we love it...but cannot tolerate the harsh/extended winters given our lifestyle (outdoorsy types), nor the cost of living (for mostly aged homes), nor the political system/corruption, yada, yada, yada. Our relo isn't permanent yet. The answer given regarding the culture, the sprawling nature of PHX compared to Chicago, the tougher battle for employment, etc. all was about what I expected.

Altogether, we're very excited about the prospect. We'll be in AZ for five days in mid-April. We have no friends or family out there so the fresh start has us both excited and anxious at the same time.

Please keep any comparisons and feedback coming! I just can't stress enough how helpful this forum has been and I realize that most importantly, it's all open to your own interpretation and what you make of it. But observations (no matter how skewed one way or another) are ALWAYS helpful...