SCOTTSDALE, AZ - to any locals, need info. (Phoenix, Mesa: mortgage, credit)

[AZ_singlemother]

And the only thing barely keeping us here is the high gas prices - I work in N Scottsdale! Ugh, where can we go?

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ

I agree with you 100%. I bought my home for a little less than $300K 6 years ago. Currently it's worth right around $740K. I could NEVER afford the home I bought 6 years ago, I'd be priced out just like many are today. I was one of the lucky ones.

You and AOYAS are spot on. We bought our home in Scottsdale for $380K in 2002. We sold it last year for $880K. We are not millionaires nor do we try to be; we merely saw a quickly appreciating area of town, made a smart investment, then moved somewhere else with our 2 kids and minivan. We never could have afforded to buy our house in 2007!

[AZ_singlemother]

Gigi, I am so jealous of you - moving to Austin with that kind of appreciation.

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by AZ_singlemother

I think there is a race issue all over the valley But there is an issue recently where a Scottsdale police officer hit a cab driver not long ago. Living in N Scottsdale, it's all white! That is a part I hate and the longer I live here, the richer the white population gets because the rentals are not even affordable any more.

I was in a designer shoe store in N. Scottsdale a few months back and there was a well-dressed lady came and asked me to help her find her shoe size. I thought that was funny that she did not even ask if I worked there. But she was very nice enough to apologize after I told her I was not an employee. This never happened to me back in Seattle. Yeh... there're more people from SE Asia like me in Seattle than N. Scottsdale for sure...

[AZ_singlemother]

Originally Posted by SpaceNeedle

I was in a designer shoe store in N. Scottsdale a few months back and there was a well-dressed lady came and asked me to help her find her shoe size. I thought that was funny that she did not even ask if I worked there. But she was very nice enough to apologize after I told her I was not an employee. This never happened to me back in Seattle. Yeh... there're more people from SE Asia like me in Seattle than N. Scottsdale for sure...

Being from Tacoma, WA and working in Seattle myself, there is a huge different. Lot more ethnic diversity there, especially with the Asian population.

[don85259]

Being the lone, gay Democrat in a sea of conservative Republicans, you would think I would want to trash Scottsdale big time (I live around 136th Street and Shea in northeast Scottsdale). But I can't; the city has been the best investment for my partner and I ever. And most of the people we meet are very nice.

We paid $250k in 1996 for a house that is now worth more than $1.2 million. Talk about an elevator ride!

The traffic is not as bad as the rest of Phoenix; it is slightly cooler because of a higher elevation than Phoenix; and you can't beat how the city looks. The schools are top-notch; the biggest drawback is all of the BMWs and Mercedes vehicles in the parking lots (my first car was a 1974 Chevy Nova beater in Kansas City) that the spoiled little darlings drive. Other than that, I have no complaints - as I will be laughing all of the way to the bank when we sell.

--don

[deem]

Scottsdale - Smottsdale
Old, tired, wannabe's
It reminds me of Quebec - wanting to be a sovereign state of its own but feed off everyone else
I agree wth all of the above - chain restaurants, torn up streets, tired homes
You pay for the address - but you don't get your monies worth
Yes, the golf courses are even tired and worn - lack luster now

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by AZ_singlemother

Gigi, I am so jealous of you - moving to Austin with that kind of appreciation.

thanks. We picked the right lot in the right neighorhood and really fixed the house (a former rental) up nicely. Due to the hard work my husband put into our backyard, ours was the only one that sold in our neighorhood in a short amount of time. It has been a joy living in Austin. A great place to be with families and a little bit of a slower pace!

[JeepGirl118]

Originally Posted by rmulinix

What do you think of Fountain Hills ??? What are the pro's and con's ???

Well, since I live here. . .

Pro's
Fitness oriented
Gorgeous 360 views
Outside of snowbird season, average age of locals is 30-40's.
You feel like you are secluded far away from the hustle and bustle of Scottsdale - yet you are so very close.
Friendly neighbors (have lived in quite a few neighborhoods here throughout the years and they all have been great).
If you are a golfer, we have several golf courses.
Nice activities occasionally at Fountain Park (by the Fountain).
Great Art Fairs & just had a nice carnival.
Close to Fort McDowell Casino (a plus especially if you are a smoker, since cigs are so expensive off of the reservation since the tax hike)
Beautiful and interesting wildlife.



Cons
The Havelina will eat your flowers outside and your pumpkins at Halloween. I cannot tell you how much I spend on flowers per year. I gave up on putting pumpkins outside.
Since this is a training ground for Maricopa County Sheriff, plenty of Sheriff's so watch your speed.
FH's puts their own tax on gas just as Scottsdale does. Better off putting in $5 and driving to Mesa - or to Frank Lloyd Wright & Shea for gas like I do.
If you are a retail owner here (outside of grocery), Fountain Hills residents are not exactly considered loyal to their own merchants - they'll go into Scottsdale first.
Teenagers have virtually nothing to do around here except walk around town and loiter. They have a skate park for the kids now, but not every kids uses a skate board. They need things for teens to do!
Scorpion central

Now the cool thing about Fountain Hills unlike Scottsdale - is the casualness about it. Sure, there is lots of money here - and you have your snooty residents along with cool residents (like Moi ) - but you can go and eat or go to the grocery store with a wet head from having just jumped out of the pool and no one looks at you weird for having a wet head - like in Scottsdale, you would be eyeballed. Here, it is just casual and "come as you are." Even in the finer dining places here by the Fountain - have done it (after working a long day in scrubs) and no one looks at you funny. That is one thing I do like about it here - very relaxed.

[Dave in Phoenix]

On the heat.

I lived in Minneapolis about a century before moving to Phoenix 20 years ago.

The 3-4 months of 100+ heat is nothing worse than Minneapolis with "only" high 80s or low 90's but with the humidity. The rest of the year is wonderful. And even in the Summer we have neat Monsoon storms that are fun to see and cool us off briefly.

I can survive mostly indoors in air conditioned comfort very well compared to either hot and humid or very cold with snow in Minneapolis. The same comparison would be true for many Midwest cities or the heat with humidity of much of the Eastern and SE U.S.