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Old 01-26-2010, 11:09 PM
 
Location: AZ
1,465 posts, read 4,556,988 times
Reputation: 793

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Or should I say "over-thinking"? Maybe just think of this as a rant with which I hope some people can give their input to.

I've been thinking a lot. I'm going to be done with classes come this spring. My plan is to move to the Phoenix area, as most of you know.

The problem is, part of me is somewhat being a devil's advocate - trying to steer me away from it. I want to move away from the Midwest, that's for sure. But I'm starting to wonder if Phoenix is the 100% best fit for me:

I'm worried about the job market. I'm sure I'll be able to get a decent job. I will be able to market myself as I have work experience as well as I'll have a college degree under my belt.

Houses. After searching a lot of houses lately, I've come to the conclusion that the only affordable post-2005 houses are either on the fringes of the Valley or in bad areas. I haven't found anything in the sub $275k range that's even desirable in a decent proximity to Central Phoenix and Tempe (meaning less than 15 minute commute to Tempe and less than 25 minute commute to Central Phoenix). Obviously that's not a big deal to the parents, but I'm just thinking for myself one day, when I'd like to buy a house. There's a lot of old houses (pre 1999), and they're just not my cup of tea.

Everything is so spread out. Don't get me wrong, I love the feeling of wide open spaces. But it's almost ridiculous how car oriented things are. Affordable property by light rail and decent bus routes to more urban areas of the Valley look to me to be unheard of, for the specifications I'd like in a house.

All of that ties into the "stuff to do" category. There's a LOT of stuff to do in the Valley. I know that. But what bothers me is it's all so spread out. That will be something that's tough for someone as young as me. Even if I were to find a house to my specifications, I'd have to drive like 25 minutes or more to the hot spots. (Tempe, Scottsdale, Central Phoenix)

Now to the positive: I absolutely adore Phoenix and the surrounding area. I love the desert. I love all the native plants everywhere. I love the abundant sunshine. I love the heat. I love the mountains. I just love the feel in the air that I get when I'm there. I have made my love for the area apparent on this board. There's no where else I can really see my self. But all the stuff I said above is really bothering me, and maybe I'm just seeing something from a skewed perspective.

Anyone have any comments or advice? Is there some place that would fit me better? Or am I just over-analyzing things?
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Old 01-26-2010, 11:48 PM
 
Location: Peoria, AZ
1,064 posts, read 2,655,556 times
Reputation: 429
I would listen to your inner voice... keep looking. Your assessment sounds accurate to me. I have said before in all honesty this place has made me feel much older than I really am because its mostly a population of weather wimps and retirees.

The things you list as positives get old real quick and it doesn't sound like its enough to outweigh what your complaints. Love the desert and heat all you like but most of its covered by tract housing and repetitive strip malls, so to me it doesn't feel like a desert until you leave the city.

I would think smaller than Phoenix if I were you. Someplace that has much less snow and cold than Minnesota, but maybe someplace smaller that will have newer things closer to the core, and a place that actually has room to grow. I don't personally see how Phoenix can succeed in growing when all the growth is moving to unrealistic corners and no real plans for mass transit to connect it all.

And since it can't succeed in growing, which is its ONLY "industry", there is no reason to expect a turnaround anytime soon.

My personal feeling is you need to detach your hatred of snow from your decision process. Its making you want to run in the complete opposite direction when you can pick something less extreme that hasn't already exploded, collapsed and stagnated like here.

There are alot of places going through difficulty but those same places are not as volatile and self destructive as Phoenix was... so I think that bears some serious consideration given your concerns about the economy.
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Old 01-27-2010, 12:25 AM
 
Location: Minnesota
256 posts, read 661,949 times
Reputation: 190
Personally, I think you are doing the same thing as I do: over analyzing. I also live in MN (West Central) where the nearest thing to do is at least 1.5 hours to drive. For a yr or so, I have been going back & forth between Tucson, Phoenix, or Denver. I am now definitely leaning toward Phoenix. I just don't want to deal with the snow anymore. Period.
That said, I think your profile says it all. You love Phoenix. The heat, the mountains, desert, & what comes with. You feel at home when you are there--then in my opinion, that's where you should be. The problems will work themselves out. You can sit & think about any city & find something bad about it if you do it long enough. BTW, I am sure you know how easy that is on these boards.
The advice I've always gotten: Find the place you love, the rest will follow. As for me, I'm going to take my paralegal degree & move myself to a nice warm place. If I need snow, I'll take a vacation. Good luck.
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Old 01-27-2010, 12:50 AM
 
Location: 602/520
2,441 posts, read 6,979,112 times
Reputation: 1815
Move to Phoenix in 30-35 years. This is no place to spend your youth. Move to an action packed city like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, or even Las Vegas and come here when you're ready to live a quieter lifestyle.

There are a lot of elderly people here, things are spread out, the "stuff to do here" is really stuff you can do in any major city, and the constant wake up-go to work-come home-go to sleep routine will be tedious, especially when you won't have the energy to drive to other parts of the Valley to have fun.

Yes, Phoenix is signficantly warmer than Duluth. Every major city in this country is warmer than Duluth. Do not let weather be the primary motivation to move down here. You can look at the threads and threads of people in Arizona and Florida who thought moving to the Sunbelt was going to rid their lives of all problems. Many of those same people express massive regret for moving so far.

The fact that you're banking on getting a job while you're here tells me that you already have a pie-in-the-sky dream of what your life will be like here. We have a high unemployment rate now and there are hundreds of applicants competing for every $9 and $10/hour job that comes along. What if you don't get a job as quickly as you think you will? What will you do for money? How will you pay your rent? How will you pay your utility bill? How will you eat? How will you pay your car insurance? How will you pay for gas? What if your car breaks down, how will you pay to get it fixed? What if you get a job that pays signficantly less than what you thought you were going to earn? These are all questions that you should have definitively answered before moving here.

The warm weather is not going to solve life's issues.
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Old 01-27-2010, 01:07 AM
 
Location: Minnesota
256 posts, read 661,949 times
Reputation: 190
Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiman View Post
Move to Phoenix in 30-35 years. This is no place to spend your youth. Move to an action packed city like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, or even Las Vegas and come here when you're ready to live a quieter lifestyle.

There are a lot of elderly people here, things are spread out, the "stuff to do here" is really stuff you can do in any major city, and the constant wake up-go to work-come home-go to sleep routine will be tedious, especially when you won't have the energy to drive to other parts of the Valley to have fun.

Yes, Phoenix is signficantly warmer than Duluth. Every major city in this country is warmer than Duluth. Do not let weather be the primary motivation to move down here. You can look at the threads and threads of people in Arizona and Florida who thought moving to the Sunbelt was going to rid their lives of all problems. Many of those same people express massive regret for moving so far.

The fact that you're banking on getting a job while you're here tells me that you already have a pie-in-the-sky dream of what your life will be like here. We have a high unemployment rate now and there are hundreds of applicants competing for every $9 and $10/hour job that comes along. What if you don't get a job as quickly as you think you will? What will you do for money? How will you pay your rent? How will you pay your utility bill? How will you eat? How will you pay your car insurance? How will you pay for gas? What if your car breaks down, how will you pay to get it fixed? What if you get a job that pays signficantly less than what you thought you were going to earn? These are all questions that you should have definitively answered before moving here.

The warm weather is not going to solve life's issues.
You can ask those same questions everywhere, not just in Phoenix.
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Old 01-27-2010, 02:13 AM
 
10,494 posts, read 27,117,790 times
Reputation: 6716
Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiman View Post
Move to Phoenix in 30-35 years. This is no place to spend your youth. Move to an action packed city like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, or even Las Vegas and come here when you're ready to live a quieter lifestyle.
I completely agree. Phoenix is dull and boring for younger people. I finally left when I was 30 years old. However, I would personally recommend San Diego for Acrylic. San Diego is hip and cool, and has great weather. They also do not have the severe earthquakes that LA and San Francisco have. Denver is really cold so that defeats the purpose. A few years ago I would definitely recommended Las Vegas. However, the recession has pretty much killed all job opportunities here. Las Vegas is definitely a much more interesting and fun place to live otherwise.
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Old 01-27-2010, 02:48 AM
 
919 posts, read 3,382,741 times
Reputation: 585
You should try changing your cup of tea. If you're fixated on post-2005 houses, of course they are going to be on the fringes. The metro area grew outward, fast, so the newer houses tend to be in the outer burbs where developers had loads of room and cheap land. Finding a new home in more established areas where the majority of homes are 20, 30 or 60 years old is a rarity, and if you do - it's likely an expensive rebuild. Finding a cheap, but new home in a mature area is rarer still. Pick any city in the world and that concept is valid.

If you want to live in most urban cores, and budget is a concern, the trade-off is getting something smaller, older, slightly dented, etc. and then making it your own. It might not be your ideal move-in ready cup of tea, but the nice thing about an older home is that you can make it into whatever tea you'd like... a sleek version of the original design or a complete makeover that's as new and modern as you'd like. Some of the coolest places in town are modernized "older spaces." On the flip side, most of the mid-range, newer neighborhoods are completely void of character... nice and cookie cutter, but utterly boring.
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Old 01-27-2010, 08:45 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
38,955 posts, read 50,866,357 times
Reputation: 28134
Quote:
Originally Posted by las vegas drunk View Post
I completely agree. Phoenix is dull and boring for younger people. I finally left when I was 30 years old. However, I would personally recommend San Diego for Acrylic. San Diego is hip and cool, and has great weather. They also do not have the severe earthquakes that LA and San Francisco have. Denver is really cold so that defeats the purpose. A few years ago I would definitely recommended Las Vegas. However, the recession has pretty much killed all job opportunities here. Las Vegas is definitely a much more interesting and fun place to live otherwise.
If OP can't handle 275K in Phoenix then SD is out of the question. 275 buys a heck of a house here now. I suspect the same thing would be 400K in SD. I also don't know how hip and cool SD is. I see mostly retirees and Zonies there.


Las Vegas is a possibility except that the economy there is worse than PHX and appears to be going the wrong direction. Not a lot of high paying jobs in LV, even before the recession. Talk about single industry.

Anyhow, Acrylic, have you considered an apartment life with your folks? I am getting on a bit and when I was younger would never have like that. But there are some nice places that have garages and pools and multiple bedrooms - like a house almost without the maintenance. Your folks might have some difficulty with the concept - I know I would - but it might be worth looking at some of the nicer, larger properties when you are out here next time. Maybe when they saw the granite and the balcony overlooking the pool they would warm to the idea. Same thing with condos. You can buy them for a song right now. The reason apts are attractive is that you can find them everywhere including the more active parts of the city.

As for PHX vs ? There are zillions of young people here. It's a myth that PHX is full of retirees. It is actually one of our younger cities. Good grief, ASU is the largest campus in the country now. Of course Phoenix is right for young people. It is America's newest city. It is growing faster than just about anywhere. The growth means prospects here are better than many, many places in the US. A guy on here can't sell his house and concludes that the entire economic basis of the region is faulted. Ignore him.

As for things to do. Scottsdale is full of night spots. Westgate is hopping weekends and especially on sports nights. Yes, yes, yes, you have to drive! You get used to it or you get old before your time. Driving to things is a fact of life in this city just like the heat. If it's going to make you insane, then you better live somewhere else. But I think you would adjust - you seem the adjustable type from your posts.

Like I've said in other posts, I rarely if ever hear anyone saying they hate Phoenix. I would say 80% of the people I meet LOVE it here. Some are homesick but can deal with it. Maybe 1 in 50 sounds like the malcontents on this forum. The odds of you becoming one of them - given you have been here and are enamored of the place - are slim. I think you will be in the vast majority that finds a lifestyle they really enjoy out here. My only advice - don't marry a local girl. If you do you will never get out of here alive - no matter how much you hate it.

Last edited by Ponderosa; 01-27-2010 at 09:03 AM..
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Old 01-27-2010, 09:10 AM
 
Location: AZ
1,465 posts, read 4,556,988 times
Reputation: 793
Thanks all for your replies! I wasn't expecting to get so many in such a short time frame! Where do I begin...

Quote:
Originally Posted by cmist View Post
I would think smaller than Phoenix if I were you. Someplace that has much less snow and cold than Minnesota, but maybe someplace smaller that will have newer things closer to the core, and a place that actually has room to grow. I don't personally see how Phoenix can succeed in growing when all the growth is moving to unrealistic corners and no real plans for mass transit to connect it all.

And since it can't succeed in growing, which is its ONLY "industry", there is no reason to expect a turnaround anytime soon.

My personal feeling is you need to detach your hatred of snow from your decision process. Its making you want to run in the complete opposite direction when you can pick something less extreme that hasn't already exploded, collapsed and stagnated like here.
I would possibly think smaller than Phoenix, but then the problem lies in the fact that cities smaller than Phoenix tend to have less jobs available. But that's as far as I know, I could be wrong.

It's also hard to detach myself from my hatred of snow. I absolutely hate when it snows here because I hate the risks of driving in it. It's really not fun and can be downright dangerous. I wouldn't mind if a place had highs of normally 30's and 40's in the winter, just as long as it was sunny.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarimn00 View Post
That said, I think your profile says it all. You love Phoenix. The heat, the mountains, desert, & what comes with. You feel at home when you are there--then in my opinion, that's where you should be. The problems will work themselves out. You can sit & think about any city & find something bad about it if you do it long enough. BTW, I am sure you know how easy that is on these boards.
Thanks for your input. That's what one side of me is telling me, while the other side is being the devil's advocate of sorts and making me re-think and over-think things.

Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiman View Post
Move to Phoenix in 30-35 years. This is no place to spend your youth. Move to an action packed city like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, or even Las Vegas and come here when you're ready to live a quieter lifestyle.
The problem with those cities (other than Denver, and I'm sure LV, but can't say since I don't know about that city at all) is that they're very expensive. The thought of LA crossed my mind, but my hope of ever buying a house there just seems impossible. Plus the pollution, traffic, etc... I just couldn't deal with that. With San Francisco, the cost of living is even higher, and I heard it's foggy a lot there. I don't like fog either.

Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiman View Post
Yes, Phoenix is signficantly warmer than Duluth. Every major city in this country is warmer than Duluth. Do not let weather be the primary motivation to move down here.
Yeah Duluth definitely is one of the coldest cities in the whole contiguous US. It's not just weather that's motivating me to move down there. My cousin's down there, my sisters are moving down, and in a couple years my parents are planning on moving down. I'll have my immediate family there, so I see that as a huge factor as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by las vegas drunk View Post
I completely agree. Phoenix is dull and boring for younger people. I finally left when I was 30 years old. However, I would personally recommend San Diego for Acrylic. San Diego is hip and cool, and has great weather. They also do not have the severe earthquakes that LA and San Francisco have. Denver is really cold so that defeats the purpose. A few years ago I would definitely recommended Las Vegas. However, the recession has pretty much killed all job opportunities here. Las Vegas is definitely a much more interesting and fun place to live otherwise.
I personally think that Phoenix would be less dull if there was more of a "center of action". There is truly A LOT to do in Phoenix. It's just all so spread out. So, I'd rather not spend my whole night driving. I'd like to go from one place to another and not have to drive 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there, another 15 minutes to another spot, etc.

San Diego sounds awesome. The only problem is the cost of living. I hear of so many people struggling to live out there (and LA and San Francisco). It's kind of scary.

Though Denver is cold, I'm wondering if it's at all comparable to Duluth? Does Denver get snow in November, and it stays on the ground until April, or does it melt relatively quickly? I wouldn't mind that all too much.

Quote:
Originally Posted by joninaz View Post
You should try changing your cup of tea. If you're fixated on post-2005 houses, of course they are going to be on the fringes. The metro area grew outward, fast, so the newer houses tend to be in the outer burbs where developers had loads of room and cheap land. Finding a new home in more established areas where the majority of homes are 20, 30 or 60 years old is a rarity, and if you do - it's likely an expensive rebuild. Finding a cheap, but new home in a mature area is rarer still. Pick any city in the world and that concept is valid.

If you want to live in most urban cores, and budget is a concern, the trade-off is getting something smaller, older, slightly dented, etc. and then making it your own. It might not be your ideal move-in ready cup of tea, but the nice thing about an older home is that you can make it into whatever tea you'd like... a sleek version of the original design or a complete makeover that's as new and modern as you'd like. Some of the coolest places in town are modernized "older spaces." On the flip side, most of the mid-range, newer neighborhoods are completely void of character... nice and cookie cutter, but utterly boring.
You're right. I guess I shouldn't be concerned about getting an older house really. The only fear I have of that is if someone died in the house. As stupid as it sounds, I could never live in a house where someone died (even peacefully of old age). I do love the historic areas of Phoenix. the Encanto area is beautiful. That's the only one I really saw though and I just loved the proximity to Central Phoenix and just the way things were around there.

But you're right about the cookie cutter homes. They are nice looking, but they're void of any character. You can see the same house in a different shade a couple houses down - or even worse in another city. I saw that while there, seeing a house I saw in Chandler over in Gilbert. That was a big "whaaa?" moment for me.
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Old 01-27-2010, 09:24 AM
 
Location: AZ
1,465 posts, read 4,556,988 times
Reputation: 793
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa View Post
If OP can't handle 275K in Phoenix then SD is out of the question. 275 buys a heck of a house here now. I suspect the same thing would be 400K in SD. I also don't know how hip and cool SD is. I see mostly retirees and Zonies there.


Las Vegas is a possibility except that the economy there is worse than PHX and appears to be going the wrong direction. Not a lot of high paying jobs in LV, even before the recession. Talk about single industry.

Anyhow, Acrylic, have you considered an apartment life with your folks? I am getting on a bit and when I was younger would never have like that. But there are some nice places that have garages and pools and multiple bedrooms - like a house almost without the maintenance. Your folks might have some difficulty with the concept - I know I would - but it might be worth looking at some of the nicer, larger properties when you are out here next time. Maybe when they saw the granite and the balcony overlooking the pool they would warm to the idea. Same thing with condos. You can buy them for a song right now. The reason apts are attractive is that you can find them everywhere including the more active parts of the city.

As for PHX vs ? There are zillions of young people here. It's a myth that PHX is full of retirees. It is actually one of our younger cities. Good grief, ASU is the largest campus in the country now. Of course Phoenix is right for young people. It is America's newest city. It is growing faster than just about anywhere. The growth means prospects here are better than many, many places in the US. A guy on here can't sell his house and concludes that the entire economic basis of the region is faulted. Ignore him.

As for things to do. Scottsdale is full of night spots. Westgate is hopping weekends and especially on sports nights. Yes, yes, yes, you have to drive! You get used to it or you get old before your time. Driving to things is a fact of life in this city just like the heat. If it's going to make you insane, then you better live somewhere else. But I think you would adjust - you seem the adjustable type from your posts.

Like I've said in other posts, I rarely if ever hear anyone saying they hate Phoenix. I would say 80% of the people I meet LOVE it here. Some are homesick but can deal with it. Maybe 1 in 50 sounds like the malcontents on this forum. The odds of you becoming one of them - given you have been here and are enamored of the place - are slim. I think you will be in the vast majority that finds a lifestyle they really enjoy out here. My only advice - don't marry a local girl. If you do you will never get out of here alive - no matter how much you hate it.
About the SD thing, yeah it seems like houses are a lot more expensive in SD. Almost ridiculous. But I know I could afford a house at 275k once I get a good job, it's just a matter of what KIND of house. Though I may look at something a little older for myself.

An apartment would be out of the question for my parents. They don't like the idea of "downgrading". We have a custom built home here in Duluth on a nice piece of land. And I will not live with my parents after moving there. I'll have done that for way too long. I'm ready to be on my own. Or at least have roomies.

Very true that there's tons of young people in Phoenix. That's why I like Tempe so much. There's a ton of people closer to my age there.

I do believe I could adjust to the driving thing. But that's the whole reason I want to be in a more "central" location, so I don't have to drive such extraordinarily lengths. Driving from the SE corner of Gilbert (if I were to live there) to Tempe just to have a good time on a Saturday just doesn't sound appealing to me. So I don't mind a short drive, but long drives - no thanks.

And I wouldn't mind finding a local girl from there in Phoenix. It's the Minnesota girls you gotta watch out for. They'll never leave this place
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