Job Offer in Sedona, AZ, possibly moving next month HELP!!! (Phoenix: for sale, rent)

[merayk]

Hi Everyone,

I have to start by saying THANK U to all that gives advice in this forum. Here is our situation:

Hubby is in the final stages of getting a job offer from a company in Sedona, AZ. For us to consider the salary I have to know the cost of living. We are in our mid 30s and have 2 kids, 1 year old and a 6 year old.

Our Priorities are:

1 Good Schools
2 Safe area
3 Easy Commute to work
4 3 bedroom house but we are ok with townhouse as long as, it has a little garden for the kids. It can be 2 bedroom too with an arizona room or a den.

Our budget is around $1000 to $1350. I have checked craigslist and all I can find are homes in Village of Oak Creek. Is this a nice community???Safe?? Kid friendly??

Thank u

[observer53]

I think this is the first post I've ever seen about a job offer IN Sedona. Sedona itself is fairly expensive to live in; many who work there live outside the town. Village of Oak Creek is just outside of Sedona, on the road in from Phoenix.

I don't think there's any safety problem at all there, I don't know about the school district serving Sedona and the Village of Oak Creek, but I'm sure someone else does.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

You can check schools on www.GreatSchools.net for school ratings within a state; can't compare one state to another. You put in the town or school district and you get a lot of ways to look at school ratings of many things, like % on free lunch, % passing state exams, etc.

[mcbadhair]

I work in sedona at a resort and live in cottonwood which is like a 15 mins drive to sedona. It is alot cheaper to live in cottonwood and you would save alot of money live there.

THere are alot of homes and town homes you can rent in this area for $600 and $800 that are nice.

Sedona i am sure has nice school it is a rich community. Sedona is mainly mansion and some poor homes mix together, not really any middle class homes.

THe village of oak creek has lots of condos, town homes, and homes for sale and rent that are more middle and working class people. I actually like it better in the village because sedona can get really crowd on the 89a during the day.

[merayk]

Thank you for the Cottonwood suggestion. I checked it out but it will be a lot of drive for me to get to Flagstaff. I am torn in between Oak Creek and living in Sedona. Oak Creek seems cheaper but there are some nice looking condos/town homes in Sedona for my price range too. I guess we just have to make the trip and get a feel of it. I also looked at weekly specials at Safeway and Bashas to compare and it looks cheaper for grocery shopping so far. If anyone has any other tips for living in Sedona I will appreciate it.

Thank u for the school link as well.

M

[poolgirl51]

Originally Posted by merayk

Thank you for the Cottonwood suggestion. I checked it out but it will be a lot of drive for me to get to Flagstaff. I am torn in between Oak Creek and living in Sedona. Oak Creek seems cheaper but there are some nice looking condos/town homes in Sedona for my price range too. I guess we just have to make the trip and get a feel of it. I also looked at weekly specials at Safeway and Bashas to compare and it looks cheaper for grocery shopping so far. If anyone has any other tips for living in Sedona I will appreciate it.

Thank u for the school link as well.

M

I would strongly suggest a trip to Sedona to help with your decision. The Village of Oak Creek is nice and the schools are good. There is only one IGA grocery store in the Village and most folks drive to Sedona to shop as Safeway and Bashas. You indicated that you will be driving to Flagstaff. Is the job offer in Sedona or Flagstaff?

[merayk]

The job is in Sedona but I will be driving to Flagstaff for the kids for gymnastics, dance school and activities. I searched on google but could not find any activities for the kids in Sedona or Cottonwood for sports or dance. So I assumed I will be driving about 2 times a week to Flagstaff. We are still waiting on the last decision and the minute we hear from the company, we will be on our way to visit.

[DellNec]

Originally Posted by merayk

The job is in Sedona but I will be driving to Flagstaff for the kids for gymnastics, dance school and activities. I searched on google but could not find any activities for the kids in Sedona or Cottonwood for sports or dance. So I assumed I will be driving about 2 times a week to Flagstaff. We are still waiting on the last decision and the minute we hear from the company, we will be on our way to visit.

You will be racking on A LOT of miles, and wear and tear on your car. Make sure that you are OK with that. Your going to be climbing and descending steep grades, in extreme heat and extreme cold, if you commute to Flagstaff from Sedona.

Don't forget, there is only 1 highway leading into Flagstaff from Sedona, that is Highway 89A. It is a very mountainous road, 2-lane highway, with steep turns, inclines, declines, and it can & does get shut down due to snow and ice during winter. In that case, you would have to go WAY out of your way to take I-17, which also can shut down, but it is nowhere near as bad as Hwy 89A.

A friend of mine will not even drive on that highway (89A) due to the steep mountain drops and turns. Many people lose their lives on that highway. It is not for the weak hearted. I would drive it at least 1 time while you are out there.

Like the others said, Sedona is an expensive town to live in. Cottonwood would be less expensive & the drive would be 1000x better from Cottonwood to Sedona, than from Sedona to Flagstaff.

[kdog]

Originally Posted by DellNec

A friend of mine will not even drive on that highway (89A) due to the steep mountain drops and turns. Many people lose their lives on that highway. It is not for the weak hearted.

Oh fer pete's sake, it's not that bad.

After you drive it the first couple of times, you'll hardly notice it. However, the snow and tourist traffic are real problems and could slow you down considerably. I'd figure on allowing an hour to drive that section of road (23 miles I believe).

[observer53]

Originally Posted by DellNec

A friend of mine will not even drive on that highway (89A) due to the steep mountain drops and turns. Many people lose their lives on that highway. It is not for the weak hearted. I would drive it at least 1 time while you are out there.

Originally Posted by kdog

Oh fer pete's sake, it's not that bad.

After you drive it the first couple of times, you'll hardly notice it. However, the snow and tourist traffic are real problems and could slow you down considerably. I'd figure on allowing an hour to drive that section of road (23 miles I believe).

Agree with kdog. "Many people lose their lives"??? I really doubt that. I suspect similar length stretches of 93 between Phx and Kingman have more fatalities, and are much flatter. It's NOT that dangerous.

89A is NOT a fast commute, though, and weather will complicate it in the winter. You may well get tired of all those trips to Flagstaff.