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Hello everyone! This thread is for newcomers to Arizona or anyone else who would like to chime in with their experiences upon moving here.
I moved to Arizona on September 6th. I love it so far. Phoenix is big, so much bigger than I ever imagined which is fine by me. I love how everything is spread out. I must admit the highways take a little getting used to with all the loops going every which way. Thank goodness for Google maps!!! The weather is perfect here!! I like it warm! I must have been a lizard in my past life! LOL I like the fact that there is so much to do and there are so many Meetup events to choose from. There is no way you can be bored here. It's something else!
I found a rental at my very first Meetup event. I don't have any cable or internet in my room so I make due because I see it as a transition. That sort of thinking keeps me calm. I'm currently working a temp assignment and I'm entering my third week now as a temp and I'm enjoying it very much. I work with a terrific group of people! It's a joy to come into work! I also start a permanent weekend job at a law firm this weekend. I might get a third job as a seasonal if I have to in order to survive this transition. It's not forever is what I tell myself. Two jobs is plenty in my humble opinion, but I love to work. Feels great after having such a hard time finding work in South Florida. This is way better!
As a newcomer, I love the fact that there are so many stores here, but at the moment I don't have any money to shop! There are just so many choices for food, clothing, etc. that it's unbelievable! They have everything at your fingertips here. I love that so much of Phoenix is very clean for the most part, especially in Chandler and Gilbert and I just love the relaxed peaceful pace. I love the burritos from Del Taco. They are super delicious, especially the avocado chicken! Yummy!
I love the beauty of Arizona and I think the beauty is all over the valley!! I love the rock formations that dot the valley with almost every turn!! A lot of Arizona is breathtaking! I love Carefree! I love the sunsets! Today's is a beautiful mix of purple and pink hues. Very pretty! I love the view of the mountains traveling through Flagstaff! It was soooo beautiful!! I'm a little nervous with mountain driving (I have a fear of steep heights! Don't look down!) I need to adapt coming from a very flat location, but the valley is flat so I'm content. Some people drive so FAST going down those mountains in Flagstaff!! Yikes!
This past weekend I drove up to New Mexico, which is also very beautiful for the balloon festival in ALBQ and to visit with my brother's family. They took me to the top of Sandia Crest. I got "mountain sickness" for the very first time in my life, but the mountain was over 10,678 ft so it is what it is. It felt like I was experiencing an earthquake!! It was a very twisty road up the mountain so I could feel my stomach churning as we went up if you know what I mean!! All of this passed within an hour after I promptly got off the mountain! My brother was feeling lightheaded so he was quite okay with getting the heck out of there! Yikes! It was sooo cold in ALBQ, but it warmed up later in the day. It was 49 degrees (SUPER COLD FOR ME!!) first thing Sunday morning, but the air was cool, mild and crisp by midday. Very nice!!
Plenty of jobs out here in Phoenix, BUT many don't pay very much at all, but corporations are moving here so things might change for the better in the future. A few pay more but not many. Even some of the top law firms in the area want to get staff for as low as $11/hr. That's crazy! It's hard enough to make it on $15, let alone $11/hr. I would forever be renting a small room at that rate if that's the case. I'm not giving up though! I believe it takes time.
My goal is to get a solid full-time job and rent my own place. Until that happens, I will bite the bullet and adapt to what is possible. I don't think I'll hold out for too long. One can only take so much. I have a very strong faith in the Lord that keeps me sane so everything is fine at the moment. I can make due with very little!
As for being homesick, I miss my mom so much! I wasn't expecting that. We have been so close for the past seven years. We helped one another ALL THE TIME! She moved to Connecticut at the same time I moved to Phoenix. I really can't see myself in CT. I have mild arthritis and I hate shoveling snow. My eyes water up and puff up in the cold really bad (I think I went through a hundred eye creams promising relief when I lived up NORTH! LOL) and I wear contact lenses, which makes it worse and I get sick almost every winter without fail in the Northeast. My mom told me yesterday that she wants to go back to Florida because it's sooo cold in CT and mind you, she's 81 and has osteoarthritis! Can you imagine how she feels? She's having a hard time with her transition, but she needs her surgery first. She said she'd buy warmer clothing in the meantime. She'll get excellent doctors in Connecticut! If need be, I'll drop everything for her because she is very IMPORTANT to me! She currently has three of my brothers and my sister near her to help out. People come and go, but family is FOREVER!
I told her that if I make it in Arizona, I could have her stay with me when she does her rehab. The winters here will be a far cry from the cold ones she'll experience in CT and NO SNOW!!! One step at a time. I don't know what the future holds. All of us are taking it one day at a time!
So how was your transition? What did you think of Phoenix when you arrived? Did you have mixed emotions? I imagine that's normal for everyone! It takes time to ADAPT!
Welcome and glad to hear that you're liking it so far! I keep waiting for the honeymoon phase to wear off, but I still get excited over the palm trees, mountains and sunsets. The thought of a nice, mild winter ahead of us doesn't hurt either!
Hello everyone! This thread is for newcomers to Arizona or anyone else who would like to chime in with their experiences upon moving here.
I moved to Arizona on September 6th. I love it so far. Phoenix is big, so much bigger than I ever imagined which is fine by me. I love how everything is spread out. I must admit the highways take a little getting used to with all the loops going every which way. Thank goodness for Google maps!!! The weather is perfect here!! I like it warm! I must have been a lizard in my past life! LOL I like the fact that there is so much to do and there are so many Meetup events to choose from. There is no way you can be bored here. It's something else!
I found a rental at my very first Meetup event. I don't have any cable or internet in my room so I make due because I see it as a transition. That sort of thinking keeps me calm. I'm currently working a temp assignment and I'm entering my third week now as a temp and I'm enjoying it very much. I work with a terrific group of people! It's a joy to come into work! I also start a permanent weekend job at a law firm this weekend. I might get a third job as a seasonal if I have to in order to survive this transition. It's not forever is what I tell myself. Two jobs is plenty in my humble opinion, but I love to work. Feels great after having such a hard time finding work in South Florida. This is way better!
As a newcomer, I love the fact that there are so many stores here, but at the moment I don't have any money to shop! There are just so many choices for food, clothing, etc. that it's unbelievable! They have everything at your fingertips here. I love that so much of Phoenix is very clean for the most part, especially in Chandler and Gilbert and I just love the relaxed peaceful pace. I love the burritos from Del Taco. They are super delicious, especially the avocado chicken! Yummy!
I love the beauty of Arizona and I think the beauty is all over the valley!! I love the rock formations that dot the valley with almost every turn!! A lot of Arizona is breathtaking! I love Carefree! I love the sunsets! Today's is a beautiful mix of purple and pink hues. Very pretty! I love the view of the mountains traveling through Flagstaff! It was soooo beautiful!! I'm a little nervous with mountain driving (I have a fear of steep heights! Don't look down!) I need to adapt coming from a very flat location, but the valley is flat so I'm content. Some people drive so FAST going down those mountains in Flagstaff!! Yikes!
This past weekend I drove up to New Mexico, which is also very beautiful for the balloon festival in ALBQ and to visit with my brother's family. They took me to the top of Sandia Crest. I got "mountain sickness" for the very first time in my life, but the mountain was over 10,678 ft so it is what it is. It felt like I was experiencing an earthquake!! It was a very twisty road up the mountain so I could feel my stomach churning as we went up if you know what I mean!! All of this passed within an hour after I promptly got off the mountain! My brother was feeling lightheaded so he was quite okay with getting the heck out of there! Yikes! It was sooo cold in ALBQ, but it warmed up later in the day. It was 49 degrees (SUPER COLD FOR ME!!) first thing Sunday morning, but the air was cool, mild and crisp by midday. Very nice!!
Plenty of jobs out here in Phoenix, BUT many don't pay very much at all, but corporations are moving here so things might change for the better in the future. A few pay more but not many. Even some of the top law firms in the area want to get staff for as low as $11/hr. That's crazy! It's hard enough to make it on $15, let alone $11/hr. I would forever be renting a small room at that rate if that's the case. I'm not giving up though! I believe it takes time.
My goal is to get a solid full-time job and rent my own place. Until that happens, I will bite the bullet and adapt to what is possible. I don't think I'll hold out for too long. One can only take so much. I have a very strong faith in the Lord that keeps me sane so everything is fine at the moment. I can make due with very little!
As for being homesick, I miss my mom so much! I wasn't expecting that. We have been so close for the past seven years. We helped one another ALL THE TIME! She moved to Connecticut at the same time I moved to Phoenix. I really can't see myself in CT. I have mild arthritis and I hate shoveling snow. My eyes water up and puff up in the cold really bad (I think I went through a hundred eye creams promising relief when I lived up NORTH! LOL) and I wear contact lenses, which makes it worse and I get sick almost every winter without fail in the Northeast. My mom told me yesterday that she wants to go back to Florida because it's sooo cold in CT and mind you, she's 81 and has osteoarthritis! Can you imagine how she feels? She's having a hard time with her transition, but she needs her surgery first. She said she'd buy warmer clothing in the meantime. She'll get excellent doctors in Connecticut! If need be, I'll drop everything for her because she is very IMPORTANT to me! She currently has three of my brothers and my sister near her to help out. People come and go, but family is FOREVER!
I told her that if I make it in Arizona, I could have her stay with me when she does her rehab. The winters here will be a far cry from the cold ones she'll experience in CT and NO SNOW!!! One step at a time. I don't know what the future holds. All of us are taking it one day at a time!
So how was your transition? What did you think of Phoenix when you arrived? Did you have mixed emotions? I imagine that's normal for everyone! It takes time to ADAPT!
P.S. I haven't seen one scorpion yet! Thankfully!
You moved here from South Florida, huh? Glad you like the valley so far! This place is a nice change of pace if you are looking to get out of the rat race. I am always curious as to what leads people out here because the desert Is a different way of living.
My experience was VERY similar to yours. I have been here for a year now after pulling up stakes in Iowa and have never looked back! I was originally from ND and all my family is there, so I went through the whole homesick thing when I moved to Iowa. The first couple of years, I made about 4 or 5 trips per year back home, then it tapered down to 2 or 3 trips, and finally just 1 trip per year. You will eventually get accustomed to it. Give it time. You have the right approach of getting out and meeting people and making friends at work. That will help you develop a new "family" here.
Here in Sun City West, most of the residents came from other states, so everyone is kind of in the same boat and so they are very friendly. There are lots of social activities here too that allow for meeting new people and making friends. Although, I have been so busy with my hobbies and house that I have not availed myself of too many of these social activities yet. Maybe soon!
I agree with DetroitN8V, love the palm trees, mountains, and sunsets! AND THE WEATHER!!!! It's like living in paradise! And like you, I don't mind the heat at all.... Give me heat over cold ANY day!
You are right about the low pay here. Fortunately, I was retired when I moved here. I did have a contract job in Phoenix shortly after moving for about 5 months. But that only paid about 75% of what I made in Iowa. After that gig was over, I kind of lost my enthusiasm for looking for anything new because of the low pay.
Your mom probably would do a lot better here in this climate. I have mild arthritis and while it is not cured since I am living here, it is definitely better.
After living here a year, I haven't seen a scorpion either!
I moved here from Denver, CO back in June. I'm liking it here so far, weather is fabulous, sunny weather most of the time. The local people in PV are friendly, less like a city and more rural. With winter approaching, I will not miss the deep snow or blizzards in Colorado. Cost of living is cheaper, more along the national average where it should be which is great.
As far as Phoenix, I make a trip down there 1-2 times a month for shopping, or checking out stuff. Haven't gone to any museums or downtown, the Phoenix zoo or anything like that yet. The highways and interstates are miles ahead of Denver. If I ever want to make a trip to Vegas or California, it's not a long drive roughly 12-18 hours, it's much closer like 8 hours or 4-5 hours to Vegas.
Location: The edge of the world and all of Western civilization
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My situation is a bit different than that of most people who move here. I had to move to Oklahoma to ride out the recession and loathed it there. Unfortunately, moving out of state seemed to be harder from there so I sought help from a career counselor. She advised me that Oklahoma has a bit of a stigma attached to it, which explained the lack of responses. Her advice to get out of Oklahoma faster and to a more preferred city was to choose a different class of cities to which relocation would be easier. In the end, among four cities Phoenix bit first so it's where I moved to. When I got here, I was undecided what to do because the initial plan was to develop my career and relocate at a later date, but I also thought if it worked for me I'd look into staying.
Through most of last year I enjoyed it here, but was starting to get irritated with things toward the end of 2015. At the time I was living with a roommate and my commute was much longer than I wanted (East Phoenix, work downtown). On top of that, I felt like the things I wanted to do more regularly were too far. I ended up moving out on my own just to see if things would be better. They were at first, but it wasn't enough.
To me, if I want to make a place a home I need to plug myself into it and accept it for all its benefits and faults, which means I look more into local news, events, politics, culture, economy, etc. In terms of career, I'm not going to advance in Phoenix even if I move to a different company because the economy just isn't where it ought to be for a city this size. A lot of people seem to move here and keep their distance from the city and state, which I think is leading to a lot of problems that are just going to be harder and costlier to fix as time goes on. As an LGBT person, I can do better in terms of the local scene, and though many people who can't identify like to say it's LGBT-friendly, outside of a small sliver of town it really isn't. I was also hoping to see potential for long-term growth, development and prosperity, and I'm not confident any city in Arizona can deliver that. While in general the Phoenix area has a lot of entertainment, dining, nightlife, etc. venues, it still seems a bit behind and lacking. All things considered, there just isn't enough of an incentive to stay and try to make it work. It feels to me like staying here would just be settling, as though I have no ambition or aspirations and would be content just drifting through life rather than trying to make something of myself.
Seriously though, it sounds like you have the perfect positive attitude to make things work for you. My limited experience with jumping into a new location is that though AZ does seem to start you somewhat low, you will advance in wages faster. At least that is how it was for me when I first moved here in '97 compared to moving cold to WA in 2005.
OP you made the right choice to pick Arizona over Texas. Welcome to the real wild west
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They have everything at your fingertips here. I love that so much of Phoenix is very clean for the most part, especially in Chandler and Gilbert and I just love the relaxed peaceful pace. I love the burritos from Del Taco. They are super delicious, especially the avocado chicken! Yummy! 
I'm not giving up though! I believe it takes time.
