Artsy Chicago couple looking to explore / move to Arizona / Tucson? (Phoenix: rent, houseboat)

[Caves19]

I’m from Chicago now live in Arizona. I plan to move back to Chicago within the next few years. It’s my kind of town.

[Caves19]

Originally Posted by annagene12

Hi all,

My boyfriend and I are thinking of leaving Chicago, and we are currently in the research phase of the moving process. We have about 1.5-2 yrs to plan and visit places, so we can save up for a mortgage and so I can finish grad school - so we aren't in a rush. We are both in our late 20s and gainfully employed

Would love to solicit advice & will try to avoid redundancy. We are planning to visit Arizona this winter, as his brother is moving to Phoenix with his native girlfriend. I would like to know where to narrow the search...we will have about a week there to explore. I am NOT especially interested in living in Phoenix metro, bc one of the reasons we are leaving Chicago is to avoid the stress of big city life, but also to escape high taxes, terrible crime, high cost of living and importantly...brutal winters and lack of sunshine.

I was focusing on Tucson, but also open to looking elsewhere (maybe Mesa? Tempe? Prescott?). We need help planning our trip - so recs on towns and neighborhoods to check out would be AMAZING! We are both "funky", I have visible tattoos and a nose ring, and we lean slightly left of center politically, we aren't really party animals but enjoy going out once in a while.

In no particular order, criteria we are evaluating:

Food scene / grocers - I am a total foodie, love farmer's markets, lots of produce, gardening and restaurants

Job market - it's possible we can both work remotely, but I tend to like working in an office. He works in finance, I work in technology, have healthcare experience as a digital product designer / manager

Education/family friendly - we plan on having kids in the next few years and will eventually need to send them to school , would like them to have friends, and it would also be cool to be around folk who value higher education

Friendliness - aside from his brother, we won't know a soul in the area - I am a very social person, and we have made a lot of friends in Chicago via a philosophy Meetup - how easy is it to make friends?

COL - would like a 3 bd house for under $400k - I do not like cookie cutter and prefer vintage / older homes

Walkability - I love riding my bike, and prefer to walk if possible. We will also have a car though if need be

Landscape / nature - I do not want endless views of urban sprawl. I can't wait to see the desert and mountains - and spend more time outside in areas with low foot traffic and go on hikes with our dog, hopefully a short drive away (ie could go early in the AM or on weekends)


Sorry for the length of the post, thanks in advance for any help. *Not* interested in focusing on weather, or crime...I am from the south side of Chiraq...I doubt much could be thrown my way that I haven't seen before.

I’ll compare and comtrast what you said.
Food scene - Chicago wins.

There aren’t a whole lot of restaurants out here. The big thing is big food chain restaraunts and there are some good Mexican restaurants. There isn’t much variety unless you go in to Phoenix more. Also we don’t have the same grocery stores. We don’t have Jewel out here.

Job market - most likely Chicago.

Yes Chicago has ridiculous high taxes but more likely than not you will also have a better salary out there then you will or here. There are also more job offers out there.

Education/family friendly - depends
Well we rank in last place for education in the United States. Family friendly cities, I would recommend Gilbert or Chandler for you.

COL - you might be out of luck. Vintage homes are not easy to find and a lot of the time are very expensive. They have been building a lot of new developments but the homes are one on top of each other and there’s like no backyard. Also real estate is going crazy out here. Houses are getting expensive so if you decide to move I say do it now. Our population is at 7.2 million people now.

Friendliness - depends.

I think the saying goes there’s kind and rude people everywhere. So I would say it’s about even.

Walkability - that would depend on what you mean. We have a lot of great bike trails and stuff like that.

Landscape - well there is a lot of desert. However you can always go and visit flagstaff up in the mountains or Sedona.

Hopefully that helps.

[More Rock]

Metro Phoenix is 16,000 sq mi, whereas metro Chicago is 10,000 sq mi. You would be moving to a more urban place.



Most people in Arizona live in metro Phoenix. This includes Mesa.


Other than that, you have Tucson and towns. Arizona really has two cities, Phoenix and Tucson.

[veritased]

Originally Posted by annagene12

And artsy...yes. Hyper liberal, no, although often they go hand in hand. I find a lack of artsy-ness surprising given the pretty amazing scenery? I would expect many artists would be drawn to the desert landscape, but it's all conjecture. @Slater, I am no stranger to guns, not a hunter, but pretty good target shooter

I am sure you can find your own Mod cut. here, but I would say, so far, I have met exactly one Democrat lol. Quite the opposite of my life in SF Bay area. That being said, politics here is probably less a burning topic as it is in California, and maybe Chicago (dunno). Mostly, I feel, because there is a lot less wrong with AZ in general than either of CA or IL (esp Chicago which I visit often, so alot less blame flame.

Guns are wildly popular here, due to the proper respect given the Bill of Rights, and we welcome all target shooters, especially the good ones. Look us up when you get here.

I grew up in IL and I wish I had grown up here instead. The outdoor rec opportunities here are insanely varied compared IL, only rivaled by CA's diverse outdoors.

p.s. one downside, and I have to warn you. My opinion as a newbie here, still. I generally find the food at restaurants less quality than that I found in San Francisco bay area, or in Chicago. Especially the pizza. There is a Lou Malnati's here (two I think), and you may find that this one and the downtown Chitown locale only share the name, but nothing recipe wise. I still haven't had good pizza or pasta, but I really just got here two months ago, so I am just starting out.

[DetroitN8V]

^funny, I can’t think of a single Republican that I know here. I think someone once begrudgingly admitted that their grandpa is a Trump supporter, but that’s it. I’m not, however, so myopic to believe that I know everyone that I meet’s political persuasion. The point being, you can run in circles of like-minded people of any flavor here as it’s quite diverse.

[Sno0909]

Originally Posted by More Rock

Metro Phoenix is 16,000 sq mi, whereas metro Chicago is 10,000 sq mi. You would be moving to a more urban place.

Just because we are bigger in size, does not make it more urban. The majority of Phoenix would be considered suburban.

[annagene12]

Originally Posted by veritased

I am sure you can find your own Mod cut. here, but I would say, so far, I have met exactly one Democrat lol. Quite the opposite of my life in SF Bay area. That being said, politics here is probably less a burning topic as it is in California, and maybe Chicago (dunno). Mostly, I feel, because there is a lot less wrong with AZ in general than either of CA or IL (esp Chicago which I visit often, so alot less blame flame.

Guns are wildly popular here, due to the proper respect given the Bill of Rights, and we welcome all target shooters, especially the good ones. Look us up when you get here.

I grew up in IL and I wish I had grown up here instead. The outdoor rec opportunities here are insanely varied compared IL, only rivaled by CA's diverse outdoors.

p.s. one downside, and I have to warn you. My opinion as a newbie here, still. I generally find the food at restaurants less quality than that I found in San Francisco bay area, or in Chicago. Especially the pizza. There is a Lou Malnati's here (two I think), and you may find that this one and the downtown Chitown locale only share the name, but nothing recipe wise. I still haven't had good pizza or pasta, but I really just got here two months ago, so I am just starting out.

This is really helpful - i cook a lot at home, so as long as quality ingredients are available, smattered with an occasional night out - I will be happy. I will say, Asian food is important to me - especially thai - so hopefully I can still find something halfway decent.

The outdoor activities are a main draw of the desert.

Politics are def a big topic here - might be nice to away from it frankly. I deleted FB to get away from it.

[annagene12]

Hi all - thanks for awesome tips and input.

I think we are definitely looking for a smaller city, and wouldn't want a place that is neck and neck with Chicago in terms of amenities - it's such a large city it's hard to compare, and we don't take full advantage of it as it is...part of the motive is to step out of the rat race a bit, which is why Phoenix wasn't top of the list - Tucson or other smaller / mid sized cities are more appealing to us.

I like the community feel, the smaller vibe - although I don't think Phoenix will be the right fit, it might be worth checking out...and hopefully by the time we move, we can have remote work in order in case jobs are an issue in Tucson (or even ABQ) - my boyfriend found out that his company has a big hub out of the Southwest, so remote work may be feasible at least for him!

We are definitely going to check out Phoenix for a day or two, Tucson for a day or two, and then drive to Albuquerque for a day or two just to get a "vibe" and then plan a longer revisit to any remaining contenders. Driving around the desert will be great too - I'm excited just to get a feel for the natural environment and maybe go on a hike during our trip, we are going this winter.

[WilmaWildcat]

Originally Posted by annagene12

Driving around the desert will be great too - I'm excited just to get a feel for the natural environment and maybe go on a hike during our trip, we are going this winter.

Excellent season to do so; glad to hear it. We moved from Tucson to Chicagoland; the husband is a software developer in the Loop. So please take my invitation to PM me if you have questions about Tucson.

My advice is to subscribe to the e-version (facsimile style) of the Arizona Daily Star online if you are considering Tucson. It's great for local coverage; mid-size but devoted and publishing since 1879. If you read it every day you will know current events as well as history. Tucsonans are very involved locally, in my experience.

https://tucson.com/
(subscribe to the e-version from this public site)

https://tucson.com/thisistucson/
(lifestyle side of the ADS)

https://www.facebook.com/ArizonaDailyStar/
https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsTucsonStar/

All the best,

WilmaWildcat

P.S. We subscribe to and can recommend the ADS archive at newspapers.com
https://tucson.newspapers.com/#
Loads of fun!

[smoochaz]

Originally Posted by Slater

I have a hard time imagining anywhere in Arizona as "artsy". I do have some Beretta handguns and Benelli shotguns that are examples of fine Italian styling. Does that count?

Check out the Woodlea Historic District - walkability, near lite rail, lots of galleries, small shops, antiquing, coffee shops
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...back/14003971/