We're moving to AZ - need advice! (Phoenix, Mesa: transplants, sales)

[AZGOLFER]

You will be paying more for car insurance, car registration and gas here...plus your home A/C in the summers will be very high due to the two companies APS/SRP keeping raising the rates everytime you turn around...good luck in finding a nice house in in a nice area for your price range...you can get a good house in Queen Creek, but your looking at a good hour drive each way..welcome to the valley of the sun and home of crime, traffic, and UDA'S!

[TubbyBags.com]

Originally Posted by greyhoundsrule

As for a condo - that is not an option for us since we are moving w/ our 3 cats and 1 dog. We also live in a townhouse back here for 6 yrs. & have alot of furniture that I'm not willing to part with.

I did see some new homes in the price ranges I mentioned. Most were of course in the Queen Creek area that you mentioned was a hellish commute. The builders were KB homes and Pulte homes. Also saw some homes in Maricopa - I believe that's even further than Queen Crk???

Maricopa is really far from Scottsdale! I live in Maricopa and you really wouldn't want to live here...We are currently trying to leave this area because it has built up so fast in the last 3 years+ that Maricopa was not ready for it! The streets are very dangerous! We have had several deaths caused by unattentive drivers just over the last few months! There is only one way into Maricopa and its a 2 way highway that is now lined with street lights! and tons of commuters! A few years ago you wouldn't even see one car on the road! Maricopa used to be a great little small town and has just been over run with investors, the schools are terrible, people are rude and a small 1100-1200 sq ft house will still run you a good very high 100,000 or low 200,000! And I would say a good 2 hour commute to Scottsdale...depending on traffic, could be more. When an accident occurs on the 347 (2 lane highway I mentioned earlier) you could be at a stand still for 3 or 4 hours! Have had it happen to us 3 times in the last year or so.
Its sad but you really cannot buy quality housing in good areas out here without paying at least $300,000.00 for a home. And Scottsdale is a very expensive area.
You may try looking further north or NW of Scottsdale area, or your best bet maybe a rental home...unfortunatly thats what our family has had to do to be able to stay in a nice area...or at least at first. Everything is growing too fast, so everything changes all the time.

[greyhoundsrule]

Thanks for the information everyone. But most of what I'm hearing about AZ is really negative and only verifies the fact that I haven't been 100% for this huge move from the beginning!!!!

Everything that's described here (major traffic, unfriendly people, constant accidents, long commutes, high crime, etc.) is so far out of the realm from what I normally experience back here!

Is there anything good about AZ? There has to be something that's good. If not it sounds like I'm moving to hell on earth. And don't even get me started on the bug situation ( I already know what I'm in for with that)!!!

Also, no one has commented on my husbands salary of $55,000 is that average for the area? I just graduated from college & while I have alot of work experience behind me (I went back at an older age); in my field I will be starting in entry level positions but I'm still expecting to bring in $25-30K. So is a combined income of $80-$85K workable in these cities that are within driving distance to Scottsdale?

This is a really great oppty. for my husband but there's a chance we might not be able to make it monetarily & I think I'll have a hard time adjusting to the area. He's already sent in the offer, but I guess we could still change our minds.

[greyhoundsrule]

AZ GOLFER: What is a UDA?

[AZGOLFER]

UDA means Undocumented Alien or in other words, all of the illegal Mexicans that are here from Mexico and there are a bunch of them all over the valley!

[MotleyCrew]

Sounds like you will have to drive a little if you want to buy a new home. The salary you mentioned will be difficult to purchase anything near Scottsdale unless you do look at townhomes. We purchased a decent townhome in N. Phoenix around 35th ave. Some of the homes there are around $200K, but they are older homes. We live over on the west side in Vistancia and my husband survives a "hell" drive to Tempe each day. It is taking it's toll on him and I fear we will need to relocate soon. The point is, you can drive, but it will wear on you. Trend builds some decent townhomes and I know they have a development down by 24th and Southern that start around $200. Some of them have tiny sideyards for pets. You might want to get with a realtor very soon to start a good search, or rent something for awhile.

[TubbyBags.com]

Good things about AZ....Well, I have lived all over AZ, born and raised in phx area... Every year it gets worse all over here. Good things...
you don't have to shovel snow, (unless up north, and like for a month out of the yr),
You can BBQ all year,
Pools are good for most the year...solar heat covers make the water warm well into November,
On Halloween you don't have to wear a jacket over your costume,
bugs really arn't too much of a problem... they are seasonal for the most part,
No Tornados,
No hurricanes,
No earthquakes,
Plants will bloom almost year round,
Golf coarses are everwhere...if you like golf...?,
we have a lot of outlet malls and .99 cent stores...?,



That’s all the good stuff I can think of…

[sablebaby]

The salary of $55k will be just fine. When you reach your combine salary you will be very comfortable. Especially if you stay within your housing budget that you have mentioned.

I did find some homes in Surprise in your range. I always hate recommending Surprise unless you work on the west side of town. (it's at least an hour to scottsdale)

I wish people would chill out with the bugs! I have lived here my WHOLE life and NEVER had an issue with bugs! I have only seen 3 scorpians, and they were no where near my home. I have had roaches in one apartment that I lived in that was decades old and on a lake. Other than that it's not an issue! All the other bugs that have been mentioned to freak out people are just not an issue. It's not like they are everywhere- their not! Maybe if you live in the middle of the desert with no one around, but that's not not how 95% of us live. We live in subdivisions in suburbs, just like anywhere else.

It's really not THAT bad here. There are a lot of positives and I try to focus on those. The mountains are beautiful and they are everywhere around us. The sunsets are gorgeous. Most buildings are new and streets are maintained. It's not as expensive as other places (yes housing is double what it was 3-10 yrs ago, but it's still more affordable than many places), and the things that TubbyBags listed. We can get right in our car and drive away, no delay with windshields, the only extreme weather we have is the heat (thank goodness for A/C).

Is it possible to take a trip out here before you move? I would NEVER move somewhere without visiting it at least a couple of times. When does your husband start work?

[HollyhockGarden]

Hello -- Congratulations on the job offer. I hope everything goes well for your husband and also with you with your job hunt. Like some of the other posters, I agree it would probably be prudent to rent for a while until you get to know the area. There are some absolutlely beautiful rentals on the market, and as another poster said, you can rent them for less than you can buy them. I agree with the other posters that you may need to re-evaluate your price range for purchasing a home in the Phoenix area - I would say you can find something very nice if you up your price maybe to $250K or more. But quality of life is going to depend on how much equity you are walking in with, becase the lower the downpayment, the higher the monthly payment. Below $250K ,you may want to consider patio homes, which actually can be very nice, as they often have a community swimming pool where you can meet neighbors. Single family homes are available in the $199K range, but the location will probably have more crime, car theft, gang activity, and neighbors speaking different languages. Real esate here is location, location, location. And be very careful about buying too far out -- a long commute in both directions can definitely impact your quality of life. My husband and I live in Glendale and love it. We like being closer-in, and enjoy the old-fashioned downtown with the town square, city hall, library, band shell concerts, restaurants and antique shops all right there. We do, however, live far enough north to be in the Peoria Unified School District, which is well-regarded. Good luck with your move!

[MotleyCrew]

I feel compeled to defend our new home here and when making numerous trips back and forth we discovered nothing but friendly, helpful people. We love our development and have made so many new friends. This experience has had a few bumps, like the long drive to work, a few fender benders, but overall we think it was worth the move. We lived in N. Ca for 15 years and found most of the people we ran into very cold and snobby. Our clients here are wonderful as well. There are pros and cons to every section of this state, you just have to find a spot you like. The regular posters here have wonderful advice and I wish we had found them before moving. The patio homes we looked at were very nice and you might want to consider checking them out with a realtor.