NJ to NC to AZ?

[ILikeEveryone]

Thanks again for all your advice/comments. Not sure if we can do it this summer, but ideally we'd like to visit in one of the months where it is the hottest to see for ourselves how hot is hot. We have visited the Vegas area several times when it was very hot - around 105. Visited Death Valley in early September when it was hotter than that. The furthest we have gone into AZ was Grand Canyon West. After that if we liked it, we'd get a buyer's broker (have yet to read all the buyer's info from the AZ real estate website) to help us with any searches. Worse case scenario, we have a great vacation and learn a lot about the area.

[Nanny Goat]

Originally Posted by ILikeEveryone

This may seem to be a really stupid question, but I have a good reason for asking it. How important is it to go to the right church and know the right people in order to gain employment? If you are a polite outsider with a different accent and do not attend church on a regular basis are you basically out of the loop? Also, are transplants from other areas of the country generally frowned upon when they move into the above areas I mentioned? We both grew up with people from all walks of life and appreciate diversity.

Any positive feedback, especially from those who have made the move from the Northeast or have relocated from NC, would be extremely helpful. Thank you.

You don't have to worry about accents here. Everyone has a different one. Church isn't discussed like in NC (I lived in Florida, but lots of church people there, too). Most people are from either the mid-west, California, NY, or Minnesota/Wisconsin. Anyone can "fit" in here.