Selling it all and moving to the area (Phoenix, Scottsdale: 2015, apartment complex)

[Zeromus-X]

I'm sure you guys have seen this a thousand times -- houses look nice, cheap, available, etc. But hear me out!

I'm 30, living on the east coast (SE VA). We've never been fans of the area, and housing is obscene; because we're relatively close to the water, $100k gets you something where the roof is probably going to give in three years, and anything under $1000/mo rent is going to involve living in a basement, dealing with bugs, or hearing police cars routinely.

I decided this year that I'm going to do something I've wanted to do for a while -- sell it all. Start over somewhere else.

I rent right now. I'm paying $925/month for a 1000 square foot place in the basement level of a loft apartment complex. I don't have much, but when all is said and done, I'll have about $10,000 in my pocket. I've wanted to move to AZ ever since visiting Flagstaff for two weeks. I love the climate (I'm a frequent visitor to Vegas and the Red Rock valley), I don't mind the heat. I love the landscaping and being able to wake up and see a cactus and a mountain out my window would be awesome.

I've got a computer science degree, and I've been a computer tech for 13 years. I run my own store right now, and have three techs under me. I'd like to keep in the same industry, since it's what I'm good at. So, living somewhere with no high-speed internet doesn't work, but I'm okay with living in a less-than-tech-savvy area, as that's where the business comes from! I'd like to eventually open a store out that way like I have here, but that's long-term. In the short term, I'd like to find a decent place to rent, get a job, and then jump into a house in a fairly nice area. I don't need Beverly Hills, but I want to avoid the suburbs of Detroit, too.

It looks to my eyes that rent is dirt cheap, just like ownership, in the Phoenix area. Does anyone have any recommendations on what to look for? Since I won't have a job coming in to the area, I hate to spend more than $800/month. A place that comes furnished would be phenomenal, since I will have literally nothing but my car, my laptop, and my clothes. At the very least, something with appliances, since buying a full kitchen appliance set would destroy a good amount of my budget!

[1965thru1987]

if you can hold out until October on the move, that would be so much better for you, heat and job/business hunting wise. 117 degrees this week with a low of 92, does not make for a good move-in enviroment.

Az Job market is slowly coming back, very slow, but yet, the past 6 months have all been positive, albeit, nominal gains. I hear from all my business partners that the fourth quarter is going to be a decent hiring enviroment.

From your east coast roots and income level possibilities, Scottsdale, Arrowhead (glendale) and Anthem may seem like decent places to land upon your arrival. The town of Anthem (30 minutes north of Phoenix metro center)took a huge hit post recession. Homes are very sweet up there, and going for dirt cheap. Infrastucture and quality of life has a great upside in Anthem, as well as the other areas I told you about.

2015 AND THE VALLEY of the sun will be back to 2000 levels. Hope never to reach the nightmare bubble of 2002-2006 again. It wiped us out hee in the desert. Our housing market was played like an ATM machine and it seems like a large amount of folks neglected to remember to replenish their accounts.

Good luck!

[Zeromus-X]

Thanks for the followup.

It seems like the right time to buy. I'm likely going to rent a place for a few months and make sure it's an area I like, and then jump right in. The heat doesn't bother me at all and I won't really be "moving in" in the heat simply because I will have nothing to move! I'm hoping to find a place which at least has most (all?) basic appliances in place from the start.

We do enjoy some nightlife, going out to bars, etc. The key thing is being in a safe area, as that's my girlfriend's biggest concern. We don't need a gated community but we don't want to worry about buying in a known bad area, and since we don't know any of the areas, we're probably going to rely on the realtor's determination (and hope we can trust them!). Hearing Scottsdale, Arrowhead, and Anthem as suggestions helps a lot.