Realistic to live in PHX area for $37,000/year? (Phoenix: apartment complexes, vehicle registration)

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by veek

ivotedale, I take it you are college age or a student? That has been my biggest gripe since moving here - the low wage culture.

Seriously. Even the blue collar workers in Michigan were used to making $60k+. I never heard of people making such low wages until I moved here.

[veek]

Totally agree. I came from North Carolina and even manufacturing jobs often paid 45k to 50k after a few years on the job average. Yet when I go to Scottsdale I see what looks like a lot of people doing very well. Phoenix has a definite income divide.

[ivotedale]

Originally Posted by veek

ivotedale, I take it you are college age or a student? That has been my biggest gripe since moving here - the low wage culture.

Early 20's student yes.

Could just be the line of work I'm in now; I do a lot of photography/retouching/art work, alongside music. As we all know there isn't any money in the arts, but even more so out here (unlike somewhere w/ potential growth like NYC, LA, etc). It was mentioned in another thread, but the pay in general is relative to how replaceable he/she is. There are kids coming in by the boatload who know how to run pirated versions of photoshop, run a recording studio in his bedroom. I'm not in a great field in the long-term to begin with I guess.

Granted I make more than minimum wage, but I'm doing fine.

Must be nice coming from higher costs of living to the extreme low. Anywhere else out of Arizona will be higher when the time comes

[chrisgeo563]

My wife and I are retired and take home $37K/yr. We a have a car payment of $400/mo. We are looking at the Phoenix area to rent initially 'til we get the feel for the area. We would like to be no more than 40 min drive to one of the Greek Orthodox churches. Doesn't have to be right in Phoenix. Any advice or insight will be appreciated.

[cactusland]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Seriously. Even the blue collar workers in Michigan were used to making $60k+. I never heard of people making such low wages until I moved here.

I'm going to play devils advocate here and say that even though income is less, its cheaper to live here overall. You don't have to pay massive oil heating bills in the winter, Your clothing can last nearly year round, you don't have the wear and tear on vehicles due to the snow and ice.
You can live on much less, but live better.

[omaraz]

I did that, I was making about $37,000 and I had a mortgage ($800), car payment ($200) and student loans ($500) and we were just fine. It's going to completely depend on your lifestyle, there are plenty of free things to see and do in Phoenix.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by cg563

My wife and I are retired and take home $37K/yr. We a have a car payment of $400/mo. We are looking at the Phoenix area to rent initially 'til we get the feel for the area. We would like to be no more than 40 min drive to one of the Greek Orthodox churches. Doesn't have to be right in Phoenix. Any advice or insight will be appreciated.

The Greek Orthodox churches are in central Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler and Peoria. http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Gre...&fr=chrf-yff25 You could be within 40 minutes of one of them in numerous areas of the Valley. Anything else you need/want to be relatively close to, to help narrow your search?

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeBoyDJ

Unfortunately no......wish we did though because Lord knows I could use the extra space. I wish Phoenix was like Chicago or St Louis where virtually every house has a basement. We just throw all of our crap in the garage or many people that have 3 car garages use the smaller third garage as a "storage area".

Actually they do have homes with basements out here! It's not the norm, but I have some in my neighborhood. Of course, adding a basement increases the cost an additional $10,000.

[goodlife36]

I find it strange that so many of you think a salary of $37,000 is doable for a single person. I guess it depends on your expectations. I recently visited Phoenix and it is not as cheap as I thought it would be. In addition to housing, I have to put money aside for a rainy day and savings for retirement. Food is not cheaper than what I pay in my current city and I understand the importance of living close to your place of employment. People do bike a lot which saves on gas.

The op is young and I guess his/her requirements are less. I lived in a studio at that age. As for a 40 year old, I need a salary of at least $50,000 to get what I want. I am not sure if that is realistic for my occupation.

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by cactusland

I'm going to play devils advocate here and say that even though income is less, its cheaper to live here overall. You don't have to pay massive oil heating bills in the winter, Your clothing can last nearly year round, you don't have the wear and tear on vehicles due to the snow and ice.
You can live on much less, but live better.

I pay much more for utilities here than I did in MI. Consider summer electricity from air conditioning use and the cost/higher usage of water. I bet I pay more than double what I did. Some of that could be curtailed by ripping out my grass and dealing with a hotter house in the summer, but I like being comfortable more that I mind paying for it.