Peoria, AZ?

[CodyW]

Then again, it depends on where you will be living in Peoria. If it is in far north Peoria, you're unlikely to have any bus service at all. Bus service in Phoenix has gotten better over the years, but it's still rather unpredictable and slow compared to other major cities. Here's the system map. Check it out. http://www.valleymetro.org/images/up...tem_072312.pdf

The community colleges offer a discounted pass for transit. It's $115, but I'm not sure if that's per semester or per year. ASU offers a pass that is $150 for the entire academic year.

Sorry, I feel like I'm dominating the discussion in this thread. I don't mean to be! I know you probably want info from others, as well.

[Autumn13]

Chris: Thanks for the info. In regards to driving, I don't have my license (long story, lol), nor do I have a car or money for a car, for that matter. At least not right now. Public transportation plus some lifts from my mom will have to suffice for a little while.

I found her zip: 85382, if that makes any difference. I'll be seeing it this weekend, but I still appreciate this thread. It seems to be in the middle of Peoria, and to the east.


Cody: I appreciate all the information I can get. I'm nervous about this. I'm not moving because I have a bunch of options. Moving will mean temporarily unemployed, and that really scares me, but economically I'm not left with much choice back here in California. Technically I could stay where I am doing what I'm doing at community college, but then I'd be wasting one more entire year doing community college in AZ before transferring, so for school purposes, I think the sooner I move, the better so I don't waste so much time in community colleges.

Thank you for info on the bus passes!

[S. Chris Webb]

85382 covers a large area, including part of the north and west parts of Peoria, which have limited bus service. Looking at the metro bus map, there are bus routes along Bell Road and Union Hills, but not much else. A nice thing about living here, though, is the weather - and that means you can be mobile on a bicycle on most days of the year.You can load your bike on metro buses on a first come-first serve basis if you can ride to a bus stop or Park and Ride.

[Autumn13]

Chris: Thanks for your response. lol, I won't get into it, but I do not ride bikes Maybe some day. Looks like the bus doesn't run near my mom's place at all. She's near N. Lake Pleasant Rd.

Thank you all again for answering my questions. I had my visit, and to my surprise REALLY liked what I saw. Everything was so clean and people were very nice. I'm actually a little scared of driving, but roads are wide and easy, and the freeway/highways I went on were not congested at all.

I still have to do research on the community colleges out there and how I will get to and from school. Still a lot to think about.

We hit a little snag in my plans for moving out there. People in California are telling me horror stories about the heat in AZ. My mom moved out there in the middle of the summer and said mostly people go from one air conditioned building to the next.

It looks like my main problem will be buses. Where I am here in SoCal, I don't have to travel far to get to a bus stop, and that's a big check in the plus column.

Hopefully my family and I figure something out!

[Autumn13]

Just an update - I am here in Peoria! Been here for a little over 2 weeks.

Family situations aside, I am very happy around here. You are totally right - you need a car to get anywhere, and no, the buses don't run in Peoria, which I find strange.

It's March 13th and already hot around here, and we don't have working AC in the car Definitely something to get used to. I run into people at WalMart and other stores who share their stories from moving from CA or other places and say once you survive the first summer, you'll get used to it and be better prepared for what to expect. I am nervous about the heat, to say the least...

The people here are super friendly. All the people I've run into who have moved said that they don't regret the move and don't mind the higher taxes because it's worth it. I've been on many store trips, and have only encountered *1* negative person who worked at CostCo who was a b***h to me and my family. That is nothing compared to 2 weeks of WalMart trips in California!

Everything is very clean. Despite the heat and again to my surprise, I am very happy out here.

I have yet to job hunt. I was urged by an employee that I got to talking to to apply to WalMart if I'm just looking for a place to work. I might do that, but I was kind of hoping for a filing/receptionist job...we'll see.

My mother unfortunately lost her job mid January and is job hunting for care giving/admissions positions. Just throwing it out there, does anyone have advice for her on where to look? Or any tips? Unfortunately for her, it seems hard to find an $11/hr job in this field, despite advice I was given previously in this thread.

One last question - we're tight on money. Any tips? Back in California, we used to get coupon books (one was called My Villa). Is there anything like that I can sign up for for free to get coupons delivered to my home?

[CodyW]

Welcome to the valley! It's warm this week, but still nothing compared to what we'll see in a few months time. I feel ya on the no car A/C thing. Buy a sun shade for your windshield and map out every tree in every parking lot you go to! :P

Wells Fargo is having a job fair on the 20th that you might be interested in. I believe they're hiring something like 200 people. No idea on where in the valley those jobs will be, though. If you want call center work, Discover has a large presence in the north valley area. As does USAA, I believe.

For your mom, there are a million hospitals and care centers in the Northwest Valley. I'm sure she'll find something pretty quickly if she puts her mind to it. I would start with looking through the Banner Health and Abrazo jobs databases on their respective websites.

For coupons, every once in a while we get a Valpak envelope in the mail with a bunch of coupons. Their website has some good coupons on it, as well. There's also a coupon book that you can purchase in certain stores here that has everything from food coupons to entertainment coupons. We usually buy one once a year and share it with the family if they want anything out of it.

[PoppySead]

Welcome and hope all goes well for you. See how much an ac in your car will be, or if you can fix an existing one, of course after you find a job which shouldn't be that hard right now. Lots of people are hiring as of late.

[Autumn13]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

I have been out here for over a month, and enjoying it!

I applied to WalMart, Walgreens, and RadioShack. No one has called me back to my utter surprise. Bashas said they are not hiring right now. Same with Chase bank.

I called ASU and they are very strict about the residency thing. Looks like I'll have to work for a year to build up proof. They said something weird...like I need to be able to prove I can financially take care of tuition on my own without financial aid. I think that's nuts. Better to just work for a year, get my license, and see how it looks.

My mom is job hunting and has some leads. Things are looking up in that area, at least.

[S. Chris Webb]

Glad you are enjoying it, despite your educational, transportation, and employment difficulties. Have you considered volunteering part time to put something on your resume that will make you stand out a bit? There are plenty of opportunities. Employers may also frown on the "no license" thing.