Normal Feelings about Moving? (Phoenix: to buy, moving to, car)

[sandy6879]

I panicked so badly when we sold our house in CT, that I pulled the plug on our rental we had lined up in AZ and we had a total of 2 weeks to find a rental in CT so we could stay there because I got major cold feet. (and CT has almost NO rental market, especially 2 weeks out, we found something though). It is completely normal to feel that way. I had such a sense of dread and convinced my husband to stay an extra year in CT. Within about 2 months, I realized we should have just done it.

Definitely rent first. You'll find somewhere that is willing to work with you with the cats. But I honestly don't think I would have made the same decision on a location of a house to buy, being here for only a 4 day weekend. It is not enough time to really get to know the area. It's much better to know you can leave it after a year if you don't like your location, rather than get stuck with a house that you really don't want to be in.

And lastly - know that nothing needs to be forever. Even if you get here and decide you want to move back, you have the option to do that. It'll all be ok.

[Flavia84]

I'd say come out here Mayish and RENT for at least 6 months. Till October.

That's what I did when I first moved to the Valley. Best decision ever.

4 days of heat are a lot easier to tolerate than 5 months of it. You want to make sure you can live comfortably in our not so mild climate.

Good luck!

[hawkbiz]

I'm moving out from the eastcoast in June and definitely recommend renting first. That's what I'm doing so that I can the lay of the land since the area is so BIG. Most of the apt complexes that I have seen allow pets with the added deposit like others mentioned. You shouldn't have an issue. Good luck!

UPDATE: I just noticed that you're looking to rent a 4 BR house. I'm sure it works the same way for the most part with an added pet deposit although I'm sure you'll run into a few people who won't allow pets but I doubt it will be a major issue.

[slan490]

Definitely normal. We owned and lived in our house for the last 7 years and have lived here for 22 years. The older I'm getting the more I am bothered by the feeling that I'm not where I want to be and that I definitely don't see myself growing old here.

I've been letting my husband know this for years and it took a lot to get him on board to move closer to his work, he works 60 miles north of where we live. So really it would make his life easier commute wise but he was comfortable with the status quo. This was last spring...I had renters lined up for our house and he got cold feet. I didn't back down and still had our renters move in and we found a rental in the same city. 3 months into it he wished we would have done the move...but we had a 1 year lease...so here we are about to move next month to where we were going last year.

The house buying part I think is what gave you major cold feet and the feelings of anxiety. Rent , and like others have noted, if you really don't like it you can always move back. But you won't know until you try.

Something I've noticed in our situation is that other people do trip out a little that you are wanting or making a move happen. I think many people are just very content where they are and that makes it more plain to me that I clearly don't feel that way. And some people are scared to get out and make changes. It's a different scenario when the decision is made for you, for example, your husband's job is transferred and if he wants a job he has to move. When you are spearheading the change in life it's often scarier because you feel the responsibility of the possible negative what-ifs.

The reason I'm responding in the AZ thread is because I've been reading this AZ forum for several years now because in the back of my mind I have a dream of owning a 2nd home there or moving there. Need to visit first though

Good luck!!

[skytop]

Originally Posted by Sunshinegirl7

I have been planning a move with my family since last year when we visited Arizona in July. We all fell in love with it, both my sons, my husband and myself. Everyone is excited about moving and we have planned for months and months with everything. We just flew out this past weekend and went house shopping and I love the area, went hiking at the White Tank Mountain, LOVE the amount of Produce I can get at the grocery stores (we are vegans and pay so much for so little where we live), I love seeing mountains every where we go, we love to hike, the sun makes me so happy when it shines, I feel my best in the sunshine as anyone would, I am used to cloudy, rainy, snowy days here, with nothing to do unless we drive 1.5 hours away one way. Ever since I put my house up for sale, I have not felt 100% now, it's like I have this doubt in the back of my mind, scared, scared of losing the secure feeling I have here, but I can work remotely and my husband has a transfer whenever he wants to take it, it's not exactly a worry of income, it's just that feeling of being used to being here even though I don't want to be here, does that make sense? I am so overcome by it the past few days that I feel like now I just don't want to talk about it for a few days, my husband is so excited but right now I just feel overcome by worry, I went through this last month and within a few days it went away and I was back to feeling excited again. I just worry about how all of our lives are changing, my son is going to college (I am excited for him) my other son starts 11th grade and is looking forward to it, but just all the changes I feel doubt now. I just need to know if I am going to get worse as it gets closer, I feel like I am

i can totally relate. i almost chickened out of a move i had been planning (and dreaming about) for years! i had the exact same feeling of dread at the thought of leaving my little comfort zone, even though I didn't like the area that much.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Flavia84

I'd say come out here Mayish and RENT for at least 6 months. Till October.

That's what I did when I first moved to the Valley. Best decision ever.

4 days of heat are a lot easier to tolerate than 5 months of it. You want to make sure you can live comfortably in our not so mild climate.

Good luck!

Move here for the five hottest months and then decide if you want to stay? I understand where you are coming from but I think that is terrible advice. Who would want to stay? The reason that people have come here by the millions is not because of the five hottest months. It is because the other seven are basically day after day, week after week, month after month of weather like they only see on a few rare days in places like Chicago. If you never experience the never-ending blue skies and dry air you have no idea whether the bad summer is worth it for the rest of the year. You would just run like crazy and say I am never going back there.

This is true of anywhere. If one were moving to Michigan for example, I would think they ought to stay around to see the green of summer and the color of fall instead of arriving in December and then leaving come April.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by PoppySead

A lot of people rent here with cats. I've never had an issue of them saying no back when I rented with cats, just an added pet deposit of around $150 - 300 depending on the property owner and the amount of kitties. No worries.

It might take about 6 months to get use to a new routine, and new environment but I'm sure you'll grow to love the sunshine. When you go back for a visit you'll want to get back here to it. It's addicting. We aren't the 3rd fastest growing city for nothing. Keep telling yourself that, it will help. Keep us informed about your move, that's what we are here for.

6 months to get used to it here? Took me about 6 minutes!

[Flavia84]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Move here for the five hottest months and then decide if you want to stay? I understand where you are coming from but I think that is terrible advice. Who would want to stay? The reason that people have come here by the millions is not because of the five hottest months. It is because the other seven are basically day after day, week after week, month after month of weather like they only see on a few rare days in places like Chicago. If you never experience the never-ending blue skies and dry air you have no idea whether the bad summer is worth it for the rest of the year. You would just run like crazy and say I am never going back there.

This is true of anywhere. If one were moving to Michigan for example, I would think they ought to stay around to see the green of summer and the color of fall instead of arriving in December and then leaving come April.

Good point! I will revise my advice to:

Rent for a YEAR before buying. See if the beautiful half of the year outweighs the brutal half.

Real life example - my mother. She came out here in late September(it's still hot here, you know?) and LOVED the winter part (duh!). Started looking for a house. But a year later after having spent the whole summer here she said "see y'all later, I'm out of this furnace". Went on up to Idaho, got a place there and loves it.

Point being, the heat here is no joke, as you know. Some people can deal with it, some can't. It's way better to realize it before getting locked into a house.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by Flavia84

Point being, the heat here is no joke, as you know. Some people can deal with it, some can't. It's way better to realize it before getting locked into a house.

You mean kind of like getting "locked" into a house in most parts of the country for many long months during the winter because of snow, ice, bitter cold, windchill, etc etc?

I know which side I'd pick in a heartbeat......

[Flavia84]

Originally Posted by stevek64

You mean kind of like getting "locked" into a house in most parts of the country for many long months during the winter because of snow, ice, bitter cold, windchill, etc etc?

I know which side I'd pick in a heartbeat......

Believe me, I'm with you on that. Not a big fan of snow myself