Moving to Phoenix from Atlanta (Mesa, Glendale: rent, insurance, condo)

[bmhooks]

30 something year old female medical professional with a family (husband and child) who have lived in Atlanta for 3 years. I am not happy with the job opportunities and I have found, interviewed, and been offered 3 positions in the Phoenix area: the jobs are located in Mesa and Glendale/Peoria areas. Based on the job opportunities, we are looking for family friendly neighborhoods with good neighborhoods and are considering Gilbert, Chandler, and Scottsdale for the Mesa job and Scottsdale, Glendale, and Peoria for the other 2 positions.


1. Budget:

up to $2000/mo for mortgage payment

2. House/Condo/Townhome?

Would like to purchase a home (we will be selling our home in Atlanta and have gained at least $75 -100k equity over the past 3 years and we have a down payment as well)

Would like a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with open concept (can be single story) with decent back yard and pool (if possible)

3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)

I have offered employment but my husband does not (as of yet) but my potential employer is helping my husband find a job there too (lawyer with MBA)

4. Children(public school vs. private)

Have 1 toddler girl but would like to expand our family and are looking for good public (preferred) and possibly private schools

5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two

Like a mix of suburban and urban lifestyle: we like to live in suburban area but have access to the city to attend sporting events, plays, shows, go to the movies, shop, etc. We also like to travel so we want to be near an international airport (my husband is from Kenya and we visit his family ever so often)

6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?

Access ot public transit is not particularly important but a plus

7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.

More single family neighborhood with young professionals or working class families with good school system and easy access to commercial areas for shopping, etc.
Looking for a home up to $350 K with 4-5 bedrooms, 3-4 bathrooms (decent sized secondary bedrooms) with open concept, spacious kitchen and living areas for entertaining as well as outdoor patio or yard with pool for entertaining with 3 car garage

[BuckeyeBoyDJ]

Welcome to the Valley of the Sun!

1. With your budget you won't have a problem at all finding a home on your wishlist. However, do know that Mesa and the Glendale/Peoria area are no where near each other (they're about 30+ miles apart on opposite sides of the valley).
2. At least 75% of homes here have a backyard pool so it won't be difficult at all finding a home with a pool
3. Like Atlanta the Phoenix area is a sprawled out mess but keep in mind that our suburbs are huge and are cities in their own right and just commuting out of suburban cities can take forever and a day so you could imagine how awful long commutes can be here. Moral of the story LIVE WHERE YOU WORK(or if you work from home then commuting is a non issue).
4. Public schools are really hit&miss here. If you choose to live in the East Valley then look into Chandler Unified, Scottsdale Unified, Gilbert Public Schools, and Kyrene. If you settle in the West Valley in Peoria or Glendale the public schools are far better in the northern part of both cities. Peoria Unified and Deer Valley I hear are decent.
5. Phoenix as a whole is a very suburban city but no matter where you live in the metro area you're never more than 10min away from a movie theatre, shops of some sort (there's a strip mall and shopping center at every major intersection). The airport is centrally located and you can reach it in 30-40min from most places in the valley.
6. Public transit is pretty much non existent especially in suburban areas. You will be highly dependent on your personal vehicle.
7. With your budget you more than likely will be living among other professionals with families middle-upper middle class. All of the newer construction homes have open concept layouts for the most part. Most kitchens in newer homes are designed with entertaining in mind (island, large eating areas, etc). A lot of homes have pools, backyard patio. 3-4 bedrooms are far more available. 5 bedrooms are easy to locate just not as widely available. 3 car garages are fairly common with newer construction homes.

[observer53]

As much as you are anxious to buy, I would not do it until you are more familiar with the area- I would rent for a bit and get your bearings. You don't really want to be commuting from Scottsdale to Glendale/Peoria every day, BTW. None of the large suburbs you have named have much of an urban feel. In the areas of those cities where the newer construction is, the environment is quite suburban.

I doubt that the pool total is 75 percent, but you will have no trouble finding a house with one that otherwise meets your needs as well. It is much better to buy one with a pool than to spend the money to put one in.

[MalteseJane]

If you don't know the area, I would rent first before buying.

[8to32characters]

I've lived in both Phoenix and Atlanta, so here's my take.

Atlanta has a stronger, more diversified economy with a much larger corporate presence and many more well-paying white-collar industries. For many years, Atlanta was home to the highest concentration of F500 company HQ's in the US, and for I all know, it may still be. Salaries are more competitive in Metro Atlanta because, consistent with most major US cities, there are more opportunities for an employee with a decent education or marketable skill/trade to "jump ship" in either their industry or another industry altogether. Recently, Georgia was voted the #1 state for business by Business Insider, I believe.

Regarding education, Atlanta has far more [prestigious] institutions of higher education and a much better educated, more talented workforce. K - 12 public schools in suburban Atlanta are better rounded and funded overall than those in suburban Phoenix, and with more and better universities, I would assume that teachers tend to be better educated overall. However, I'm uncertain if Georgia requires its K - 12 public school teachers to earn a master's degree with a certain number of years from being hired, although I do know that many Eastern and Midwestern states do, including my home state of Rhode Island.

The Phoenix Valley, OTOH, lacks the competitive ethos and professional/intellectual vibe of Metro Atlanta, mostly due to the limited corporate presence in the area. It's scary how few F500 companies are headquartered or with a major presence in the Valley, especially given that it's one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the entire country (Phoenix is the fifth or sixth largest city in the US). Even scarier is the number of reputable universities here--one (ASU). Adding insult to injury, ASU is reputable for all the wrong reasons, as it's arguably one of the biggest party schools in the entire country with a 95% acceptance rate.

The fact that our sole major public research institution in Phoenix is a huge party school with lackluster academics and an exorbitantly high acceptance rate is consistent with our horrendous K - 12 public school system in Arizona. Arizona is often ranked 51/50 in terms of K - 12 public schools. There is no master's degree requirement for public school teachers in Arizona, and schools are horribly crowded and underfunded. Educational funding is cut more often than not by our legislature in the interest of the retiree/snowbird contingent. Many voters in Arizona are retirees/snowbirds who feel as though they've already paid their dues to [insert suburban Midwestern county here] in property/sales/income taxes, so they invariably vote down tax increases to fund our public schools. The rest of the people in Arizona are extremely fiscally conservative/anti-tax or transients who don't particularly care for the welfare of the state or its youth because they're simply "passing through." Many people in Arizona don't even vote at all, let alone vote down tax increases for educational expenditures. Because of the state's transient nature overall, so few people here have a vested interest in the welfare of the state, evidenced by the extreme voter apathy, which, in turn, leads to the election of extremist right-wing legislators such as Gov. Jan Brewer and Sheriff Joe Arpaio who are completely unrepresentative of the population of Arizona at large.

However, on a more favorable note, I will say that the Phoenix area has a slightly stronger entrepreneurial spirit than the Atlanta area, which is a spillover from the West Coast, although the entrepreneurial spirit in Phoenix is more consistent with landscape construction companies vs. tech start-ups like you'd find in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley, Orange County, or Seattle. IMO, Phoenix has much better weather overall than Atlanta--warmer, drier, and much less volatile--and much prettier scenery. It also has much newer, wider, more modern roadways with better landscaping. No tolls in Arizona, either.

Naturally, it goes without saying that Atlanta is much better place to live as an educated white-collar professional or a family raising children for many different reasons. However, for me personally, most of Atlanta and Georgia was just too Southern. Even though people say Atlanta is where a bunch of Nor'easters and Florida halfbacks go for bigger, newer, cheaper housing, I disagree. Atlanta, especially in the far-flung exurban areas, is very religious and socially conservative. There's still too much "Bubba talk" and too many "Bible thumpers" for me to truly like it there. And in the urban areas, Atlanta is incredibly ghetto.

Phoenix, OTOH, has a classic live-and-let-live Western vibe--very casual; polite (e.g., you'll rarely hear a car horn here); tolerant, even if not approving; and although people can seem aloof, they are usually pleasant if you talk first. No one here cares what religion you are, where you're from, or who you sleep with. For someone originally from New England such as myself, I think Phoenix--and Arizona in general, for that matter--is a much easier to place to live from a sociocultural standpoint.

[YAZ]

8 to 32.....

I have a sister that taught in Atlanta (high school), .........B.A. or B.Sc. and a teaching certificate is all it takes.

[PhxMan500]

Having personally bought and sold many homes, I tend to disagree with the others on renting first, but you must feel comfortable with your level of making a commitment and the area in which you want to live.

Phoenix is less like Atlanta in public vs. private attitudes, and it is not nearly as competitive if you want your kid in a private school later on. I know there are great schools in Chandler and Scottsdale (not to say the other areas do not have good schools, but I know those two cities best). There are academy and charter schools that are public with a more private feel. They offer a faster paced education (with a lot of homework). These cities are a tradeoff, however, if you are looking for good public transit and access to sporting events. Living close to downtown Phoenix would be your best option for that (or Glendale, depending on the sports you like), though downtown Phoenix area is much pricier for the specs for which you are looking.

Your budget is good, but you'll find here that five bedrooms are a little more difficult to find in your price range compared to Atlanta. Basement homes come at a premium, and large lots require an older neighborhood or a lot of cost in many cases.

Best hopes on a successful move!

[YAZ]

OP,

You're gonna miss the MARTA.

I have family in the Chamblee area and it's incredibly easy for me to get off the plane @ Hartsfield, jump on the train and be in their neighborhood in 30 minutes. I do the opposite for my way back home.


My wife and I plan our trips to GA during the summer.....yes, it's a welcome "cool down."

Spring & Fall are just as glorious here vs. Atlanta, with wintertime being "perfect."

And like 8 - 32 posted, the colleges & universities are much more prestigious in Atlanta......and there's a ton of 'em. Not to mention the incredible presence of the financial/insurance industry.

Still, Phoenix is HOME.....and probably will be through our retirement years. The pros far outweigh the cons.

Your mileage may vary......

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeBoyDJ

Public schools are really hit&miss here. If you choose to live in the East Valley then look into Chandler Unified, Scottsdale Unified, Gilbert Public Schools, and Kyrene. If you settle in the West Valley in Peoria or Glendale the public schools are far better in the northern part of both cities. Peoria Unified and Deer Valley I hear are decent.

No question that public schools are hit & miss, and that's putting it nicely. The OP stated that a private school would be an option. There are many good private schools around the metro area to choose from, but a lot of depends on if they want one that's religious based, or more secular. For the secular, I always recommend Rancho Solano: been in business for many years, and has always had a good reputation.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeBoyDJ

Public transit is pretty much non existent especially in suburban areas. You will be highly dependent on your personal vehicle.

Not necessarily. Public transportation USED to be pretty much non existent, especially in the suburbs ... but there have been improvements. Somebody who chooses to live way out in far flung exurbia will probably have little or no choice for transportation other than their own vehicle. Suburbs like Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, and just about anywhere in the city of Phoenix can get pretty decent bus service. Light rail has been a big deal from Chris Town through the Central Corridor/downtown to Tempe & Mesa. I do agree, however, that most people still prefer to drive, and it is the easiest way of getting around.

[bmhooks]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We are considering renting but we will have equity from our current home and my husband would prefer to purchase but we will see...

Thanks again!