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My family and I have been comparing and contrasting multiple potential relocation options affiliated with a myriad of factors (work, school, social events, safety, culture etc etc etc).
We are now exploring Phoenix as our potential landing spot, and we have what feels like an unlimited list of potential questions. While I realize that not all of these can be answered, I am optimistic that we can procure some insights which will be valuable nonetheless. Therefore, let me thank you in advance for your time and courtesy in making the effort to answer our basic questions.
Here's an overview......
We are an Italian-American family from the east coast. We are, more or less, a fairly private and reserved family who prioritize safety, cleanliness, privacy, and affordability. We are not a very social group, at least not by today's millennial generation standard. We don't need to "live near it all." We read, we exercise, we cook, we work. We're not the type of people who frequent bars, dance clubs, and over crowded social events. In truth, despite us all being in our 30's, we're probably more aligned with the social behaviors of people in their 50's than those of our own age. We're just good, quiet, reliable people. We don't drink alcohol, we don't do drugs, and we're found most nights to simply be cooking and sharing old family stories from the neighborhoods we grew up in. That's is - pretty simple.
There will be four of us (one couple, and two siblings) and we will have an eight year old with us in the summertime (a child from a previous marriage). We're comparing the differences and the cost of living variants between the "east side" and the "west side" of the area. That is to say, we consider the east side to be Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, etc etc etc........and the west side to be Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Litchfield Park, etc etc etc. We're wondering the following about the comparative areas;
(1) Is one side more affordable than the other? We're looking for a 3 bedroom apartment in a safe and well managed community. Is there a measurably different price point when comparing the two sides?
(2) Is one side more accessible to the city than the other? In other words, is the traffic into Phoenix worse from one side than the other?
(3) Do the populations vary on either side? For example, is one side more comprised of retirees than college students? Is one side home to more restaurants and parks than bars and clubs?
(4) Are the crime rates noticeably different? Is one side measurably safer than the other?
(5) Since we hear that traffic in Phoenix can be horrible, we are wondering about the job markets on either side. You see, we're moving with enough of a liquidity position to keep us all afloat comfortably for a year or more, but we intend to seek out work immediately when we get there regardless. However, we hear that driving from the east side to the west side during rush hour is a nightmare. Thus, we hope to find work on the side we live in. Therefore, the job opportunities related to either side is an important consideration.
In closing, here are our ideal financial parameters;
(1) We'd like to find a place to rent for under 1500 per month.
(2) We'd like to be in or near a community where we could eventually buy a home for under 250,000 once we get settled in to the area after the first year.
(3) We'd like to be in a place where local tax burdens are reasonable.
Thank you, again, in advance to everyone who replies. Any insights you can offer will be most appreciated.
I think much of your decision will be based on where you all will work. If you want jobs on the east side, then you want to live there. The concern is that here everything is spread out. Driving from east side to west side every day would be a headache. Try to narrow it down by looking at jobs first.
And no, one side is not cheaper than the other. And no, one side does not have more retirees, more bars, more restaurants than the other side. Things are pretty equal and east vs.west has lost much of its distinction in the past few years. You will find the majority of college students in Tempe. You will also find the majority of retirees in retiree communities.
I suggest you come visit first. Finding a house for you all for $1500 is certainly doable. Why an apt.?
And no, one side is not hotter or colder than the other !!! Good luck !
I think much of your decision will be based on where you all will work. If you want jobs on the east side, then you want to live there. The concern is that here everything is spread out. Driving from east side to west side every day would be a headache.
And no, one side is not cheaper than the other. And no, one side does not have more retirees, more bars, more restaurants than the other side. Things are pretty equal and east vs.west has lost much of its distinction in the past few years. You will find the majority of college students in Tempe. You will also find the majority of retirees in retiree communities.
I suggest you come visit first. Finding a house for you all for $1500 is certainly doable. Why an apt.?
And no, one side is not hotter or colder than the other !!! Good luck !
Thank you.
For us, part of the issue is that we will not have time to come visit ahead of time strictly for the purposes of finding a place to live. I am coming from Miami (where I currently reside), my fiance and her siblings are in New York (where they currently work). We are moving the first week in March (as a result of expiring circumstances at our current residences) and we are doing most of this from a distance.
That said, we have visited before and enjoyed it. However, admittedly, we weren't visiting as prospective residents, we were simply visiting as tourists. That obviously makes a difference as the points of focus vary greatly.
As to a home to rent, we would certainly be open to that. I think we are simply so accustom to apartments being in New York and Miami, that we expected to find another apartment. That said, yes, we would be open to either or.
As to work..........that is very much going to be a "sort it out when we get there" type of scenario. Our liquidity position is comfortable for the time being, and procurement of employment has never been an issue for us. We are all well educated professionals in possession of skill sets and formal education which has proven to be transferable and applicable to various disciplines in various cities. So, as backwards as it seems, we're going to find a place to live, and then look for work in proximity to our residence.
huge metro area with many, many dozens of choices.....(and taxes are not a burden out here at all).....
best suggestion is, if you can manage, have one person come out and get one of these "extended-stay"-style motels/hotels for a couple weeks and do a complete scouting of areas and complexes to live in for several months.....
very good idea to rent for a year or so in order to get a feel for the choices in the entire metro area for a serious home purchase....
Traffic in the south and east side of town (Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, San Tan/etc is worse than going northwest.
More suburban families in south and east side of town, with more retirees to the north and west.
You can buy a small 250k house almost anywhere in the valley with the exception of Scottsdale/Paradise Valley NE side of the valley.
The area with the most to do/see is probably a cone pointing NE from south of downtown PHX up towards north scottsdale.
In general, the job markets are relatively poor throughout the valley, but most of the good jobs are in downtown phx/tempe/camelback area. Phoenix is a city of retirees. Almost no large companies have headquarters here or even a significant physical presence.
The valley is too big to speak in generalities though, you'll want to live near where you work.
In general, the job markets are relatively poor throughout the valley, but most of the good jobs are in downtown phx/tempe/camelback area. Phoenix is a city of retirees. Almost no large companies have headquarters here or even a significant physical presence.
I believe the job markets being good or bad depend on your occupation. Too much of the valley is too middle class (or better) to for the job markets to be bad across the board. The same can be said of most large metros.
My family and I have been comparing and contrasting multiple potential relocation options affiliated with a myriad of factors (work, school, social events, safety, culture etc etc etc).
Hi Marcello!
I'm going to fisk your OP so that I can respond point by point. This may go long, so please get comfortable. :-)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello10
We're just good, quiet, reliable people. We don't drink alcohol, we don't do drugs, and we're found most nights to simply be cooking and sharing old family stories from the neighborhoods we grew up in. That's is - pretty simple.
Sounds a lot like my family, and a lot of families out here. It's easy to have a quiet life here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello10
(1) Is one side more affordable than the other? We're looking for a 3 bedroom apartment in a safe and well managed community. Is there a measurably different price point when comparing the two sides?
It might be obvious to say this, but the price points will vary based on local conditions, the age of the development, and the types of amenities that they offer. I'm not familiar with southwest metro apartment options, but my personal preference would be almost anything southeast over almost anything southwest.
One thing to be aware of is that there aren't major differences in micro-climate across the metro. I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area, where it seems each city has its own micro-climate variation (rain in Pacifica, fog in San Francisco, warmer in San Jose, etc.). Here, some areas are a little cooler or hotter, but it's pretty uniform. Having said that, Phoenix proper has a heat-sink quality, so in the summer it holds heat a little longer than the outlying areas. The north end of the valley is higher in elevation than the south end, so the air is thinner, and it tends to be a few degrees cooler. Monsoon storms tend to come from the south, so you might see minor differences in rainfall totals. Winter storms tend to come from the west and north.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello10
(2) Is one side more accessible to the city than the other? In other words, is the traffic into Phoenix worse from one side than the other?
I've never seen someone comment on that here at City-Data, but I've never seen that question either. LOL! Having said that, I haven't noticed specific east-or-west issues regarding traffic. At bad traffic times, it can be bad, and outside of those times, it's manageable. Also, depends on what you'd consider "the city," because you may really develop a preference for specific neighborhoods such as Old Town Scottsdale, or Biltmore in central Phoenix. If you're a football fan, access to Glendale would be more important than if you're a baseball fan and want access to the Diamondbacks stadium in central Phoenix. (And if you're a super-whooobaby-duper baseball fan, you might want access to north Phoenix & Scottsdale, where teams come for Spring Training.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello10
(3) Do the populations vary on either side? For example, is one side more comprised of retirees than college students? Is one side home to more restaurants and parks than bars and clubs?
Good points from other posters.
Demographics are hard. Lots of retirees up in Sun City West by Surprise, but also in Chandler and the southern metro near to Casa Grande, and in Scottsdale. Lots of students in Tempe by ASU. Lots of upscale areas in the northeast corner of the metro (North Scottsdale, Troon, Carefree). Central upscale areas such as Paradise Valley & Arcadia. It sounds like you're looking for a middle class family friendly area, and there are a lot of those.
If you reach the point where you're ready to buy something, Chandler, Gilbert, and Mesa have a lot of options, including new builds, in your price range. (Also the southwest metro, but that goes back to the question about what type of work you're looking for.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello10
(4) Are the crime rates noticeably different? Is one side measurably safer than the other?
I'm not sure I'm qualified to address crime rates per se, but in terms of public safety, Gilbert was ranked #2 in the country for cities with populations over 200,000. (Irvine CA, out in Orange County, was #1.) I find it impossible to believe that Gilbert isn't safe, but statistics are always exactly that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello10
(5)Since we hear that traffic in Phoenix can be horrible, we are wondering about the job markets on either side.
Difficult to say without knowing what you do, and anything I could say here would be such a generalization that it's difficult to say if it's even meaningful.
Having said that, here's the only real suggestion I can make. If you're in tech, you should probably be in the east valley along the 101 loop, stretching down to Chandler. If you're in the trades or a blue-collar position, you can probably find a job anywhere in the metro.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello10
(1) We'd like to find a place to rent for under 1500 per month.
(2) We'd like to be in or near a community where we could eventually buy a home for under 250,000 once we get settled in to the area after the first year.
(3) We'd like to be in a place where local tax burdens are reasonable.
Thank you, again, in advance to everyone who replies. Any insights you can offer will be most appreciated.
Yup, these are all totally doable based on your initial comments. You can find new-build homes at the Bridges in Gilbert starting under $250k. You're not going to find really bad taxes anywhere.
In regards to the job market, many 2015 projections see Chandler and Gilbert as "Top 10" places for employment and job growth. However, in fairness, depending on where you look, every statistical conclusion is drawn from variable criteria. So, whereas Time may say one thing, CNN may say another, and USA Today may draw a completely different conclusion. Nonetheless, from what I see statistically, and in labor market reports and projections, Phoenix in general looks poised to provide a healthy job climate over the next 1-3 years.
As to what we do, we each work in different fields really. I have been a capital markets strategist for years. This has encompassed equities research, mortgage and real estate analysis, and behavioral economic theory. I am selling my own boutique firm (the deal closes at the end of the month) with the hope of sort of starting something new - perhaps in a field where the skills are transferable but where the hours and travel are more conventional. In regards to the other three members of my family coming along, two work in healthcare / medical imaging (sonography, X-ray, patient care) and the other one works in human services (counseling, program support, and family services).
I suppose, really, what we're trying to do is simply find somewhere to call home that is safe, clean, affordable, and easily accessible to sections of the city where jobs and potential employers are aplenty.
We focused on the "east side" and "west side" simply based on what our previous research had revealed. However, we would be open to suggestions certainly. Therefore, if any of you have insights worth sharing, we would be most appreciative to hear them.
There's a very real likelihood that you won't all be working in the same part of the Valley. Starting a business, you can be somewhat flexible, which might help, but there's the other two to consider.
Perhaps the best option, for the first year, is to rent something in the middle, in more or less central Phoenix. Once you get the work part sorted out, and learn the Valley better, you'll be able to make a different choice if you want or need to.
I agree with Observer that renting an apartment in the middle might work best initially. One thing to note is that the pay scale out here tends to be lower than back east, especially the Northeast. However, as you may already know, the COL is also cheaper so it balances out. During rush hour the traffic can be tough, but I personally don't think it's bad compared to other major metros.
I happen to live in the East Valley and prefer it over the west. I like the cities in the east valley (Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale) a little better than the west. I also lived in the southwest valley and didn't like it too much, but there are nice areas in the West valley. You should be able to find a home in your budget in most of the valley with the exception of places like Paradise Valley and parts of Scottsdale.
For those family members in health care I would think their employment prospects would be good. We have lots of hospitals and medical centers (lots of retirees) and new ones are springing up often.
Finally, the valley is growing up. No, we don't have any Fortune 500 companies...yet, but many people are starting to realize that they can achieve a decent quality of life here if they can adapt to the desert. It's hot, but there is a lot more to the desert than the heat. Good luck.
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