Information Needed on Arizona Living :) (Gilbert: home, luxury, school)

[Jelliedfox]

Just did an auto insurance quote with an address from one of the apartments I like and for full coverage, with the limitations I usually use... I got 245 for a quote, literally 4 dollars less that what im paying now so itll probably be approximately the same thing after a full run is done that im paying now. So thats a plus. lol

[kell490]

I would be surprised you could live in a decent area of town here on $10-15 an hour. Have you considered dog grooming my wife did that for 30 years the pay is much better and you still work with animals. She used to donate lot of dog grooming to local rescues had to stop dog grooming go back to school due to a medical condition where she could do that much physical work.

[AZgarden]

Maybe visit AZ Humane Society, Maricopa Co Animal Care and Control, AAWL (Arizona Animal Welfare League)
(They just got a new building) and HALO (Helping Animals Live On). There are a few other smaller outfits, but I think the care is mostly in homes. Try to contact Melissa Gable at Maricopa CoACand C. She is on TV alot and is a very nice person (I took a class with her). She might be able to help you.

[Jelliedfox]

Hi kell! To help you better understand my finances here is a small break down;

At 12/hr + on call pay and child support I get roughly 2300 a month. all the apartments I looked at were between 800-1000 a month. Two of which had sewer, trash, and water included in rent. (They're my top choices) these were both in Gilbert.

My car payment is 300 and my insurance is 280.

My electric bill here has only been the highest, 30 dollars. And that's between myself and my roommate. In the summer, with the AC on 24/7, my highest bill was 97.

My gas tank only takes 20 dollars to fill on empty at 2.39 a gallon. I fill it once a week.

My rent is 800.

My phone bill is 45.

My internet is 65.

My credit cards add up to 200

And then food is about 180. (It mostly goes to my son. I don't eat a lot)

And that's it. That equals out to 1607 roughly a month. Add in diapers, clothes, etc around 2000 a month. That's what I have now in jersey. Which leaves me will around 200 left over.

So getting a pay increase to 15 would add at least an extra 300-500 extra depending on their on call pay. So I can definitely see myself fitting nicely if I can keep my cost efficient spending going lol that extra pays for child care which is a plus. The only thing id probably have to do is work a part time job 2 or say days a week so id have extra spending money. But thats debatable, obviously. It all depends on the hourly pay and if I can find cheap child care. Like paying college students, etc.

And to answer yes! I have considered dog grooming. But it's client based and tips too so I'm iffy on that.

Phx oh my gosh thank you for all those places to see! I definitely was going to check the humane society you mentioned but being able to have someone to ask for really helps!!! I really appreciate you answer so much!!! I will definitely look into all of the places you mentioned. 

[dvxhd]

Originally Posted by Jelliedfox

Hi kell! To help you better understand my finances here is a small break down;

At 12/hr + on call pay and child support I get roughly 2300 a month. all the apartments I looked at were between 800-1000 a month. Two of which had sewer, trash, and water included in rent. (They're my top choices) these were both in Gilbert.

My car payment is 300 and my insurance is 280.

My electric bill here has only been the highest, 30 dollars. And that's between myself and my roommate. In the summer, with the AC on 24/7, my highest bill was 97.

My gas tank only takes 20 dollars to fill on empty at 2.39 a gallon. I fill it once a week.

My rent is 800.

My phone bill is 45.

My internet is 65.

My credit cards add up to 200

And then food is about 180. (It mostly goes to my son. I don't eat a lot)

And that's it. That equals out to 1607 roughly a month. Add in diapers, clothes, etc around 2000 a month. That's what I have now in jersey. Which leaves me will around 200 left over.

So getting a pay increase to 15 would add at least an extra 300-500 extra depending on their on call pay. So I can definitely see myself fitting nicely if I can keep my cost efficient spending going lol that extra pays for child care which is a plus. The only thing id probably have to do is work a part time job 2 or say days a week so id have extra spending money. But thats debatable, obviously. It all depends on the hourly pay and if I can find cheap child care. Like paying college students, etc.

And to answer yes! I have considered dog grooming. But it's client based and tips too so I'm iffy on that.

Phx oh my gosh thank you for all those places to see! I definitely was going to check the humane society you mentioned but being able to have someone to ask for really helps!!! I really appreciate you answer so much!!! I will definitely look into all of the places you mentioned. 

I emboldened and put in red a crucial thing you just mentioned (especially when I and others have cautioned you about your expected income), and I would strongly suggest you consult a New Jersey attorney before this move. I know a woman from back East who has a child living there, along with an ex-husband, and she moved to Arizona to follow a man she wanted to marry. Unfortunately for her, moving to Arizona meant giving up custody of her child and the state awarded her ex-husband sole custody on account of local law. New Jersey law does seem to have some conditionals regarding child support when it comes to taking a child away from the state or states bordering New Jersey, and your ex may be able to get out of future payments. I don't know that for certain, but you really need to consider that before this move and I would urge you to seek professional advice there.

I make quite a bit over the monthly figure you posted, and that doesn't feel like enough (single income, no dependents). If you really want to come for the "low cost of living" here, fine... that's your lesson to learn. Based on what you've been posting on this thread, I don't think you're thinking this through entirely. I really would encourage you to delve into cheaper areas of town, because you don't exactly work in a lucrative field.

[Jelliedfox]

I ran through my finances over and over. I think I know what I can afford. I don't want to move to lower prices and then sacrifice my safety for that. I'm not planning to just jump right into a move, either. I want what's best for my son and myself. New Jersey is twice as expensive and I can afford it so I don't see why keeping my pay but having my options be cheaper is a bad thing.

And to answer you question about hold support; I've already called. It won't change. My agreement will carry over from state to star unless my pay/expenses change. And that's if we do another court hearing.

Unfortunately for my son his father already moved out of state to Florida. He gave up his agreement with New Jerseys visitations as he left when he didn't get custody over our son before. Literally a week later. It's also the reason I don't want to go to Florida. I don't want to be anywhere near him. I left domestic violence once I cant go to a place where he can bring t back up again.

Jersey just has bad omens everywhere. Between family problems, no friends etc and a bad history here I want to leave t and start fresh. In just trying to find the best place for that. And I don't want it to be in a place where it's cold. I want to escape shoveling snow, nasty history, and a nice environment.

If it's not Arizona that's fine! It's a decision that will take time. I just gotta figure everything it and only want positivity to follow me in advice and suggestions.

[Jelliedfox]

So curious. Since everyone's main concern is price of living. What makes it so expensive in Arizona? What are the averages for a 1 bedroom apartment? I will only go if I work full time and if I can nab equal to 12/hr or more. (Which from what I've seen through job postings is fairly easy to achieve in my field). I'm also open to other jobs, it just depends. There's a few I'm qualified for with my criminal justice degree so obviously I'm open.

Everything I've researched over the past weeks is still around my price range but you guys are natives so you would know better than me. Feel free to drop websites with statistics etc

[sandy6879]

The thing is - AZ's cost of living balances out to the east coast. Sales tax is higher. The water bill is higher (we pay more once a month now than we did once a quarter in CT). Apartments rent isn't just rent - they add in a rental tax and they may add in extra fees, depending which complex or property management company you go with. The cost of gas, while it may look less to see the cost per gallon, comes out to more if you don't live super close to where you work due to how long it can be to drive in the area...and based on what you are saying, you're going to want to live in an apartment that could very well be far from where you work.

So many people think that there's a lower cost of living here - honestly, the only real difference I see is property taxes on a house. The lower cost of living seems to be as compared to California. Everything else balances out. It's not to be negative - it's to give you a realistic view.

[Jelliedfox]

Originally Posted by sandy6879

The thing is - AZ's cost of living balances out to the east coast. Sales tax is higher. The water bill is higher (we pay more once a month now than we did once a quarter in CT). Apartments rent isn't just rent - they add in a rental tax and they may add in extra fees, depending which complex or property management company you go with. The cost of gas, while it may look less to see the cost per gallon, comes out to more if you don't live super close to where you work due to how long it can be to drive in the area...and based on what you are saying, you're going to want to live in an apartment that could very well be far from where you work.

So many people think that there's a lower cost of living here - honestly, the only real difference I see is property taxes on a house. The lower cost of living seems to be as compared to California. Everything else balances out. It's not to be negative - it's to give you a realistic view.

Thank you Sandy! That gives me more of an idea WHY its around teh same. Everyone is saying itll be tough but not really giving a reason why.

Thankfully the first two apartments that I want include trash sewer and water included. But in case these dont work out, at least I know what to ask when looking at the others..

In an apartment what counts as water costs? When I lived in Florida it was just the bathroom and sinks. My water bill there highest was like, 20 bucks. How do they measure it out in Arizona?

I will look into rental and taxes as well. EDIT: Sales tax is 5 percent. 2% lower than jersey. clothes are taxable however, grocery food is not. (seems to have ended in 2015) So thats not so bad considering I buy most of my things online, anyway.

Im not too worried about the cost of gas in the car. I had a car that took double what I paid in this car. It never hurt my finances much. Its always the damn insurance or payments, though. -_-

thank you again, Sandy. I appreciate the extra insight!

[sandy6879]

That sales tax you are looking at is probably the state sales tax. Each city has it's own sales tax on top of the state sales tax. I'm in Gilbert, we're 7.8% and we are one of the lower ones. I know one of our neighboring towns is close to 9% (I don't shop there for that reason). Just a heads up on that. Our water bill for a family of 3 (usually 2 since my daughter lives at school) is about $70 a month. That's water and sewer.