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What a lovely Chicago morning, -17°F and feels like -40°F. Awesome. Oh the low tomorrow at 7am will be -25°F. Lovely...!
Sounds like a tropical heat wave. Seriously, your part of the country has the worst weather now, and our worst season is summer when temps easily exceed 110 degrees. Some will say the heat is easier to handle because it's "dry" and you don't have to shovel it, but heat stroke is common if you're not prepared. Also, it can be difficult to deal with for 4 straight months! The nice thing about Phoenix's location is it's not too far away from cooler destinations for escaping during the hot season.
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Originally Posted by V1k1
Great suggestions everyone! I know the big question is where I'd be working. I know it was vague when I originally said I'd want to work in Phoenix or the neighboring towns, but I just meant that I don't want to be far away like in Goodyear (visited my cousin there), or I don't want to be in too quiet of a town that's more geared toward raising kids. I wonder how Mesa is. I know it's a little further, but maybe it's worth it!
The west Valley would be a bad commute during rush hour. Mesa is a huge suburb in the east Valley, but there's not a great deal of things geared for your age group unless you're downtown or in the Fiesta District, but those aren't the best areas to live.
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Originally Posted by V1k1
I loved Tempe, but still am over the college scene so that kind of steered me away from living there since I'm not in the college party mindset anymore.
Tempe is where you'll find a heavier concentration of college kids, but it's not all that way. Downtown Tempe has always been an active urban area, and it's continuing to grow taller & attract more companies, as well as diverse age groups. Not sure if you visited Scottsdale, but Old Town has a lot of activity that doesn't involve as much of a college scene.
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Originally Posted by V1k1
I definitely want a garage. I know it's harder to have one the closer you get to the city. Aside from the most expensive options near Phoenix, are there others? Or of the suggested, which will be more toward middle to high priced?
Seems like you want a house in a more centralized area. I'd focus on Camelback East (roughly 16th Street through 44th Street), as well as just about anything in the north central Phoenix area. You'll also find the older neighborhoods around midtown & the Melrose district have smaller sized houses with carports & garages. Check into some of the historic areas west of Central Avenue, such as Encanto, Willo, and Palmcroft. Lots of places you can look into that don't involve living so far out.
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Originally Posted by V1k1
Peoria... How is it there? Seems like it'd be far from any job in the Phoenix area.
Sprawling suburb that has a pretty high concentration of families and retirees. I don't recommend it for somebody your age.
Valley Native, you just put the cherry on top here. I really appreciate the in depth answers to each of my concerns! I still appreciate all the other responses.
I prefer heat over cold/snow. Heck, sometimes in the warmer weather here I feel cold. I agree, I'd take vacations during the summer as opposed to during the winters here.
The suburban towns definitely seemed like here - very family oriented or retirees, which is not what I want to be around.
Tempe felt great and felt like it was in the prime spot to travel to the towns around it. Prime to me in the sense that it had what I felt I needed, per say. We went through Scottsdale, but seemed a bit expensive for the time being. Or is a part of it more affordable?
My gut says is saying Tempe or Camelback East / Arcadia. I think this would be in-between if I worked in Phoenix or Tempe, which is where I'm seeing most jobs I'd apply to are. Seems like it keeps the locations for jobs more doable.
How is a commute between Camelback East and Tempe or Camelback East to Phoenix? Is it as bad compared to Tempe to Phoenix? Obviously the further out towns would be even worse, so those are out of questions (also they're too quiet/family oriented for me).
Valley Native, you just put the cherry on top here. I really appreciate the in depth answers to each of my concerns! I still appreciate all the other responses.
I prefer heat over cold/snow. Heck, sometimes in the warmer weather here I feel cold. I agree, I'd take vacations during the summer as opposed to during the winters here.
The suburban towns definitely seemed like here - very family oriented or retirees, which is not what I want to be around.
Tempe felt great and felt like it was in the prime spot to travel to the towns around it. Prime to me in the sense that it had what I felt I needed, per say. We went through Scottsdale, but seemed a bit expensive for the time being. Or is a part of it more affordable?
My gut says is saying Tempe or Camelback East / Arcadia. I think this would be in-between if I worked in Phoenix or Tempe, which is where I'm seeing most jobs I'd apply to are. Seems like it keeps the locations for jobs more doable.
How is a commute between Camelback East and Tempe or Camelback East to Phoenix? Is it as bad compared to Tempe to Phoenix? Obviously the further out towns would be even worse, so those are out of questions (also they're too quiet/family oriented for me).
Camelback East to Downtown? Because Camelback East IS in Central Phoenix.
I work at ASU and until recently commuted here from 32nd st and osbourne. It was a breeze. 20 minutes tops. The best thing about central Phoenix (which includes Camelback east) is that you have a reverse commute to most places except downtown Phoenix which gets congested both ways morning and evening.
I've lived in the South Tempe/West Chandler area for 39 years. I can't speak to other areas that would work for you as others here can. But I highly recommend trying to find employment (assuming you'll be commuting) as close to where you live as possible.
They have expanded the freeway system here considerably since 1981, but the population of Phoenix metro has more than doubled in that same time, so many of the freeways are near capacity even during non-rush hour times. I'm recently retired, so I just stay off the freeways until after 9 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m. if I can avoid it. As others have noted, the commute can be a killer, especially when it gets hot.
I grew up in Wisconsin. In January 81 I got an opportunity to move to Arizona, and never looked back. It does get brutally hot here in the Summer but I'll still take 110F over -20F.
I've lived in the South Tempe/West Chandler area for 39 years. I can't speak to other areas that would work for you as others here can. But I highly recommend trying to find employment (assuming you'll be commuting) as close to where you live as possible.
They have expanded the freeway system here considerably since 1981, but the population of Phoenix metro has more than doubled in that same time, so many of the freeways are near capacity even during non-rush hour times. I'm recently retired, so I just stay off the freeways until after 9 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m. if I can avoid it. As others have noted, the commute can be a killer, especially when it gets hot.
I grew up in Wisconsin. In January 81 I got an opportunity to move to Arizona, and never looked back. It does get brutally hot here in the Summer but I'll still take 110F over -20F.
It all depends on what you like...I prefer a few days here and there of extreme cold over many months of extreme heat. My advice is try summer for at least a week if not a month...and rent don't buy for at least a year.
Tempe felt great and felt like it was in the prime spot to travel to the towns around it. Prime to me in the sense that it had what I felt I needed, per say. We went through Scottsdale, but seemed a bit expensive for the time being. Or is a part of it more affordable?
South Scottsdale is generally more affordable, and it's close to Old Town and Tempe. Most areas north of Old Town are going to be more expensive ... although there are some older middle class areas sandwiched in.
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Originally Posted by V1k1
My gut says is saying Tempe or Camelback East / Arcadia. I think this would be in-between if I worked in Phoenix or Tempe, which is where I'm seeing most jobs I'd apply to are. Seems like it keeps the locations for jobs more doable.
I live in the Camelback East area, and I can honestly say that it's one of the best areas of Phoenix which is still relatively affordable. Arcadia is even nicer, but definitely more expensive (and I've heard some say it's snootier as well). Both locations are within reasonable distance of downtown, Scottsdale, and Tempe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by V1k1
How is a commute between Camelback East and Tempe or Camelback East to Phoenix? Is it as bad compared to Tempe to Phoenix? Obviously the further out towns would be even worse, so those are out of questions (also they're too quiet/family oriented for me).
Camelback East is a section of Phoenix, so it depends on what part of Phoenix you're commuting to. Camelback East to Tempe isn't too bad, but there is heavy traffic during both morning & afternoon rush hours. I work in Tempe, but my schedule varies ... so if I have to commute during peak times, I'm actually better off taking surface streets instead of freeways. Other times of the day when traffic isn't as bad, it's a fairly easy commute.
I'm a Millennial (24) and I'm moving to Tempe this month. After living in Phoenix all my life, I find Tempe to be the most lively, with the most activities, and a better bang for the buck (yes, near ASU is expensive, but so is Scottsdale, Camelback East/Arcadia, and Downtown. For similar prices, Tempe offers a lot more to our demographic than the other areas).
I was going to move to Midtown Phoenix but found rents were a bit uncomfortable for my salary (Phoenix pays a lot less than other metros, keep that in mind when looking at rents and house prices) and found roommates in Tempe that made it worth it and I'll be paying less overall. I work in Midtown, which will make commuting from Tempe a bit more interesting, but I have a pretty flexible job so it's not too worrying.
I need help on what town to live in and work in. I plan to move this year from the Chicago land area to the Phoenix area. I visited early January with my girlfriend, and we loved it. Stayed in Tempe to be near Phoenix and other towns. We did dune buggies, lots of hiking, Sedona, Grand Canyon, and just exploring the general area. We felt good being sort of in the middle of a lot to do.
I'm 26 and want to be around activities that involve my age group. I like a lively area with options, even if I decide to stay in for the weekend playing video games or wrenching on my car. I love hiking and finding random activities to do, or good places to hangout such as restaurants or a more laid back bar. I like my cars/motorcycles. My Mustang and motorcycle need a good home with a garage .
I can't stand Chicago. Phoenix felt like a suburb from where I live, which I enjoyed. I want to avoid anything like Chicago and want to avoid long commutes and bad traffic.
I've heard Camelback East and Arcadia are nice places for us millennial's. Can anyone give suggestions on area's I can check out? Thanks in advance!
Im from Chicago and I cant stand it there either. Everyone who lives there though thinks its the center of the universe.
unfortunately, phoenix also suffers from bad traffic and long commutes, especially during the snowbird invasion, so dont come here thinking this area is like driving around some obscure suburban area, because it really isnt..
If you like outdoor living, and being able to do stuff outside year round, its great here...just remember, in the hell days of summer, you need to do your outdoor stuff early in the am, and after the sun goes down, which, isnt a big deal for most people, especially in your age group..
you would be smart moving to an area that was close to where you will be working, though..
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