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Hello Everyone,
My company is asking if I would like to fill an opening in Phoenix, I have lived in New England for the past 15 years or so. I am from Long Island NY originally. I did move with the company several times, in the past while I was single I lived in Nashville TN and Raleigh NC. We love where we currently live because of the neighborhood and our Home, but the weather is awful and we do not live near family so we would not be leaving a support network. My wife hates the cold, absolutely hates it. It doesn't bother me much, but the snow and stuff is getting old. I am a Car-guy and my toys sit in the garage more then half the year. We live in Western MA, we do NOT like anything near Boston, the people are rude and obnoxious. That is not the case where we currently live and I am assuming it will be much friendlier in the Phoenix area as well.
I am looking for advice, my research so far hasn't been easy, I was on this forum 3-4 hours last night and I googled stuff for another 2-3 hours. I almost moved to TX a few years back and it seemed like it was much easier to find out about neighborhoods and such there then Phoenix area. I have noticed neighborhoods all seem to have sub neighborhoods so the information gets overwhelming.
I have 3 children 13/13/9 and we absolutely want a planned neighborhood with other kids and some things to do. My boys and I golf (We currently live on a Golf Course and LOVE it) so a Golf Community would be nice, but if it raises the price too much not necessary. Good Schools are a must, we like New or almost New construction, and convenient shopping is a must (Just groceries and stuff, we are not big shoppers). We are NOT City people, we actually prefer the Country or further out suburb settings. I know Phoenix is much different, but I despise going to or near NYC, I only go for shows and such. Another random thought, we are independents, but we lean Conservative, we do NOT want to live in a liberal town.
Here are a few things you need to know, I would cover Colorado, Wyoming, and some of New Mexico as well as Arizona so Airport Access is also a consideration. Most weeks my commute to the office would be 2 days, not 5, and I can control the times I go. My budget is pretty flexible, I want to spend around $650K or so, but I would not sacrifice if I had to spend up to $800K, but no more then that.
Based on my current research it seems like Gilbert, Queen Creek, Chandler fit my needs/wants. Am I on the right track? Are there any other areas you recommend I research? And most importantly within these areas what Neighborhoods do you recommend? I like Pecan in Queen Creek, but it looks to be over my budget, I just started looking at Power Ranch in Gilbert (It looks Nice), and also Belmont at Somerset in Gilbert is something I found as well. One more point, and I know this may be difficult, my past 3 homes were custom built, I much prefer a well built home, my experience with many (Not all) of the Tract builders is the quality is not the same, I want a neighborhood that has Solid reputation for well built homes. I am not sure if this is an issue in AZ, but I have definitely seen it in other areas of the country.
Sorry about the big rant I was trying to give as much pertinent information as possible.
Thank you everyone I greatly appreciate and advice you could provide!!
If you hate the cold then moving South is the way to go....that being said...have you ever been here? Metro Phoenix is absolutely NOTHING like New England. Definitely nothing like NYC. The Metro area is basically CT and RI big. There is a upper and lower downtown area in Phoenix proper but it is not as dense as Boston/NYC. If you don't want to go downtown, there is no reason to unless you are going to a MLB or NBA game, some concerts...otherwise you can avoid it if you want to. The rest of the Metro area is pretty much devoid of multi-story buildings.
I am sure you know this but the summers are HOT. It takes some getting used to and working around the heat of the day but it is doable. Plenty of folks living here and deal with it. Every summer you see places spike above 100 and people freaking out about it but it is usually a "heat wave" in other parts of the country and it cools down at night. Late May - Early October is just plain hot. 110 Highs, high 90s lows hot. It does not cool off until October. BUT...October - May is the weather most of us live here for.
Golf? We have that in spades. Now finding a new/newer build on a golf course may be a little more difficult. $650-$800k is a healthy budget so you may be able to find something but my guess is it will be an "older" home. Understand that by "older" we are talking 20 years not a 100 year old home like some areas in the NE. Custom homes may be a bit more difficult and drive the price up a bit. Most Custom Home builders (that I am aware of) were building in places like Troon (N Scottsdale), the Island in Fulton Ranch, Arcadia or the Central Corridor where they are buying the property and tearing down the existing house. There are probably pockets elsewhere and I sure others will chime in.
Good schools? Not comparable to East Coast schools but they do the job. I am sure you have heard about the BASIS schools...they are a Charter (free to attend) and a possibility, they are purely academic schools and offer little in the way of Extra-Curricular programs. I personally don't like them as I view them as an academic meat grinder and don't allow kids to be kids. Others like them for the rigor of their academics but I feel like kids have their whole lives to be stressed about their professional performance, I am not putting that on my teenager. Just my opinion of course. CUSD (Chandler) is a good school system, Queen Creek Unified is getting some good marks lately and Gilbert Unified WAS a good district...probably still is to some extent but has some controversy lately. If you look into Scottsdale...the school district is very good as well. There are some private school options but you didn't really mention that as an option and the debate on "good schools" in AZ goes on and on. Bottom line is, if you are involved as a parent, your children can get a decent education.
Automotive enthusiast? It used to be pretty good for that, lots of wide open roads and day trips around the state...now expect some traffic wherever you are thinking of going. Inevitably a bunch of other people thought it was a good idea to head the same way you are Saturday morning. Please remember that we still have traffic laws out here and bad behavior on the road will still be punished. There are some amazing places to go and see though.
Good luck on your search...best bet would be to contact a local Realtor with your wants and needs as far as housing. I would say if you want to build....rent first, find a property that you want and get with a Custom Home Builder and go that route. I am sure there are some lots still available on some of the golf courses around.
Thank you for the detailed response!!! We agree 100% that parents involvement are key to kids education, we would NOT want the BASIS schools you describe, I could not agree more with your thoughts on that idea. SO just good public schools work, my kids are great students (My wife is a very active Stay at home mom and has built good habits in the Kids) they typically get straight A's.
We get 5 months of winter now, it is brutal, I understand the Heat will be similar from a standpoint of people staying indoors a lot more, but I would imagine it isn't as bad as dealing with the feet of snow and -20 degree windchill we deal with when you do have to go outside.
We are Northeast transplants. I've lived in New England, NYC, and PA. Based on everything you describe Gilbert/Chandler seems like it would be good but definitely not a rural feel. I think Power Ranch in Gilbert is a really nice planned community. My husband and I ARE NYC fans and I LOVE the feel of Central/North Central Phoenix so that would be out for you. I have a friend that lives in the planned community of Norterra in very North Phoenix and it has a pretty rural feel to me with lots of amenities, but far from the airport.
TWe get 5 months of winter now, it is brutal, I understand the Heat will be similar from a standpoint of people staying indoors a lot more, but I would imagine it isn't as bad as dealing with the feet of snow and -20 degree windchill we deal with when you do have to go outside.
Pretty much true. Northern pars of the country are indoors during the Winter...to a lesser extent we are stuck indoors in the summer. The plus side...it is hot but you can always jump in a pool if you have one, Chandler has some great water park-ish city pools (Mesquite Groves and the Hamilton pool come to mind) and relief from the heat is just a couple of hours away in the high country. If you are campers (or RVers) there are some amazing places to go that will get you out of the heat. We have improved camp grounds but, unlike the East Coast, AZ allows "dispersed" or "dry" camping meaning...if it is on National Forest land it is pretty much game to camp on. Unless the forest is closed of course, that happens sometimes between Memorial Day and 4th of July due to wildfire danger. Otherwise, San Diego and Orange County are 6 hours by car or a 1 hour plane ride away.
Arizona is also the #1 state for boat ownership, per capita. Roosevelt, Saguaro, Lake Pleasant, Canyon, Apache...all are within easy distance from Phoenix Metro. The Colorado river lakes aren't that far away either (Powell, Mojave, Havasu) My advice on that is if you are not going to turn boating into a lifestyle...rent one. Unless you want to drop $15k on a boat of course. They say the 2 happiest days of a boat owners' life are the day they buy it and the day they sell it. Otherwise, BOAT just stands for "Bust Out Another Thousand".
I wouldn't write off East Mesa on your list though either...Especially Las Sendas. Nice course, good schools, AWESOME mountain views.
Almost forgot...I hope you don't like the color green...although we do have vegetation a lot of the area is brown and different hues of brown. The arid climate doesn't make for a very lush environment. Again, if you want forests though they are only a couple of hours way. Coconino Natl Forest is the largest Ponderosa pine forests in the country.
We get 5 months of winter now, it is brutal, I understand the Heat will be similar from a standpoint of people staying indoors a lot more, but I would imagine it isn't as bad as dealing with the feet of snow and -20 degree windchill we deal with when you do have to go outside.
You might want to visit for a week in August before making that call
It's true you don't have to shovel sunshine, but especially when you've been as used to snow and cold as you are at this point, it's hard to understand how walking outside when it's 120 degrees is really like.
Reading your requirements and job location, the first place that came to mind was the master planned community of DC Ranch in Scottsdale. It’s built on community engagement so it’s perfect for kids and families, and has great amenities (including golf). Check it out and see if it would work for you.
Reading your requirements and job location, the first place that came to mind was the master planned community of DC Ranch in Scottsdale. It’s built on community engagement so it’s perfect for kids and families, and has great amenities (including golf). Check it out and see if it would work for you.
I agree with this recommendation but it will stretch his budget.
OP, born and raised in Western Mass and have lived here for the past 20 years. I think KurtAZ gave you great info on our rapidly changing metro. I wish you and your family could experience our summer before making a decision as it can be a game changer for some. I prefer the desert heat (as unbearable as it is at times) to the bitter cold of New England. As stated by others your budget should be able to get you something nice out here. I would look into the Gilbert/Chandler area, but Las Sendas in East Mesa may also be worth investigating. Beautiful community close to the mountain and the lower salt river.
Please feel free to DM me if you have more specific questions.
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