?-Possible move to the Phx area (advice & thoughts) (Phoenix: how much, home)

[ohyellowbug]

Originally Posted by hiero2

Traffic is awful. Visit in July instead of May, although it should be getting good and warm in May. Personally, I'd rather live in LA, or NM. Even Texas has some nicer spots than Phoenix. But I'm biased. I hated Phoenix.

Why did you hate it?

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by ohyellowbug

Yeah. I commute now and I spend about 3 hours of my day in a car which is my least favorite thing.

No thank you on that! Though if your drive a yellow bug (judging by your username), that might not be too bad (I used to have a yellow Beetle convertible. I miss her!)

As someone else suggested, start scouring the job sites so see what is out there. I have found ZipRecruiter and Indeed to be the best resources. You will be able to start to see where most jobs in your field are located in the valley (I am guess downtown for sure, and soem eat valley) which would help you determine where you should think about living...from there you can figure out what housing costs would be for what you need.

[BCEagles01]

Originally Posted by ohyellowbug

Hi!

Background info is I am a single female in my mid 20s. I own a small dog and I have an associate degree in an ABA paralegal program. I have about 4 years experience in my field. I have worked as a legal secretary/paralegal/admin assistant. I am ready to leave my home state of MD and I am very interested in moving to the southwest. I will be visiting in May and I am thinking of applying to some jobs closer to that date to see if I can’t get any interviews while I am visiting. For anyone who lives or has lived in the Phoenix area can you let me know what you think or if you have any advice? I am hoping to get as much information as possible.

My questions are the following:

1. What would you consider to be a living wage in the phx area? How much an hour would you saw is the lowest one person could go and still be comfortable? My lifestyle isn’t really about the bars or going on lots of vacations. I like to go out to eat and try new restaurants. I’m pretty low key and I do like staying home.

2. Car insurance. I currently pay about $300 for 6 months with no accidents on my record. I saw online when I googled that AZ can be about $90-105 a month. Would you say this is correct? Same with gas prices? I know those change, but right now I pay about $2.55 a gallon.

3. How much would you say the average rent is? I’m not a downtown type of living girl and I don’t want to be where there is a ton of college students having parties. Currently I pay about $1,600 for a 700 sq foot apartment in Maryland and I feel like it takes most of my income.

4. Any other information you think would be useful to a single mid 20s female? Things you wish you had know before you moved?

I appreciate any advice, thoughts and insight as you can never have too much info when making a decision like this

Better off here in Houston, Dallas or Austin if you're interested in the Southwest.

Better job market, and many, many many more Fortune 500 companies between here in Houston, Austin and Dallas.

Houston is definitely cheaper. No state taxes and you won't cook for half the year. Sure it's hot in Texas, but if 100+ temps are your idea of nice for nearly 2 straight months of the summer Phoenix is your place.

Took a job in Phoenix for 2 years...great to VISIT, but absolutely couldn't leave fast enough back to Texas.

$1600 for 700sq ft ? Sounds like the where I resided on the East Coast. I know it's quite simplistic, but $1600 in most major cities or suburbs in Texas will get you may more space. You're paying more in rent than I am in mortgage in a fairly nice suburb.

Example :

https://www.har.com/54-w-montfair-bo.../sale_87286587


And I'm a born and bread East coast person from a major US city on the east coast.

Texas over Arizona if I'm moving to the southwest.

[BCEagles01]

Originally Posted by hiero2

Traffic is awful. Visit in July instead of May, although it should be getting good and warm in May. Personally, I'd rather live in LA, or NM. Even Texas has some nicer spots than Phoenix. But I'm biased. I hated Phoenix.

Agreed.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by BCEagles01

Houston is definitely cheaper. No state taxes and you won't cook for half the year. Sure it's hot in Texas, but if 100+ temps are your idea of nice for nearly 2 straight months of the summer Phoenix is your place.

Hey...get it right...it is over 100F here 3-4 straight months out of the year. 2 months would be a mild summer.

[Burkmere]

Originally Posted by KurtAZ

Hey...get it right...it is over 100F here 3-4 straight months out of the year. 2 months would be a mild summer.

Yeah, stay away! The place is being flooded with people as it is!!

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by ohyellowbug

Thank you. I’ve been looking on Indeed and I will look at LinkedIn, etc as well. I focused mainly on one type of law and I am currently at a new job working on expanding my skills so that I can do more than that one area. I did see quite a few postings for jobs which was a good sign for me.

I suggest that you also try "Glassdoor" for jobs. It is pretty good and gives a fair amount of info about the companies and what the jog pays.

https://www.glassdoor.com

I lived in Phoenix and it would definitely be my second choice to live after California, probably Gilbert or Chandler. I have lived in many places and Phoenix was definitely better than Texas, Florida, etc.

[Returning2USA]

Originally Posted by ohyellowbug

Yeah. I commute now and I spend about 3 hours of my day in a car which is my least favorite thing.

3 hours?

Sorry, off topic.

I used to live in DC. Where are you commuting to and from, if I may ask?

And if you come to Phoenix, welcome!

[locolife]

Originally Posted by BCEagles01

Better off here in Houston, Dallas or Austin if you're interested in the Southwest.

Better job market, and many, many many more Fortune 500 companies between here in Houston, Austin and Dallas.

Houston is definitely cheaper. No state taxes and you won't cook for half the year. Sure it's hot in Texas, but if 100+ temps are your idea of nice for nearly 2 straight months of the summer Phoenix is your place.

Took a job in Phoenix for 2 years...great to VISIT, but absolutely couldn't leave fast enough back to Texas.

$1600 for 700sq ft ? Sounds like the where I resided on the East Coast. I know it's quite simplistic, but $1600 in most major cities or suburbs in Texas will get you may more space. You're paying more in rent than I am in mortgage in a fairly nice suburb.

Example :

https://www.har.com/54-w-montfair-bo.../sale_87286587


And I'm a born and bread East coast person from a major US city on the east coast.

Texas over Arizona if I'm moving to the southwest.

This isn't a Texas vs Phoenix thread, it's a Phoenix relocation question. But since you brought it up, I would not consider living in either of those two metros over Phoenix, even if my dream job were to be offered there. Not only are they both hot and humid, the sprawl and traffic are on levels Phoenix won't ever see, there's no mountains anywhere nearby, the nearby beaches are okay at best, they both lack any type of nearby high country to visit, and I can't stand the humidity over a drier climate. The last point is of course personal preference, the diurnal temperature change we get in the desert is a welcome night respite from the summer high temps, during our Monsoon season we get a taste of what Houston is like and we can't wait for it to end minus the awesome thunderstorms and welcome rain it brings for a few months.

The home posted above is about as sprawled out as you can get, the woodlands is well sought after community very far North of downtown Houston (something like Anthem here in Phoenix). The house posted above is a full 34 miles from downtown Houston, that's 1 hour without traffic! Care to catch an Astros game that will be nearly 80 miles round trip. A Texans game? That will be 90 miles round trip. NO thanks.

By comparison, here in Phoenix you can get a similar sized and priced house at the base of South Mountain, home to 100 miles of singletrack trails to enjoy hiking, biking, horseback riding right out of your back door. That house is 13.5 miles from downtown Phoenix or about 20 minutes without traffic. And I can guarantee from personal experience, the traffic into downtown Phoenix is much easier than going from the woodlands to downtown Houston.

https://www.redfin.com/AZ/Phoenix/11.../home/27012426

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by locolife

This isn't a Texas vs Phoenix thread, it's a Phoenix relocation question. But since you brought it up, I would not consider living in either of those two metros over Phoenix, even if my dream job were to be offered there. Not only are they both hot and humid, the sprawl and traffic are on levels Phoenix won't ever see

Seriously? Phoenix is notoriously one of the most sprawling metros in the nation. Dallas and Houston do have more sprawl overall, but they're also larger in population. When the Phoenix area grows to the current size of those 2 metros (and it will), you will definitely see more sprawl here. It's already happening. To make matters worse, a lot of our outward development is defined as "leapfrog sprawl". See Maricopa, Buckeye, and San Tan Valley for a few examples of this. As for traffic, I'm guessing you don't drive much during rush hour, but some of the freeways are fully congested in both directions now ... this was not the case just a few years ago. No, we're not quite as congested or sprawled out as Dallas or Houston, but saying that the sprawl & traffic in Houston & Dallas "are on levels Phoenix won't ever see" is untrue.

Originally Posted by locolife

By comparison, here in Phoenix you can get a similar sized and priced house at the base of South Mountain, home to 100 miles of singletrack trails to enjoy hiking, biking, horseback riding right out of your back door. That house is 13.5 miles from downtown Phoenix or about 20 minutes without traffic. And I can guarantee from personal experience, the traffic into downtown Phoenix is much easier than going from the woodlands to downtown Houston.

It's all personal preference as you stated ... and as for me, I don't see the appeal of living at the base of a mountain, especially the so called mountains around here. They're home to rattlesnakes and other creatures which I don't care to associate with, and they're brown & generally unattractive. As for all the hiking & horseback trails, it would be much more appealing to live in a rural area or a small town like Payson or Wickenburg (not the nation's 5th largest city) if a person wanted that lifestyle. You could have nature pretty much all to yourself, and not have to contend with all the amateurs who litter the preserves with their trash, or waste our tax money getting rescued.

I noticed you didn't address BCEagle's comments about the number of Fortune 500 companies in the Texas cities compared to here, as well as the fact that Texas has no state income tax. Both of which tend to go hand in hand because there's no need for an income tax there due to all the revenue generated by the industry ... and besides, I'm sure many Texans who are still pretty conservative wouldn't appreciate paying an income tax. Also, what few national/global HQs we have are often located in suburban office parks instead of downtown where they should be. Even a regional firm like Chase is moving out of the downtown tower into various other locations, including south Tempe! As a result of this, we're seeing much more congested traffic in the suburbs. All this does is lead to more sprawl, and reduces the appeal to live in the central core ... which if I recall, you're an advocate of.