Tell me what to do! When should I move?

[AZgarden]

Hi there: I lived in Cleveland while I went to nursing school. Mayfield hts is nice. I had an apt in Shaker Hts, and then in Cleveland Hts. Loved the place. But Cleveland is a no man's land for a single male your age. Here there are dozens of single clubs, meet ups, dances, etc etc for you to meet people. And there is a significant older population here that fits in just fine, thanks. We are not snobs, snotty nosed uppity people. For heavens sake, everyone here is from somewhere else!!! I live on a meager part time salary and moved here 7 years ago from Chicago, with my daughter. Neither of us had jobs.
You will do just fine. I am 65 now but jobs for over 50 are not that hard to find. Alot of employers value the older workers cause they are more stable. Cleveland is for the birds. No place to spend your older years. Try Craig's List for a room to rent. I have one but its against the rules to advertise. Cleveland's winters are long, boring, and gray. You will love it here. So come on down!!!!

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

It's not the rich snubbing folks that I am getting at. What I see here is that there are limited choices for "median" income people. The places they can afford to live are often decaying. The schools in these older areas are bad and it feels like you are living in foreign country (guess which one) whenever you go to the grocery store. Your case is different in my mind than the other poster, though. You are only 26, at the beginning of your career, you have a job lined up and will probably be advancing in salary in the coming years. So things are quite hopeful for you in Phoenix. There is a lot of opportunity here for people in your stage of life. If I were in your shoes and I thought I would like Phoenix, I'd be here in a minute. If it doesn't work out then you move on richer and wiser for the experience.

Yes, I think moving to Phoenix is the right thing to do career wise. I may have to consider finding roommates any splitting a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in order to meet my budget. Fortunately, my friend is letting me stay with him for a couple of weeks (I'll be paying half of his bills) until I get settled in. When you're talking about the middle class being squeezed out, do you see that as just a Phoenix thing? Isn't that a national trend? I have some friends and family who live in Seattle, and the cost of living there is absolutely insane-- much worse than Phoenix.

[azkylady2]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Stay in Ohio. A lot of my family lives in the frozen Tundra of the upper midwest. They are all broke and living paycheck to paycheck because the economy stinks - always has and always will. But, everybody's broke around there. It's the norm. You have plenty of friends who live in houses with the paint peeling off, see plenty of rusted and smoking old cars like yours at the ShopKo, and have bars and places to go where you can get a cheap beer or a reasonably priced drink. In short, you fit in.

If you're broke and move here, you're like a brown shoe at a wedding. You don't fit in. You move into a land where money matters. It matters in where you live, the friends you have, the places you go, the schools your kids attend, your safety on the streets, the self-esteem you may have and how you are perceived. If you are poor or on the edge, you get a lousy apartment in a dangerous part of town, where you neighbors are drug addicts or illegal aliens or crooks and thieves. Even if you are not one of these all your neighbors and everyone you tell your address to will think you are. Your old AMC Javelin will be a source of shame and ridicule here where in Ohio it might have been considered a classic - especially if the rust wasn't so bad.

Everywhere you look here you will see success. People with money and posers who have enough to pretend they do are like ants on a jelly bean here. There are Hummers and Beemers and so many houses bigger and more extravagant than anyone would ever need. After a while of seeing this and going back to your dingy apartment in your rundown neighborhood you will lose whatever sense of self-worth you came here with and sink into hopelessness and depression.

This is the worst place on earth to be down on your luck.

I have to totally agree with this. If I had to ever live in the very poorest section of a city, Phoenix would be very scary place to do that. All cities have there inner city and low income, crime, and gang acitivites for sure, but, you would think you were in a foreign country on top of all that

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by azkylady2

I have to totally agree with this. If I had to ever live in the very poorest section of a city, Phoenix would be very scary place to do that. All cities have there inner city and low income, crime, and gang acitivites for sure, but, you would think you were in a foreign country on top of all that

I don't agree with that statement at all and did not intend to imply that. Phoenix has the classiest ghettos of anywhere for what it is worth. The worst parts of town here are not unsafe to drive through or visit and that is not the case in many US cities. We don't have the failed housing projects and high rise slums warehousing thousands of urban poor that are found in many cities. You haven't been around much if you think it is bad here. My point has to more do with the lack of a really decent place for a struggling, working-class Joe or Jill type to live here and feel good about it. The very poor and homeless etc, that's a different story.

[JDish2000]

My friend from Louisville moved here several years back. He ended up in an apartment that was around $450.00 a month near the I-17 and Indian School Road.

Suffice to say, he said that cops were always near the apartments due to some sort of illegal activity.

He did finally move out of the apartments after a few years - he now lives in Central Phoenix because he loves being centrally located.

Other than some homeless folks that he once in a while confronts in the alleyway, he loves where he lives!

[ivanabacowboy]

midnightrambler-as a previous poster suggested, if you can get into the $800-900 range for a 1BR, you can get into some of the really nice areas of town in northern Phoenix/Scottsdale. My niece has a 1 BR at Via de Ventura and Hayden for $830. Not "luxury" class, but a nice apartment, with a nice patio in a fairly "upscale" area. It is the older part of "north Scottsdale", so there is a lot of greenery, grass, mature trees. The further north you get, in general the buildings are newer and the landscape is more true desert with cactus and dirt as folks got environmentally conscious by the time the more northern areas were developed. Just driving from where she lives to where I live, just 6 miles north of her, the difference in landscaping is very very apparent.

Bobleevegas: To give you a scope of reference for the areas I am talking about: think of Beachwood. Replace the pine trees and oaks and maples with palm trees, get rid of the snow, put outdoor patios on all the restaurants (in fact, add a few thousand MORE restaurants), stick a resort or spa of some sort on every corner, plunk down a lot more golf courses, raise the temperature about 30-50 degrees depending on time of year and that is Phoenix. ;-) Tho I ironically dont think it is as expensive here as in Beachwood lol. My rent here is only $120 more than my rent was in Parma Hts. And I am up in the resort district, building is only a few years old, nice amenities like in-suite full-size washer/dryer and granite countertops. Essentially if your job permits you to live "decent" in Ohio, you wont have a hard time getting by out here. I negotiated a huge raise when I relocated out here as everyone told me it was sooooo expensive. My car insurance went up about $20 and my rent about $120. My utilities have actually decreased-even running the air the entire month of August/September when it was 100' everyday so it ran 24 hours was never even close to as high as my electric bill had been in Ohio. Now I have a lot more pocket change. ;-) The only thing that is really more expensive is because there are more restaurants and shopping around, I do eat out more for example than in Cleveland.

[blur01]

I used to think I needed a change and would move. I thought I would meet new people and have hot girlfriends, etc. After about 15 moves I realized that moving my sucky personality and subpar looks to a new locale didn't change a damn thing! Everywhere I'm at sucks and now I'm in Phoenix, so Phoenix now sucks. Maybe you should stay in Ohio. I lived and worked near you (Neo Park, Parma, etc.) I hated it then, but now miss it. I miss the great National Park there (the Ledges, the canal, though I had to fight the urge to throw myself off the ledges and drown myself in the canal) Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[azkylady2]

Originally Posted by blur01

I used to think I needed a change and would move. I thought I would meet new people and have hot girlfriends, etc. After about 15 moves I realized that moving my sucky personality and subpar looks to a new locale didn't change a damn thing! Everywhere I'm at sucks and now I'm in Phoenix, so Phoenix now sucks. Maybe you should stay in Ohio. I lived and worked near you (Neo Park, Parma, etc.) I hated it then, but now miss it. I miss the great National Park there (the Ledges, the canal, though I had to fight the urge to throw myself off the ledges and drown myself in the canal) Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

think thats exactly what we mean when we say its whatever you make it.