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I actually feel bad for saying this, because, I grew up here (in Mesa). Then I left for California and traveled around, before ending up back here (family remained here all that time). Now I'm married with a child on the way, and I just can't deal with the thought of yet another summer coming, a summer that always, as usual, feels like H-E-L-L.
Problem is, this country is in trouble everywhere. Real estate is still out of control for much of the country, Phoenix included. Nobody will ever be able to convince me that the three bedroom house my parents live in here is worth $280,000. No way.
Now the unspoken rule in Phoenix is that everyone keeps quiet about the intolerable, horrible, inhumane heat. Don't talk about it. And if someone does make a mistake and bring it up, make sure that it is announced quickly that IT'S A DRY HEAT (as if that is supposed to help, since an oven is also technically a dry heat).
So we have this obvious, undeniable, dirty little secret that we're supposed to never talk about, otherwise the entire city would be indicted and those who put it here 100 years ago would be found to be the biggest fools in the history of the country.
So clearly, I want to leave. But the question is, where to go? As I said before, the country is ruined, at least for now, until real estate prices return at least a little to where they were in the recent past. There is nowhere truly affordable (Phoenix doesn't qualify as affordable anymore either), unless you want to go to the Midwest (not that that's bad, just that it isn't for everyone).
Anyone have any non-Midwest, non-Arizona, and yes, non-California suggestions of where to go, an AFFORDABLE place where raising a family is possible without having to have an "upper class" income?
Thanks in advance, and thank you (or I apologize) for your reading of these late night random thoughts.
Why not move to upstate NY (Rochester) where real estate is affordable but taxes are ridiculous, there are no jobs and it is cloudy and miserable nine months out of the year? A place where it is so cold in the winter time that you don't even want to think about going outside for three months.....at any time of day or night! How about not seeing the sun for up to three months straight!? Maybe you wouldn't mind having a $150k home and paying $5000 in taxes just on your home every year if you can find a job! How about sitting in traffic in a snowstorm and then having to pay a toll for the right to use a road that they don't even plow?! Maybe having your car turn into a rust bucket because they constantly lay down layers upon layers of road salt to keep the ice off of the roads from November to April is what you are looking for?! If you enjoy paying some of the highest income taxes in the country, then NY would love to welcome you! Paradise! Go for it!
Oh I forgot to mention that there is two months of summer weather up there too and even some green grass.
I hate to say this to you but if you are miserable now it is only going to get worse once your baby arrives and gets a little older, in my opinion. I also was born and raised here, am 32 years old, and left only to go to college in Flagstaff. It was pretty darn cold up there and couldn't wait to get back to Phoenix. I thought I would never want to leave Phoenix. But now I have four kids, the oldest two are 4.5 and my husband and I can't wait to leave. This is not the place where I want to raise my children. It is miserable for at least 4 months of the year where my poor boys can't go outside to play. You can only go in the pool so much. Then for two more months they can only go outside in the morning or evening. Having children made my whole perception of the Phoenix area change. The traffic is horrible, the school systems aren't that great, and it is hotter than you know what. Plus it is so darn expensive, my husband and I can't get seem to get ahead. The only thing keeping us here for now is that all of both our families are here. But we still fully intend to leave.
So, where do we want to go? Well over the last couple of years I have been researching a few different places on the internet including Boise, Id, Colorado Springs, Co, Raleigh, NC and Nashville, Tn. From what I have learned about Boise, it is just going to turn into another Phoenix, but a colder one at least. I love the idea of Colorado Springs however the economy there doesn't appear to be the greatest and my husband doesn't think he could a job there very easily (he is an attorney). Raleigh looks to be getting more overcrowded with high crime rates. So right now we are leaning toward a suburb of Nashville called Franklin. We went there a year and a half ago and fell in love with it. We are going back in April to see if we really do see it is as somewhere we could live. It is green, houses on one acre are the rule not the exception, people are friendly and although it is humid in the summer, our friends that live there say the really bad humidity lasts only 3-4 weeks (which compared to the miserable heat for 4-6 months here seems pretty appealing). Franklin is definitely the more upscale part of Nashville, referred to as the Paradise Valley of Nashville but we are still looking at being able to get a beautiful brick home with at least 3,000 sq. feet on at least 1/2 to 1 acre for between 300,000 and 400,000.
My recommendation to you is to check out other forums on here. That is what I have been doing for at least the last year and how I have gotten a lot of my information. I just post questions or read others questions. People have good opinions of places.
Good luck in your search and on the birth of your little one.
I have guilt about raising my children in Apache Junction. They have never known about 4 seasons. They weren't able to have a true playing childhood, where they could just go outside and run and play all day. It's just too hot to have them play outside, like did when I grew up.
We moved to Prescott Valley after our kids were out of high school. They didn't want to move away from their friends during high school. Now I wish we would of just moved here years ago.
We actually have 4 seasons here!!! It's a happy medium between the heat of PHX area and the cold of Flagstaff. Being we are phyically about half way between both cities. Its very easy to drive either direction when one needs a weather fix. It's close enough to visit family in either city.
We seriously consitered Boise ,ID. and Plano, TX. I think we finally narrowed it down to Boise next time we move. but I won't move that far unless family member will move too.
Thank you everyone that has replied so far, I appreciate the help (with the notable exception of bigjdotcom01, I think I'll pass on that offer).
Seeing what some said regarding children, and the inability to let them go outside for large extents of the year, that was my concern. My wife loves being outside, she loves to go for walks, and now when our child comes, she can't wait to take him out and go on walks with him. But how do you do that when it's 110 degrees out! And walking around the mall just isn't the same thing. Why should we be relegated to rushing from one air conditioned, stuffy, recycled interior airspace, to another?
I'm happy to hear what others are saying because this was my concern. And she can't take him out for a walk at 2:30am, not just because it's unwise to walk the streets at that time, but the temperature is still 90 degrees then anyway!
So at this point we're looking into communities in North Carolina. At the moment they're still in affordable price ranges (hopefully that will last until June when we're able to depart the Phoenix area).
Thank you all for the replies, and I look forward to more replies if there's more to be said from the same people, or others as well. These forums are a great resource!
Feel bad for you. I know what it is like to feel stuck and miserable where you are living. We felt that way about N. Calif and could not wait to escape. We researched Florida and it was our first choice until the huricane took our realtor's office out. We are looking in Texas for retirement land. San Marcos TX is a college town and the homes are affordable. Property taxes are higher in TX and depending on where you are, can be quite high to offset the illegal population in school districts. New Mexico has some very affordable homes, I do not know about their crime. Florida's crime is off the charts in some areas. I think we are just going to have to come to grips with crime everywhere. WA state is raining all the time, but a nice smaller coastal town might be of interest to you. We are staying put for now. We actually look forward to the heat because we were sick of cold rain and snow for 7 months of the year. Good luck and visit the other states on this site, can be very eye opening.
Thank you everyone that has replied so far, I appreciate the help (with the notable exception of bigjdotcom01, I think I'll pass on that offer).
Seeing what some said regarding children, and the inability to let them go outside for large extents of the year, that was my concern. My wife loves being outside, she loves to go for walks, and now when our child comes, she can't wait to take him out and go on walks with him. But how do you do that when it's 110 degrees out! And walking around the mall just isn't the same thing. Why should we be relegated to rushing from one air conditioned, stuffy, recycled interior airspace, to another?
I'm happy to hear what others are saying because this was my concern. And she can't take him out for a walk at 2:30am, not just because it's unwise to walk the streets at that time, but the temperature is still 90 degrees then anyway!
So at this point we're looking into communities in North Carolina. At the moment they're still in affordable price ranges (hopefully that will last until June when we're able to depart the Phoenix area).
Thank you all for the replies, and I look forward to more replies if there's more to be said from the same people, or others as well. These forums are a great resource!
I do agree that the heat is oppressive here. I find the heat and congestion to be the reasons I want out. But when I seriously reflect on the matter I think that I can certainly improve on the congestion, but I am not yet convinced that the climate (and what goes along with it) is all that much better elsewhere. The west is the best in that regard, but there are few good options out this way as you point out. I have the "benefit" of living in other places and my experience tells me that there are darn few areas that are better for outdoor activities than here in AZ. Try snow, rain, mosquitos, flies, ticks, ice storms, seemingly endless cloudy drizzly days, and humidity so oppressive you sweat just sitting in the shade. All of those things are a part of life in other areas.
Here, you can walk the kids in the cool AM every day except from July 4 to Labor Day. And in those months you can get out of Dodge and go up in the high country camping with those kids, hiking in the pines, fishing on a mountain stream or lake. My daughter gets 7 weeks off in summer - her school has the all year schedule. We spend 3 of that visiting relatives or national parks or something. So she spends 4 weeks with her friends swimming, playing with dolls at each other houses, going to the water park at our development. By September it cools down a bit and there is soccer, baseball, basketball, gymnastics and on and on. She has long breaks at Christmas and in spring when the weather here is perfect for outdoor activities and the rest of the country is miserable.
As for NC, it is a fraction of the size of AZ with more people and has more people moving in each year than we do here. I can only imagine what a mess it is going to be 10-20 years from now (not that AZ is going to be better in that regard). Just seems like all you will find there is more of the same growth problems that plague us in Arizona.
Glad you got a chuckle out of it. We actually lost touch with her for 5 months, but found her alive and well and still trying to sell us a lot. No thanks!
I will take 3-4 months of heat over 9 months of gray, depressing drizzle.
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