Jobs, living conditions information of Phoenix (rent, motel, house)

[rdsknfan28]

I am 44 years old. Unemployed for the past 3 years here in Flint, Michigan. I have Bachelors Degree in Business Admin. I am needing to find out what the situation is there. I would be flying down at first, staying at a very cheap motel and looking for a job, maybe even a temp. service. I will not have a vehicle. I will be using public transportation. I also believe that I would be needing to live with roommates instead of being able to afford a place on my own. I have cocker spaniel (10 years old) and I would love to bring down my perfect husky mixed female (8 years old).

Any nice advice out there??

[lyzzard]

It's not much better down here jobwise (pretty bad), and the weather is just as extreme, if in opposite directions than you're use to. But, I suppose you couldn't do much worse either. You can probably find a place to stay using craigslist or looking in the newspaper when you're down here. The pets will probably cost a pet deposit, usually one for each in some way or another, and not always refundable. The transportation system is pretty good, especially with the light rail addition. If you find a place along a major route, it will be that much easier for you.

Seriously think on it long and hard before coming down here. Try looking for a job before coming down here if possible. Call places and be a nag on them about it. Would suck to move out here, find out you don't like it any better, and then be stuck here because you can't get a job here either.

Are you on unemployment? Would you even be able to get that moved here?

[Uhuh]

Originally Posted by rdsknfan28

I am 44 years old. Unemployed for the past 3 years here in Flint, Michigan. I have Bachelors Degree in Business Admin. I am needing to find out what the situation is there. I would be flying down at first, staying at a very cheap motel and looking for a job, maybe even a temp. service. I will not have a vehicle. I will be using public transportation. I also believe that I would be needing to live with roommates instead of being able to afford a place on my own. I have cocker spaniel (10 years old) and I would love to bring down my perfect husky mixed female (8 years old).

Any nice advice out there??

During this time, you will have trouble finding a really good job. If your expectations are not extremely high, you should be fine. There are a lot of decent jobs out here, you just need to jump on them, and be prepared not to be paid what you should. I had to take a hit with my current position getting paid half of what I'm worth. I'm in a room full of people that resorted to the same. But like the rest of the country, I'm pretty sure they are in the same situation. Living with a room mate would be a pretty practical idea. Having dogs might be an issue, but if you are frequently checking classifieds you wont have a problem. Good luck.

[rdsknfan28]

Right now I just want to get the heck out of this state. The sun is great advantage. And my expectations are enough so that I can have my own room at least with other people. Accountemps is a temp service that I could work with. And being close to the rail is what I was hoping for. I am not above other types of jobs, depending what they were of course. I am on state assistance for food stamps only. I have back child support that is hopefully going to be enough to get me out of here. That is what I am waiting for.

Thanks for your time.

[Lovegun]

I know how the economy is in Flint, I moved from there in 2005 to Phoenix.

Its a HUGE change. Phoenix feels like a modern new city compared to Flint. The weather is the biggest change. It can be quite hard to adjust too coming in summer.

I would suggest craigslist for roommates but it can be risky finding good room mates who will rent to you with out a job, its going to be a struggle. I would suggest to find anyway to save up money before you leave, your going to need it.

[poolgirl51]

Originally Posted by rdsknfan28

I am 44 years old. Unemployed for the past 3 years here in Flint, Michigan. I have Bachelors Degree in Business Admin. I am needing to find out what the situation is there. I would be flying down at first, staying at a very cheap motel and looking for a job, maybe even a temp. service. I will not have a vehicle. I will be using public transportation. I also believe that I would be needing to live with roommates instead of being able to afford a place on my own. I have cocker spaniel (10 years old) and I would love to bring down my perfect husky mixed female (8 years old).

Any nice advice out there??

You are doing the right thing in finding a job before you move down. I would not suggest moving here without a job. Your husky is really going to struggle with the heat in the spring, summer and fall. Good luck!

[azriverfan.]

I understand you want to get out of Flint and crave sunshine but why Phoenix? I love Phoenix and this is my home but if I'm someone desiring to move to a warm and prosperous area, I would look at Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Tampa, or Orlando before looking at Phoenix. The market here is not good so why move here when you could move to another city with better job prospects and equally good weather?

You are not the only person with the same aspirations. We get a post like this each week from someone in Michigan or the upper Midwest that want to move here. I don't get it. Why move here when you could go to Houston and have a stable job over the next 4 or 5 years. I don't think Phoenix is worth looking at unless you are in healthcare and even that market has been saturated. It seems like a big risk to move to Phoenix because of our job situation. Unless you are willing to work in retail, restaurants or call centers, this is a terrible job market. I love Phoenix but I gotta be honest. I would not move here. If you want to eventually move here, wait 3 years at least.

[Nanny Goat]

We moved w/our husky out here years ago--she suffered alot from May to September, esp. as she got older. When she was younger, she could deal with the heat more--but not in her last years. She drank and peed all day long; even though house was comfortable w/ air conditioning--the heat affects these dogs alot.