Planning on moving from Long Island to Arizona (Phoenix area) (Glendale: salons, how much)

[ejknight4]

I am 22 years old and my boyfriend is 23. We are thinking of planning to move to Arizona around September because we can't stand living with our parents any longer, plus it is IMPOSSIBLE for us to move out on our own and survive on Long Island. We are thinking Phoenix area, north Phoenix or maybe Glendale?

I am a hairstylist/make-up artist and I am not sure how the beauty biz is out there. How are the tips? What is the clientele like?
Right now I work at a salon in Syosset, (very Jewish area on LI)...the tips are ehhh..
He works at Wal-Mart and will have no problem transferring to one out there however people are telling us his pay may go down. Right now he makes $10.25 an hour.

We really don't have a lot of "stuff" to move, no big furniture really, we do however have 2 cars to move...a scion tc and a jetta. We are thinking we obviously have to drive one (probably the tc bc the jetta is turbo and requires premium)...but we don't know where to begin EXACTly...

PLEASE HELP US! =)

[kdog]

Originally Posted by ejknight4

Right now I work at a salon in Syosset, (very Jewish area on LI)...the tips are ehhh..

Try Germany, I hear they got rid of most of their Jews.

[ejknight4]

wow you are like soo funny...not really helping tho

[Nome Sain]

First of all, you will like Phoenix. It is a young city. People sometimes confuse Arizona with Florida, thinking it is mostly retirees and older people. But, in fact, Census data show that Arizona is the 5th youngest state in the country (median age), one notch younger than California. Florida is the 5th oldest state in the country. Since you are looking for jobs which are generally easier to find than some others (retail and hair/makeup), I think you will be OK. I don't think your BF will get a paycut due to geography. It might be more because the specific job function he had there is already filled in Phoenix. But, maybe not. Pay scales in Phoenix are pretty much on the median line for the country. (Phoenix is a big metro area - #11 in the country at about 4.4 million people, so nothing is too far off the "average"...except summer temperatures!) Glendale and NW Phoenix is pretty young, though the youngest big city in the metro area is Tempe, where the main campus of Arizona State University is. There are a wide range of salons in Phoenix, ranging from upscale ones like the Elizabeth Arden Red Door, Mane Attraction, Taglio, hip ones like Mood Swings, Prova, Toni & Guy and all of the popular chains. Also, there are a bunch of big, upscale resorts and high-end hotels in the Phoenix area...the highest concentration of resorts in the country, including the Arizona Biltmore, Intercontinental Montelucia, the Camelback Inn, the Phoenician, the Wigwam Resort, the Four Seasons Scottsdale, the Ritz-Carlton, W Scottsdale, The Boulders, the Fairmont Scottsdale, the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, the JW Marriott Desert Ridge, the Arizona Grand, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass, the Royal Palms, Westin Kierland Scottsdale, Hotel Valley Ho and others. These all range pretty much from 300 to 1,000 rooms. There are also some big hotels downtown (Sheraton Phoenix, with 1,000+ rooms, the Hyatt Regency Phoenix with 700+ rooms and some others) which probably also offer spa and salon services.
Rents can be pretty reasonable compared to Long Island (depending on where in LI you're paying rent). Good luck on the move!

[Nome Sain]

Here is a nice shot of Phoenix (the sky has obviously been "enhanced, though):



The sunsets can be beautiful, but if you ever see the sky like this when you're in Phoenix, run!

[1999corvette]

My brother's boyfriend(yes, they are gay, if that makes a difference) works as a hairdresser in a fancy salon(a hair dye or styling costing over 100 bucks), and my brother always goes on about how much money he makes.

I don't know, but he says he gets gets hefty tips.

I have a friend that moved here from Long Island, and he and his family like it pretty good, and said it was much cheaper here than there.

When I moved here(march 2005), the one thing I did not expect was such a expensive registrastion and titling of my car.

I had to write a hefty check to register it, based on what it's MSRP when it was new, they charge you a percentage fee of what the car originaly cost, it goes down each year. (I'm pretty sure it was over 800.00 at the time, but it is a Corvette convertible)

Here is a link, so you can figure out how much the cars will cost to get registered.

Motor Vehicle Division

I'm trying to guess-timate for you, I'm going to use just for example your scion tc is a 2010 model, which has a msrp of 17,100.00 for the lowest cost model (got this from googling scion tc msrp)

So, here is how the formula works, a brand new car VLT (vehicle license tax) is based off 60% of the msrp, so 17,100.00 X 0.60% = 10,260.00

"the rate is calculated as $2.80 (new vehicles)/$2.89 (used vehicles) for each $100 of the assessed value."

10,260.00 divided by 100.00 = 102.60

102.60 X 2.80 = $287.28 for the first year.

"reduced by 16.25% for each year since the vehicle was first registered in Arizona"

So, the next year it will be 43.75% of 17100.00 = 7,481.25

7,481.25 dived by 100 = 74.81 X 2.80 = $133.86

So for your first year for your registration you pay $287.28, year 2 you pay $133.86, it goes down quite a bit each year.

[1999corvette]

By the way, there are some other fees and mumbo jumbo, but what I showed a example of is what is going to hit you the hardest!

[1999corvette]

I just found out I misunderstood the reduction of 16.25% each year!

I thought it was 60%, plus 16.25% each year off the msrp.

After playing with the calculator a bit, I found that the 16.25 is reduced off 10,260.00 (so each year they deduct 16.25% off what your last year's assessed value)

Also, 2.80 for each 100 assessed value is ONLY for the 1st year, each year after it is 2.89.

They don't explain it very well on the site!

So, 10,260.00 X 16.25 % = 1667.25

10,260.00-1667.25=8592.75

8592.75divided by 100=85.92

85.92 X 2.89 = 248.30

So, your second year would be $248.30

Sorry about the confusion!

[Nome Sain]

I'd suggest you just check with the Arizona MVD. These calculations for a Scion sound high. I have several vehicles, some registered in California and some in Arizona. Arizona is somewhat cheaper, but both statesbase registration on the assessed value of the car, so it is more of a "tax" than a fee. But, for instance, I have a 2004 Touareg which is down to about $200.