Help colorado family move to best az city (Phoenix, Chandler: foreclosure, house)

[coloradomom11]

Hello, i have never done this before, and believe me when I say I have read every post back to 2009 regarding the different cities. I still need some help from local Az families.

We are a family from colorado with a 6 yr old non verbal autistic son. He can no longer handle the winters even fall as he gets very down when he cannot go outside or swim. We have an indoor pool but he prefers the outdoors and overcast days mean less sleep than usual, (he sleeps max 4 hours per day). We are coming to Az to find a 2nd home to accomodate his needs.

I for one am not loving the heat, but we love our kids, our sons needs take precedence over my own, and I will make do with whatever situation presents itself. He is different, and colorado hasn't been too kind ie: when we go to the store and he gets excited, he hand flaps and makes noises, to which people constantly stare. Not a problem, but Colorado is so behind on autism and its issues. PLEASE if anyone in Arizona, regardless of city can give us some insight into which city would serve us best, we are looking to spend approx 300k-400K, nice neighboorhood, inside of home not as important as outside living area. Also, do people have recommendation for management companies to watch our home when we are in colorado. ANY HELP would be greatly appreciated, and is the heat really over 100 degrees in july and august for over 1/2 the month? I research and research, but the best ones to ask are all of you. Again, any insight would be most helpful, thank you for your time

[DewDropInn]

If your son wants to go outside to play be aware that it is, indeed, well up over 100 degrees just about every single day from, roughly, May through late October-ish. The record for days in a year it was up over 110 is 32. This is not a place where kids can go outside and play in the grass during the summer. The only time it cools down to the 90s is in the summer during Monsoon rains.

If you will be here during the winter things are MUCH better. It can get very cold but not Colorado cold. Many days are 70's -80's range. Tons of people here for the winter only. Snowbirds.

I feel for you so much.

Have you looked into places like San Diego or south Orange County, CA? Much better weather and probably better "attuned" to autism problems.

As far as what you can spend, with the bottom falling out of the housing market 300-400K can get you a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood in many areas of Phoenix and its surrounding towns.

Good luck! I hope you find the info you're looking for.

[Ritchie_az]

Sierra Vista, maybe. Great weather... plus they have a great indoor pool called The Cove that is open year-round.

[LocoAZnative]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

If your son wants to go outside to play be aware that it is, indeed, well up over 100 degrees just about every single day from, roughly, May through late October-ish. The record for days in a year it was up over 110 is 32. This is not a place where kids can go outside and play in the grass during the summer. The only time it cools down to the 90s is in the summer during Monsoon rains.

If you will be here during the winter things are MUCH better. It can get very cold but not Colorado cold. Many days are 70's -80's range. Tons of people here for the winter only. Snowbirds.

I feel for you so much.

Have you looked into places like San Diego or south Orange County, CA? Much better weather and probably better "attuned" to autism problems.

As far as what you can spend, with the bottom falling out of the housing market 300-400K can get you a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood in many areas of Phoenix and its surrounding towns.

Good luck! I hope you find the info you're looking for.

Really it's not the place for kids to play in the grass during summer? Damn how did I survive being a kid here especially during a time when everything wasn't child friendly(we have metal playground equipment).

Anyway OP your kid will be fine in the summer just watch him and keep him hydrated/sunscreen. You may want to look @ Gilbert/Chandler/Tempe/Awatukee they are nice areas.

Also, its not over 100 for half of July/August it will be 100+ every single day starting in June-September

[Wyoming Darrell]

Something to bear in mind is the nice early mornings and evenings. Also with an inexpensive canvas shade stretched across the pool, he can swim all day, even on the hotter days. You can also heat the pool and swim year-round.

[DewDropInn]

Sorry, but I was thinking that since this boy would be a transplant he wouldn't have the "Hot Weather Is Not A Problem" gene. Not everyone can handle a Phoenix summer and that might be especially true with a young child with his challenges. Just a thought...

I KNEW when I answered this I'd get told my OPINION was wrong.

To the OP: How sensitive is your son to extreme weather?

[observer53]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

If your son wants to go outside to play be aware that it is, indeed, well up over 100 degrees just about every single day from, roughly, May through late October-ish.

Please don't exaggerate the weather. "WELL UP OVER 100" from May through late October?????? No. Not that early, and not that late. The OP asked about July and August, and it's certainly regularly over 100 pretty much daily, in those months, unless we get a big storm that cools things off a bit but raises the humidity the next day, then it's back over 100 again the day after that.

To the OP-

In your price range, you will find a nice house in many areas here in the Valley. I don't know that people in Colorado are any less understanding of autism than those in many other states. Here, you are still going to find some people who don't understand the behavior you describe. That would be true pretty much anywhere.

Southern CA wouldn't be as hot, but would be VERY expensive in terms of cost of living, and you would not get as much house for your money, even in this foreclosure driven market. Whether they are more attuned to autism problems, I have no idea.

[snowflake13]

There are many nice areas in the valley within your price range.
As for the understanding of Autism...well that takes a shift in the way we look at the disorder and believe the science not the Hollywood opinions.

[azriverfan.]

The Valley tends to be very pro-non traditional medicine. Being a person trained in traditional medicine, it can be a challenge as almost everyone I know also sees a chiropractor, a naturopath, an acupuncturist etc. Osteopathic physicians also tend to do quite well here and are equally represented among the Phoenix magazine's Top Docs. However, they are trained in both traditional and some non-traditional medicine (OMM). I've also noticed the Valley is very sensitive to autistic issues. I have a friend who is a physician who specializes in treating autistic children and there are many autistic parent clubs and meetings here in the valley. He will give talks to these groups. I don't think your children would have an issue in the valley. The question is can you handle the heat? If you do move here and would like to know the name of the doctor I referred to above, send me a PM.

[grippit]

If you stay to the north (Cave Creek, Carefree) it is somewhat cooler. Wickerburg to the northwest is also 5-7 degrees cooler although an hour from Phoenix.