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Bellaocchi
Hope Faith Love
Member since 2/07 5694 total posts
Name:
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Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Can you tell me about living there?
Pros and cons please!
Updates: I checked out the city data forums and I'm getting some information on the Phoenix area.
DH is receiving good feedback from his phone interview.
His company does understand that this is a relocate hire and they are offering a good amount in moving costs.
If the salary turns out to be right, and if he goes there for a face to face and still is excited about the position, it looks like we may have to take steps to sell the house here...
While I do like the idea of a fresh start and most importantly, giving my child a better life because the cost of living is so much more affordable there... I am on the fence regarding the schools (even though he is only 16 months old) not going to school anytime soon, but still...
The fact that I would have to leave my parents. We are very close and they are very close with my baby.
This makes me sad but, we can not afford to stay here much longer.
I've been researching the surrounding suburbs in the Phoenix area (Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Surprise)
I know I have to visit there myself to see if I like it, which we will do if all signs point towards him going to that location.
I'm just really unsure and afraid. It's going to be so stressful packing up all our furniture, selling the house ... Which is another factor ... We may have to short sale it... And pray the bank waives the remaining balance- have to look into that too. My cousin recently had to do this and she received in writing that the bank would do this.
We would rent there for awhile and then maybe buy.
I could just really use some prayers and positive feedback.. There is so much going on in my life ..... All good stuff coming up. I just feel so all over the place.
Message edited 2/21/2013 1:07:14 PM.
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Posted 2/11/13 9:18 PM  |
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sultana
LIF Adult
Member since 5/09 1455 total posts
Name:
Bridget
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
you can try the citydata forums..it would seperate the state by areas and you can ask about relocation there as well
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| Posted 2/12/13 5:19 AM |
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rkl1130
LIF Adult
Member since 10/07 1476 total posts
Name:
Rose Ann
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
I haven't, but I have family that did. They ended up leaving after a few years. The weather is nice and low cost of living, but they didn't like it all.
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| Posted 2/12/13 9:49 AM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
My parents lived there (twice). They wouldn't have left if they didn't have to for family reasons.
it's beautiful there, the cost of housing and living is much lower.
The reason I never moved there was that the wages are very low and it didn't have enough culture for me.
The prices of homes are rising now and I hope employment has gotten better but that's one state that has been hit hard.
I own a condo there.
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| Posted 2/12/13 12:41 PM |
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DRMom
Two in Blue
Member since 5/05 20223 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
I went to ASU and lived there for 5 years. I loved it. Weather is great! Very very hot but dry(seriously!) Restaurants and nightlife is awesome. I'm not sure about schools but do have friends that stil live there.
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| Posted 2/12/13 1:23 PM |
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MrsO
Big Brothers to Be
Member since 1/07 4520 total posts
Name:
Maureen
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
My brother moved there 10 years ago with his wife. They seem settled there. The weather is great, but don't be fooled the cost of liiving isnt that cheap at least in the Phoenix area. The taxes are lower but the schools are not that good either. Teachers are paid very little.
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| Posted 2/12/13 2:13 PM |
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phoenix913
LIF Adult
Member since 5/05 3034 total posts
Name:
V
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
What part of Arizona are you looking at? There are huge differences climate-wise etc. between the Phoenix area the more northern parts, like Flagstaff.
My dream is to one day move to Flagstaff. I know a lot of people that live in the Phoenix area and they love it.
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| Posted 2/12/13 2:17 PM |
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Bellaocchi
Hope Faith Love
Member since 2/07 5694 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Posted by sultana
you can try the citydata forums..it would seperate the state by areas and you can ask about relocation there as well
Thanks!!
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| Posted 2/12/13 2:46 PM |
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Bellaocchi
Hope Faith Love
Member since 2/07 5694 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Posted by phoenix913
What part of Arizona are you looking at? There are huge differences climate-wise etc. between the Phoenix area the more northern parts, like Flagstaff.
My dream is to one day move to Flagstaff. I know a lot of people that live in the Phoenix area and they love it.
One area that came to mind is Scottsdale. I have not heard of Flagstaff. Must research more. Schools would be a big concern in the future.
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| Posted 2/12/13 2:49 PM |
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rkl1130
LIF Adult
Member since 10/07 1476 total posts
Name:
Rose Ann
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Posted by Bellaocchi
Posted by phoenix913
What part of Arizona are you looking at? There are huge differences climate-wise etc. between the Phoenix area the more northern parts, like Flagstaff.
My dream is to one day move to Flagstaff. I know a lot of people that live in the Phoenix area and they love it.
One area that came to mind is Scottsdale. I have not heard of Flagstaff. Must research more. Schools would be a big concern in the future.
From my understanding, the Scottsdale area in general has a mixed population with a lot of an older crowd. For neighborhoods that are more family-centric (more things to do for kids, more families with similarly aged children, etc...) you may want to concentrate on areas slightly outside of Scottsdale.
Scottsdale is considered more like the Beverly Hills of the whole Pheonix area. Northern Scottsdale is more expensive and upscale than South Scottsdale. The whole area's housing market has been hit hard though and their recovery is incredibly slow.
As for schools, Arizona actually ranks near the bottom of schools in the nation. Within the Scottsdale area though (or the more affluent areas), you will find some really good school districts.
Have you ever visited? You should consider visiting.
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| Posted 2/12/13 3:56 PM |
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RSquared0907
LIF Adolescent
Member since 4/12 712 total posts
Name:
RJ
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
My DH and I lived in Tucson, AZ for 7 years and we absolutely loved it! We moved out there straight after undergrad so DH could go to the University of Arizona for his PhD and given our lifestyle, it was a great place for us. The cost of living is certainly low and if you manage to land a decent paying job (like I had), you can live EXTREMELY comfortably (as we did, despite the fact that DH was a student for 6 of the 7 years we lived there). If you can handle the heat and like to do stuff outdoors (we were avid hikers and runners), Tucson is a great place to be.
My biggest issue with staying in Tucson long term, however, was the education factor. The schools out there suck - None of my friends or former coworkers would allow their kids to go to the public schools are are spending ridiculous amounts of money to send them to, what I would consider, mediocre private schools (that being said, I know there are some very good private schools in Scottsdale, I just don't know where). We knew that if we stayed in Tucson, we would never have had kids - we did not want to raise a family there. As luck turns out, DH couldn't find a job in Tucson after graduation and we ended up back on LI where he found a job. Although I desperately miss Tucson, the life I had out there and our friends, now that we have DD, I don't see us going back there anytime soon. It's a fabulous place to visit though!
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| Posted 2/12/13 4:06 PM |
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rkl1130
LIF Adult
Member since 10/07 1476 total posts
Name:
Rose Ann
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Posted by RSquared0907
My DH and I lived in Tucson, AZ for 7 years and we absolutely loved it! We moved out there straight after undergrad so DH could go to the University of Arizona for his PhD and given our lifestyle, it was a great place for us. The cost of living is certainly low and if you manage to land a decent paying job (like I had), you can live EXTREMELY comfortably (as we did, despite the fact that DH was a student for 6 of the 7 years we lived there). If you can handle the heat and like to do stuff outdoors (we were avid hikers and runners), Tucson is a great place to be.
My biggest issue with staying in Tucson long term, however, was the education factor. The schools out there suck - None of my friends or former coworkers would allow their kids to go to the public schools are are spending ridiculous amounts of money to send them to, what I would consider, mediocre private schools (that being said, I know there are some very good private schools in Scottsdale, I just don't know where). We knew that if we stayed in Tucson, we would never have had kids - we did not want to raise a family there. As luck turns out, DH couldn't find a job in Tucson after graduation and we ended up back on LI where he found a job. Although I desperately miss Tucson, the life I had out there and our friends, now that we have DD, I don't see us going back there anytime soon. It's a fabulous place to visit though!
That's the general consensus I hear about AZ schools.
I have family that DID move out to the Scottsdale area and once their kids became school aged, left AZ because they were so disenchanted by the schools - even the private schools.
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| Posted 2/12/13 4:13 PM |
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Bellaocchi
Hope Faith Love
Member since 2/07 5694 total posts
Name:
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Posted by rkl1130
Posted by RSquared0907
My DH and I lived in Tucson, AZ for 7 years and we absolutely loved it! We moved out there straight after undergrad so DH could go to the University of Arizona for his PhD and given our lifestyle, it was a great place for us. The cost of living is certainly low and if you manage to land a decent paying job (like I had), you can live EXTREMELY comfortably (as we did, despite the fact that DH was a student for 6 of the 7 years we lived there). If you can handle the heat and like to do stuff outdoors (we were avid hikers and runners), Tucson is a great place to be.
My biggest issue with staying in Tucson long term, however, was the education factor. The schools out there suck - None of my friends or former coworkers would allow their kids to go to the public schools are are spending ridiculous amounts of money to send them to, what I would consider, mediocre private schools (that being said, I know there are some very good private schools in Scottsdale, I just don't know where). We knew that if we stayed in Tucson, we would never have had kids - we did not want to raise a family there. As luck turns out, DH couldn't find a job in Tucson after graduation and we ended up back on LI where he found a job. Although I desperately miss Tucson, the life I had out there and our friends, now that we have DD, I don't see us going back there anytime soon. It's a fabulous place to visit though!
That's the general consensus I hear about AZ schools.
I have family that DID move out to the Scottsdale area and once their kids became school aged, left AZ because they were so disenchanted by the schools - even the private schools.[/QUOTE
Wow, this would definitely be a deal breaker for me. Oh well, time to move on in my search to other places to relocate. Thanks to all who responded.
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| Posted 2/13/13 9:20 PM |
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KLSbear
LIF Adult
Member since 1/06 1908 total posts
Name:
Karen
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
My parents moved to AZ and my brother is there too raising his girls. He's in Scottsdale and while I can't speak to the specific quality of the schools I can say that I'm frequently impressed with my young niece's knowledge and education. Maybe it's partly proud aunt and their natural intelligence but honors level grades, writing assignments in national publications, really quick wit, comprehension on new things, etc. make me think they're getting a good education. I haven't seen anything at all that makes me wonder what's going on with their schooling. If anything, it's just the opposite, they seem to be very well educated at 10 and 12 years of age.
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| Posted 2/13/13 10:27 PM |
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
My HS BF lives near Tucson and is very happy. He married a girl from here & they moved together. The law student who worked for me last summer is from the opposite side of the state & she moved back. They both get a lot for their money in terms of housing.
Message edited 2/13/2013 10:32:47 PM.
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| Posted 2/13/13 10:32 PM |
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
I have heard similar things about the public schools and know someone who was a teacher out there.
I am sure there are similar issues in the NYC public school system, however, she said that not only did she make very little, but the majority of her students only spoke Spanish and were very migratory.........lots of kids coming and going throughout the school year which made it even harder to teach and remain engaged with her class.
On the flip side though, I hear many parts of Arizona are great if you are single or of retirement age.
I also know people who are huge outdoorsy types who live there for that reason, and have jobs based around those kinds of interests.
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| Posted 2/14/13 7:14 AM |
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Blu-ize
Plan B is Now Plan A
Member since 7/05 32475 total posts
Name:
Susan
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
My condo is in the Kyrene school district. It's supposed to be an excellent district. It seems to be a selling point in Phoenix, Awatukee..
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| Posted 2/14/13 10:24 AM |
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dpli
Daylight savings :)
Member since 5/05 13973 total posts
Name:
D
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Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
I lived there for a short time, many years ago. The two reasons I did not want to stay is that politically, for me, it was way too conservative and the summer is just too damn hot.
I would say overall, the state is very conservative, but there are areas that are more liberal, like Tempe and Tucson. For me, it was not a good fit, but for someone else, that might be perfect.
I am also not a huge fan of hot weather and I know people will tell you it's a dry heat, you get used to it, etc., for me, it was just too much. I can't live in a climate where you can't leave things on the dashboard of your car without worrying if they melt. Northern AZ, around Flagstaff has a cooler climate.
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| Posted 2/14/13 10:33 AM |
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Bellaocchi
Hope Faith Love
Member since 2/07 5694 total posts
Name:
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Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Any positive feedback regarding relocating to Arizona?? :(
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| Posted 2/21/13 1:08 PM |
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MrsO
Big Brothers to Be
Member since 1/07 4520 total posts
Name:
Maureen
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
I posted comments earlier, but my brother is still there 10 years later. They do not have children though.
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| Posted 2/21/13 3:29 PM |
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maybebaby
LIF Adult
Member since 11/05 6870 total posts
Name:
Maureen
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Re: Anyone here relocate to Arizona or ever lived there?
Posted by dpli
I am also not a huge fan of hot weather and I know people will tell you it's a dry heat, you get used to it, etc., for me, it was just too much. I can't live in a climate where you can't leave things on the dashboard of your car without worrying if they melt. Northern AZ, around Flagstaff has a cooler climate.
I have to agree..my inlaws are in peoria and the heat KILLS me. I can't live somewhere where it's normal to see 119 degrees in the summer. And the "summer" seems to start in like april. It's beautiful in the late fall/winter but all other times it's roasting. I can't take it. Everyone stays inside, that's pretty much what you have to do!
Also..MIL is a school nurse in Peoria. She admits the public school system isn't very good at all, at least not where they are. This seems to be the general opinion.
The positives are that it can be beautiful weather in the cooler months and the people are friendly. They have loved living there, but are relocating soon to be closer to their kids and grandkids. It's just too far, we see them twice a year!
Message edited 2/21/2013 3:35:33 PM.
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| Posted 2/21/13 3:32 PM |
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