Phoenix area Buckeyes

[The KSB]

Is there anyone on this board who lives in Phoenix? If so I could use a favor. My wife has been offered a job there that pays her about double what she makes now, more if you count the benefits. So could anyone tell me their opinions on Phoenix (housing, job market, culture, people) I'd appreciate it. I've done some reasearch online and other than housing it doesn't seem to be too expensive an area to live in. Also the job market (for me) seems to be wide open.

Also I noticed there is a town just west of Phoenix called Buckeye, I figured that's the first place I'd look into residing.

 

[starBUCKS]

I just moved from Scottsdale where I spent 8 years...went to ASU and lived there after. First off....no, you do not want to live in Buckeye...it's out there and trashy. You want to live in the East Valley or North East. If you give me specifics I can help you more. But, I'd look in the North Scottsdale area or around Desert Ridge. Desert Ridge is the new spot to get a great afforadable house....the new extension of the 101 runs past it now, so you're getting a great house, in a good neighborhood at a decent price....without the "Scottsdale" mailing address. I love Arizona, and will surely miss it....but I wanted a little change for a bit. I may end up back there eventually. The people there are great, most people were not born there....with big influences from Chicago, Cali, and the rest of the midwest. It is the second fastest growing city in the country behind Vegas, and will soon be the 4th largest city, having just past Philly. If you e-mail me I can help you get set-up....as far as job ideas and even give you a great real estate agent. There aren't too many corparations based in Phoenix, but large employers include Motorola and Insight. Anyway send me any questions you have, and what field you would be looking at.

[email protected]

 

[buckiprof]

KSB - I lived in Phoenix from '91-'94 and can maybe provide a little insight.

The cost of living isn't too bad. Housing is cheaper than in NE Ohio. Not necessarily the friendliest place (maybe due to the transistory nature of the population). Most house have the backyards fenced off by 6 ft tall concrete blocks. That was something that this born and raised Ohioan never adjusted to.

The weather is pretty good too. You will find that 105 is pretty comfortable but come the end of July and August the humidity does go up a bit (they call it the monsoon season) and it is rather oppressive. Also, 115-120 is hot no matter if it is a "dry" heat. It is still fucking hot! The winter brings temps in the 60's and 70's and believe me it will seem chilly. Maybe not your first winter but by your 3rd winter, it will seem chilly.

The culture is neat. There is obviously a fairly large Hispanic population, which thanks to that I learned to truly appreciate and celebrate Cinco de Mayo. There is obviously much influence from the Native American cultures.

My wife and I enjoyed our 3 years there. I would be home each day by 2:00 - 2:30 pm, get into my shorts, float around our in-ground pool (we rented the house we lived in, but like most homes there, it had an in-ground pool), would periodically "dock" by the poolside cooler to grab a fresh beer, and float around some more. We never had to worry about rain ruining an outing we would plan (average of 330 sunny days per year). In the winter, you can get up before dawn and drive to Flagstaff or over to the White Mountains and ski all day and come home and put on shorts and have a cook-out. (If you ski, I'd rec. the White Mountains. At least when we were there, the ski resort was on Apache land and the resort was owned and operated by the Apache. I know, I should have included that tidbit in the culture area).

The arrival of our first child brought us back to Ohio. I honestly missed some things about Ohio. The changing seasons, especially the colors in the fall and of course being far away from OSU, are 2 things that quickly come to mind. However, if for some reason we didn't have kids I don't think I would have stayed in Phoenix. The tremendous growth of the city was causing it to become a little LA in some respects. Also, the pollution is quite bad in the winter months. We all see the nice temps in Phoenix in December and January but what isn't mentioned is that the air is so unhealthy that you may be advised to stay indoors.

Finally, I have two friends who live in Buckeye. And yes, they are OSU fans.

 

[NorthShoreBuck]

I have parents in Tucson and some family in Phoenix. I actually lived there for a few years when I was a kid. My business partner is also based in Phoenix.

You may be surprised at the cost of homes. My family calls it the Californication of AZ. Folks from CA sell their home for a bundle and move to AZ. Real estate prices are going up fast. My partner had one of their VP's sell his home in Texas and got hammered by how much more expensive it was in AZ. A funny thing is how so many people moved there for their allergies but now many yards have grass and trees that are not native that aggravate their allergies.

I would concur with everything else. AZ has great weather except the summer and is a very interesting place to live. My family makes the trip back to Ohio once a year of so but are always glad to get back to Tucson. I get out to see then as often as possible and enjoy it.

Much like every where else it seems the school systems are having some trouble. BuckiProf was probably wise to get out before the boom.

I have been pretty fortunate to have lived and worked all over the country. If you are flexible any place is great. I would suggest you take a long week to look around before make the final decision. Good luck.

 

[BoxCar_Willie]

Everyone seems to have covered the bases
Here's what I'd agree or disagree with the most

You may be surprised at the cost of homes.

Yes and no, some areas are outrageous and some farther out are $70-$80 dollars per sq foot

The cost of living isn't too bad. Housing is cheaper than in NE Ohio

I still think you get MORE for your money in NE Ohio. No basements out here

AZ has great weather except the summer and is a very interesting place to live

Yep

Not necessarily the friendliest place (maybe due to the transistory nature of the population).

Yep

The tremendous growth of the city was causing it to become a little LA in some respects. Also, the pollution is quite bad in the winter months. We all see the nice temps in Phoenix in December and January but what isn't mentioned is that the air is so unhealthy that you may be advised to stay indoors

Yep

no, you do not want to live in Buckeye...it's out there and trashy.

It is way out there west and has some trashy areas but is getting much better. Houses are cheaper out there.

You want to live in the East Valley or North East. If you give me specifics I can help you more. But, I'd look in the North Scottsdale area or around Desert Ridge. Desert Ridge is the new spot to get a great afforadable house....the new extension of the 101 runs past it now, so you're getting a great house, in a good neighborhood at a decent price....

Sorry to disagree with you stabucks but I lived there and Arcadia for a year and a half, there are nicer more friendly areas.

We shopped around town for about a year before chosing a place. We picked Northern Peoria, somewhere around Sunrise Mtn High School. Lake Pleasant is 10 minutes, and downtown is about 35 minutes away. Everything else is less than a 5 minute drive.

 

[starBUCKS]

Ya...the whole deal with where you live, definetly depends on what type of person you are. I like action. If you want to be in the heart of the entertainment, then Scottsdale is the spot...clubs, resteraunts, ASU (close), best golf...etc..... If I was starting a family and didn't want to spend on a house in North Scottsdale, I'd go to Awahtukee or Chandler. Glendale is where a lot of things are moving to (stadiums) but again it's a drive right now for entertainment. I loved where I lived in Scottsdale because it was still just a 20-25 minute drive to downtown sporting events...and I had everything else that I wanted right there. With the 101 it's not bad to get to the Glendale events. Desert Ridge is positoned nicely.... secluded right now....but close to everything. See as far as Arcadia...in 8 years I never even went there...couldn't even tell you how to get there. Peoria is kind of out there for somebody in their 20's....maybe better for someone in late 30's and up, that don't need to be close to action. I'm under the assumption that Kent is in late 20's early 30's. As far as freindly....you find good and bad everywhere. Just a rant on my part...I'm pretty pro-scottsdale...but I was into chasing tail and having fun when I lived there. So I'm pretty bias.

 

[BoxCar_Willie]

I can see your point. I'm only a year older than you but have a wife and kid. Maybe if I was single or still into going out Scottsdale would look more appealing. One thing that Scottsdale is taught me is to apperciate the suttle differences between having Wealth and having Class.
We moved up by the lake because it's more family friendly, there is still tons of restraunts and stuff to do, at least from what I've seen more than Scottsdale but I look for different stuff. It's only about 15-20 minutes from Desert Ridge also.

Arcadia is just south of Camelback and just west of Fashion Square. I bet you've been around there.