Hey Ladies! Questions about Arizona!

pinkshorts27 · March 2014

I'm looking at moving to Scottsdale area. Any suggestions on places to avoid or what you like?

What do you like about Arizona? What do you not like? Any opinions are helpful!

zizibet · March 2014

I'm a native. Be aware housing in the Scottsdale area is more expensive than most of the surrounding area.. I lived there until we bought our home a few years ago. The last apartment we lived in was about 1/4 of the size of my house. The rent was 800 less per month than my mortgage-and I live in a much nicer area now.
    It is close to nightlife/restaurants/shopping, and is fairly convenient to most of the rest of the valley.
    Other than that-I get tired of the heat-I really don't want to go outdoors for several months of the year. Also, you have to have a car for the most part. I can't drive due to a medical condition, and it's really difficult to get around. Public transit is pretty limited and unless you live and work in the right places, it's impossible to use it every day.
   The COL is generally lower here, when the weather's nice, hiking, biking etc. is awesome. The schools are hit or miss, lots of them are not great, and you have to hunt for good ones.

pinkshorts27 · March 2014

zizibet said:

I'm a native. Be aware housing in the Scottsdale area is more expensive than most of the surrounding area.. I lived there until we bought our home a few years ago. The last apartment we lived in was about 1/4 of the size of my house. The rent was 800 less per month than my mortgage-and I live in a much nicer area now.
    It is close to nightlife/restaurants/shopping, and is fairly convenient to most of the rest of the valley.
    Other than that-I get tired of the heat-I really don't want to go outdoors for several months of the year. Also, you have to have a car for the most part. I can't drive due to a medical condition, and it's really difficult to get around. Public transit is pretty limited and unless you live and work in the right places, it's impossible to use it every day.
   The COL is generally lower here, when the weather's nice, hiking, biking etc. is awesome. The schools are hit or miss, lots of them are not great, and you have to hunt for good ones.

@zizibet Thanks for the response. So I have a car and am no stranger to driving. I prefer it over public transportation, just because I grew up in the suburbs =/= not great public transport. The heat I'm not thrilled about, but I will live with. I know an A/C is a must for wherever I rent.

I'm going to rent and not really thinking about schools (no kids in the next five years of my life, hopefully).

I'm working in North Scottsdale, would there be better places to look than Scottsdale? Maybe northern area of pheonix? I'd be okay with a 20-30 minute commute. I'm just trying to figure out if there are unsafe areas that I should avoid. I've never really lived in the city, mostly suburbs. So just trying to figure it out.

Thanks again for your response!

zizibet · March 2014

You might also look in the Arcadia area-it's about 20 minutes or so from the North Scottsdale area, has a lot of neat restaurants-some of the best in the valley. and shopping, and is more affordable than N.S. generally. It's really popular with couples in their late 20s-30s who have no kids. One of my FI's nieces and her husband live in the area, and really love it. Also, you'd be better trafficwise-you'd be going against it at rush hour for the most part-because freeway traffic on the 101 is really bad.
North Phoenix has a lot of nice areas as well, that are lower in price than Scottsdale. I'd avoid Tempe-rental prices tend to be inflated because of the ASU student population. Also, be aware, your electric bill will be really terrible because of the AC costs.

pinkshorts27 · March 2014

@zizibet, I forgot about AC costs. Good call. I'll have to look for one story then and probably smaller. I saw online that people pay as much at 300+ for electricity. That is crazy! And unheard of. But good to know.

jenna8984 · March 2014

Definitely staying North there aren't many bad area, PV (Paradise Valley) area is great as well as Desert Ridge area. The only really ghetto areas are central Phoenix, Southern Phoenix. Where are you coming from? The A/C bills are ridiculously high but also Scottsdale has higher taxes than surrounding towns.

What I liked about Phoenix- No snow. Wearing a light sweater all winter. Cheap housing (compared to New England).

What I hated about Phoenix- Everything else. The heat, the Mexican food, the lack of any landscape and greenery, the illegals and crime rates (not a stereotype, they have terrible crime), the lack of history and culture, the poorly constructed homes, the bad school systems.

I grew up in Boston and moved to AZ by myself at 22 years old for a change. I lasted 3 years and hated every bit of it except for not shoveling but that was not enough to keep me there and now I'm back in Boston. lol Good Luck

pinkshorts27 · March 2014

jenna8984 I am coming from the bay area (silicon valley/San Francisco-Jose area). I'll probably avoid central/southern Phoenix. I'm originally from OR, moving because I got an awesome job. The lack of green is going to be tough. Actually the whole move is going to be tough. I'm going for another two years long distance with my FI, but I have to go where work is.

jenna8984 · March 2014

Well at least it will be much cheaper than the Bay area, and it's only an hour flight to visit each other! Some fun things to do when he visits- go to the Grand Canyon, explore the red rocks in Sedona, hike the Camelback Mountain in Phx, go river tubing on the Salt River, go to an ASU football game. Kabuki sushi restaurant at Tempe Marketplace is my favorite!

thejinxchan · March 2014

South Phoenix actually isn't that bad. There are pockets of bad areas but they aren't as bad as places like in the west valley. The houses there are the newest in the city, and many are fairly cheap since a lot of the houses were (unfortunately) taken by the bank. Lived there with my mom before I moved overseas. You can live further east closer to Tempe, and it's all fairly close to the freeway. But if you really want Scottsdale, try south Tempe or east Phoenix for cheaper house prices. But don't avoid South Phoenix completely, it's nice!

AzAnnie · April 2014

I have lived here off and on for about 20 years. What I like...no snow!, less traffic then the Bay Area, cheaper cost of living. The area I live in (Southeast valley) has very little crime, nice neighborhoods with grass and trees and decent schools. Yea it gets hot here but you will adjust. It is really completely unbearable for 2-3 months when the humidity kicks in. My electric bill runs about $400+ in the summer, but we have a big house with a pool. Congrats on your new job!

emliv · May 2014

I'm not very familiar with the area I'm about to recommend, but North Phoenix has some pretty nice areas. And it should be cheaper than anywhere in North Scottsdale. Near old town Scottsdale and south Scottsdale can be fun places. The closer you get to Tempe, the lower the rent. I lived in south Scottsdale for a couple years and really liked the closeness to everythig. Lots of restaurants, hikingtrails, etc... Arcadia is old money type feel. South Arcadia can be hit or miss on decentness of the area. Hope that helps!

Hey Ladies! Questions about Arizona!

Re: Hey Ladies! Questions about Arizona!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards