CA to AZ? I am a CA girl, born and raised. I love living here, there are so many great things about Northern CA! But at this point it seems like AZ might be a good move. We'll be close to my husband's family. We can get a larger home and the property tax will be thousands of dollars less. I know there a lot of people on this board that live in Arizona. I would love to hear from you! We are from the SF Bay Area and would like to move to the Scottsdale area. Does anyone have suggestions, pros, cons, etc? Thanks! |
I've lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, and now Arizona. If me and hubby could live anywhere (in the U.S., that is), we'd choose San Fran, Napa, or Colorado. I'd move back to Colorado in a heartbeat...I reallllly miss the mountains, the nature, the people, the feel of it. I've lived in AZ for about 4 years now and it is lovely most of the year in terms of weather except for Jun-Sept when it's super hot and the Monsoon is here. I don't know though...Phoenix metro is an odd "metro" to me. I've traveled a lot, and most big cities have a real feel/energy and I don't feel that as much here. It feels like a huge bedroom community, for some reason. When we first moved here, I kept asking my hubby...."um, where is the downtown???" - bc there really isn't one, not the kind like most cities this size have, anyway. I will say I don't miss midwest winters one bit. I feel like I sound kind of like a wet blanket :p about AZ. I guess I like it, but I don't love it like I have other places. |
I will say as a Native Californian; born and raised in Southern California, it does offer so much. I moved to Texas 17 years ago, and 2 years ago moved back. At first I hated Texas, especially the summers, but grew to love it, more so the people and the Southern Hospitality and would move back in a minute. You being from Northern California will have a much greater adjustment to the weather. Arizona is extremely hot. Yes, the housing and taxes maybe lower, however, you must take in to consideration Utility bills, you'll be running your airconditioner 24 hours a day, for months on end. That was a major factor in Texas......my utility bills were running approximately $800.00 a month. Property Taxes were comperable, but those school taxes got us.....Grocery bills were higher. So, take everything into consideration and make sure it's the right move for you. |
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Lol, yes I agree, I still haven't found downtown, I thought they were hiding it somewhere. When we first got here, people would take us different places, and be so excited, downtown or even Mill Street, and well, lets just say, they have good pizza. I love California, so much to see, so many places to go, and the weather is perfect for growing so many plants. I love gardening, and it very difficult to find plants that do well here, I'm not a cactus person. However, my sons live here, so I live here too. It's a fairly good place to raise a family, and it just depends what you are looking for at this time of your life. It definitely better than many states I've lived in, but California was my favorite. |
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I know, I know! I love living in the Bay Area. My husband and I both have jobs, my family lives close by and we have a lovely home. There is a lot to keep us here. But his family lives in AZ and our lovely home is much to small to raise a family. At this point in our lives we cannot afford a larger house in the area. We have been to the Scottsdale area many times hand have enjoyed our visits. We love baseball and would be able to attend Spring Training. We like hiking and mountain biking which we could do 9 months out of the year. We love being outside and having a yard/pool that we could spend a lot of time in would be a definite plus! We have been keeping a close eye on the job market down there and it seems that there are quite a few openings in our fields. At this point we are thinking north-east Scottsdale and Fountain Hills. Thoughts about those specific areas? |
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I will say, the hiking here is GREAT! Plus, you're close to Sedona and Flagstaff. Scottsdale is huge...super long...but most of it is very nice, and FH is nice too - I think they tried to create a real "community" feel w/ FH. |
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If you don't mind me asking, how much is your energy bill during the summer? |
You are wise to look at the job market before you move, it's still very competitive, and while homes can be a bargain, pay isn't always that great. For someone who likes biking, and hiking, there are many great areas for that. Having family close by is such a huge plus, and especially if you are thinking about starting a family. I think there are many great areas, some of the newer areas have the best prices in housing, but distance to work, should be also be factor in where you live, commutes can really be hard in rush hour traffic. |
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I just paid my electric bill yesterday - and I think it was just over $400, and we keep the house set around 80 degrees (most of the time) except at night, when we turn the master area down to 68 degrees. Pools eat up a lot of electric, as you probably know. |
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it's hard to believe such pretty plants can cause such painful allergies!!!!! |
i think you need to look at the pay rate for the same jobs in AZ. i know that my fiance's company have different pay scales for their branch offices in other states/countries. so if employees want to transfer and move to an area where housing is cheaper, their pay rate will also be lower/adjusted. it's expensive to live in the bay area, but i do think that people are paid more here to compensate for the higher cost of living. i am not sure if it's high enough to justify the housing prices or not, but if you just rent instead of owning a house here it's not as bad. i think the rent here is not 'that' bad. (i think that is why the % of home ownership is so low in CA) you might want to visit AZ first to see if you would like living there. i really love living in bay area though! :D (i know you do too! :p ) also, even though house prices fell, but it really hasn't fallen as much here as it has in other states, and i believe it's due to the job market. |
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