Phoenix AZ area??

Scott

Scott

Adventurist
So, the opportunity has come up at a possible promotion, but that would mean leaving CA (which I really want to do anyway), and moving to the Phoenix area of AZ. Can anyone tell me a little about AZ? What do you like, what don't you like? I am already liking the ability to concealed carry a firearm without a permit... Any insight is greatly appreciated. This is all in the planning stages right now, and we haven't made any moves yet, but we have a lot to think about. We would have to sell our house, and figure out logistics of getting 3 vehicles, a trailer, our camper, and all of our belongings out there, not to mention I would need to find a place to live while my wife worked on selling our house in CA... I suppose I could just live in the camper in a campground for a few weeks....

Scott
 
Nooooo!

My main experiences with Phoenix is that its been hotter than the hinges of hell every time I've been there. Definitely some pretty country around there though.
 
jismay said:
Nooooo!

My main experiences with Phoenix is that its been hotter than the hinges of hell every time I've been there. Definitely some pretty country around there though.
Click to expand...

Yeah I am aware that it's gonna be hotter than all get out. My main concern is good camping/exploring. At least I'd only be 2 hours away from Overland Expo in Flagstaff :)
 
If my former company and made my job over there permanent, I'd be living in Scottsdale right now 3 weeks of every month. Worked over there 2 weeks a month for 7 months and fell in love with it. Of course, that was October through May! Just getting warm at that point. Spent a couple of 100 degree weekends there on the golf course. Not bad, but then I love the heat.

Can't tell you much about Phoenix proper as my time was spent on the northeast corner of the Loop 101 in North Scottsdale right near the TPC Scottsdale golf courses. The apartments and even condos/garden type homes were much less expensive than here in SoCal for sure. Very active group on IH8MUD for Landcruiser folks and there seems to be a lot of areas to explore from what I could tell. Only drove my truck over once and didn't have time to hit any trails on the weekend I was there with it.
 
Phoenix is essentially a wannabe suburb of L.A. anyway. You'll do just fine.

Seriously, there is a lot of beautiful country here. Firearms laws are the way they should be. (On the other hand, our legislature and governor just passed a law preventing any municipality from banning plastic shopping bags, popular support notwithstanding. It's all about local control here, except when it isn't.)

The upside to the heat is balmy winters. And there is plenty of high country to escape to just a couple hours away.
 
Thank you all for your valuable input. This is something the wife and I are going to need to discuss more today. Perhaps bringing this up to her when she is 4.5 months pregnant and very emotional wasn't the best of ideas. Last night she broke down and cried at the thought of moving our 3 year old daughter 5 hours away from her grandparents that she now sees just about every day because they live less than 1/2 a mile away now. My parents live out in missouri, and I'm in california so while I see her reasoning, I also think that she is young enough that it won't be overly traumatizing. That being said, my wife's parents also want to get out of California and would probably do so after my wife's dad retires in a few years. Its a lot to think about, that's for sure. I just feel like God is opening all the right doors to make a move we have been thinking about, and we should keep going through those doors until one gets shut...
 
Here is some free advice from a father of 3 and a husband of 20 years. Always ignore free advice.

Pregnant woman can and will change their minds / emotions often. Being supportive of the process of talking them through things made my wife feel better about how she occasionally reacted.

We didn't make a move for similar reasons, looking back on it, we should have kept walking through doors until one shut.

If you believe this is the right move to make, put together a pros and cons list for yourself, for your wife, and for your kids. The perspective you gain may make your process of walking through doors smoother.

Good luck. I understand AZ can be a wonderful place to live.
 
So, I've been doing a little (very little) thinking today, and this is what I came up with in about 2 minutes, off the top of my head for pros and cons to relocation...

There are a lot of pro's to this decision, as well as cons...
Pros:
More money
getting out of california
no more dealing with snow
lots of things to do in town
cheaper cost of living
2nd amendment freedoms (this is a big one for me)
Can easily get a 2 car garage and RV parking, which I can't get where I'm at currently.
More than likely a shorter commute to work ( right now it's just over an hour, each way, 42 miles each way)
Lots of land and national parks to explore (another big one for me.)

Cons:
Moving my daughter away from her grandparents who she currently sees almost every day
no trees/mountains
lack of "seasons"
HOT
big city feel as opposed to the mountain feel we've had for over 30 years
Most houses are part of HOA.
No family "support system" in AZ.


As you can see, there's a lot to go either way on this one.. and that's just a list I came up with off the top of my head.

 
Look at Payson or Prescott may be too far to commute? But great get a ways on the weekend. Coming from Lake Arrowhead will be hard to beat. The only issue with Arrowhead is it's in CA.
You'll save about $1.00 on every gal. of gas...do the math!!!
 
woodienut said:
Look at Payson or Prescott may be too far to commute? But great get a ways on the weekend. Coming from Lake Arrowhead will be hard to beat. The only issue with Arrowhead is it's in CA.
You'll save about $1.00 on every gal. of gas...do the math!!!
Click to expand...
Payson and Prescott are both roughly 100 miles each way from the work location I'm looking at. A bit far for me...
I love arrowhead, and have been up here 30 years, but I'm ready to get out of ca...
 
Seeing what this decision is doing to my wife, I've made the decision to stay the course in ca right now, as she doesn't want to be away from her family... I'll deal with ca for a while longer I suppose, but it makes her happy, and makes my daughter happy to see her grandparents. As much as I would like to get out of california, family comes first. This picture I just took is why we are staying in ca. From the bottom of the photo, going clockwise, my daughter, my wife, wifes mom, and wides dad, all doing a puzzle. I was told by my daughter she did not want me to participate, so I'm taking pictures instead.
 

Attachments

  • family.jpg
    family.jpg
    86.4 KB · Views: 85
Ah I was just going to chime in and tell you about how wonderful it can be to live here, but enjoy CA. I've lived in both, and while there are many more amazing outdoor areas to explore in CA there are way too many laws and way too many people for my taste, not to mention the expense. Given that if I had the opportunity I'd move to Prescott or Flagstaff tomorrow!
 
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a lot of things about california but the insane liberalism and oppressive laws irritate me enough to get out. I've been to flagstaff and loved it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom