How is life in AZ? Considering moving....

[TooPowerful4u]

My boy is here from AZ (moved from NJ to AZ 3yrs ago). Hes already guaranteeing me a job through one of his hookups (decent paying) and is showing me all the lifestyle. I cant believe how cheap the cost of living is compared to NJ! The houses are so damn nice, a house like some of those costs 6-800k here and is like 300 there! Car insurance...i wont even discuss that haha. He said food is even cheaper. Told me he couldnt do SHT here with 80k a yr compared to what hes doing with 50k there in AZ (2 houses, 2 cars, etc...). Really considering it with me and my gf. Probably coming out to visit within the next 6 weeks, or il wait til september. Stay with my friend, look at some houses, and decide if its what i want to do. I already know a ton of you guys on here are from AZ, so i wanna hear about it. We all know my boy Vander is there already. Area im looking at is Queen Creek. Let me know...lets hear it!

If you are from AZ and dont chime in il just take that as a "we dont like you, stay the hell out" response lol......

 

[TheGeneral]

2 houses and 2 cars on 50k a year?? A 300k house in any decent area is going to be the size of a closet.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

2 houses and 2 cars on 50k a year?? A 300k house in any decent area is going to be the size of a closet.

I dont have the links, but iv seen pictures of his houses. Theyr not bad. 4 bedroom, living room, big kitchen, dining room, 2 car garage, etc....didnt believe it til i saw it...i aint lookin for a mansion bro haha what hes got is good enuff for me at the moment! If i remember correctly 2500 sq ft. Not bad

 

[TheGeneral]

What area?

 

[TheGeneral]

No offense but this guy sounds like one of the 30k millionaires we have in this town.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

No offense but this guy sounds like one of the 30k millionaires we have in this town.

Actually hes a cop haha. Queen Creek. I think its like 30min from scottsdale phoenix area....

 

[Rob Roy]

My boy is here from AZ (moved from NJ to AZ 3yrs ago). Hes already guaranteeing me a job through one of his hookups (decent paying) and is showing me all the lifestyle. I cant believe how cheap the cost of living is compared to NJ! The houses are so damn nice, a house like some of those costs 6-800k here and is like 300 there! Car insurance...i wont even discuss that haha. He said food is even cheaper. Told me he couldnt do SHT here with 80k a yr compared to what hes doing with 50k there in AZ (2 houses, 2 cars, etc...). Really considering it with me and my gf. Probably coming out to visit within the next 6 weeks, or il wait til september. Stay with my friend, look at some houses, and decide if its what i want to do. I already know a ton of you guys on here are from AZ, so i wanna hear about it. We all know my boy Vander is there already. Area im looking at is Queen Creek. Let me know...lets hear it!

If you are from AZ and dont chime in il just take that as a "we dont like you, stay the hell out" response lol......

Deffinately not Queen Creek. It's so far out in the middle of nowhere. Trust me I live close to Queen Creek and it stinks. We're looking to move in the near future. Our studio is in Scottsdale. The way that housing is right now, buy in the last quarter of the year unless you enjoy losing money.
I moved hear from the midwest and I couldn't imagine the torture of living there again. No offense to anyone that does enjoy it, just not for me. I couldn't handle the weather any more. I know what I'm waking up to every morning. The sun gives me a boost of energy. I remember the grey sky for 9 mo. out of the year, vommitt! It gets hot as hell for 4-5mo. but I work inside so it doesn't get me too bad. I like the fact that everything is so new out here. The valley was planned out on a grid so everything is laid out easy to find. Unlike old cities where they tore down a building and put a road in or vice versa. Traffic has gotten much worse over the last couple years though. I do miss the culture, cause there isn't much in AZ.
We're also 5 hours from LA, San Diego, Vegas, Mexico which makes for a nice escape. Not to mention some of the beautiful places in state to check out, Sedona for example.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

Deffinately not Queen Creek. It's so far out in the middle of nowhere. Trust me I live close to Queen Creek and it stinks. We're looking to move in the near future. Our studio is in Scottsdale. The way that housing is right now, buy in the last quarter of the year unless you enjoy losing money.
I moved hear from the midwest and I couldn't imagine the torture of living there again. No offense to anyone that does enjoy it, just not for me. I couldn't handle the weather any more. I know what I'm waking up to every morning. The sun gives me a boost of energy. I remember the grey sky for 9 mo. out of the year, vommitt! It gets hot as hell for 4-5mo. but I work inside so it doesn't get me too bad. I like the fact that everything is so new out here. The valley was planned out on a grid so everything is laid out easy to find. Unlike old cities where they tore down a building and put a road in or vice versa. Traffic has gotten much worse over the last couple years though. I do miss the culture, cause there isn't much in AZ.
We're also 5 hours from LA, San Diego, Vegas, Mexico which makes for a nice escape. Not to mention some of the beautiful places in state to check out, Sedona for example.

True, but Queen Creek is cheap enough for me to afford at the moment. A house out here for those prices is gonna be half the size and in the ghetto. Car insurance out here costs me over 3k a yr alone. Cost of living blows here, as do alot of the jerkoffs you come across. I came out to AZ to visit Vander years ago and LOVED it. So, starting with a house in Queen Creek and settling in for a few years doesnt sound like such a bad idea. Commute to Scottsdale or Phoenix is only 30min anyway. Iv commuted 45min for a job for over a year, commute doesnt bother me. I like everything he told me, from it being on a grid, to the people, to the places, to the weather (except monsoon season), to everything else. I could always come back to NJ if i wanted to, but its a thought.

Thats why i posted this....to hear what people think before i go deeper into any decisions....

 

[Rob Roy]

True, but Queen Creek is cheap enough for me to afford at the moment. A house out here for those prices is gonna be half the size and in the ghetto. Car insurance out here costs me over 3k a yr alone. Cost of living blows here, as do alot of the jerkoffs you come across. I came out to AZ to visit Vander years ago and LOVED it. So, starting with a house in Queen Creek and settling in for a few years doesnt sound like such a bad idea. Commute to Scottsdale or Phoenix is only 30min anyway. Iv commuted 45min for a job for over a year, commute doesnt bother me. I like everything he told me, from it being on a grid, to the people, to the places, to the weather (except monsoon season), to everything else. I could always come back to NJ if i wanted to, but its a thought.

Thats why i posted this....to hear what people think before i go deeper into any decisions....

Wrong on how far out you are now.
To Scottsdale from Queen Creek, you're looking at an hour drive with zero traffic so, anything from 5am-11am 1.5 hour same with 2-6:30pm
Good Luck
and you're driving 1.5-2 hours

 

[AWN2004]

I love it out here. The cost of living is more than other places but not as extreme as say San Fran or LA. The weather is great and you do get used to the heat. We are close to everything and you are about a two hour car ride away from a huge change in climate up north where it snows like crazy in the winter. We have tons of healthy places to eat out here and we have about a billion gyms.

On a side note TP....the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club is out here. The international open they have every year is fun to go to and the Sun Devils have their meets about 15 mins from my house. I'd say the hardest part about moving is actually getting the balls to drop everything you are doing and make your home in a new area. Once you are here, there will be plenty of people to show you the ropes.

 

[TONE]

I think Rob pretty much covered it all. Its a great lifestyle. When I meet people and talk to them about where they are moving from, its no wonder 400 people are moving here a day. I think you'd love it, especially if you have never been out to visit. Just pack some light clothes because we're going to be in for a hot summer.

If it were me, I honestly wouldn't buy a home on the outskirts of town, mainly because those seem to have taken the hardest hit as far as depreciation goes. Those are the first to depreciate and the last to recover. Also, another possible drawback to waiting to buy is that the interest rates may begin to rise by then.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

What would be the most affordable area to move to, while not compromising the commute to scottsdale or phoenix? What are houses going for in the area?

Sounds like life is great out there once you are settled.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

Wrong on how far out you are now.
To Scottsdale from Queen Creek, you're looking at an hour drive with zero traffic so, anything from 5am-11am 1.5 hour same with 2-6:30pm
Good Luck
and you're driving 1.5-2 hours

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/queen+creek+AZ/Scottsdale+AZ/

in my experience, i can usually shave off 5min per half hour drive on mapquest anywhere iv gone, and i traveled ALOT with my past job....even when we traveled on business, whatever mapquest told us, we could shave time off of it....

 

[TooPowerful4u]

I love it out here. The cost of living is more than other places but not as extreme as say San Fran or LA. The weather is great and you do get used to the heat. We are close to everything and you are about a two hour car ride away from a huge change in climate up north where it snows like crazy in the winter. We have tons of healthy places to eat out here and we have about a billion gyms.

On a side note TP....the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club is out here. The international open they have every year is fun to go to and the Sun Devils have their meets about 15 mins from my house. I'd say the hardest part about moving is actually getting the balls to drop everything you are doing and make your home in a new area. Once you are here, there will be plenty of people to show you the ropes.

That is awesome. My bro would probably love to come out over summer vacation and wrestle around and have a good time. Hes REALLY getting into the gym and would probably love that atmosphere too. The gym crowd and fitness crowd seems huge in AZ, and growing.....thats what i love, my girl loves, and my bro is growing to love.....

Another plus on my decision is i know there are people like you out there that i already know. Great people with big hearts that love life, are always positive, and just fun people to know. Vander is another reason....cuz me and him have a blast when we chill. I met so many cool ass people when i came out to visit last time you have no idea, and i was only there 10 days. Cant imagine the rest of it. I hear Dusty is a madman to train with haha......id love to go head to head with him in legs (as im told i wont touch the weight he does, but my heart will more than love the workout!)

 

[TONE]

I would honestly look at getting into an inexpensive condo in the Scottsdale Area. I've been searching for a friend of mine and there are some great deals on some 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condos in a nicer area. When you factor in your cost of gas and time, I think it makes the most sense. It also serves well from an investment standpoint.

 

[gogotren]

DONT MOVE TO QUEEN CREEK AND DONT BUT A HOUSE HERE NOW.
Monsoon season is actually really cool. In Nj it will just be gray and rain for a week, in monsoon season it just gets real violent crazy lightening, buckets of rain, then 10 minutes later its done... maybe a little longer but rain is not a week long event. I moved to scottsdale from NY, LI almost 3 yrs ago and love it, dont regret it one bit.

 

[gorgeousfrankenstein]

LISTEN UP

The rate of Notice of Trustee sales (that's foreclosure notices) are running about double the current rate of home sales in Maricopa county. This means prices will continue to get hammered for at least the next 6 months.
I flew over there for work to scout for properties. 3/2 1600sf homes were selling all over the place for 200k.
Wait and rent and you'll get the deal of a lifetime.

 

[Demonox14]

HELLO

YUMA ARIZONA IS THE REAL WILD WEST! BUT I DO LOVE PHOENIX... AZ BOYZ DON'T ACCEPT ME AND MY BOY RONNIE IN THE LEAGUE OF ARIZONA BODYBUILDERS FEEL SO SAD TO BE THE OUTCAST....

 

[muscle96ss]

I would go with southeast Gilbert instead of Queen Creek; its a bit closer all the action and only a little higher in price. We were kinda forced to move to Gilbert from Ahwhatukee several years ago when Dr. Horton built us a nice custom home and forgot to seal the roof. When they realized it was not sealed they decided to cover it up and stucco over it. Needless to say it rained, it leaked, and we ended up with Aspergillus mold spores 100x what they should be. My wife was pregnant with our first child and we got out in a hurry but vowed to be back in Awhatukee in a couple years. To make a long story short; we are staying in Gilbert long-term and I wouldn't consider living anywhere else.

From a monetary standpoint, I grew up on the east coast and the cost of living is a million times cheaper out here. Also with the housing market the way it is now; it is an ideal time if you are a buyer. I mean the deals out there are just incredible right now. Everything on the market is pretty much undervalued because people are trying to get out of loans they can't afford and then when the market bounces back they are going to appreciate considerably. To give you an example; we paid around $250,000 four our house 4 years ago(brand new build, 2300 sq. ft., 17000 sq. ft. lot, 3 car garrage). It was appraised at almost $500,000 2 years ago and today would probaly be around $400,000 with the slump. The area is growing so much that once the housing slump is over; it will jump back up again and then some.

The only drawbacks of Gilbert is that it seems like there are cops on almost every street corner and speedtraps everywhere so it makes it difficult to speed. Oh, and the PT's(physical therapists) are very sensistive .

 

[TooPowerful4u]

The rate of Notice of Trustee sales (that's foreclosure notices) are running about double the current rate of home sales in Maricopa county. This means prices will continue to get hammered for at least the next 6 months.
I flew over there for work to scout for properties. 3/2 1600sf homes were selling all over the place for 200k.
Wait and rent and you'll get the deal of a lifetime.

Yea well im probably gonna visit in September, maybe stay til February. So i wont be buying SOON.

TONE. Condo is what my gf suggested. Might be a very good idea. We are going to look around alot when i come over.