OT: Any Phoenix, AZ members here?

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bstaley

bstaley

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I've been thinking lately of moving my family to the Phoenix area. More specifically, the Cave Creek area North of the city. I love Pittsburgh but as I get older the winters are really starting to wear on me and I've always loved Arizona from when I visited back in 1992. I'm 41 and have two daughters 13 and 10. I was wondering what you thought of the area as far as economically, crime rates, schooling, etc.. I hear the music scene is pretty good too which would be a great bonus. I'm certainly not looking to suddenly become a "rock star" at 41, but I would like to have a band and play out for the fun of it.

My current job is a Software Developer so if any of you have any insight or tips it would be greatly appreciated. What is the job market like?

One more thing...my wife is deathly afraid of spiders and seems to think we're going to have tarantulas running into the house every time we open the door. Is it really that bad?

Thanks
 
I lived in Cottonwood AZ(10min from Sedona/1hour north of Phoenix) for a little over a year in 2001. I actually had that happen to me. Left the front door open and a Tarantula walked right in. Funny as hell. They are really cool and honestly I doubt that happens much especially in the city.They are pretty harmless but if your afraid of spiders....it can be a shocker. Living anywhere warm like that is gonna be a haven for certain critters. The first apt we rented was a basement apartment. I had heard the stories about scorpions. Well, during my first night my pillow fell on the floor. In the morning when I went to pick it up I decided to look inside and a little scorpion found his way in there. We had a nightly ritual of checking all the blankets and making sure nothing touched the ground. I lived there for 2 months and caught 9 scorpions. Again, remember this was a smaller town, a basement apt and he had a pretty big yard. We then moved into a newer house where the spider thing happened. No scorpions there though. Still gotta check your shoes. ;) Had a king snake living right outside the front door in that house too. Another thing is Black Widow spiders. They usually stay outside and like the areas around the garden hoses. When I lived in Palm Springs, damn! Black Widow central. My friends house had about 20 of them living just in his back porch area. I could also see them walking across the cement paths at night time at the resorts going from the plants to the pool areas.

This is just my experience. A lot of it depends on where you live, how populated it is, is it regularly sprayed for bugs, how old the house is, ect. Living in the city you will probably only rarely see a spider. Hope this helped more than it hurt. :lol: :LOL:
 
^Sedona is like the #1 most beautiful place in the world; totally tranquil!

It's the scorpions you need to keep an eye on...seriously. They can migrate to an area and it's damn near impossible to get rid of them. That would be the key when checking out houses, a few is somewhat normal, but you don;t need dozens running rampant all over year house and property :no:

I thought I would see snakes and desert life everywhere, but it's not quite like that, lol. I did see a Mountain Lion at my mailbox, but residents here say that has never happened. Coyotes, Bobcats...basically keep an eye on small dogs and children. Oh, heavy UFO activity here too, check out the documentary on the Phoenix lights, those spaceships hover over the area quite often- haven't seen it in person, but most people here have :shocked:

Beautiful landscapes, really dreamy mountains....seriously magnificent. However, it is a bit of a dusty valley, so the air is not as clean as one might think.

Houses here were decimated more than most, houses were devalued at less than half, so many people just up and left due to the lopsided mortgages they were carrying. Last report was that Phoenix actually has had a rise in prices, so that is good. My current hood had over 200 for sale a year ago; now it is at 35. Still, it is a good time to buy; you can get a gorgeous spacious dwelling cheap-cheap

As for crime, well, the news is pretty frightening, but I came from Philadelphia, so I'm a bit numb to the violence. In general, the farther away from Phoenix the better. That being said, there's lots of cool spots in Phoenix, but I'd check out the surrounding areas first.

Music scene is lively, but you hear many of the same grumblings; cover bands get paid, original bands struggle. If you're band is good, you'll get attention and have plenty of cool spots to play.

Hey, still have the white Charvel with the routing? I came real close to pulling the trigger on that!
 
Thanks for the responses guys. Some of the houses we have been looking at online are like somebody put a house right smack-dab in the middle of the desert. I mean, you look past the fence and it's just miles of desert! I'm guessing that would be real bad for scorpions and other critters. I had expected more of a housing/subdivision. I'm sure you have those as well, I just haven't found them yet. I have a friend that is moving to Cave Creek in July because he has family there and he said it is a great area with low crime rate. I'm sure if you get closer to the city the crime gets higher just like anywhere else.

I've noticed most home do not have basements, I'm guessing because of flooding when it rains. Here my "studio" is in the basement of my house. I guess the big thing there is to have the external garage in the back yard.

I do still have the Charvel. My wife talked me out of selling it, thankfully. Now I'm glad I kept it.
 
Cave Creek is nice and sort of out of the way. Elevation is a little higher than the Valley. One year they got snow so half of Phoenix invaded and played in the snow. We went up in the middle of the night in the "blizzard" ... It was lots of fun but for a couple security guards at an adjacent private community who tried to run us off.

Anyways, Phoenix metro area is becoming more and more like East LA day by day. Lots of crime, many bad areas. The plus side is that there are many new areas and suburbs and nice new malls and parks, but the downside is that the general attitude in the metro area has become so Commie-fornia welfare state like, the whole scene with gangs, violence, Mexican drug war associated kidnappings etc.

I live in Chandler, decent neighborhood, but I work in Mesa in a place the cops call "Little Tijuana". Lots of crime in this neighborhood, I call the cops at least once a month for burglaries, criminal damage, theft, stolen cars, combative transient people on the property.

Cave Creek will be safe, fairly affluent area. Don't want to make it sound all bad. There are very nice areas all around, Maricopa County and Phoenix metro area are HUGE, just have to learn where the good and bad areas are.

Like I said, the downside is that it is no longer a conservative Western area but has been overrun by the big city feel, very hustle-bustle and rat race like.

I moved here from Milwaukee 26 years ago and this place feels more like Chicago every day.

EDIT: The other big positive is that if you get outside of Phoenix, the wilderness is wilderness. The outdoors and wildlife here are unbelievable, if you like hiking, camping, hunting, fishing etc. Arizona is fabulous!!!
 
Oh, and try this on for size.... We had our first 100 plus day here a week and a half ago...
 
Yeah, everything Teleblaster said about Phoenix is true. I've been there enough to see that. Ya know, I'm actually considering a move myself. Maybe in a year or so. I'm thinking Austin Texas. I'm hearing some cool things about it. Warm too.
 
Hey! I'm flying in to Austin to play a couple shows in June. I hear it's really nice.
 
not many basements in houses in Phoenix...large garages on many homes, but heading to the summer months now means I jam back into a small room and play a lot through headphones....thus my 11Rack and possibly a quest for the Kemper
 
My Parents moved out Surprise AZ back in 2004. I helped them move and it was 124 degrees and was WAAAAY too hot for me to handle! They keep asking me to transfer out there...... :no:
I lived in Chandler for 1 year back in 1990. It was nice during the winter times but man I cant handle that heat.
Hate the snow and cold....but 3 months of that versus 9 months of brutal heat..... :lol: :LOL:
I hear there is plenty of work out in that area though for sure. :thumbsup:
 
If you're any to the left of Dwight Eisenhower, the politics in AZ will make you insane. Plenty of nice areas in the 'burbs, you've got to pick/choose just like any metropolitan area. With all the "negatives" described, there is a certain amount of culture, again, like an actual city with some kind of diversity. Weather super mild for 9 full months, summers are brutal. Traffic nowhere near LA, basements can be found, just not the norm. I live in a tri-level - ground level, next to two levels - one half-underground, the other above that. Job market? There are some big tech companies in the metro area (Intel is one) - you need to search all that stuff on-line. Politics - sickeningly conservative. Weather - 9/12ths very nice. Property prices mostly very low, lots of nice areas. Jobs - who knows, good luck! Bugs - yep, there are some, but we do live indoors...... Music scene - not so good, lots of folks competing for - lots of venues, but not many pay very well, a bunch of the "play for the door - the folks you can bring". Lots of really good players, lots of really nice folks, but it's pretty tough to make a living playing music.
 
Bob Savage":1ind752i said:
Wait, people actually move TO Phoenix? Wild...
Click to expand...
It actually is wild around here :yes:

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Stay away....move somewhere else! There are no clouds in Phoenix from May - October....and just CONSTANT SUN!!!! :doh:

We get a break from the devistating heat with some monsoon rains in August.

...then this thing comes rolling in out of no where and takes away small animals and children, never to be seen again!!!


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JUST STAY AWAY!!!!
 
DONT move to the Phx az metro area! lol....sorry but that's how i feel about this place.i live in the s.e. valley,in Gilbert AZ,and came out 2 years ago due to a job loss back in Chicago,where i'm from.as far as the Phx valley,the crime is terrible,thugs & deadbeats in every part of the valley.morals,ethics & values are lacking seriously.it's that "anything goes" attitude.the summer heat is brutal for 5 months with no break! sure,the winters are sweet out here,but not worth it when it's at the expense of summer.there's really not much ever to do out here unless you go hiking everyday,play golf or sit out by a pool.the people are a mish-mosh from all over,mainly Calif,i think,and "the people out here" is the single biggest complaint that i hear from others.the schools are poorly rated and i wouldnt raise kids here,no sir! you will regret leaving what's in PA.yeah,winters and the cold can suck,but it's a HUGE trade-off coming out here and imo,you lose more than you gain.i find it hard to deal with all the trashy,flakey,or just plain fake people that you run into everywhere here.seems like there's alot of people out here that are running away from something from some other state.i actually just had a buddy at my work leave after a year out here and moved back to Pittsburgh.he hated it here and wanted out! i'd go back to Chicago in a heartbeat,if i could,but the job scene out there just hasnt turned around.yes,Phoenix and the desert and AZ has lots of really cool places to see and visit but,for me,that's what it boils down to...it's a neat place to visit,but i dont care to live here...good luck with whatever you decide to do.


...on a separate note,there are good people out here and i'm thankful i have a descent job for now,but this town def "aint no paradise"! :doh: i miss the seasons and rivers with water in them :aww: ..oh and btw,the music scene sucks out here unless you're into country or rap-crap!!! also,the bugs are nasty! huge,huge scorpion problems out here,,all over.you're home can be fine,but 3 doors down,the neighbors are dealing with a nightmare that cant be solved as scorpion's nests are territorial and damn near impossible to get rid of.then there's the disgusting roaches and crickets that are all over the ground,outside,during the hot season,every nite.once the sun sets,the shit is everywhere and it's something i will never get use to......


...otherwise,if you have any specific questions you'd like to ask about Phx,Az,feel free to PM me :)
 
Arizona, in genreal is a beautiful state. The northern parts are quite majestic, if you were wanting to live there. How ever, it is a no tolerance state for crime, yet there is quite a bit of it. I would stay away from Phoenix, Globe, Morenci, and places as the such. There is a very vicious Meth problem in Arizona. Half of my family is from there, and most of them still live there. It can be pretty tuff living there. You best bet is northern Arizona. Pick some where with lots of trees, and green landscapes. Avoid the barren, rock like landscapes. Desert people are a different culture.
 
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