Those of you living in Arizona...

S

Spinin28

Cathlete
My hubby and I are wanting to move to Arizona and we are doing some research to find the best area in Arizona to live.

We are thinking of:
Sedona
Tuscon
Phoneix

Anyone have any imput of great places to live in these areas? Good schools, low crime, nice shopping,3-4 bedroom homes between 300,000.00-350,000.00.

TIA

Denise:)
 
Denise,
I live in Surprise AZ which is outside phoenix-it is beautiful here but HOT!!! The winters are wonderful!!!!!!! For 300,0000 you can get a great house-Sedona is expensive but wow would I love to live there. In my opinion I would prefer to live in Phoenix as opposed to Tuscon but everyone is different so look into all your options. Im not sure about schools but there is low crime in Surprise-Phoenix not so much. Where do you live now?
Lisa
 
Lisa,

Now I live in Indiana, which I have all my life and I am so ready for a move and I have always loved Arizona. I would LOVE to live in Sedona, is it an afforable place to live?

Thanks for the information.

Denise
:)
 
Denise,
Im not sure what you mean by afforadable-that is different to everyone but Sedona is one of the nicest places to live in AZ. I would look into it-Im sure you would love it there and the temp. is alittle lower then here. Let me know if I can do anything for you-if you want me send anything to you or look into anything for you.
Lisa
 
I live in Phoenix and it is definitely HOT!!! We have been up to 113 degrees already!!! Sedona is absolutely beautiful, but I'm not sure what living expenses are like or how developed the area is. It is not very big. There are nice areas and not so nice areas of Phoenix. Scottsdale is beautiful and more upper class. More expensive to live, but really a nice clean city. I would recommend looking into Scottsdale myself. It is right next to Phoenix, but much nicer (but much more expensive). I think it's worth it for the difference in atmosphere. DH and I plan to move there when we buy our next house.

Katie
 
Katie

Thanks for the response..

That is exactly the kind of information I am looking for. Do you have any idea what the cost of housing in the Scottsdale area is, like for a new 3 bedroom ranch 2,100sqft, finished basement with bedroom, Pool.

Thanks for the information.

Denise
 
Hi Denise! I've lived in Az for many years, you won't regret the move here! I've lived in Phoenix and Tucson before. Currently I live in Prescott, Az which is about 45 min southwest of Sedona.
Phoenix and Tucson are both VERY large cities. Phoenix especially, it is becoming more and more like LA. There are nice areas of course but housing is still quite expensive.
Sedona is beautiful but it is primarily a tourist place and quite pricey. The climate is IMO much better up north. Phoenix and Tucson can be like an OVEN in summer. Crime is definitely a consideration too with both of those places. You may want to research Prescott. The climate is great, a "small" city but not too small. It is comparable to Sedona. Housing in comparison to Phoenix is more reasonable. For the price you mentioned you could do quite nicely here. But then again, I'm quite prejudiced! ;-) Just go on an internet search for these cities and click on a real estate link and you'll get all the info you need! Good luck!

ShellyC
 
Hey Denise! We just moved here to Az one year ago this week!! We are gearing up for the big heat.....we have had temps over 110 this summer already! But I must say, the winter was wonderful....and my first year without an ice storm. Now is a great time to buy a house, since the housing market has cooled a bit. We bought at the height of it(something my dh will never forgive me for...since he had been trying to get me to move for years). We ended up in Chandler...in the east valley of Phoenix. I really do enjoy living here, love my new house with a pool, my kids adjusted just beautifully, love my job, etc. A friend of mine lived in Tucson for a while and loved it there, not as developed as Phoenix, or so I had heard. Sedona is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, but housing is rare(unless you can afford a multimillion dollar price tag. A good friend of mine just moved there to help run an Inn with her husband....they are still living at the inn, while her daughter is going to school with some of the kids who live in those great big houses. But in general you should be able to find a house, just about anywhere in the valley in a price range you could afford, you just need to narrow your search a bit....it is such a big place!! Do you have any ideas on employment??? Maybe plan a search for housing based on that?? Commutes can sometimes be a pain....depending on where you need to go. Me, I love my commute....about 4 minutes to my Starbucks, cannot beat that......Let me know if I can be anymore help. Feel free to email me!!!

Good Luck!
Donna
 
Shelly! Can I come live with you for the summer??? I haven't been to Prescott yet! Did you have any trouble with any of the wildfires??(not meant to scare Denise, or anything!) And yes, we do live in an oven over the summer...but I would take a temp of 110 over a temp of 89 with some Virginia humidity thrown in....but I do miss all my buddies in VA.
 
not from AZ or anything (way on the other side- in PA) but thought I'd share a link that is good for finding out house prices: www.realtor.com and you can enter in the city or zip. You can set the seart results by number of bedrooms, price, ect.

HTH!
 
Just a note-you won't get a house with a basement in Arizona for under $750,000. Basements are considered a super luxury item here. So you may want to re-think your 2100 square feet-that's all you will get. I would recommend contacting your local realtor to put you in touch with a re-location realtor in the city you decide upon. They will be able to give you a good idea of pricing in the various cities and suburbs, crime, schools, etc.
Beth
 
Sedona is gorgeous so if you can live there, do it! It's stunning and amazing. I live in Tucson and I love it. Phoneix is too large for me but for folk who love large cities, it has some pluses. I know there are some women here who can tell you far more than I. Tucson is situated in a valley so it's surrounded by mountains and they are lovely. You can escape the heat by heading up to Mount Lemmon. It has an arty downtown and some nice places to check out if you hike or bike. Sabino Canyon, Gates Pass, Sahauro National Monument. Google will help you check them out from where you are. :) There is good shopping and great restaurants galore. Real estate is booming and there's a lot of new developments going up all over the place as well as some great old neighborhoods. The Foothills to the north are the place where the wealthier Tucsonans tend to live. Very nice but expensive. It's a great place to live. I have not, however, ever been in a home with a basement in the 20 years I have lived here. :) Summers can be trying but the winters are divine. Get a pool. Good luck deciding!
Bobbi "Chicks rule!"http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/tiere/animal-smiley-032.gif
Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/linie/smiley-linie-008.gif
 
I have lived in Phoenix for the past 10 years and LOVE IT! I also love Sedona, it is my favorite place to go, however, it is fairly expensive and depending on what your line of work is, there may not be all that many choices.

I would look into an area called Ahwatukee (ZIP codes are 85048, 85044 and 85045) it is really nice, it is close to the mountains, lots of hiking trails, mountain biking, swimming, dog parks and recreation (I have been living here for 10 years) and it is not quite as expensive as Scottsdale. You can get a 3 to 4 bedroom house with a pool for around $300,000 to $ 400,000. There are some houses with basements, however, they are a little more pricey. The last one around the corner sold at $ 384,000 but it did not have a pool. But in general you will pay $ 450k and up for a basement home.

Tempe is also a great area, mostly a little older homes (mid to late 70s), it is right by ASU (Arizona State University)and close to Scottsdale.

If you need more information, please feel free to email me at [email protected], I am pretty familiar with all of the areas in the Greater Phoenix area, since I have been a real estate agent / realtor here for the past 8 years.

I will be happy to send you more information or answer any questions you may have!

Have a wonderful day!

Carola
 
I forgot to mention, the Kyrene School District in Ahwatukee is one of the highest rated in AZ. You can check it out at www.kyrene.org. I have a almost 2nd and 5th grader, I love the school here, much better than the private Montessori School they went to for many years - boy, could I have saved a lot of money!)

There also is a lot of shopping (Chandler Fashion Mall - with Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, etc.) is about 15 min. away. Lots of strip malls with little specialty stores, Ikea is about 15 min away.

Crime rate is pretty low compared to other areas in AZ. If you are interested, I can give you some websites to do your own research about crime rates, shopping, etc.

Take care,

Carola
 
I don't live in Arizone but my parents do and they live in Gilbert and I visit them and if I was going to move there I think I would choose either Tempe or Gilbert or Mesa,
 
You can always put the name of the city along with "real estate listing" in google. Stevie Nicks lives in Scottsdale. She grew up in Arizona and the SF Bay Area. Maybe you can be neighbors!!
 
Denise, I would seriously take a vacation out here and scout the market. I moved here a year ago and am not in love with it. I live in Cave Creek/North Scottsdale and it's HOT right now!!! Sedona is beautiful but very expensive. Flaggstaff is burning. Alot of forest fires this time of year. If you live in Scottsdale area, you will pay at least 5-600,000 for a newer 3 bedroom home. 3-400,000 is a fixer upper. Housing is costly! Houses are also on top of each other and have cement barricades! Yuck! Surprise is nice and I think much more affordable. I almost fell over when my husband told me the price of houses he was looking at.

Things I didn't know before moving out here. You pay ALOT for electricity and water. Our lowest electric bill has been $150 (we have a 2 story) and that's using no air or heat. We are cheap and keep our air at 83 degrees. Most people pay a $400 electric bill a month, we try to keep it below $250. Our water bill is about $80 per month (that's with a family of 4). Everything costs money. Alot of critters. Tarantulas, scorpians and snakes. I fished a snake out of the pool last week! I don't let my kids outside at night. We are closer to the mountains so we have more critters than say, Central Scottssdale.

This time of year when the kids should be outside riding bikes, hiking and playing, it's too hot. We have a pool, but it gets old after awhile. It costs money to keep your kids occupied. There's so much brown here. Winter's are ok, but I miss the change in seasons.

The nice thing is that there is a lot to see. It only takes us a couple hours to get to Flagstaff and a little over 3 hrs. to get to the Grand Canyon. Flagstaff is beautiful, but crowded. There are alot of people in Phoenix and traffic can be a nightmare. People are very friendly and I have met some wonderful people.

I miss Wisconsin, gloomy or not, there are less days of below 0 degrees than there are days out here above 100! (3 months above 100 degrees). I also miss a yard!

These are my rants, but you may love it out here. I think it's best to spend some time out here, especially in August, and then see if you really like it. That's the worst time of year. Good luck with your decision, not trying to be a doom and gloom person, just giving you my opinions after a year.
 
Houses are also on top of each other and have cement
>barricades! Yuck!

LOL. Those would be FENCES. HA HA. You obviously came from the great, wide open. ;-)

I see what you mean about Az, though. But remember, your kids are out playing all day and into the night Sept thru May. That IS our summer. Right now is our "dead of winter", lol. That is why we have pools.:)

Electric is expensive, especially if you have a pool motor to run as well. BUT if you have a pool, just jump in every 30 min or so and live in your bathing suit. Then you don't have to use your air as much.

Totally kidding. Errr, ok, not totally.

Most people are so happy when they come to Az from somewhere else. Nice to see a different perspective. I have never lived anywhere else so I can't give an opinion. I also have traveled very little in the state so I can't offer feedback on that either. I have an itty bitty yard and a play pool so I got the best of both worlds. But I do have a barricade.}(
 
Another "Phoenician" here having lived here for 12 years moving from my home state of Colorado.

Phoenix is a nice city, but it is growing at a ridiculous pace and traffic, crime, and pollution are becoming serious problems. The growth isn't slowing down at all, in fact, in 20 years they project a population of over 12 million ( we are at slightly more than 3 mil. right now).

I am so in love with Sedona. It is quite expensive to live there and depending on what you do for a living, good paying jobs are not readily available. I always joke around and tell people that I will be moving there after I rob a small bank. Sedona is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Good luck with your AZ research!

Rhonda
 
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