Those of you living in Arizona...

My hubby and I just wanted to thank all of you for your responses..it has been very helpful. Seems like Surprise AZ is a nice place to live. My hubby is already applying for jobs.

I never realized that there were no basements in AZ, and that it is a luxury to have a basement...freaky!..LOL! I never thought of no fences, but that makes sense with the incredible heat there? I am assuming no wood decks either??

The snake in the pool would totally freak my husband out(he is really afraid of snakes..lol)! The huge spiders and scorpions..ewwwwwwww!! How many times do you see scorpions or huge spiders, or find them in your house..or find snakes in your house? Do your kids have to be careful where they step outside not to step on a scorpion?

I never thought about the kids not getting to play outside in the summer, due to the heat. And that most people do activies in the evening..wow! My kids spend most of there time in the summer playing in our pool, and riding their bikes around the neighborhood.

Does everyone have a pool? Do people have above ground pools or mostly in ground pools?
Here in ground pools are very expensive like $15,000-30,000 for a nice in ground pool with concrete around it. A nice above ground pool is around $2,500-3,500.

Which areas have the best schools? I have twin son's with Asperger's syndrome..so school system is VERY important!
Here the schools are all free, except textbook fees.

So how many people have grass yards, is that a luxury too?

I am trying to figure out the cost of living in comparison to Indiana, to compare pay and housing costs..etc..

An RN here in Indiana makes about $40,000-45,000 a year
My husband is an IT person average pay is $45,000-60,000 a year

Here you can buy a 2 story, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathrooms 2,600 sq ft home on 1/4 acre with a full basement(not finished),carpet and ceramic tile throughout, master bedroom suite with large whirpool tub and large walk in closet including appliances, 2 car garage, air, gas heat, ceiling fans for around $169,000.00 - 190,000.00.

Keep the info coming ladies...we are eating it up!

Any more ideas as to find out about local stuff and job searches?

Thank you so much!
Denise
:)
 
Most people have in ground pools. Most people buy a house with a pool. My house is 1600 sf, with a cute in ground play pool (12,000 gallons) that cleans itself! I highly recommend it. We don't do any pool work at all other than keep it stocked with chlorine.

I am currently in nursing school here, and I can tell you that the Banner hospitals start at (new grad) $24.00 an hour. I think the range is $24-36/hr. So.....about 50-60,000 per year, floor nurse. Case managers a bit less, around 50,000. All the hospitals pay pretty close to Banner's rate. I work at one of the hospitals here.

For the house you speak of you will pay 300-400,000 dollars in Arizona, right now. Great time to be a seller, crappy time to be a buyer, although it is getting better. It is so profitable that hubby and I are thinking of getting out of dodge after I am out of school to reap that big profit!! With our luck, by next year this time, we won't make anything, lol!!

Grass yards are not a luxury, just hard to maintain here in the desert. Your water bill with be higher, obviously. Most people are concerned about conserving water here so there are just more houses with desert landscape. We ripped out our desert landscape to put in a front yard with sprinklers but it is small. You would laugh at it. So no, no huge 5 acre yards. Although if you live in central phx, you can get a pretty big yard in an older home. But...you will likely pay 500-a mil for a home like you speak of (especially in the central corridor).

DON'T BUY A HOUSE WITHOUT A POOL!!!!! If so, make sure you put one in ASAP. Or your kids NEVER WILL go outside in the summer. With a pool, they'll love to be out there!

I've seen tons of snakes out hiking, but most of the time they do not bother you unless you bother them. Heck, I practically stepped on a 5 ft rattlesnake streched right in front of me when running a trail!! I just went around it! We have a big gecko problem at our house. They hang out at the porch light and eat the bugs. Tons of em. We just don't invite them in, lol. Locusts are gross come monsoon season. Ugggh. Just thinking about it makes me miserable. Very similar to midwest in the summer. Yucko! Humidity sucks. Scorpions? They are here in abundance but I personally have never seen one, and I have lived here all my life. Crickets are big here too, ants...majorly.

www.allnurses.com talks about Arizona in the "Arizona Nurses" section. Check it out.

Hope that helps some!:7
 
Oh, wanted to say too (not that you didn't know), but here too, as a nurse, you will never be out of a job. HUGE need here!! With experience, you will be like gold to any hospital.....
 
Hi Denise,

We mostly have inground pools, above ground pools are not very popular here. You definately NEED to have a pool here though, August is really bad and you shouldn't go outside because it is just plain too hot. But it really is only bad 2 or 3 months, the rest of the year is gorgeous, I keep reminding myself how beautiful it is here while I am sweating at 120 degrees in August.

Scorpions are not that bad here (this is my personal opinion and I can tell you that scorpions and spiders/ticks make my skin crawl, just thinking about them) I haven't seen one in my house in 10 years, and maybe 3 or 4 alltogether, if you get stung, it's usually not life threatening, more like a bee sting, just bad if you are allergic. Snakes are more of a problem if you go hiking or if you live on a mountain preserve.

Most properties are fenced in with block fence, unless you buy horse property, they mostly have chain link, etc or if you live on a mountain preserve - you will have a "wrought iron view fence" to the back, block fence on the side though. Lots of homes have grass, not a lot though, because in general lots are not very big here, which sometimes gives it kind of a cookie cutter look because homes are so close together.

Schools in general are free, I can only speak for Kyrene Schools here, we are just sometimes asked to donate school supplies (it's voluntary though) or participate in fundraisers (cookie dough, gift paper, book sales, etc.).

My husband works in the semiconductor industry, depending on experience, you make $ 60k and up.
A good friend of mine is a nurse and she moved here from Wisconsin, because of the higher pay, nurses are in huge demand. I think the ranges are around $ 50 to 60k per year.

Home prices all over the valley have almost doubled from 2004 to 2005. It has dramatically slowed though, it actually has turned from a Seller's Market to definately a Buyer's Market. A lot of homes are currently listed for sale and are sitting on the market for months, so prices are definately coming down a bit and Sellers are more willing to negotiate.

The nice thing about here is, that property taxes are fairly low, especially compared to East Coast or CA. I still think they are too high, I don't want to pay anything }( - just kidding

A 2-story 4 br with a pool runs around $ 250 to $ 450k, depending on the area, North Scottsdale in general is higher than that, more around $ 600k and up.

The best school districts are Kyrene School District (www.kyrene.org), Scottsdale Unified and Paradise Valley School District (Scottsdale and Paradise Valley home prices are pretty high though). Kyrene Schools are in Ahwatukee (ZIP 85048, 85044 and 85045), parts of Chandler and Tempe. You can also check out different school districts at www.greatschools.net.

For local information you can go on www.azcentral.com, or the specific City Websites (i.e phoenix.gov), www.maricopa.gov has some good information too. The arizona association of realtors has a buyer advisory which gives you a lot of good info and websites as well, here is the link http://www.aaronline.com/documents/buyer_advisory.aspx

Here is a link for comparing salary and cost of living from Forbes Magazine, http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

For jobs you can go to www.monster.com, www.careerbuilder.com. If you are a nurse, I would contact Banner Health, they are pretty big here. What kind of job is your husband looking for?

If you want to email me directly at [email protected], I can email your more info if you need more, I don't want to take up the whole forum ;-)

Take care,

Carola
 
I live just down the street from Marley park and its beautiful-they are putting in a grocery store in the middle of this community!! It is very nice.
Lisa
 
Carola,

Thanks so much for all the information! Your a sweetheart!

How much does a basic pool in AZ cost? Currently we have an above ground 24 ft by 48 inch pool and it suits us very nice. However I am thinking I would like a bigger pool, esp if we will be spending more time in the pool for more months out of the year.

How much more does a house post with an established pool?
 
Beth,

WOW!!! this area looks very nice! The homes are beautiful, any idea what kind of price range these homes are in? Any idea what size lots they are?

Thank you so much!

All fo you have been so helpful.

:)
 
Janice,

I see that many of the hospitals there pay for relocation costs for many of the Nursing positions. Plus I see the Governor has put together a task force for the Nursing shortage, with many of the facilities offering additional education and tuition assistance. I see there is one Magnet status hospital in Phoneix..very impressive!!

There are 30 pages of RN jobs on many of the job sites!! Awesome! In comparison to where I live..there is maybe 2 pages of RN positions, and at least 1 of those 2 pages are jobs working for agencies. There is very little diversity in the area of Indiana where I live.

I am planning on one day getting an incredible job in Holistic Nursing

How exciting!

:)
 
Well, I have never purchased a pool, but I think I remember the paperwork on our pool stating it cost $16,000. Maybe someone else knows better. Like I said, most of the time you buy the house with the pool..if you want a pool. I have a "play" pool which just means it is not one of the big ones that you can swim laps in, but it has holes for a volleyball net..you can play games in it. At the deepest part it is only 5ft...

Yes, RN jobs are a plenty here. Hubby wants to move to the midwest after school and I have been researching there and you are right, no many jobs....It is hard to convince him otherwise. He is pretty determined to build a life there....
x(

Good Luck with your house hunt!!
 
Janice,

Thanks for the information!

We live in a smaller city in Indiana, so there is not much of anything here.

In Indy there would be a lot more jobs, Indy is a very nice clean city..tons of shopping and the homes are very affordable.

Believe me that I would trade 112 degree temps over 30 degree temps with snow, slick roads and you can't go outside without being bundled from head to toe. I would much rather be hot than be cold any day!!

:)
 
Hey hey, fellow Phoenician here!
Carola, where are you located. I'm in Ocotillo (Chandler) We actually are in our new house and have our old house (only 1.5 years old) up for sale. It's 4021 sq. ft. with an amazing basement and tons of upgrades. But it's up for $675. So funny, the market HAS slowed down, we never sold a house in more than 4 days. It's on the market now for 30, but someone will snag it, it's gorgeous.

Denise, no sqorpions. I remember that being a concern for me when I was moving here 10 years ago. In the "desert" but not your homes, maybe if you lived in the mountains;-) Moved here from Chicago. Hot hot in the summer but everywhere you go is freezing inside that you actually can't wait to get outside. And the rest of the year is too good to be true. You also are a quick car ride from California, Vegas and Colorado. You can't go wrong.
Carola was right on with the school districts;-) I have to say, Chandler is pretty darn awesome, very up and coming and loaded with young families. Very family oriented. Scottsdale is nice but loaded with the snowbirds.


Mommy to Hannah Lilly born 3.25.05
 
OH! Along with my other post.........

Sedona is fabulous, but very small town and you won't find homes in that price range.
Tuscon, no, Phoenix all the way, there are wonderful areas. Great schools and shoppin... I highly recommend Chandler or the Ahwatukee area. Scottsdale has a name for itself, everyone is familiar with it. But it has lots of snowbirds and isn't much different from other wonderful areas, really. Chandler and Ahwatukee are perfect locations and have lots of shopping and is all young fun families. They are very family orientated communities. Keep us posted on what you decide;-)
 
Well, hi there,

I didn't know there were so many Phoenicians on this board. We have to get together sometime, don't we?

I live in Ahwatukee, so we are really close together. My sister-in-law lives in Ocotillo (Ocotillo Lakes), it takes me about 15 to 20 min. from our place to hers, just going down the 202. I have a whole bunch of clients in Ocotillo, so I am there a few times a week.

After you mentioned your house for sale, I was snooping around a little bit on MLS (what can I say, I am nosy }( ). Is it the one in Cooper Corners?
I like Ocotillo too, my husband used to work at Intel in Ocotillo, so we were thinking about moving there a few years ago, but then he took a job by the airport. We'll probably be moving closer to my kids school (so I can finally take the "school bus" sign of my car), by the end of the year or beginning of next year, but we'll stay in Ahwatukee. Now that I finally have my favorite store - IKEA - here, I am not moving anywhere. I do like Chandler and Scottsdale, but Scottsdale is out of my price range, at least the areas that I like.

The heat really doesn't bother me that much either, I rather put up with 120 degrees than 30 degrees and long cold winters like in Minnesota (my DH is from MN, I keep saying that I would have never married him, had he lived in MN :p - I am from Munich, Germany, not much better than MN). It's really only hot for a couple of months, the rest of the year is gorgeous, although spring time is my favorite time of the year. I moved here 10 years ago, so I guess my body has gotten used to the heat, I start freezing at 70 degrees.

I agree, I love that we are so close to everything, you can go waterskiing at Bartlett Lake or go up to the White Mountains skiing. Or go to CA, NV or CO.

Have a wonderful day everone!

Carola
 
Carola!! Yes, it's the one on Grand Canyon in Cooper Corners. How funny! I now live in a new Shea home area called Traditions. It's in between AZ Ave and Alma School, off of Queen Creek Rd. Right next to Hamilton High.
I can't believe we are neighbors. Too funny. I haven't seen any others on here, I'll have to scope out the forum. I"m mainly in the fit moms area.
Clients? What do you do???

I have a super cute website. www.curlyqtees.com if you ever want anything just email me so you don't have to pay shipping;-)

We actually have a boat at Lake Pleasant, we're there every weekend. Although my wakeboarding is on hold til this baby comes:eek:

Happy day!!
 
Denise,
Fab40's post is so funny! There's some truth to that. Okay, in Chandler there is soooooo much new beautiful homes and a lot of them have huge yards. The school districts and principles are very desired over here and that's why lots of people are moving here. Basement homes are going up everywhere because that's the demand but yes you won't find one under about $700. because the basements are like a whole other house down there, completely fully finished with showers and all. I know, I'm in my second.
But there are wonderful areas with mature landscape and big yards for under $400. No tarantulas, scorpions or snake run ins on this side of town. It's more green and lush over here instead of the desert, cactus's and brown which you'll find over in Cave Creek/Scottsdale. So it's really important that you hear it all. You are sooo lucky to have this forum to really help you. So many people move blindly somewhere and end up very unhappy.
Good luck!
 
You have a boat at Lake Pleasant, oh, my husband and kids are going to love you!}( We go waterskiing and wakeboarding at Bartlett Lake with my husband's co-worker, we keep talking about getting a boat, ever since we sold the last one a few years back, but we keep putting it off. There is always something that takes priority, it's pretty high on DHs priority list though. He's been waterskiing since he was a kid, even competive for a while. Now he is a lot into his new toy "airchair", so we have to go to the lake frequently.

When is your baby due, didn't realize you were pregnant, I guess that would keep you from wakeboarding, my husband's co-worker did waterski until she was 7 or 8 months pregnant - crazy! When are you due?

Cute website, is that your daughter on the picture with you? She is darling!! I need to loose some weight before I can wear those shirts, good incentive for me to loose the weight!!

Yap, now I know where you live, can't hide anymore:)

"Clients? What do you do???" Believe it or not, I am a real estate agent / realtor, I've been doing it for over 8 years, so I've been through the ups and downs of the real estate market here. It's driving me insane right now:+ but I still love, wouldn't want to do anything else.

Have a great day!

Carola
 
Denise,

it's my pleasure!

I have seen basic pools starting around $ 14,000, but I think you can get a pretty nice pool for under $ 20,000. It really also depends on what time of the year you are buying the pool, if business is slow for pool companies, they'll give you bigger discounts or throw in something for free, or you can negotiate much better.

In general if you buy a house with a pool an appraiser will typically add $ 10,000 for a pool, sometimes more, if it is really fancy. In real life though, a nice home with a pool can be more than the $ 10,000 for a pool, it's just more desirable here, and the run for houses with pools is even greater around July/August.

By the way, this is why we have barricades (aka fences) here in AZ, so that you won't find your neighbors without a pool in your pool in the middle of the night }( :+ Whoever made the barricades comment just cracked me up, I almost fell off my chair reading it, good thing I already put my coffee down!

Have a wonderful day!

Carola
 
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