Arizona Residents- A few Questions....

coryjeb

coryjeb

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello all- We are considering a move to the Phoenix area, possibly the Scottsdale area. Looking for some feedback on the area, local economy, jobs, ect. My wife would be in the medical profession and I would try and get a Gov. job (veteran) FYI. At this point we are in the info gathering stage so any and all info is appreciated.

Thanks, Cory
 
coryjeb said:
Hello all- We are considering a move to the Phoenix area, possibly the Scottsdale area. Looking for some feedback on the area, local economy, jobs, ect. My wife would be in the medical profession and I would try and get a Gov. job (veteran) FYI. At this point we are in the info gathering stage so any and all info is appreciated.

Thanks, Cory
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I love it here,I moved here less than 6 months ago and its much better then NY.The medical jobs are booming it seems here,my girlfriend works in medical services and they are always shorthanded and busy.I do courier work but sadly they try to screw ya it seems if they can,the cost of gas and using your own vehicle sometimes just doesnt add up at the end of the day.You will see jobs out here trying to pay $8 hr. to do alot of work,i think its because the crackdown on illegal immigrants is opening up some lower end jobs but they are jobs most people dont want anyway.All in all its not so bad,if you have alot of experience or a good trade you can make money,there is money in the area and it seems like this place is growing. Scottsdale is nice,my girlfriend lived there before we got out house in Chandler,our neighborhood is very quiet and nice.I have to say the thing i hate the most about AZ is the bad drivers,they arent used to rain so when it rains they drive like its ice on the road,if there is a car on the side of the road on the highway then people will drive like 30mph,if you can deal with the bad driving and the heat then its a nice place to live. :cool:
 
The medical field, as far as being an RN, is great. I have a relative who works here as an RN, and she makes very good money. All of the hospitals around here are hiring all the time. Not to sure about the gov't jobs, but if you play pool, Jimmy Mendoza and I are the tour directors for the arizona desert classic tour. www.desertclassictour.com. And best of all, the weather is outstanding year round. Best of luck to you.
 
Jimmy M. said:
The mountain biking is pretty sweet too. ;)
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Speaking of which i have to find a cheap one to get riding again,my girl just got a nice Trek but i am into the old school GTs and Giant mountainbikes.What kind of set up do you have Jimmy?
 
Fast Lenny said:
Speaking of which i have to find a cheap one to get riding again,my girl just got a nice Trek but i am into the old school GTs and Giant mountainbikes.What kind of set up do you have Jimmy?
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It just so happens that I'm on a Giant. An '08 Reign X1. :)
 
coryjeb said:
Hello all- We are considering a move to the Phoenix area, possibly the Scottsdale area. Looking for some feedback on the area, local economy, jobs, ect. My wife would be in the medical profession and I would try and get a Gov. job (veteran) FYI. At this point we are in the info gathering stage so any and all info is appreciated.

Thanks, Cory
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As already stated...If you are a RN in this area, you can pretty much write your own ticket...

I know a guy that you would never picture as an RN..(looks more like a truck driver...beard, long hiar and all) that makes 6 figures a year, and he only works when he feels like working...some kind of pool system that he calls into and is then assigned work...

I would suggest researching Scottsdale a bit before selecting it as a residence...The housing in the rest of the Valley is way overbuilt right now........(It is currently a buyers market for housing right now...and it is going to get even better during the summer)

The housing is probably the most expensive in Scottsdale. There are many other areas in the valley that have homes as nice as Scottsdale for quite a bit less money....Scottsdale also has the most Photo Radar in the Valley.

I have never really been bothered by the 3 months of heat...Just make sure your AC works and if you have a pool that is a huge bonus.
 
Arizona is a Right to Work State, and Medical Professional are NEEDED, but if coming check out the Jobs, and Pay First.

Mayo sends my other half recruiting stuff all the time, and I can not believe their pay for Nurses is so low compaired to Southern California.

Housing to buy is real cheap now compaired to (2) years ago as housing has depreated.
 
coryjeb said:
bump for more info...
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Oh...and I almost forgot...It is not the Arizona drivers that don't know how to drive.

It is all the transplants that come from NY, Chicago, California, Mexico etc. etc. that all have different driving styles.

The good news is that the Highways are (by far) the best to drive on in the country...IMO.... They have all been re-done with some kind of Melted Tire Asphalt and are now super quite and super smooth to drive on....

Cross the border into California and it feels like you are driving on a wash board.
 
Goverment Job: Every Police agency in the Valley is hiring Officers, i do not know if you consider that a Goverment job or not, but they need good men, and women to deal with the criminal element.
 
There are numerous govt jobs available throughout Az, and most people with medical training are highly sought after pretty much worldwide.

Lots of things to do in Az, and most of them can be done year round. The first summer will feel very hot, but after that you'll love the weather. Pool scene is pretty good too.

As far as real estate, it's currently a buyers market, and generally more stable than other parts of the country. Scottsdale is nice, but more expensive than other nearby areas. It might be worth the extra money depending on what you are looking for.
 
Jimmy M. said:
It just so happens that I'm on a Giant. An '08 Reign X1. :)
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I recently sold my Giant Reign to help pay for a Fisher 29er. I liked my Giant a lot, but I can't even describe how much more I love the big wheels. I think every taller mountain biker should at least try one out.
 
coryjeb said:
Hello all- We are considering a move to the Phoenix area, possibly the Scottsdale area. Looking for some feedback on the area, local economy, jobs, ect. My wife would be in the medical profession and I would try and get a Gov. job (veteran) FYI. At this point we are in the info gathering stage so any and all info is appreciated.

Thanks, Cory
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Hello Cory,

Here is my .02:

- Govt. jobs. Depends on the area. What are you looking at doing? If you are talking administrative, there should be work (albeit maybe a little competitive). Also, depends on city, county, or state. Some cities are better off than others (i.e. East Valley cities like Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert). But this doesn't mean better jobs, per se. Overall, govt. jobs are not hard to come by if you have the right experience.

- Medical field. I second what everyone else has stated in this thread.

- Economy. I find Phoenix and the surrounding areas to be very reasonable. Compared to locations like So. Cal. and No. Cal, things are a bit more affordable here (rent, housing, property taxes, food, transportation). Standard of living here is just below the national average.

- Transporation. The highways are nice, but can get a bit backed up during rush hours... but this can be avoided.

- Housing. Very good right now. Don't know if I would recommend Scottsdale though.... you might overpay, but then again you might not, depending on what you want. I am more familiar with the East Valley and there are a lot of nice locations out in this area. Perhaps someone else could speak to the West Valley and other parts.

- Pool. Excellent pool scene right now, regardless of your speed. Lots of smaller weekly tournaments if that is your thing. And there are larger, open tournaments with all the competition that you could want if that is your thing instead. There really is a lot of talent here in AZ, even if most of the country is unaware of it. You will not be disappointed.

Hope this helps.

Ray
 
BigCat said:
Hello Cory,

Here is my .02:

- Govt. jobs. Depends on the area. What are you looking at doing? If you are talking administrative, there should be work (albeit maybe a little competitive). Also, depends on city, county, or state. Some cities are better off than others (i.e. East Valley cities like Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert). But this doesn't mean better jobs, per se. Overall, govt. jobs are not hard to come by if you have the right experince.

Possibly something at Luke AFB or Postal, something like that.

- Medical field. I second what everyone else has stated in this thread.

Wife is a Respratory therapist, doing Pre-med.


- Economy. I find Phoenix and the surrounding areas to be very reasonable. Compared to locations like So. Cal. and No. Cal, things are a bit more affordable here (rent, housing, property taxes, food, transportation). Standard of living here is just below the national average.

- Transporation. The highways are nice, but can get a bit backed up during rush hours... but this can be avoided.

- Housing. Very good right now. Don't know if I would recommend Scottsdale though.... you might overpay, but then again you might not, depending on what you want. I am more familiar with the East Valley and there are a lot of nice locations out in this area. Perhaps someone else could speak to the West Valley and other parts.

While looking at this site www.city-data.com, Scottsdale just stuck out according to the info. It's a pretty cool site BTW, check it out. Housing there is deff. going to be higher than in Indiana, no doubt about that.

- Pool. Excellent pool scene right now, regardless of your speed. Lots of smaller weekly tournaments if that is your thing. And there are larger, open tournaments with all the competition that you could want if that is your thing instead. There really is a lot of talent here in AZ, even if most of the country is unaware of it. You will not be disappointed.

Nice to know this info. Everything here is mainly bar table/league type stuff, so that would be a welcome change.

Hope this helps.

Ray
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Thanks to all that have responded.
 
desert1pocket said:
I recently sold my Giant Reign to help pay for a Fisher 29er. I liked my Giant a lot, but I can't even describe how much more I love the big wheels. I think every taller mountain biker should at least try one out.
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A friend of mine just bought a 29er. The people that own them seem to really like them. I needed something that could take some punishment, but still pedal. I sometimes shuttle with a group of guys and didn't want to feel totally left out with them on their big DH bikes. heh. The ReignX has 6.7" of travel and pedals like a champ (well, as good as could be expected for a 6.7"/35+lb bike). So far I have nothing but good things to say about the bike. It's the rider that's a little suspect! ;)

You're in Tucson, right? As you may or may not know, we'll be having 2 tour stops at Main Street this year. The first one is coming up in April. Maybe I'll come down a day early and do some riding. Hopefully I could avoid injury and still play in the tournament!

Sorry to hijack the thread, guys. Yes, Phoenix is good. Tech jobs suck compared to what they were 8 years ago or so but, then again, isn't it like that everywhere? As Dennis mentioned, we're running the Arizona Desert Classic Tour this year, so there will be at least a $1000 event to play in every month except for May (for more info, you can go to desertclassictour.com. The site is under construction at the moment, but it provides links to our schedule and info.).

We do owe a lot of thanks to Mike Howerton, who also owns this site, for running the AZ All-Around tour for the past 4 years here in AZ. There are obvious similarities in our tours (multiple disciplines, etc.) and, if not for him laying the groundwork with that tour, it might have been much more difficult than it was for us to get our tour off the ground.
 
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