OK, might be moving to Scottsdale. Tell me about it. Good, bad, whatever.

[trof]

My son-in-law may take a job there.
With our only child, our daughter (of course) and only two grandchildren.
We might consider relocating to be near them.
They'd like that very much.
So would we.

We'd be coming from coastal Alabama, so we're used to heat, but probably not quite what Scottsdale experiences in summer.

Yeah, yeah, it's 'dry' heat.
:eyes:

Looks like real estate prices have been in freefall, which would be good for us.

So tell me all the good, bad, and ugly.

Thanks.
:-)

[azmouse]

1. Be sure to check out the entire Valley of the Sun

before you decide on a neighborhood. Scottsdale and Tempe are more expensive than the west valley area.

Yep, it's hot here but it doesn't last all year. It's just maybe 4 months when it's hot and I've always thought August was the worst month here. :)
I love all the sunshine. I love all there is to see and do. Plenty of sports, music, shows, hiking, food... everything big cities offer you'll find here.

The downside... just one thing ----> too many Republicans.

And if you do decide to move here... WELCOME! :hi:

[Teka]

7. South Scottsdale is reasonably priced

Homes aren't brand new, but I like it there.

[Kali]

2. If you move to AZ

I expect to be invited for bbq. ;-)

Good and Bad everywhere, I'd say come out a time or two before you decide - check it out at the worst time (June, July, Aug) and the best (Oct - April).

The Phx metro area has all the "amenities" of a big city along with the laid back attitude of a hot climate, western environment. Tucson is much more liberal and has a more small town intimate feel, even though it is getting to be a pretty big city too. And it is only 2 hours away from Phx, 4 from the Sea of Cortez if you need coastal air occasionally (San Diego is fairly close by as well - lots of AZians head there for the hotter times if they can afford it.)

of the core cities that make up the Phx metro area (Phx, Mesa, Tempe) Tempe, being a University town is a bit more progressive. Recently the public transportation system has become very progressive. I am just so impressed. When I was growing up there was about 2 busses that came from Phx to Tempe, never at convenient times, now there are fabulous ways to get around.

[jillan]

3. When? I have a townhouse in Scottsdale that I'm renovating - once it's done

I will be renting it out. 3 bedrooms. It's in older Scottsdale...close to Tempe. It's going to be a good couple of months before I have it done tho.

Wherever they end up, make sure they have access to a pool. A pool in Arizona is not a luxury - it's a necessity! When it's hot and miserable - you jump into the pool and you feel sooooo much better.

Scottsdale is beautiful. Great scenery, shopping, restaurants.

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

4. you may think you are used to the heat but .....

i was in pensacola for two years as well, so i know but
where you are used to winter just forget about that, we use the pool Thu christmas jan and feb can be just a little nippely

june 15 to september 15 is just hot hot hot ..... margareta and pool in the evening and hide in the air conditioning during the day.
the rest of the year is frickin awesome, that may have something to do with why I have not let my house go back to the bank yet.
IT WILL BE MORE LIBERAL THEN WHAT YOU ARE USED TO.

[KILL THE WISE ONE]

5. we are a purple state,

If you provide specific questions we could maybe be more helpfully

in the mean time think of lots of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa people just getting burnt in the desert with a great collection of Native desert rats (real/more then 1st generation Arizonans) as well as displaced Californians, native americans, Mexicans ( AZ used to be part of mexico) and old people from everywhere on the planet.

if I had to give up Tucson for Phoenix It would be the scottsdale wash area preferably south of camelback

[trof]

6. Thanks for the comments and info.

I think our daughter's new home will have in-law quarters, so we'll try it out for a bit before deciding to pull up stakes.

[JeffersonChick]

8. Welcome!

I hope you like the heat! It gets pretty brutal here in the summer. One thing to consider: try to make sure that wherever you live, there's a pool, because trust me, you'll need it.

In my opinion, AZ is primarily a red state (as you can tell given the latest uproar about AZ). The majority of the legislature is conservative. Although, you probably won't sweat it at all, coming from Alabama, LOL!

[sweetloukillbot]

11. Best advice for the summertime - plan your life around staying inside till 7 p.m.

And even then it can get oppressively hot till around 10.
As to areas to move to, I'm not sure if it has been hit as hard as everywhere else, but the historic districts downtown are amazing and pretty blue - Ed Pastor is the Representative, Ken Chevront (local gay politician and restauranteur) and Kristen Synema are state reps. Lots of fun, funky restaurants and shops and if you like art, First Friday artwalks are always fun (although the crowd is definitely younger at some of the art spaces). Avoid moving too far into the suburbs (Surprise, Avondale, Gilbert/Queen Creek, Buckeye, Anthem), the houses will probably be dirt cheap, but they're not necessarily worth an hour drive to get anywhere. You can find deals within the city as well.

Culturally we're just beginning to get respect, the art museum recently expanded and is now pretty impressive although nowhere near Chicago or New York. Our Symphony is pretty mediocre and our Opera is equally unimpressive, but we've got a great local choir that has won several grammies, The Phoenix Chorale. We've got a vibrant theater community though with several resepected equity companies and a few really good community theatres. Bunch of really good restaurants as well, although we've got far too many strip-mall chains as well.

Live music is kind of a bummer, however. We get all the big tours, pretty much (at least up until SB1070 passed) but we don't have a medium sized venue like House of Blues so acts that play to about 2000 skip the Valley. A lot of really hip acts skip Phoenix for Tucson as well, because we don't really have good radio.

We're 2 hours from skiing, 3 hours from Grand Canyon, 4 hours from Mexico, 5 hours from Vegas and 6 hours from LA and San Diego. And Sky Harbor airport is relatively easy to navigate considering how busy it is, and Phoenix is a major hub for Southwest Airlines so you can get cheap flights just about anywhere in the country. Our baseball team sucks, but our basketball and football teams have been pretty good lately.

And we really need blue people to move here!!!!!

[Catshrink]

9. One more thing...

Drink water, lots of it. And when you think you've had enough, drink a bit more.

Oh, and another thing, maybe we could do a meetup. I don't think we've been able to arrange one before and your arrival might just be the kick in the pants we need to get together.

[JeffersonChick]

10. Meetup? Count me in!

[sweetloukillbot]

12. Scottsdale is the land of conspicuous consumption

Millionaires and $30,000 millionaires showing off how important they are by driving Hummers, Escalades and other expensive gas guzzlers. 14-year-old girls arguing over Coach bags. Pool parties with local sports celebrities and underage girls, that sort of thing. I can see them making a "Real Wives of Scottsdale" someday soon. Scottsdale wants to be the OC and Hollywood wrapped up in one, but without the few redeeming qualities of those places. I must say that South Scottsdale is pretty cool (that's where Jenna Jameson fought city council to put in a topless bar) and North Scottsdale has some great restaurants, but downtown Scottsdale, where the mall and all the nightclubs are, gives me hives just driving through...