Moving to Arizona

[MeanDean]

I have lived here for 13 years. It gets hot, but not like those that visit for a weekend like to say it does. You get used to it very quickly. The heat is so much better than the bitter cold, and the winters make it well worth it. It's about 4 months of hot. 4 hours from the closet beach, 4 hours from Vegas, 2 hours from quality skiing, camping, hiking, off roading, kayaking, etc all within minutes. I always tell my family that when I moved here I didn't have to give up hobbies, but if I was to move back to Iowa I have to give some up.

I in no way regret moving here, and I will never move back to the Midwest. I'm not saying I won't move, but East of the rockies is not happening. I enjoy what the west has to offer from an outdoor perspective too much.

If you seriously decide to make the move feel free to PM and I am more than happy to answer any questions.

We don't need any more people here on the Treasure Coast of Florida, and the real estate market is pretty hot too in this area. My place I bought in 2011 is worth double what I paid then. Literally 120' from the Atlantic Ocean with our own Beach and a good mixture of development and open spaces. Far enough South we don't get below 40 and rarely below 45. Summers highs are hot but 90-93 tops due to the Ocean regulating the variation. Yes it's humid (You're on an island surrounded by water with a swamp just past that.) And then there are the hurricanes. That said there's so many dining and entertainment options. Miami is 2 1/2 hours, Ft Lauderdale is 1 1/2 hours. West Palm Beach is an Hour. Daytona 2 hours, Orlando 2 hours. Florida has major college sports with UF, FSU, Miami plus USF and UCF. Pro sports in Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Boating, fishing, swimming, surfing are all big. Even a nude beach 10 minutes away if that's your scene. Traffic here is pretty okay but not like Miami or Ft L or Orlando. But it does seem like more people are here than ever before but it could be just the COVID thing of people from the Northeast escaping the restrictions.

A one bedroom on the top floor of my building (12) freshly completely redone is $379k. Some lower floor 2 bedrooms are about the same. Two pools, hot tub, tennis courts, bocci, workout room, grills. Golf nearby 365.

Edit: Oh, and no state income tax!

 

[Clonefan32]

Thinking the ripples could be felt across all ages. Why would anyone stay in a place they don't enjoy when a move to a warmer climate and lower taxes can happen with a job already nailed down?

March in Arizona is about as perfect as it gets. The SW is some amazing country

Absolutely. I guess I honed in on younger people as it's a little harder to pick up and move when you have kids in school, sports, etc. But I can see alot of people becoming more transient since they don't have a workplace to report to.

 

[DurangoCy]

I'm sure others can chime in who have actually lived there, but I did spend a lot of time there in my younger years because of family and friends.

The Summers are hot, really hot. Dry heat jokes aside, August is Monsoon season and it's not only in the 110's it get really humid as well. In my younger years I hated it, but I'm getting more and more against winter and cold, so the trade off for me now adays would be to go hot.

Everything is brown, that's really what drove me nuts more than anything. I find brown to be a depressing color, so after a while, the lack of greenery really became an issue. I really would miss green fields and forests of green trees.

The weather over all to me was much better than the midwest. I haven't been out there for years, but you didn't seem to get the insane weather changes you can get in the midwest with the crazy thunderstorms popping up all over the place. At least not to the regularity it happens in the midwest.

I also didn't get a good vibe from people like I do in the midwest either. People just didn't seem as neighborly.

I think in the end, I think it really comes down to weather you like being stuck in your house in the dead of winter with frigid temps or being stuck in your house because it's so hot out it's not safe to be out for very long. As I said, as I get older, the idea of not fighting the cold and snow every year is looking more and more ideal. But be aware, you will still have to start your car before you get into it. You'll just have to run the AC instead of the heat.

This is an underrated one for me. My Iowa brain still hasn't gotten over the fact that it's only green here for about 6-8 weeks in May/June, then everything is baked off in the summer. Multiply that by 10x in Arizona and I don't think I could handle it.

Arizona or Vegas in the winter to play golf every day does sound pretty awesome though.

 

[ISULibrarian]

Thinking the ripples could be felt across all ages. Why would anyone stay in a place they don't enjoy when a move to a warmer climate and lower taxes can happen with a job already nailed down?

March in Arizona is about as perfect as it gets. The SW is some amazing country

I mean, I can definitely see remote work impacting where people choose to live and settle, but I don't know that it will play out in the ways that folks expect. For starters, I personally would never choose the SW, if only because I think water is going to be an increasingly challenging factor for all those growing cities out there. There was also just an article talking about how all these finance types that picked up and moved to Florida that Florida hoped to retain are mostly all prepping to move back to New York: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ters-fled-to-florida-many-are-eyeing-a-return. It also talked about similar difficulties keeping folks in other markets like Nashville. But I do think Iowa could be short-sighted in doing what needs to be done to retain people particularly if they can live anywhere while maintaining employment at the same place.

 

[SCarolinaCy]

We don't need any more people here on the Treasure Coast of Florida, and the real estate market is pretty hot too in this area. My place I bought in 2011 is worth double what I paid then. Literally 120' from the Atlantic Ocean with our own Beach and a good mixture of development and open spaces. Far enough South we don't get below 40 and rarely below 45. Summers highs are hot but 90-93 tops due to the Ocean regulating the variation. Yes it's humid (You're on an island surrounded by water with a swamp just past that.) And then there are the hurricanes. That said there's so many dining and entertainment options. Miami is 2 1/2 hours, Ft Lauderdale is 1 1/2 hours. West Palm Beach is an Hour. Daytona 2 hours, Orlando 2 hours. Florida has major college sports with UF, FSU, Miami plus USF and UCF. Pro sports in Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville. Boating, fishing, swimming, surfing are all big. Even a nude beach 10 minutes away if that's your scene. Traffic here is pretty okay but not like Miami or Ft L or Orlando. But it does seem like more people are here than ever before but it could be just the COVID thing of people from the Northeast escaping the restrictions.

A one bedroom on the top floor of my building (12) freshly completely redone is $379k. Some lower floor 2 bedrooms are about the same. Two pools, hot tub, tennis courts, bocci, workout room, grills. Golf nearby 365.

Edit: Oh, and no state income tax!

If you are an engineer, love the outdoor year round mountain hiking, consider Greenville, SC area. Most engineering jobs per capita in US.

 

[brett108]

Or Joey Ramos’.

He can drive by Quaron Adams house playing the ISU alma mater...

 

[Cyclonick182]

Have you considered commuting?

From Minnesota? Haha

 

[gipper2001]

I live in Gilbert, AZ and I love it. My family moved from Marshalltown to Chandler, AZ in 1992. Gilbert has grown from a town of 30,000 in 1990 to a population of over 250,000 today and still growing. The restaurant scene here is really improving, especially in the East Valley. The summer is not that bad and you get used to it pretty quick. Having to use AC in my car in January is a nice alternative to the Midwest. I loved my time in Iowa but would never live there again. The real estate market is crazy and we would consider selling but we just did some home renovations and put in a swimming pool.

 

[abd4cy]

Does it get as hot in Northern Arizona in the summer?

Ive been backpacking the grand canyon twice and it seemed surprisingly cold in spring and fall. I've never been there in summer though. It was slightly too cold for me to camp outside even with good gear in late Feb or late November but I camped fine down in canyon with the extra 15-20 degrees warmth.

Thinking northern az or southern utah for retirement, just haven't been as much during summer.

Northern Arizona doesn't get near as hot. There are some part like Page that do get warm, but not like in the Valley. It is beautiful country up there, but very remote.

 

[abd4cy]

I mean, I can definitely see remote work impacting where people choose to live and settle, but I don't know that it will play out in the ways that folks expect. For starters, I personally would never choose the SW, if only because I think water is going to be an increasingly challenging factor for all those growing cities out there. There was also just an article talking about how all these finance types that picked up and moved to Florida that Florida hoped to retain are mostly all prepping to move back to New York: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ters-fled-to-florida-many-are-eyeing-a-return. It also talked about similar difficulties keeping folks in other markets like Nashville. But I do think Iowa could be short-sighted in doing what needs to be done to retain people particularly if they can live anywhere while maintaining employment at the same place.

The water thing is so over played its not even funny here in Arizona (California has a whole different set of problems). Two of my largest clients are the companies that manage Arizona's water resources. Arizona has underground water aquafers to last 200 years, and they do not let it go less than that. Those are reserves for emergency situations. The amount of resources and time that are put into making sure we do not run out of water here in Arizona is insane. Also everyone assumes the entire state is brown and gets no rain. Tucson and Phoenix are, but at least 1/3 of the state is covered in pines and gets snow and rain regularly. All of that water flows down to the population centers, either naturally or by design.

 

[simply1]

The water thing is so over played its not even funny here in Arizona (California has a whole different set of problems). Two of my largest clients are the companies that manage Arizona's water resources. Arizona has underground water aquafers to last 200 years, and they do not let it go less than that. Those are reserves for emergency situations. The amount of resources and time that are put into making sure we do not run out of water here in Arizona is insane. Also everyone assumes the entire state is brown and gets no rain. Tucson and Phoenix are, but at least 1/3 of the state is covered in pines and gets snow and rain regularly. All of that water flows down to the population centers, either naturally or by design.

While the effort to ensure water is indeed admirable, it’s not quite as rosy as you paint it from what I can tell.

Arizona has tried to safeguard groundwater beneath its big cities. But things are about to change

In 1980, Arizona started regulating groundwater in urban areas from Phoenix to Tucson. Forty years later, these managed areas have seen mixed results.

www.azcentral.com

 

[DesertClone1]

Out of curiosity I searched the details of the house in a small town in Iowa I bought years ago. Except I searched it in my current area of Phoenix (Paradise Valley) it came out at 750K+. So if you are planning on moving out here expect to pay more than you can even imagine for housing.

I mean you’re in paradise valley. It’s a little different.

 

[Crookedhatkid]

I mean you’re in paradise valley. It’s a little different.

Fair. I was just trying to prepare him for the worst lol

 

[NWICY]

Biggest thing that has surprised me about the heat in the southeast has been that outdoor public pools become unusable in the peak of summer. They are as hot as bathwater which is not refreshing. I assume there are covers that can help but our neighborhood pool is in full sun with no cover so it doesn't take long for it to heat up.

This seems to be a 1st world problem. LOL. But it is a problem I never would have thought of.

 

[cyclone1209]

So I'm debating pursuing a change of scenery and thinking about Arizona. Is anyone on here living the area or have lived there in the past? I'm looking for some Pros and Cons to the Phoenix area compared to Iowa, Minnesota and Florida. I'm in the Twin Cities now and cant stand the cold! Thanks!

Parents did the Scottsdale/Phoenix thing from central Iowa.

As you know it's a very dry climate, the people are very friendly (lots of cali people have migrated there to escape their outrageous cost of living), GREAT mexican restaurants, lots of hiking like Camelback mountain. I would rate it as a good quality of life there.