Moving from New York to Arizona, where do I start?

Question

My husband and I are planning on moving from upstate NY to Phoenix, AZ in the next few months. He is transferring within his company, whereas I will have to find a new job when I get there. We also need to find an apartment. We're just starting out so we don't have a lot of furniture, etc..but we do plan on bringing his car. Any suggestions for an affordable moving company/vehicle? Anyone from AZ who can suggest a good area to live in Phoenix? Find a job? Help!

His office is located close to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix - any good areas to live close by?

Answer 1

When I first moved here I used a service called apartment finders in Tempe http://www.aptfind.com/
They are really good and you tell them what you are looking for and they deal with nice complexes all over. They will make the arrangements to only go to the places which have available the apartments, you can afford, with the right amount of bedrooms and other conveniences. I had asked for my own washer/dryer, etc.... and they will drive you to the complex.
Unless your husbands company is located way on the west side, I advise you to stay on the eastern part of phoenix(streets are east of central ave. but avenues are west). There are some nice areas on the west side, but many people end up moving to the east side of town because there is more to do and it seems there is a lot more crime on the west side(even in neighborhoods that seem nice). Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Ahwatukee, Mesa and Gilbert are nice areas for the most part. Just check for convenience of where the job is because Phoenix is very spread out.

PS-Apartment finders even advised against me moving into a complex that looked good in advertising because they told me of incidents that happened there. You can call the local police departments to also get the stats of crime in the place you want to move. Good luck on your move!

Answer 2

Boy talk about a culture shock you will experience!!! You will go from lush green countrysides and change of seasons to...well...the desert!!! We lived in Gilbert, and I loved it, still would move back in a heartbeat ( and I am originally from GA)We also are married with kids...so it was perfect.

There are no real definite change of seasons...save your sweaters and outer wear for when you head up to Flagstaff
( you will get seasonal change there). The fall is like spring and the winter is like fall and then you get spring again and then summer. And it is HOT....like convection oven hot. I always felt like a roasting chicken whenever I ventured out during those times. But you learn your way around that. Folks in Az get out early...like 5:30am early and it is fairly easy, because the sun is rising already. And AZ doesnt do time change, which I liked.

If you guys are youngish, you may like scottsdale or tempe. Anthem is nice, but it is a bit far north off 17 of Phx. Goodyr, Peoria and buckeye are growing westerly burbs. Depends on where your husband is working...that would be a first start in determining where you will be. Look at Las Sendas planned community in Mesa....it is a beautiful master planned community with golf course, club house, community pool and spa. I know they have condos and townhomes in there...pricing, not sure, but maybe able to get a good deal now. Maybe you could rent a condo from someone, I would check...because it is a beautiful community....and it is close to the 202 which makes it a breeze to get into tempe, scottsdale and access to the 101. We had friends who lived in there...it was like being on vacation.

Good luck to you.....Will you guys be able to make trip out to scope the area before you decide all this stuff?? If his company is sending you there, THEY should be helping you will the relocation. Trust me...all our moves have been corporate relocations. Ask his company how they plan to help you move....that is usually standard, especially if they are transferring him. Usually the company will handle all your moving expenses. Unless they are just giving him a lump sum to use as his own descretion.

Moving companies...we have always had good luck with Suburban....mayflower is good too. If you dont have alot of stuff as you said....you just might want to do the hertz or uhaul way...where you would get the vehicle where you are in NY and then turn it in in AZ.

If you husband is working near sky harbor....DEFINITELY check the Las Sendas community I mentioned....this would be a great commute....the 202 is right there and goes straight to the airport area, maybe 20 minutes. It is considered Mesa and it is slighter cooler there because you are higher up....you can see city lights from there. Do a search on Las Sendas...as they do have a website that could give you some insight on condo or townhouse rentals. Might be a good idea to have a realtor show you the rentals. Good luck!

Answer 3

First off definatley BRING YOUR CAR! The public transportation system here sucks! I have lived here for 15 years and I have never rode on a city bus because they dont go the places you want. As for the places to live
South Phoenix is mostly scarry I wouldnt live there
Tempe mostly is a college party town
Scotsdale is a nice place but it is expensive
Mesa is okay... parts of it are nice but the others arent
Ahwatukee (it is really in Phoenix but we are almost considered our own city) is nice and has some of the top schools in AZ but it is expensive and I know that most of the apartment buildings turned into condos.

Other random stuff to know
Everything is really spread out and traffic during rush hour is bad. It doesnt rain here.... I dont even think I own a umbrella. And everyone gets excited when it rains. It is hot! I mean really hot and even though it isnt humid it gets up to 120 in the summers. Bring shorts and you probably wont use any of your jackets. I own 1 jacket and only use that when I go up to flagstaff in the winter.
Good luck on your move

Answer 4

I just moved from Phoenix to NYC, and let me tell you, you are LUCKY to be moving to Phoenix!! I actually lived in an apt right by Sky Harbor airport that was very nice, but for the most part, areas directly around Sky Harbor are a little rough (but nowhere near as bad as the neighborhood I live in in NYC now!) If you want a house, I would recommend somewhere in Chandler or Tempe (roughly 20 min away from Sky Harbor) or Scottsdale (about 30 min.)

Answer 5

Haha! well if you move here in the summer... let me be the first to say, welcome to the surface of the sun!!!! Gilbert has great schools and some parts of mesa get the gilbert schools (like me!!) be sure when moving here to really look into the crime rates and stuff. I don't necasarilly like where i live. My friend got murdered by his drug addicted mother about a year and 7 months ago. everything has gone down hill from there on my street because the house values dropped and all the fricking low lifes moved in. if you are getting a really good deal on your house or appartment, then look into what has happened there. Stay out of phoenix (the city) and West Phoenix. Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and maybe Chandler are good places to live. i dont know what kind of job you are looking for but buildings and bussiness's are going up EVERYWHERE!! I'm sure it wouldnt be too hard to find a job.

Good luck!!

Answer 6

ok one good peace of advice .. where your husband's job is , isnt the hottest place to live.. if u want living look up scottsdale! They have everything from Luxury Condos/Apartments to 5,000 square feet houses!.. Phoenix has its up's and downs like every other city. and 1 up thats here.. is Scottsdale!!and one secret is that its temps are 5 or 6 degrees and cooler and sometimez sees snow.. something phoenix doesnt get
(www.lifeinscottsdale.com)
Phoenix downtown will eventully be nice but were talkin a few years down the road beacuse they are renovating everywhere!

If u have kids, live in the Southeast Valley of phoenix (Chandler,Gilbert etc) they have exxcelllent schools and the shops and bussinesses there are family friendly.

Get Uhal or Buget. there about the only things that are guna be affordale or atleast possibly affordable..

if u need more info message me. im free to help

Answer 7

I would say the first thing you need to do is come out and start looking at apartments and see what you like and can afford. Then while you are out here doing that...I would hit some employment agencies to get the ball rolling on that end. I would definitely recommend Ledgent Staffing and talk to Raquel or Jamila. They will be able to find you something really quick and they really take care of their people. Their phone# [phone]. If they ask who referred you..tell them Yvonne James.

Also, good moving company would be S&M Moving Systems/United Van Lines. They are reasonably priced and take really good care of their customers. I used them when I moved out from California. I dont have a phone# for them, but they are located in Phoenix.

As for good areas to live in that are close to Sky Harbor Airport...I would try the Tempe and Mesa Areas. Just one area to stay away from is Apache Blvd in Tempe and Mesa..due to that they are putting the light rail through. Let me give you a few good apartment places to look at. I would start at the Willow Creek Apartments in Tempe...they are located at 2220 Broadway in Tempe and talk to Chris in the office. Then I would work your way East from Tempe into Mesa.

Let me tell you a little bit about where I am living. I live in a place called "Monte Vista Village Resort" in Mesa. Its off the 60 freeway and Ellsworth. It is a beautiful resort community and its very reasonably priced. Its about a half hour from Sky Harbor Airport, but you can take the 202 freeway or the 60 freeway into the airport area. Let me give you the phone# to Monte Vista and talk to Mary Ash. She is the general Manager and she is just a sweetheart and she will do everything in her power to make you feel right at home. Its very quiet here, lots of wonderful people and its just a great place to live. Here is the # [phone] or [phone]. Make sure you talk to Mary Ash!!!

Good luck and congratulations on your move...you wont regret moving out this way.

Answer 8

It's a big city, so it all depends on where you are going to work. North, North West, Far West and some parts in East Phoenix are nice. Stay away from South and West Phoenix, not to be confused with far west like Surprise and Goodyear.

Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert for the East side, and some parts of Mesa.

Try the apartmentguide.com for apartments.

Answer 9

I came here from the Catskill Mtns. in upstate new york. I live on the westside of Phoenix in a community called Buckeye. Why don't you Re-Post this question and tell us what community your husband's job is located in so we Arizonians can be more specific with our suggestions to you.

Thanks.

Answer 10

The tricky part about AZ is that the bad neighborhoods don't look so bad compared to the East coast. On the East coast, you pretty much KNOW. When I moved out there I went...hey, palm trees, nice homes and cars....this looks like a nice neighborhood...(not always the case)

Rule of thumb...stay outta the South side...The father North you can go the Better. (except for Sunnyslope)