Question for ARIZONA MiceChatters

[Disneyland Daddy]

Hello Arizona MiceChatters! I hope you are well.

I hope you will assist! I just sent my resume to the PCC in Phoenix....on Sunday in fact......

My wife and I have not ruled out moving to Arizona.......I guess the job prospect I had earlier this year wasn't the one for me, since I got a job in SoCal.....but now, that job is over - as I was laid off.

Anyway, not sure exactly what to do. But my sister called this weekend raving about this area of Phoenix called ANTHEM. What can you tell me about ANTHEM? She and her husband and baby live in Scottsdale currently...but the lease on the condo is ending in the next month....and they were going to come back out to Southern Cal...but it doesn't seem like that is going to happen any time soon.....as they are looking for houses to lease....

So, all that stated (and I hope it made sense) can you sort of tell me what area's are near what areas? I like Scottsdale and the Phoenix area - and probably Anthem too......as well, I'm somewhat aware of Chandler......if I was to live in one of those places, what areas are nearby that I can investigate jobs? I was asking my sister about working in Phoenix and living in Flagstaff and she said "David, that's like 120 miles away." So, that said, I really don't know the area.....

Can any of you help? We are interested in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area....even Chandler........ - so what is like 30 miles away from that, in terms of working and such? Is Tempe far? Tucson?

I know it seems as though I am babbling here..........but I'm hoping you can sift through my 'verbal muck' and be able to assist! Thank you all!

~David

[BFJen]

Tucson is a couple of hours out - we used to live in Mesa and my husband worked in Scottsdale - he had about a 50 minute commute each way. I don't think miles would be question. It would be time. As you're on freeways and they get crowded. My hubby got a schedule change and went to work at 5 a.m. and got off at 3 p.m. - and that cut his commute by about 15 minutes.

[pratt55]

Here is the info on Anthem Welcome to Anthem by Del Webb
It is a beautiful master planned community about 45 minutes without traffic from Phoenix.

I highly suggest you look at google maps to get an idea of the valley layout. If you were to get the job at PCC you would be at 15th avenue and Thomas, not such a great area to live but you could live 5 to 10 miles outside of the school and be fine. Both of my boys go to school there.

Another thing to realize is just as the rest of the nation has had problems with unemployment Arizona and Nevada are two of the hardest hit states so jobs are even more scarce here.

You might want to start reading out local paper azcentral.com to get an idea of what is going on and what jobs are in the paper.

[Disneyland Daddy]

Originally Posted by BFJen

Tucson is a couple of hours out - we used to live in Mesa and my husband worked in Scottsdale - he had about a 50 minute commute each way. I don't think miles would be question. It would be time. As you're on freeways and they get crowded. My hubby got a schedule change and went to work at 5 a.m. and got off at 3 p.m. - and that cut his commute by about 15 minutes.

Right on. Yes, mileage is not the issue, perse - it's time....I only lived 24 miles from my last job, but there were nights it took me 1 hour 35 minutes to get home - and that was ghastly, in my estimation. Usual time to get home was an hour.....and that too, is not all that great, considering it was only 24 miles away. However, if it took me less than an hour to get 50 miles, that is good, in my book. Thanks for the info!

Originally Posted by pratt55

Here is the info on Anthem Welcome to Anthem by Del Webb
It is a beautiful master planned community about 45 minutes without traffic from Phoenix.

I highly suggest you look at google maps to get an idea of the valley layout. If you were to get the job at PCC you would be at 15th avenue and Thomas, not such a great area to live but you could live 5 to 10 miles outside of the school and be fine. Both of my boys go to school there.

Another thing to realize is just as the rest of the nation has had problems with unemployment Arizona and Nevada are two of the hardest hit states so jobs are even more scarce here.

You might want to start reading out local paper azcentral.com to get an idea of what is going on and what jobs are in the paper.

Great info Pratt55! I'll have to check that out. As well, that hotlink you send is one my sister told us about.

Yeah, I imagine everything is coming to a screeching halt, economy-wise. My Dad, just retired from the City of Anaheim after 37 years of service...and he was going to go and work part-time to train the person to take his position as Director of Parks - and Gov. Arnold S. has put a hiring freeze on Anaheim.......so no part-time for Dad because they won't be hiring to fill his position anytime soon......

[Aladdin]

Anthem is a fairly new community. It's definitely the North West/ North Central Side of Phoenix. It's right on I-17, and with the growth of the area, it has turned into and traffic congested nightmare, especially on Holiday weekends when everyone is trying to go North on I-17 to Sedona or Flagstaff. They are doing some expansion to I-17, BUT there is still no decent plan for east west traffic in and out of the area, and that is a MAJOR issue for this area. It really only leaves Anthem with access via I-17.

Anthem first started growing, when and outdoor outlet mall decided to build up there. It's an ok little outlet center. With all the growth in the area, a variety of other stores have opened nearby. But it's really not very easy to get in or out of Anthem, especially during the rush hour.

[Disneyland Daddy]

Originally Posted by Aladdin

Anthem is a fairly new community. It's definitely the North West/ North Central Side of Phoenix. It's right on I-17, and with the growth of the area, it has turned into and traffic congested nightmare, especially on Holiday weekends when everyone is trying to go North on I-17 to Sedona or Flagstaff. They are doing some expansion to I-17, BUT there is still no decent plan for east west traffic in and out of the area, and that is a MAJOR issue for this area. It really only leaves Anthem with access via I-17.

Anthem first started growing, when and outdoor outlet mall decided to build up there. It's an ok little outlet center. With all the growth in the area, a variety of other stores have opened nearby. But it's really not very easy to get in or out of Anthem, especially during the rush hour.

Gotcha. Well, when you'd dealt with Southern California traffic all your life, I should think nothing would be quite as bad as that - unless you consider New York City........and I'm not planning on going there

Thanks for the info!

[pratt55]

^David I don't think you get it, at least in So. Cal there are other ways in and out and other freeways you can take. Anthem has 1 way in and 1 way out via the I-17. Oh and when it rains bad and floods sometimes you can't get there from Phoenix.

In case of disaster you have to take a rough road over to 89A, where you end up in Wickenburg.

[Disneyland Daddy]

Originally Posted by pratt55

^David I don't think you get it, at least in So. Cal there are other ways in and out and other freeways you can take. Anthem has 1 way in and 1 way out via the I-17. Oh and when it rains bad and floods sometimes you can't get there from Phoenix.

In case of disaster you have to take a rough road over to 89A, where you end up in Wickenburg.

Wow! That's wild.....I'll have to rethink, but either way, I must investigate Arizona........any other info is appreciated!

[WhiteMagick]

Hi David! We're in Flagstaff. I don't think you would want to commute from here to Phoenix. Especially in the winter when the only north/south freeway (I17) sometimes gets closed. This is not a bad place to live and work. It used to be much smaller and much better but in the last 20 years, it has become filled with "second home owners" who kind of get on our last nerves! If you want to check out the paper, just go to azdailysun.com Check out the Northern AZ University webs site to see what's available. I think it's nau.edu.org. We also have a community college called Coconino Community College. Just google the website.
I had been under the impression that Anthem was a "bedroom" community of Phoenix so I don't know if there are all that many jobs available. Maybe it's changed but it kinda reminds me of the town of Stepford as in Stepford Wives!!! Scottsdale is nice and so is Tempe. Traffic can be bad so research the areas like Pratt55 said. Tucson is nice and not quite as hot as the Phoenix area. Both Phoenix and Tucson have great weather in the winter. We won't talk about the summer though!!! Any other questions I can answer just let me know!