Phoenix Nesties
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Thinking of moving to Phoenix...?
DH & I are thinking about making a huge move from Charleston, SC to Phoenix (Glendale more specifically). Our family, however, is concerned for safety reasons (since there is apparently a lot of immigration problems??). My question is, is it really as bad as the media is making it? Is Glendale a safer area? We are kind of going into this blind on the area, but DH wants to attend school out there.
Any advice is helpful 
TIA
TTC since 01/2011 ~ Our baby grew wings on 11/10/11 at 5w
Re: Thinking of moving to Phoenix...?
There may be a lot of media attention on current state laws (and Federal laws), but I have never once seen anyone in the news say that Phoenix is dangerous, one has nothing to do with the other. Why are your parents concerned for your safety?
Phoenix is like any other big city, there are parts that are safer than others, but as a whole I consider the greater Phoenix area to be one of the safer big cities I have been in. I do not know much about Glendale (or the west side in general) because I only have lived in Scottsdale and Tempe, but I absolutly love Phoenix and never felt unsafe living there.
Why are you thinking of moving? Do you have family in Phoenix? Good luck with your decision, and I am sure some of the other girls on here can give you more specifics on Glendale!
And your DS is sooooo cute!
I agree with pp that there is no reason to be concerned. The media has blown this immigration thing completely out of proportion. I truly believe we had more immigrants in Northern CA (12 hours away from Mexico) than we do here in Phoenix. I think Phoenix is like any other big city - some areas will have higher rates of crimes than others. I'm not familiar with Glendale (I live in the E Valley) but I knowthat many girls on here live over there.
I support your move and think you will love it here!
it depends where in glendale you're looking. some parts are really nice, some parts are really bad. i grew up in glendale and i love the area (the nice part lol). do you have any areas you were looking at? i'd be happy to help.
i have a lot of family out in sc! i'm assuming your hub is looking at going to thunderbird?
I live in Glendale and yesterday in my complex I saw 3 people get arrested. All of them were white, two men, one woman, all in the late teens. I'm guessing pot or they got in a fight or something. What struck me was the number of cops who showed up to deal with 3 little teenagers- 4 cruisers, 6 cops. No joke! If they really don't have anything better to do than spend an hour in my complex busting 3 teens, I'd have to say this area is pretty safe.
As for the immigration problem, it's everywhere. I promise you there's a problem with it in Charlston, too. I came here from Chula Vista, CA which is about 2 miles from the border. I thought the problem there was more severe than here, the difference is the government here is actually trying to do something about it instead of ignoring it so it's getting more attention.
I've been here a week now. Not a long time, I know, but I take my dog for a stroll around my neighborhood every night at 10ish and have never felt unsafe. My neighbors are friendly, I even had one come over and introduce himself the day I moved in which is more than any of my neighbor's in California ever did. And I live in the "bad" part of Glendale even! The "Good Part" is where my boyfriend lives and it's BEAUTIFUL and really nice. So like any city it has it's good and it's bad parts, but even the bad parts aren't so horrible.
So far I'm really liking Glendale. There's a lot to do here and lots of places to shop. I love that I'm walking distance to a Red Box especially.
And I've never been kidnapped by a Mexican or heard gunshots outside my apartment, etc. A lot of what you hear is pure hype. And like every large metropolitan area, there are it's bad parts. Just like I wouldn't spend too much time in Harlem alone at night, I did live in NYC for years and would walk home from work at midnight alone in the financial district without any problems. So just don't move to the bad part and you'll be fine!
I agree with all of the previous posters - the media has blown everything out of proportion. Just like any city, there are good parts and not so good areas.
I grew up in Phoenix/Scottsdale, then moved to Glendale after DH and I got married and recently moved back to north Phoenix. We still go back to the Glendale area frequently as we love it! What area are you looking at?
Blog Chart
I agree with all the ladies, there are good parts and bad parts of every city. The really bad areas are much closer to the border but like any big city, Phoenix does have it's share of bad areas. But like pp said, the media has blown it out of proportion.
My sister lived and went to school in Glendale and loved it. She debated whether to by her condo there but decided to buy in North Phoenix near us just to be closer to family. Definitely talk to the ladies that are familiar with the area, they will be so helpful
My only recommendation would be (and I'm speaking from personal experience since we lived through it the last year and a half) is make sure you have jobs lined up before you get out here. The job market is very hard out here and it could take a long time to find a job. Luckily my hubby had an offer before we moved but I didn't and I was working 2 part time jobs for the last year until I found out I was pregnant. The job hunt is not put on hold until our little one is in school (hopefully the market will rebound by then!! LOL).
Good luck!!!!
I feel very safe here. We moved here from a very safe midwest city, and quite frankly, I've seen a lot less violence here (via the news) than where we used to live.
I'm not real familiar with Glendale (I never really go to the west side), but where we live in the far NE part of the valley, I think we have one of the lowest crime rates. Do a google search on Phoenix crime maps and you can see. Also, something I noticed that's really different out here is there are a lot of gated communities, like our neighborhood, so that helps in feeling a bit more safe as well.
Agreed with PP's the media has latched onto the immgration story like a bulldog. Whatever sells they'll print. If you're really concerned about that try looking up the crime reports for Maricopa county.
I don't know much about Glendale as I live in the East Valley, but I'm sure you can find something decent. The market is flooded with housing.