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Relocation help from a Boston Nestie
Hi Girls,
Hoping some of you could offer some neighborhood/relocation suggestions/advice.
We currently live 55 miles south of Boston (and have lived in MA our whole lives), MH will be transferring his job to Scottsdale/Phoenix within the next year and we're starting to look into real estate out there.
He will be working in the Camelback Rd area of Phoenix. We would like to be moderately close to there as we will not have any family moving with us, and would like to allow for him to have a short commute to work. In Boston, we are both commuting over 50 miles to work in the city, travel time up to 2 hours each way. We'd like to keep his commute under 30 minutes if possible.
We would like to be in a neighborhood setting, a newer development if possible. We have 2 young children. Our oldest will be in kindergarten next year. Any info on local school systems (public) vs private options would be great too.
Any and all advice/suggestions would be helpful. We will definitely be working with a realtor as the time comes closer but I was hoping for some "real" local advice to start with since we don't know the area very well. We did spend a week in Scottsdale last year so we are vaguely familiar with the area that his job would be located at but certainly have very limited knowledge of neighborhoods, etc. As of right now, we are looking to buy, and rent out our home in Boston.
Thank you so much everyone!
Re: Relocation help from a Boston Nestie
Welcome to Phoenix :-)
My family also relocated here from the Boston area in 2009. MH worked in Waltham but we lived just before the bridge heading over to the Cape.
I don't have any advice about that side of town as we are on the west side in Surprise but I know some of the girls here will be able to help you better. We did go from a 90-120 minute commute each way down to a 45 minute commute and we love it. Some will say the traffic is horrible out here but coming from Boston you'll think it is amazing haha. Even in a traffic back up it's not to bad. Unlike at home where you could sit in the same spot for an hour or more with out even inching forward... haha
IMO, the school systems are lacking quite a bit out here compaired to how it is back east. When we moved out here, my oldest (who started 7th grade) was doing 5th grade work. We will be putting our youngest into a private or charter school with the time comes. We wont be going through the public system even though that means we'll be paing for school forever. I am really sad about the schools out here but am glad that there are options for us.
The crazy thing about Phoenix is that unlike back east where there are certain towns you want to avoid at all costs, every city has a "bad" area. You could be in a very low crime, clean, new neighborhood and then drive 2 blocks down the street any direction and be in an area that has crime issues. I don't think one side of the Valley is any more better then another side so when you are working with your REA, just let them know what you are hoping to find. You'll be super happy to hear that the property taxes are REALLY cheap here, but the sales tax is crazy high. Coming from MA, I didn't think it could get worse, but man it almost doubled..
We're in South Plymouth! One exit before the Sagamore bridge - I wonder if you lived close to us - we have been in this house since 04.
I really appreciate the feedback. We would definitely look into private school for the kids if the school systems are underpar compared to what we are used to. Likely this will be a temporary move for us, and then back to Boston within a 12-36 month timeframe.
I definitely understand what you mean about every town having a bad area - we noticed that when we were out visiting last year. We currently live in a newer development so we're a lit separated from the rest of the town, which I like the feel of - almost like we are in our own little community.
I am both excited and terribly nervous about the move. We love love love arizona from the vacation time we have spent there.....but that's just it, it's been vacation time. I'm hoping we love it as much to live there as when we visited. All of our family is here in MA with some extended family in NY. We do not have a single friend or relative west of here so the move in itself is intimidating.
Depending on MH's salary when/if the move occurs, I will potentially stay at home for the time we are in AZ and complete my masters degree that I am in the midst of at this moment. I am a nurse - I'm not sure what hospitals are out there, what kinds of hiring issues you guys have out that way, etc. I'm sure I could find something, and it would be part time work at that. At the very least, I would likely take some time off to get the kids adjusted to the new area, work out their school situation and figure out child care if we were unable to manage it just between MH and I.
It's really reassuring to hear that another MA'er loves AZ. Do you miss the seasons? I will not miss driving to Boston in the middle of blizzards and -10 degree weather but I will definitely miss the autumn and spring and living 8 minutes from the beach. I honestly get a little upset thinking about losing the beach but again....temporary move for potential huge career advancement for MH - if the job pans out, we go, no matter what.
Thank you so much for your reply!
~A
we were really close to you in Wareham. It wasnt my favorite place to live but my FIL passed away and my MIL didnt want to stay at the house so she invited us to stay down there for the year, rent and bill free so we took her up on it as we had a newborn and knew we'd be relocating within a year or so.... Funny!!! :-)
Anyways, I love it here. I hate the winters and just plain rainy season in New England. We don't really get any rain here. Monsoon season is super fun but it's sunny more often then not here, where as in New England it is cloudy and you don't see the sun a whole lot. So that part is nice. I do miss the ocean more then anything else. The closest ocean is a good drive away so that kind of stinks but the amazing temps in the winter make it worth it.
Another thing to get used to is the bugs that are here. Scorpions, and Spiders mostly. When I agreed to relocate to Phx, I said it was under the condition that I could have a pest control company come monthly. The thought of Scorpions and/or Black Widows or Brown Recluse spiders skeeves me out. And Cochroaches. They are EVERYWHERE so that was a new thing to me haha! There are some people who see scorpions a lot and there are others who see none. They are in older neighborhoods and newer neighborhoods so really its the luck of the draw I think (at least from what I notice). In the house we rented we brought one into the house when we got a used washer/dryer and then my oldest found one in my garage but that was it. In the house we just bought I have not seen any yet *knock on wood*. We have seen Wolf spiders though and they are much bigger then the ones in MA haha...
We do not have any family out here either. I have had the good luck to meet a few really great people though that we do things on a regular basis with. But it is hard to have no family here to do things with (holidays and such) or help out if it's needed. It's hard knowing everyone is back east and we sit here alone. One of our friends that we've met here, her family actually adopted us so we do holiday dinners and such with them haha! It's great!
If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer the best I can. You can PM me and I'll give you my email address. The other girls will probably come in this week and tell you good areas in the EV.