Alright guys, I just got off the phone with someone I'm friend swith through work. Whenever we attend conferences, he and I always hang out and do things; dinner, drink, that kind of stuff. So, I consider him a friend.
So, today, he bascially offered me a job- well, two. I have a choice of either Del Rio, TX or Phoenix. It's not even, " on the streets yet" and he'll be doing the hiring, so it's pretty much a done deal, if I want it.

Nothing against TX, but I don't want to be too isolated and that's what Del Rio would be to me. Plus, my area of responsiblity in AZ would be more challenging.

So, anyone in Phoenix wanna let me know what things are like out there;

Cost of living
Housing Market
Crime
Gun Laws
Areas to look at
Commute

This is not the best time in my life to take a new job, but sometimes, that is the best time to make a change; It's more money(although not a lot), new challenges, NO SUPERVISION(I HATE SUPERVISING PEOPLE!!) and lots of freedom. My friend will be my boss and he works in Moab, UT! Not too mention, it's a new position, so I'd be able to establish some things, and it does require travel, but mostly in-state and occassionally to Moab.

Decisions, decisions....

 

i believe AZ is good on gun laws being pro-gun that is (they allow open carry which means they couldn't be too tight i suppose), don't know if they are good as VA

If a baseball fan like me, you can go visit Chase Field or Phoenix International Raceway.....

 

Cost of living - not sure how we compare to other places, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper than California!!

Housing Market - has come down quite a bit. My house was 212k new and now comps in my neighborhood are selling for 140-160k. That's for 1400 sq ft, 2 car garage, RV gate and pad, and decent size backyard.

Crime - depends on the area you move to. Newer areas generally have less crim. Stay away from central and south Phoenix.

Gun Laws - open carry is legal, concealed weapons permits are "shall-issue"...what else do you want to know?

Areas to look at - I live in north central Phoenix, I like it. Lots of people are moving out to the Chandler/Gilbert area south east of Phoenix and like it. I grew up in the north Phoenix/Scottsdale area and am not real fond of Chandler/Gilbert...nicer places but I guess the scenery changes enough that it seems more barren to me, might just be me though. Lots of new stuff in the west valley too. There's a lot of stuff in the northern parts of Phoenix that are a little older but still nice as well.

Commute - depends on what part of town you're in.


The thing I like most about Phoenix is how it's central to just about everything. You're about 1.5 to 2 hours away from being in the mountains, 4.5 hours from Vegas, 6 from Rocky Point, 6 from LA, 6 from San Diego, 7.5 from good skiing in Colorado. Mild winters, plenty to do in the summer even though it's hot (lake, go to Payson or Flagstaff or Sedona, etc). It's a big city but it's very spread out so it doesn't have the typical big city feel to it. Lots of open land surrounding Phoenix, lots of offroad trails if that's your thing, lots of hiking trails, etc etc.

Sports - spring training, lots of teams here in the spring time. Baseball, hockey, football, basketball pro teams. Phoenix Int'l Raceway is the big race track out here...there's Firebird Raceway for NHRA, Firebird also has a lake for the drag boats, you can do street drags at Firebird and at Speedworld Drag Strip.

 

Come to PHX, Chris kinda told you the huge run down but basically gun laws are sick, places are sick, the fuzz is more or less kinda laid back, if you know you're way around commute is easy, just remember rush hour is Mon-fri from 5am to 9am and 4pm-6pm haha everythings pretty simple to navigate thru... That's about it. If you like motorcycles this is a great place to be as well

Oh and firebird also has track days for like auto cross and super cross and sport bikes

 

Do it.

 

Good info, guys. After a night of debate and thought, I'm going to pass up the job.
I know I'll probably kick myself for months to come, but it's just not the right time.

 

I would go for it! After all the true **** winters here, it's great out there most of the year. My folks moved there in 1986, after retiring, and didn't regret one minuite. They were life long W. Pa residents, and HUGE Steeler fans. I've been there a few dozen times, and always wanted the excuse to pull up stakes to move there. Just, for one reason, or another, it never happened. I'd still like to give it a shot!