Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Hi All

Just saying 'hello' and also a big 'thank you' to this site - my wife & I (now I'm sounding like Prince Phillip!) have got tons of useful info from here in the last few days.

We're moving to Phoenix in the autumn (from Southampton). The company (US-based) made me an offer that would be dumb to refuse, and I'm not usually dumb!

Any advice/suggestions about moving to the Phoenix area gladly received, eg good places to live, traffic flows (the office is actually in Chandler), great places to shop (or avoid!) - you get the drift!

Also interested in your experiences of making the move. We don't have kids or a house to sell, just 3 small dogs!

Cheers

Harry

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Hi Harry!

Welcome to Chandler! I live in Mesa, and there's plenty of others here who live around the Phoenix area.

Chandler has some really nice homes. Chandler Fashion Mall is huge, with lots of restaurants in the area. So there's plenty nearby you in Chandler.

I don't have any experience with moving, though.

Rene

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Given you know where you are working and would like to find a place to live in that order, consider your commute and ensure you are driving with the sun behind you each way (or at least to the side) as driving into the sun each way is not fun.

Once lived in in Soton near the Uni.

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Welcome to BE :)

Don't know about the area specifically, but there's been a threads in the past that might have some info to get you started.

Either way, city-data.com is also a good place to start.

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Hi there Harry and welcome.

We have several members who live in the Phoenix area. I'm not sure if there are any meet-ups in the area...but take a look through the thread titles in the US Meet-ups form just in case. :fingerscrossed:

Please give a mod or admin a shout if you need help with anything.

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Thanks everybody for the welcome!

I'm told my wife will be able to apply for a work permit 90 days after she sets foot on US soil.

In the UK she worked as a medical secretary and loved it. Would this be an option in the US/AZ? Esp. part time?

One of our concerns is about making new friends. It's easy for me, I'm going to a work environment where I have some good relationships to start with. I'm thinking about outside of work, and for my wife during the first 90 days (or beyond, if she doesn't get a work permit). Any ideas for what might work in the Phoenix area to make new friends (without freaking people out!)?

Cheers

Harry

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Hi Harry

Can't help on the location or moving (we are awaiting our embassy interview for our L1A / L2, assuming all goes to plan will be moving in about 4 weeks!)

What I do know though, is if your wife is going out on an L2 then she can apply for her EAD (work permit) as soon as she arrives but it can take up to 90 days to come through.

Good luck with everything.

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Hi Mrs O

Thanks for that clarification, and good luck with your move!

Cheers

Harry

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Avoid buying any property south or east of the San Tan freeway -- it's becoming a wasteland of abandoned subdivisions.

Watch out for rentals that are in foreclosure -- don't pay too much in deposit since you might very well return home to a red repossession notice stuck on the front door.

There's a great water park for dogs in neighboring Gilbert.

Best place to live in that part of the world IMO is Tempe or the Ahwatukee district of Phoenix.

As an East Valley wife in LDS land, your wife is expected to produce offspring and drive them to soccer practice in a big-ass SUV, not be ground down in a cubicle job by corporate America.

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

I'm not 100% sure what a medical secretary does, but if it involves knowing about US medical insurance, she might have some studying to do.

Rene

Re: Moving To Phoenix In Autumn on L1 Visa
 

Check out the web-site www.meetup.com. It's a good place to find expat meetups.