James1979

Hi all,

Myself and my wife are hopefully moving out to Phoenix in a few months (assuming our E2 visas clear...). Just thought I'd put a shout out to anyone who is over there already - would love to pick your brains on life in general over there, good places to live/hang out, things to do, local tips, cost of living etc...

Hopefully you're all going to tell us how much you love it out there and how we're going to really enjoy our new lives...

Anyway - give us a shout if you're from the area

Cheers

James

Englishtart

Welcome to BE james plenty of members live around that area...I'm sure they will be along any time now

fatbrit

There's a group seems active on meetup.com -- Valley Brits or something like that. Never got around to attending, though.

Here you go: http://brit.meetup.com/255/

andrewdean

James

Which part of the Valley are you looking at? There are a number of British watering holes around the valley as well as the usual Irish Pubs.

Steerpike

I truly hope you get here before June! The weather from now till June is mouth-wateringly wonderful. From June through September, you'll wish you never set foot here. Then from October onwards, it is fabulous again. If you do arrive after June, just grin-and-bear it and know that better times are ahead! I first came here in March 2009 (after 27 yrs. in CA) and it was wonderful. The summer was OK for me, since I was working 7 days/week, but when my mom visited ... and tried to look around the place during the day ... she melted/wilted. Now, sitting outside at night, in the still, uber-dry desert air, even when it is 90F, is actually kinda wonderful too. You just have to avoid the outside when the sun is up, esp. at 5pm when temperature peaks.

I'm not sure a brit pub is what you will want - heavy, tasty, 'relatively warm' beer is appropriate to the UK climate but not when it's 100 F outside - suddenly an ice-cold lager beer is a much better option!

Yesterday it was 70 degrees and dry (in January! ). I went for a hike on the 'lost dog trail' in Scottsdale, only 10 minutes from my home, and it was fascinating/beautiful. Here's a few shots of the neighborhood ...

Steerpike

PS - this is my favorite watering hole ... not 'quite' a british pub, but rather fun ... 'Greasewood Flat', an old cowboy/redneck bar with an outside dance-floor and oil-drums with logs burning for warmth in the winter. Surrounded by the most exclusive housing and resorts, this is a bit of 'old Arizona' that you should check out. Just google the name, and bring a GPS so you can find it!

Zonie

Laughed when I read that.

We arrived in June 2005 from the UK. It was record temps with 30 consecutive days over 100 F. The locals were all complaining of the heat but as we expected it to be really hot, it didn't really faze us pastey faced Brits!

When the rains arrived we were amazed to see people driving with their hands out of the car windows and coming out of the shops to stand in the rain. That was our first introduction to the wet dog smell of the desert when it first rains.

cluedweasel

When I'm in Phoenix, I usually hang out at the George & Dragon on North Central. Come to think of it, that's probably a good reason not to go there

James1979

Hey Andrew,

Our business is going to be based in Scottsdale - we're not 100% decided on where to live yet - we're probably going to rent for a year before buying. When we were there we were looking at houses in Chandler & Gilbert mainly - which we liked - but happy to listen to more suggestions! We'd ideally like Scottsdale but it seems quite expensive...

Steerpike

Well I have to admit - and I never thought I'd say it - I'm truly loving Scottsdale! I came here reluctantly (job essentially moved here from Bay Area), but really fell in love with the architecture, the desert, the landscaping (LOTS of green succulents/cactus/whatever, not what I expected), the weather, etc.

After 10 months, I'm still discovering great places to explore (this weekend took a fabulous 200 mile drive via Roosevelt Dam; 3 weeks ago found wonderful stuff up around Prescott; the drive through Salt River Canyon to Show Low is unbelievable; even short drives to "Carefree" and "Boulders" are great). I'm looking forward to a few years of weekend getaways.

BUT - you have to come to terms with the fact that the "city" is awful - there is no real 'downtown' to speak of, just a big sprawling mess. For a metro area of 4 million, there is an almost complete lack of 'pedestrian areas'. There are only two 'pedestrian areas' worth mentioning - Mill Ave in Tempe, and Scottsdale downtown. Mill Ave is a throwback to the 60s, kind of a hippie/student hang-out - definitely worth a visit or two but ultimately a bit tedious. Scottsdale downtown is, despite many criticisms, a bit of a gem. It's got a lot of restaurants, great shops, a funky/touristy 'Old Town', and one of the best shopping malls in the country.

Scottsdale is in fact a very, very large town - it goes on for miles and miles. There's the old town/ downtown, then there's the 'golf course'/'resort' section (with more fancy resorts than you can count), then there's a huge residential area that goes on forever north and east, with unbelievably nice developments (if you like planned, coordinated, manicured).

You'll find those same styles of homes/communities in places like Mesa and Gilbert, and others (I've heard Peoria is nice too) but they will be more 'isolated' - surrounded by mediocrity - while in Scottsdale, it's just endless 'high class'. Now, many people get on Scottsdale's case about this 'nice-ness', but - I have to admit that I find it relaxing to be somewhere that is endlessly clean and tidy for once! Maybe I'll get bored with it someday. Even the damn freeways are adorned with decorations - awesome decorations, in my view ... the section of 101 around Shea is amazing.

But again - if you crave that compact, lively buzz that you get in London, New York, San Francisco, then you will hate the place. I spent MONTHS looking around downtown for the 'atmosphere' ... and finally realized it is all vacant lots and ugly high-rises.

Traffic is an issue if you need to commute; you would not want to commute too far.

I bought a place in Scottsdale at 101/Shea - nice, basic condo with 3 bedrooms for 150k as a short-sale (previous owner paid $300k 3 years ago). It's older (1980s), no garage, etc. I've been looking around at nicer places - newer, garage, nicer design - but they are in the $400k range for a 'condo' (more like a duplex/triplex).

I suspect you could get a really nice place in a really nice development in Mesa or Peoria for much less, but have less desirable surroundings. And beware of the commute into Scottsdale.

You should definitely rent for a year, as you suggest.

Good Luck!

James1979

"Scottsdale is in fact a very, very large town - it goes on for miles and miles. There's the old town/ downtown, then there's the 'golf course'/'resort' section (with more fancy resorts than you can count), then there's a huge residential area that goes on forever north and east, with unbelievably nice developments (if you like planned, coordinated, manicured).

But again - if you crave that compact, lively buzz that you get in London, New York, San Francisco, then you will hate the place. I spent MONTHS looking around downtown for the 'atmosphere' ... and finally realized it is all vacant lots and ugly high-rises.

I bought a place in Scottsdale at 101/Shea - nice, basic condo with 3 bedrooms for 150k as a short-sale (previous owner paid $300k 3 years ago). It's older (1980s), no garage, etc. I've been looking around at nicer places - newer, garage, nicer design - but they are in the $400k range for a 'condo' (more like a duplex/triplex)"

Hi,

Thanks for all the tips and comments. Sounds really good - I don't think we're going to miss the 'buzz' of London too much - we're looking at starting a family soon and we really don't want to bring our kids up in London/New York etc. London is crap for raising a family - don't get me wrong it's great when you're in your 20's - great nightlife, buzzing - but we've kinda done that now so Phoenix will hopefully be more suitable for what we want now. Not to mention London house prices are insane...

Think renting is definitely the way to go - every day the £ is getting weaker against the $ so think we'll buy when the rate is a bit more in our favour!

How much does Health Insurance cost there? We've heard a few quite wide ranging quotes and have budgeted a decent amount - but always good to hear from someone else

Steerpike

The subject of healthcare is a BIG one on this forum; I would post separately about it if you have specific questions as I don't think it has much to do with Phoenix, everything to do with other factors.

Healthcare is not cheap, period. The key to half-decent, relatively affordable healthcare is to get on a 'group plan', provided by your employer. In my 27 years here, I've had nothing but the best coverage and the rates have been affordable given the salary I was making. If you are lucky enough to make good money and work for a good company, you should be ok. But if you are self-employed, and you have kids ... that could cost you an arm and a leg, AND have exclusions, AND you could have issues if you have any pre-existing conditions. Currently insurance companies simply deny coverage to private individuals who have pre-existing conditions - something they can't do to corporate/group clients. They also base rates on age/etc, which again they can't do to corporate clients. I would very seriously look into this aspect. No shortage of opinions on the subject on this forum

AZ_Alba

Hi James,

Sorry to be so long in answering but busy with a five week old.
Chandler would be a straight shot up the Loop 101 and is more cosmopolitan than Gilbert, neither are great for public transport. Gilbert is the only one that is still growing in the present climate and is also generally cheaper tha Chandler. Awahtukee is also a possibility and popular with those that like to be beside South Mountain Park as well as better public transport. Tempe is land locked and a college town so plenty of night life while the older crowd head to Scottsdale (Cougar Town). In general I would avoid west Mesa as it has a higher call for service for the police depart.

Personally I live on the border of Mesa and Gilbert and work in Chandler as I do not like a long commute on the freeways here.

Steerpike

Isn't Awahtukee a big problem from a commute standpoint - especially to Scottsdale?

How would you rate East Mesa? Looks like there are some nice places there.

I took a drive up 'Bush Highway' in Mesa this weekend, which turns into a fabulous road along the Salt River, through mountains, and ultimately takes you past 'Saguaro Lake'. It was stunningly beautiful - so close to the city.

AZ_Alba

Depends on which area of Scottsdale you are going to and from which end of Awahtukee. From North Awahtukee to North Scottsdale I-10 > US60 > LOOP 101 or North Awahtukee to South/Mid Scottsdale I-10 to 143
From South Awahtukee to North Scottsdale LOOP 202 (SanTan) > LOOP 101

Some good area in East Mesa such as Las Sendas but not a lot of eating and entertainment close to hand. Loop 202 (Red Mountain) nice but backups about Mesa Drive in the morning and is under going widening for HOV lane.

Have you taken the Apache Trail, it is dirt after Tortia Flats but as long as you are not in a rush a good mountain route with plenty of hair pins, interesting driving with some good views, just remember low gear engine braking going down hill. I would not suggest it at the moment as it is too wet but March should have really great wild flowers.