Living in Arizona

Hi everyone!

I'm new to expatblog and blogging in general, so bear with me if I appear clueless at times!

I am Asian and have been an expat in Arizona for over ten years in the Phoenix area. I am planning on teaching in Saudi Arabia soon, and wanted to pass my experiences on here in the hopes that it will help expats moving here. I hope this will help!

Prior to moving here, I had been a student for a few years in Tucson, so it was definitely easier the second time. Apartments are plentiful and the price ranges vary according to size and location. One easy way to find out if you are looking at a safe area is to call the local police department. You can ask them about crime rates in specific locations. Phoenix is a HUGE city, and there are areas some people would not really want to walk around even during the day. Conversely, you can find multimillion dollar homes (i.e. Camelback area). There are also many adjacent cities of varying size that you can easily commute to if you work in Phoenix (Chandler, Tempe, Awhatukee, Mesa, Gilbert, Apache Junction, Glendale, Goodyear, Avondale, etc...).

If you are shopping for a home, be happy! Prices here have plummetted. If you really look around, I have seen a few people getting nice sized (2000 square foot+) houses for under U.S. $100,000 (again, location has a large affect on the price). The Phoenix real estate market has been decimated by the economy. I have heard that rental homes get snapped up pretty quickly, because there have been so many people that have lost homes and are now looking for places to live. I do not know if this has affected the apartment situation, but be prepared. I am in the suburbs east of Phoenix. I have been told that houses of approximately 2000 square feet, four bedrooms and two baths are renting for around $900-$1200+ per month. For comparison, I would say our area is middle class.

Transportation here is really rough if you live outside of Phoenix, unless you have a vehicle. The new train system is really only for those located in Phoenix. There is supposed to be a parking area for people wanting to drive in to Phoenix and take the train, but I have not looked into this. There is a bus system that runs from outlying suburbs into the city, but it seems to have pretty infrequent runs. In the city, the bus system seems to run pretty frequently. I do not know the price of fares, but I heard they went up recently. A positive note is that car prices are pretty low right now.

Having come from Taiwan, I have to say the Phoenix transportation infrastructure is pretty primative in comparison, but improving. Most people still drive, because the city and state are pretty big relative to many eastern states. If you are plannning a drive to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Mexico or popular areas in California you are talking about four to six+ hours driving at 75+ miles per hour much of the trip. If you are working, it is possible to live as a couple with one car. My husband and I have done this for my entire stay in Arizona.

People in Arizona are like those anywhere else. Some are very friendly, and others... Well, you will just want smile and walk along when you see them. One nice thing for me was I have blended in pretty well. When we lived in Taiwan, my husband almost always had people staring at him or trying to speak English with him, because he is taller, has blue eyes and light brown hair. Here, I blend in because there are so many ethnicities. We have white, Hispanic, Eastern European, Southeast Asian, and African American neighbors, so no one takes a second look at me. Finding friends will not be a problem; just be yourself, and you will find people with similar interests and backgrounds.

Finding work here, like many places now will probably a bit of a challenge, but still possible. I have read up on the economy a bit, and I am hearing that healthcare is a great field to go into, because we have so many elderly that decide to live here in the winter or all year. One of my neighbors is studying to be a nurse, however, and she said even hospitals are having a hard time since people are delaying healthcare, even to at the risk of their lives sometimes. My sister-in-law also lost her job in HR at a hospital recently, so nothing is recession proof at the moment. The manufacturing and retail sectors are having a rough time right now, so make sure you have a job prior to coming, unless you are a student.

Being a student in Arizona is great! I am a University of Arizona alumni, and would advise anyone to go there (Tucson) if looking at Arizona, especially the business or computer science colleges. They used to have programs ranked in the top 50 (unsure of current rankings). The student population is international, and it is easy to find friends. You can live on campus without ever leaving. Walking or riding a bike will get you anywhere you need. The surrounding mountains make for a beautiful view and it is a bit cooler than Phoenix. Arizona State University in Phoenix also has many fans, but I have never attended it.

If you are restaurant lover, good! You should be able to find anything you like. We love trying different cuisines, and have been satisfied with the variety for the most part.

Now to the tough part- WEATHER... My husband and I are total indoor lovers, so none of this really affects us. If you are an outdoor lover, you will love October to April. Temperatures seldom go below freezing, and there are many outdoor activities awaiting you. May to September can be very hot... Don't be surprised if temperatures go over 110 degrees fahrenheit in the middle of summer. Sometimes temperatures do not drop below 90 at night! Fortunately, almost all new housing has air conditioning. Older housing may have evaporative cooling (you will hear people calling them "swamp coolers"). You will want air conditioning, because the evaporative coolers do not work as well when the humidity is higher in July and August. There has been a drought here over the last few years, but if you are lucky, during the summer the humidity will result in afternoon rains that will cool the air down 20-30 degrees for a while.

There are many places to visit in Arizona. The Grand Canyon is the obvious first. Sedona has become internationally known because of the beautiful red rock formations, and many New Agers believe that it has special powers. We have Monument Valley in the northeast and beautiful Ponderosa pine forests in the north. There is also skiing in the winter in the north.

One more note! If you like taking care of your skin, you will need to use lots of sun protection and skin cream! I spoke about humidity during the summer, but it is still very dry here compared to where I am from. The humidity is often below 20%. The sun is extremely intense in the summer, so high SPF's on your suntan lotion are a necessity. If you go out for a desert drive, bring LOTS of water. You will want several gallons, because if your car breaks down, you will not find running water in most places. Calling for help on your cell phone can still result in a wait of several hours. People have died from the desert heat, so please be careful.

Wow! I apologize for this being so long! If you have any questions that I haven't answered about the Phoenix/Tucson area, I'll help out if I can.

Best Regards,
M

Thank you so much for your input, Monica :-)

Hi Jo Ann!

You're welcome! My husband and I had some great experiences in beautiful France back in 1995-1996. Some friends were very, very kind to us there. I hope you have the same experience if you manage to find our way to Arizona.

Monica

Hi, Everybody how are you
i am new resident in usa erizona could you tell me how is the atmosphere here in arizona,,,?

Hi monica
   nice to meet you, I am Asian too.I graduated from buziness university in 2007,and I work in china.
    hoping making friend with you.
    can I be your a good friend?
 
Bill

It was a bit hard for us because we moved from a big capital city in Europe to a small town in Arizona and there was some amount fo cultural disconnection between the people and us! But we created our life here and adapted to the circumstances.

tandmfinley wrote:

Hi everyone!

I'm new to expatblog and blogging in general, so bear with me if I appear clueless at times!

I am Asian and have been an expat in Arizona for over ten years in the Phoenix area. I am planning on teaching in Saudi Arabia soon, and wanted to pass my experiences on here in the hopes that it will help expats moving here. I hope this will help!

Prior to moving here, I had been a student for a few years in Tucson, so it was definitely easier the second time. Apartments are plentiful and the price ranges vary according to size and location. One easy way to find out if you are looking at a safe area is to call the local police department. You can ask them about crime rates in specific locations. Phoenix is a HUGE city, and there are areas some people would not really want to walk around even during the day. Conversely, you can find multimillion dollar homes (i.e. Camelback area). There are also many adjacent cities of varying size that you can easily commute to if you work in Phoenix (Chandler, Tempe, Awhatukee, Mesa, Gilbert, Apache Junction, Glendale, Goodyear, Avondale, etc...).

If you are shopping for a home, be happy! Prices here have plummetted. If you really look around, I have seen a few people getting nice sized (2000 square foot+) houses for under U.S. $100,000 (again, location has a large affect on the price). The Phoenix real estate market has been decimated by the economy. I have heard that rental homes get snapped up pretty quickly, because there have been so many people that have lost homes and are now looking for places to live. I do not know if this has affected the apartment situation, but be prepared. I am in the suburbs east of Phoenix. I have been told that houses of approximately 2000 square feet, four bedrooms and two baths are renting for around $900-$1200+ per month. For comparison, I would say our area is middle class.

Transportation here is really rough if you live outside of Phoenix, unless you have a vehicle. The new train system is really only for those located in Phoenix. There is supposed to be a parking area for people wanting to drive in to Phoenix and take the train, but I have not looked into this. There is a bus system that runs from outlying suburbs into the city, but it seems to have pretty infrequent runs. In the city, the bus system seems to run pretty frequently. I do not know the price of fares, but I heard they went up recently. A positive note is that car prices are pretty low right now.

Having come from Taiwan, I have to say the Phoenix transportation infrastructure is pretty primative in comparison, but improving. Most people still drive, because the city and state are pretty big relative to many eastern states. If you are plannning a drive to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Mexico or popular areas in California you are talking about four to six+ hours driving at 75+ miles per hour much of the trip. If you are working, it is possible to live as a couple with one car. My husband and I have done this for my entire stay in Arizona.

People in Arizona are like those anywhere else. Some are very friendly, and others... Well, you will just want smile and walk along when you see them. One nice thing for me was I have blended in pretty well. When we lived in Taiwan, my husband almost always had people staring at him or trying to speak English with him, because he is taller, has blue eyes and light brown hair. Here, I blend in because there are so many ethnicities. We have white, Hispanic, Eastern European, Southeast Asian, and African American neighbors, so no one takes a second look at me. Finding friends will not be a problem; just be yourself, and you will find people with similar interests and backgrounds.

Finding work here, like many places now will probably a bit of a challenge, but still possible. I have read up on the economy a bit, and I am hearing that healthcare is a great field to go into, because we have so many elderly that decide to live here in the winter or all year. One of my neighbors is studying to be a nurse, however, and she said even hospitals are having a hard time since people are delaying healthcare, even to at the risk of their lives sometimes. My sister-in-law also lost her job in HR at a hospital recently, so nothing is recession proof at the moment. The manufacturing and retail sectors are having a rough time right now, so make sure you have a job prior to coming, unless you are a student.

Being a student in Arizona is great! I am a University of Arizona alumni, and would advise anyone to go there (Tucson) if looking at Arizona, especially the business or computer science colleges. They used to have programs ranked in the top 50 (unsure of current rankings). The student population is international, and it is easy to find friends. You can live on campus without ever leaving. Walking or riding a bike will get you anywhere you need. The surrounding mountains make for a beautiful view and it is a bit cooler than Phoenix. Arizona State University in Phoenix also has many fans, but I have never attended it.

If you are restaurant lover, good! You should be able to find anything you like. We love trying different cuisines, and have been satisfied with the variety for the most part.

Now to the tough part- WEATHER... My husband and I are total indoor lovers, so none of this really affects us. If you are an outdoor lover, you will love October to April. Temperatures seldom go below freezing, and there are many outdoor activities awaiting you. May to September can be very hot... Don't be surprised if temperatures go over 110 degrees fahrenheit in the middle of summer. Sometimes temperatures do not drop below 90 at night! Fortunately, almost all new housing has air conditioning. Older housing may have evaporative cooling (you will hear people calling them "swamp coolers"). You will want air conditioning, because the evaporative coolers do not work as well when the humidity is higher in July and August. There has been a drought here over the last few years, but if you are lucky, during the summer the humidity will result in afternoon rains that will cool the air down 20-30 degrees for a while.

There are many places to visit in Arizona. The Grand Canyon is the obvious first. Sedona has become internationally known because of the beautiful red rock formations, and many New Agers believe that it has special powers. We have Monument Valley in the northeast and beautiful Ponderosa pine forests in the north. There is also skiing in the winter in the north.

One more note! If you like taking care of your skin, you will need to use lots of sun protection and skin cream! I spoke about humidity during the summer, but it is still very dry here compared to where I am from. The humidity is often below 20%. The sun is extremely intense in the summer, so high SPF's on your suntan lotion are a necessity. If you go out for a desert drive, bring LOTS of water. You will want several gallons, because if your car breaks down, you will not find running water in most places. Calling for help on your cell phone can still result in a wait of several hours. People have died from the desert heat, so please be careful.

Wow! I apologize for this being so long! If you have any questions that I haven't answered about the Phoenix/Tucson area, I'll help out if I can.

Best Regards,
M

You can discuss about new places in Arizona.I like to make  friends in Arizona.In Arizona I mostly like their hotels & resorts.

HI everybody,i am french,i live in Dominican republic.My husband and i would like to change.How is the atmosphere in Arizona?If somebody can give me information about school near Scottsdale,we have twins,they are 10 years old.Thank you very much.

You can go online and look up schools in the zipcode. Schools in Arizona get a rating from the state as to if they are doing well or not.

Education is terrible in Arizona and the schools are rated against other schools in Arizona only. So what does it matter if you are the best of the worst? Schools should be rated nationally.

Parts of Scottsdale are very economically poor and the schools in those areas have lower test scores because the deal with students who don't speak English, poverty, and families where parents are so focused on trying to pay the bills with working 3 jobs that there is no energy left for education.

There are charter schools and some of them are for profit so watch out.
Not all are bad though. Look up "Basis Phoenix".

Good luck with your decisions. Remember though that if your children are raised in the USA they may or may not share your values. This can become very apparent when they become teenagers. You may wish to read the book "Third Culture Kid" to better understand how your child will develop as a result of the new experiences in a different culture.