quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
There is just something about trees that I would miss.

Oh we have trees galore, they just don't look like the ones you are used to. And you learn to be cautious messing with them (trimming, for example). Thorns aplenty. There is one that has thorns that look like a cat's claw. If you get close and it grabs you, there's hell getting it untangled from your clothes.
 

quote:

I would quit before getting moved to Houston.

Wise words.

I spent an extended work tour in PHX area. It is very nice and so close to so many nice destinations. Loved the area, but could never live there. It is just brutal in the summer, and locals just hide for that 6 months.

As others mentioned "Dallas" is very non-specific. I lived in McKinney (Collin County) N of Dallas for 6 years and loved it. Like any big city, if you don't live near work it can suck. The upsides more than make up for the traffic. Direct flights everywhere, virtually unlimited entertainment, dining and similar options. Nice folks, many are transplants. I'd move back if asked. It can get pretty hot as well, but not as bad as AZ or Houston and eating on patio in Feb more than makes up for it. Also one of the few areas I'd be confident my home might surely appreciate rather than stagnate, but it is a crazy market right now.

Good luck!

AZ's gun laws are way better than TX's. We've had Constitutional Carry for about seven years now. I see people OC all the time too. Cops are pretty cool about gun folks. Tons of places to shoot, lots of gun stores, a few decent local gun chat boards. 95 deg in AZ is not summer weather. 111 deg last week is summer weather. That's HOT. But with my solar panels and new a/c my electric bill I got today for the last month was $26. I swim in my pool from mid-April through late-Sept.

Arizona for sure. We love living in Gilbert and its only a 30 min commute to most of Tempe at the worst part.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have and would be very happy to show you around if you wanted to come take a look. Email address is in my profile.

Tempe for sure, Dallas would be second. I'll take the climate and gun laws in AZ over the miserable humidity of Houston any day.

Of the three areas offered, AZ over either in TX. And this is from an Aggie from TAMU.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimineer:
where in Dallas is your job located?

I'm not exactly sure. Was just told Tempe, Dallas, or Houston might have opening soon, and that's all I know.

I'll throw in for Tempe. Yes, we do have the 3 seasons of hell known as June, July and August, but the rest of the year makes up for it. Besides, if it gets too hot Flagstaff and the White Mountains are only a 2 hour drive away. Location is great, big airport is a hit for both American and Southwest so you can get reasonable direct flights just about anywhere. L.A., San Diego and Vegas are an easy 5 hour drive.

Cost of living is reasonable compared to other places. There is a lot to do in Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix. No lack of restaurants both high end and good hole in the wall stuff.

Living in the desert takes some getting used to. after a while you start to appreciate it.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
Arizona most definitely but its too bad your choice is limited to Tempe

there are much nicer places in Arizona...do you have to drive to a specific location for work?

Can you please elaborate? I'm giving serious consideration to making a move to Arizona in a few years and would like as much information as possible. We were in AZ last year and really like it but certainly do not want to buy in a less than desirable area. What do you consider better?

As long as we are talking Arizona, can those that live there list the pros vs. cons? Taxes, health care,crime etc.? Do they tax pensions and if so at what rate? What about water? Any worry of running out or rationing? I hear all this talk about snakes and scorpions? A real threat? We all know about the heat but for me it's doable as the hotter it gets, the better I like it. I personally just hate humidity? What about your average electric bill every month? Things like these are IMHO important to anyone thinking of making a move to either Texas or Arizona.

Tempe
Dallas
Houston

In that order. Lived in Vegas for a couple decades and enjoy the desert and the desert in Az is much prettier than Nv's. Of course I've been trying to get to Florida for 25 yrs. So consider the source!

What about the trout fishing and camping? Me and the kids want to go camping.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
What about the trout fishing and camping? Me and the kids want to go camping.

Are you talking in AZ? In Sedona there's the rainbow trout farm which is a commercially stocked pond with guaranteed bites. If you want something more traditional most of the lakes have trout. Big Lake, Reservation, Black River, etc...

For camping the Flagstaff/White mountain area would be your best bet.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
What about the trout fishing and camping? Me and the kids want to go camping.

Well, there’s camping.

Takes awhile to get to where you can catch those Sand trout. Otherwise, Lee’s Ferry area of the Colorado and a few places in the White Mountains.

How do income, property, and sales taxes compare? What about the cost of real estate?

I have a personal bias against the Phoenix area and I live south in the Tucson area. I have an engineer that lives in Gilbert and a sales tech that lives in Sun City.

Full disclosure - I moved here from New Hampshire in 2015 and would never go back.

The desert took me about 20 minutes to get used to, trees I don't miss - no pine sap, wasps and hornets nesting. No snow to shovel. We did have a white Christmas here - it snowed on Mt. Lemmon and it was nice to look at - from 7000 feet up.

Water is always an issue but from what I understand most of the water comes from surface and river features. I get billed for about 200 CF give or take so my water bill was $26. It might move 3 or 4 bucks each way. I don't have any irrigation. But I have a pool with an auto-fill valve that manages evaporation.

We have snakes, scorpions, centipedes, spiders and other miscellaneous critters. If you manage your yard and spray for things like crickets and termites (which out here is like brushing your teeth as everyone does it), you keep the food sources for scorpions away. We have good and bad spiders - the brown recluse being one of the bad. I've seen two centipedes. Lots of lizards. Mostly harmless. During monsoon we get a few Colorado River toads which are bad - they exude a neurotoxin.

Snakes - yes, we have them. I've seen one rattle snake in my yard in 2-1/2 years, I've seen two rat snakes going after the pack rats.

I'd rather put up with 3 months of temps in the 100's with humidifies between 7 - 14%, than shovel snow and ice. No salt on the roads. Its a wonderful thing.

There are several different kinds of desert out here and the landscape and the plantlife changes with it. Huge grasslands areas and trees, or sand and cactus. If you drive up Mt. Lemmon at about the 6500 foot level the climate changes and you'd swear you were in a pine forest in Colorado. Its 25 degrees cooler.

People out here are far more interested in what you do for recreation than what you do for work. People out here seem on average to be much friendlier and more helpful than I ran into on the east coast.

I play golf, and its not a big deal to be playing golf in 100 degree weather as long as you stay hydrated and can stay in shade whenever possible (ie golf cart between shots).

Its really not that bad.

What I wanted was a slower pace of life, no more contrived and self-inflicted crisis, be able to be outside 12 months of the year and not have to hibernate because its -20. When it gets to be 112 - 115, you deal with it by going out in the morning or evening - the hottest part of the day seems to be between 330 and 430. When the sun lowers, it cools off fairly quickly.

Phoenix is a concrete heat sink that sucks in the heat during the day and spits it back at you during the night, so it really never cools off. Down south it doesn't seem to happen as badly except in the city center. Tucson isn't a concrete jungle.

I was in Houston working last week. It was 95 degrees at 70% humidity with rain. It was oppressive.

Its whatever you want.

I haven't been to Texas, but we vacationed in Scottsdale, Az a couple of years ago and fell in love with AZ. I can't stand humidity and found the desert to be simply gorgeous. Being from Maine(and living here my entire life), I am very used to trees......LOTS of trees. Even with that, we loved AZ, and the plan will be, in retirement, to spend 6 months here and 6 months somewhere in AZ.

quote:

I was in Houston working last week. It was 95 degrees at 70% humidity with rain. It was oppressive.

Yeah, but it's a damp heat... Plus no HEB in Dallas (yet) or Tempe.

nhtagmember;

How does the light pollution compare between Phoenix and Tuscon? I thought I read somewhere Tuscon has made an effort to reduce light pollution.

Is border security an issue in your area? I thought Phoenix has had issues related to border security. I suspect you would know about this sort of thing, and since you choose to live there, your opinion would be important to hear.

Food is better in Houston, besides we are all full here in Houston, folks moving here from all over the world for our economy every day.

Lots of good folks here as witnessed by our post hurricane and World Series win behaviors.


HK Ag