I've posted about places before in recent years and the membership has been great about giving me the info on wherever it happened to be. None of those panned out. I'd like to ask your input now on Mesa. It would be a transfer for my wife within her company. She spoke to the hiring manager on the phone today and got a good feel off it. She interviews Monday. If this happens, she has the vibe that it would happen quick.

Some random thoughts -
I grew up in El Paso, and I have to be honest, I'm not loving the idea of moving back to the desert. I love the scenery out here, and yes, the weather. I love weather, even when it's inconvenient, often most especially when that's the case. The desert has a distinct lack of weather. Really, I want to get the fuck out of Washington state in the worst way for the politics. It's the root of really all the problems I can think of. The "sex" education they're going to give my son in school, the homeless addict scene, the drugs absolutely everywhere, the taxes, and the fucking gun laws I'm not even going to get started on - it's all thanks to the "progressive" socialists. We moved here in 2010 and it has changed radically since then, and they're not even close to finished.

I haven't taken advantage of the fishing and hunting available, nor the camping, nor the hiking, nor the boating or any of those things. We'll regret not doing those things, but they won't be so sorely missed that it'll impact our lifestyle if we move.

All that said, if you're from there, or moved there, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

I don’t have anything to add about Mesa, most places would be a step up from WA State. Many like AZ.

Are there any other options in the list, with potential job transfers?

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Are there any other options in the list, with potential job transfers?

St. Louis, MO is the one that keeps popping up. Occasionally San Antonio, but that would be a downgrade in position and pay.

I’ve moved around a fair bit, even some WA State time back in the late 80’s.

If one got away from St Louis a little, I’d think that could be livable. The exact job location is key.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
St. Louis, MO is the one that keeps popping up. Occasionally San Antonio, but that would be a downgrade in position and pay.

FWIW - San Antonio isn't bad, but it hasn't become worth a downgrade in position and pay in the last 12-odd years.

IMHO, St. Louis may come with all the problems Washington does, but I doubt you'll find all of the same attractions and amenities. The barbeque, though, would be a major improvement.

I have a brother in Phoenix as well as a number of friends. I've been there more times than I can count. Phoenix is...a pain in the ass.

However, just 90 minutes to 2 hours North, NE & NW of Phoenix puts you into some really nice forested land and some water, far different from the Phoenix desert metro blast furnace. The Flagstaff area is nice, I like it, but not the winters there. I mention these as quick and easy distances when you are living in Mesa or anywhere in the Phoenix MetroMess.

I'm looking now for a winter place, and possibly a year around place, in Arizona due to better winter weather. I can assure you, it won't be Phoenix, that's for sure.

Good luck, best wishes to you and wife and family.
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Honestly, when I look at the state of Lake Powell / Meade, and the relatively dry year again here in Utah, I don’t know what Arizona is going to do in the future.

I do not live in Wa. State. But spend quite a bit of time there. I here you. Fortunately for me I can do a lot of the things there I want to and not be affected by the politics. Outside of that it is a great place.

I would not live in the desert, no thanks. Unless it was on a few hundred acres and had some relief from the scorching heat. Like a big rock outcropping or the like

Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and the rest are all bordering one another on the East side of "the valley", and offer a fairly wide variety of lifestyles and price points from Trailer Parks to old neighborhoods to Master Planned HOA havens to Mcmansions to Mansions...

They're all okay in general, to great, depending on the particular area. A few shitty little spots but on the whole it's a pretty nice area, Mesa in particular being the oldest looking and relatively "ugliest" of the bunch, an older city with areas like Chandler and Gilbert being newer and having filled in around Mesa.

Lots of students, snowbirds, retirees, families, and professionals. Most non students gravitate toward Gilbert, South Mountain, East Mesa, or south of Tempe. Anywhere near ASU and Mesa Community College will be loads of college students, as those two schools alone have something like 100k students now. Shitloads of Mormons in Mesa, fwiw, and spreading out into Chandler and the rest.

I've lived in a few spots in Scottsdale, Tempe, and Chandler, all next to Mesa.

Arizona is a unique state, but pretty great really. It was good to me, overall. From Flagstaff and Sedona and the Rim to the Superstitions to South Mountain Park, there's hardly a corner I haven't stepped in and had loads of fun in many ways.

If you have an indoor job, and a nice car with good a/c, tinted windows, a sun shade, and a garage at home, it's pretty easy living even in August. At least you don't sweat much at all in that dry heat. And up north in the mountains and around there is always access to four seasons of weather. Mt Lemon in Tucson, too, gorgeous.

Mesa is a geographical large city, there are some nice areas and others are a bit shady. Some of the boarder cities/towns are nice, Gilbert (where I live is a nice but getting crowded area) as is neighboring Chandler.

Constitutional carry is a nice bonus with moving to AZ.

Ed, it’s hot AF in the summer in the Valley of the Sun.
Illegal immigration takes the place if the homeless/mental/addicts in King/Pierce/Thurston counties. There are still homeless, but it’s not embraced like the cities in the PNW do. You won’t find shantytowns created by cities.
Mesa is in Maricopa county. According to the election count, it’s a blue county. Take that for what it’s worth.
Our governor ditched the mask mandates. A lot of people hate him, but he’s okay compared to ANY WA politician.
Gun laws are good here. No concealed permit required, but it’s worth getting. You have to take a class to get it.
Mesa has good areas, and some really, really shitty areas. My sister lives off the 202 and McKellips. You don’t want to be anywhere in that vicinity. It’s not a nice neighborhood.
The Korean Market (H-Mart) is in Mesa. Again, not a great neighborhood. That’s about all I know of Mesa specific
90 minutes North you will find a lot of great areas. This is where I live. 3500 feet elevation and 15° cooler than Phoenix. It’s too far for a commute, but you can get away for fishing, hunting, etc.
Seafood. If you love it, you’ll miss it. Yeah, stores have it, but it’s not as fresh and the selection blows. Better in Phoenix, but it completely blows compared to the PNW.
Vehicle registration. It’s outrageous. You’re used to good ole WA and $68 no matter the car. My Jeep is a year old. Registration was $776 for ONE FUCKING YEAR.
Tourists. They’re here 9 months of the year. They’re great for business and should all take an Uber. I swear none of them can drive.
We are getting a lot of Cali immigrants. Too bad they’re bringing their shit politics with them.
Maricopa harvester ants. You have kids, kids play outside. These Guys pack a sting that is almost intolerable. One of the top ten most painful stings. Just a heads up as your kids will probably get stung, and it’ll be hell for a few hours.
My oh my, that’s a list of mostly suck things. Lets add some more good.

Great hiking.
Hunting north of the PHoenix metroplex is pretty great.
Off roading, not quite the Mecca that Utah is, but pretty amazing.
There is a lot of good food. Some really amazing restaurants. Just not the seafood.
Sunrises and sunsets like nowhere else. Maybe I’ll post up a bunch of pics. I take far too many.
People are pretty nice. Not like Texas hospitality, but a lot better than the average mossback.
It’s dry. The obscene amount of rain in Washington, well, that shit ain’t here.
Cops are way better here. I drive fast. Three years and no tickets. Washington I averaged a few a year at least.
No raccoons. I hated those damned trash pandas. We do have skunks though.

All in all, it’s a pretty great place in my opinion. Better than the commie state of WA.

I'll share what I have from my research in early 2021 when I settled on Arizona. I'm sharing because I compiled the data from various sources.

It's the third largest city with 509,000 residents and is 20 miles of Phoenix.

Mesa has a population density of 4,145 people per a given square mileage compared to Phoenix which has 3,540; it sounds like it's more crowded than Phoenix. Median age is 35.9 so mostly working age crowd. Only 16% are over age 65. Median income is $64,000 versus Phoenix with $61,000. Median house is $260,000. Median Rent is $1,128. Cost of Living is 95.3% compared to 100% at the national average. Unemployment is 7.2% and Percent of people in poverty is 11.6%. Crime index is 205.9 compared Phoenix with 379. Only 24% of AZ cities are worse in crime than Mesa while Phoenix has only 8% of AZ cities that are worse in crime.

Violent crimes is 1,800 compared to Phoenix with 12,000. Gilbert has only 234 violent crimes. Property crimes for Mesa is 10,000 compared to Phoenix with 57,000 and Gilbert with 3,300.

Access to doctors is pretty high at 26, it's the 3rd highest in the listing. it goes down to 1 for Lake Havasu City and 0 for Payson. Prescott Valley where I am is rated at 2 and there's a hospital here and another one in Prescott about 20 miles away. So I think 26 says you have plenty of access to medical care.

Elevation is 1,240 ft and the daily high can get to 105 degrees, while the daily average is 90. The coolest hot temperature is 78.

The average daily cold temperature is 52 going from as low as 40 to a high of 52.

Out of 52 Arizona cities that I gathered information for, Mesa did make the first round of 33. It also made it to round two of 20 locations but got dropped because it was too hot. My final three was Chino Valley, Prescott Valley, and Strawberry and they are pretty near to each other - probably because of the weather since they are about the same elevation.

One difference I noticed from trips to Phoenix in 2016 and then in 2021 was the increase in cars with CA license plates.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
One difference I noticed from trips to Phoenix in 2016 and then in 2021 was the increase in cars with CA license plates.

True we are getting inundated with refugees

Nice thing about AZ- if you need a break from the heat in the summer, within a 90 minute drive north you get a 15 degree temp drop in the Prescott region, and even more towards flagstaff.
I live in the Prescott area and I feel it is a great compromise- limited winter, but no scorching heat like the valley

Arizona was full of lots of California people 30yrs ago, and all along.

I have a relative who taught in the greater Phoenix area for quite a few years:
Check out the schools in the area in which you are planning to live. The comprehensive public schools can be problematic while the charter schools can be a solid option. The trouble is, at least from what I’ve been told, is that the wait times to get into a charter school can be years. The one positive is that there will be fewer Marxist’s working in the Arizona state education offices than work in Washington’s OSPI (office of the superintendent of public education). This I know from direct experience.

Spring training is great!

Silent

I've lived Southeast of Mesa for over 18 years in Gilbert Arizona.

Mesa's kind of a dirty town to me, I much prefer Gilbert or even the San Tan Valley, a bit farther to the East.

And yes, it gets hot. The first summer I was here I decided to wait until it cooled off for winter, then sell the house and move somewhere cooler.

But I never got around to it and the next summe seemed cooler, as did each succeeding summer.

What I'm saying is that you get acclimated and I've gotten to where I don't really think it's all that hot.

What about the water supply there ? I was in San Tan Vally last July and I absolutely love that area but with the explosion in new housing, the apparent drought, Lakes Meade and Powell and lack of rain, are you worried about one day not having water come out of the faucet?

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
What about the water supply there ? I was in San Tan Vally last July and I absolutely love that area but with the explosion in new housing, the apparent drought, Lakes Meade and Powell and lack of rain, are you worried about one day not having water come out of the faucet?

I'm not, but perhaps I should be although this last year's rainfall was 2" above normal. weather runs in cycles and I think it's coming back.

Good information in this article about the Phoenix water supply: https://www.phoenix.gov/waters...nge/water-supply-q-a

A lot of the water comes from the Bartlett Reservoir on the Verde River, created by Bartlett Dam ("my dam"--I was born there during its construction). The reservoir is also used for water recreation.

flashguy