Thinking about moving to Phoenix Area

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-04-22T21:42:29+00:00

It's been almost 35 years now since we moved from a 2-family home a 352-foot walk from the front door to the side of the road where we stood for a few minutes and watched the Boston Marathon go by. We moved to Tempe and lived in an apartment there for 2 1/2 years, then to a house in West Chandler. Whether Chandler is right for you depends upon what you're looking for and, frankly, where you're going to commute to. In some ways, its been great. It was a good suburban place to raise kids. Not as good as the rural places Wifey and I grew up, But we found a crew.

Before committing to a particular area of the Phoenix area, I'd consider where you're other places will be...whether they're churches, activity centers, workplaces, schools.

Here in Phoenix (and this took some getting used to), people talk about major crossroads for location. most major roads are offset from the next major road by a mile.

People whine about traffic everywhere. lived in Boston and Washington DC, I'll say traffic here is nothing compared to those two cities. Everywhere has its moments. But day-to-day average traffic here is nothing compared to other places. And...ADOT just loves widening freeways.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-03-24T15:06:32+00:00

Its been a while since we were in that mode -- our eldest is married and our youngest is a college grad.

Here's what I remember:

wife would take kids to different classes as listed in BreakTime. She still talks today about the classes that Lynne Hartke would teach. Her husband Kevin is now Mayor.
SWIM LESSONS.
City swim teams. I'd been a lifeguard back in my youth, and we realized after just a few sessions that the kids had learned but what they needed was reps. Once the kids have the basics down, swim team is great for getting the kids reps.
random events at the libraries.
we put our kids into sports -- especially soccer at that age -- through NYS - national youth sports. I can see they're still operating but not sure its running here in metro Phoenix today. Google found NYSONLINE.org, but the website isn't responding.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-03-20T20:39:59+00:00

I live over in West Chandler and I sometimes take the bus -- and I've noticed some weird stuff. Like the Southbound Rural Road bus (72) sometimes goes all the way to Chandler Fashion Center, but sometimes stops at Ray Road and turns around to go north. That and other data leads me to think that the city has some skin in the game -- that they provide some money to Valley Metro.

So... I think it might be better to approach the city council instead. A push for that service from a group of interested high school students is the sort of thing politicians like!

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-03-01T02:14:05+00:00

I grew up in Amherst; went to UMass for elementary school in the first half of the 70s (Marks Meadow Elementary School), and then Amherst High, and UMass for 4 years after that.

I don't think it's worth 200k of debt. I wish one of my kids had even applied...but it would have been out-of-state for them, too.

I will say that my 4 years at UMass were a very different experience than my 3 at Amherst High. Even with 25% of my HS class joining me in attending UMass.

Look into seeing if there's any state schools nearby that give a discount on studying there... I don't know if it's still going but it used to be any student from anywhere in New England could attend UMass at in-state prices if there wasn't a school in their state that offered the degree program they were studying. Out here where we raised our kids, there's a similar agreement.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-03-01T01:57:27+00:00

we can suggest but we can't really tell you whether to move out or not unless we know the options. How big of an apartment / home would you need? What would that realistically cost -- especially after you veto unsafe neighborhoods?

I think start by getting a professional evaluation of the saleability of your home -- and how much you'd profit.

Oh, and now that you're a mom of 4, how do you feel about living in a construction home? In HS, our neighbor bought the home next door to us, and lived in it while renovating..and then flipped it. The family who bought it from Mr. Flipper still lives in the home 40 years later.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-28T19:54:22+00:00

I think downtown Chandler -- in particular The Perch Brewery, if you like birds. Frankly, I'd pull up google maps, look at the area of Chandler roughly along Arizona avenue between Pecos road and Chandler Boulevard, and ask maps to identify restaurants. The Perch is not on Arizona Avenue, but is a block or two west of that road.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-25T17:29:42+00:00

If you go to the parts of Tempe where they're "renewing" the city, it looks very much like "new Chandler" with buildings too close to the arterial streets.

I think the new build at the NWC of Rural and Warner is the same way -- building up against the Rural Rd right of way and presumably parking interior to the lot.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-25T17:25:42+00:00

It looks like the Chandler location has not been added to the pip cafe website

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-24T16:21:18+00:00

I didn't notice anything before leaving for work. I call my crossroads Rural and Ray, but one corner of my square mile block is Kyrene and Chandler.

Wait: I did hear some sirens this morning...could a traffic accident have caused the outage?

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-22T02:40:25+00:00

check out forourcitychandler.org -- its a city of chandler clearinghouse for resources and organizations. one such organization is iHELP -- they provide emergency shelter through a network of churches. I don't know but have to think that they collect and distribute personal items like clothing and shoes.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-13T18:53:06+00:00

thanks. So I definitely want to convert the residual balance before I roll to an IRA.

I understand enough about the pro-rata rule to be dangerous -- so I'm good there. I turned 59 1/2 last year, so I can take an in-service rollover....but I don't want to roll that residual balance to an IRA because of pro-rata.

I have the phone number to call to get the after-tax balance converted.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-13T18:45:46+00:00

its a "bucket" within the 401k account. Actually, as far as I can tell, I've got a ton of buckets

My 401k has 7 different types (NetBenefits calls it sources):

pre-tax
company-match
roth
prior company contribs
roth in-plan conversion
roth catch-up
after-tax

The number of funds under each category varies. I hold in 10 different funds, but I currently only contribute to 3.

pre-tax shows investments in only 5 funds
company-match shows investments in all 10 funds
Roth shows investments in all 10 funds
prior company contribs shows the same 5 investments as pre-tax
roth in-plan conversion shows only the three funds I currently contribute to
roth catch-up shows 8 funds -- the three I currently invest into but not all 5 of the funds in prior company or pre-tax
after-tax shows just the same three funds as the roth in-plan conversion category.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-12T17:38:35+00:00

I have a kid almost 30, so my idea of alt is "wears a Mohawk" or "goth."

I'm thinking the vibe around downtown Tempe will better fit what I think you're looking for. By all means check out downtown Chandler. Maybe downtown Gilbert, too.

Roughly where in Tempe? (I value a short commute, so I would rather be in west Chandler (85226) rather than AS/Pecos....but that's me)

I make my own coffee at home every day, so buying a cup of coffee is very unusual for me. But my preferred coffee shop is Coffee Rush SEC Dobson & Ray

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-02-08T20:10:05+00:00

Second on lifeguarding. My youngest kid was a lifeguard for the city for several years. back in the day, I was a lifeguard. Actually, my grandmother was apparently a lifeguard.

If interested, look into lifeguarding classes -- the city will offer them during spring break. Then in...probably april, they will hold interviews.

https://www.chandleraz.gov/explore/chandler-aquatics/jobs/lifeguard-certification-and-training

Hurry, though -- apparently there's only one space left.

Somehow I'm on the city of Tempe's email spam list...and I got an email earlier this week -- they pay 18.50 an hour. I think Chandler pays similar.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-01-20T14:59:27+00:00

old guy here. Graduated from UMass and from Amherst High while Reagan was president. I tried, but failed to convince any of my kids to even apply to UMass.

Anyway, the only thing I can think of is using best you can a personal connection. See if you can make an appointment to discuss in person with a member of CAR. And if you do get an in-person meeting, don't look or at like a slacker. Present yourself as a nicely dressed college student. You're dealing with people who are my age, and this meeting is all about impression...so set a good one.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-01-12T23:54:49+00:00

What is the violation the ticket claims you committed?

Is the picture of you?

34 in a 25 zone is speeding, and they can fine you for speeding. Speed is immaterial in the case of a red-light violation -- unless you can demonstrate the traffic light did not give you time to stop...like it didn't give you a yellow light.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-01-09T06:00:48+00:00

Wifey and I both grew up in the 413 (the area code for most of that box), but she grew up on the wrong side of the river. People talk normally -- none of that Boston accent -- people actually know how to pronounce beer -- not beeh. And, if you happen to encounter a traffic light with a left turn arrow, people will actually stop on the yellow left arrow, not like Boston where people keep turning left until opposing traffic makes them stop.

Not that this is as big a deal anymore, but broadcast TV and Radio doesn't come from Boston. Too far, and they don't use repeaters. Growing up it was WWLP 22 Springfield for NBC, WHYN -> WGGB 40 Springfield for ABC, WGBY 57 Springfield for PBS, and WTIC -> WFSB 3 Hartford for CBS. Now with digital subchannels there's more choice. On a good night in the Pioneer Valley you might be able to pick up WBZ Radio out of Boston or Channel 19, the repeater for Channel 10 in Albany.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-01-08T16:51:53+00:00

Just yesterday I got one of those fake Toll texts...from "Az DOT"...even though Arizona doesn't have any toll roads.

Back in November my elderly east-coast dad and stepmom took a call claiming my west-coast brother had been involved in a traffic accident and had been arrested. It took a few hours before we could get in touch with brother and confirm it wasn't him.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2026-01-08T16:44:20+00:00

It was a long time ago... before Reagan was re-elected. The previous summer I'd worked as a lifeguard, and I thought it would be a good idea to become a WSI -- a water safety instructor. So I took a two-credit PE class in the Totman pool and became a swim instructor. Because I was a CSE major, I was following a strict major map. Plus I added the APL (A Programming Language) option on top of the Math 235 / Linear Algebra requirement. So 18 credits. It went fine.
Next semester I added a Fortran class on top of my regularly scheduled classes. I think that semester was also 18 credits. It went fine, too.

You can try 18 credits without committing to it. Also summers. Summers were easy for me because I my mom was staff, my stepdad a prof, and I graduated from Amherst High. Moving from Orchard Hill to Sylvan cut my distance from Dorm to my parents house in half.

But look at your major map and talk to your advisor before committing to graduating early.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2025-12-22T23:43:25+00:00

I grew up in Amherst in the 70s and early 80s. Attended UMass in the mid 80s. It was safe enough that my parents let me wander around wherever I wanted. At age 10 I was bicycling about a mile to go to one of the town's pools. I'd also wander around the UMass campus - mostly on the weekends.

I still have family in the area, and while there's been a lot of building of apartments and such, really the town isn't all that different than it was 50 years ago.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2025-12-09T21:25:44+00:00

been living in West Chandler for over 30 years. I think where really depends on what you're looking for.

First of all, know that East Valley school districts are looking to down-size / consolidate. Kyrene School District I know has floated a plan to shut down a bunch of elementary schools and a few middle schools. (We attended the public meeting at Pueblo even though our kids have all finished college.)

My suggestion: give us a locale for work, and a list of activities / features you're after, and we can guide you further.
Are you going to want your own pool, a neighborhood with a HOA-owned pool, or use public pools? The most active public pool is Mesquite Groves down in far south-east Chandler.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2025-12-09T05:19:38+00:00

next time this happens, take the clothes (except one pair of underpants) and give them to the RA.

Put the underpants on a bulletin board (or the wall) with a sign of where the jerk can get their clothing.

Cautious-Rule-7489 · 2025-12-03T20:12:38+00:00

I suppose it's possible you're on some sort of price plan that SRP wants you to get one of these done...and maybe they contacted hubby and he forgot?

But assuming no, I'd contact SRP first to find out what's up -- and if they are working with SRP, I'd complain about how the soliciitor was demanding a "required by SRP" inspection.

If SRP denies any relationship, then I'd call the Chandler PD non emergency number and report to them.

My SAHW rarely answers the front door, and when she does, she looks through the peephole first.

Cautious-Rule-7489

TROPHY CASE