[quote=Want_to_Retire]Bearishgurl, you have some bad traffic mojo in Phoenix! I’ve stayed there off and on for a year and what always impressed me was how quick and easy it was to get anywhere. I will grant you I10 from downtown west and I17 north can be pretty crappy because that’s where a lot of the new developments are, but still unless freeway construction is in full swing they can’t be compared to the daily gridlock through any major LA/OC/SD freeway.
Another thing I like about Phoenix is you can live decently – house, yard, nice schools, pretty close to the center of town. $350k will get you a nice newer house in established north central Phoenix, 4/3, 2500 sf, Paradise Valley Schools (best in Phoenix), 10 minutes to Desert Ridge (new hyper shopping and entertainment center), 15 minutes to Kierlands and Scottsdale Corner (Newport Fashion Island and LA Westside Pavilion combined – sorry no such animal I’m aware of in SD), 20 minutes to Scottsdale businesses, 20 minutes to Tempe (FIrst Solar), 30 minutes to Chandler (Intel and other high tech companies), and 20 minutes to Sky Harbor for that short hop vacay in California. I know theres a lot of Cali bias against Arizona – I used to have them too. But having worked (and stayed) here for a longer duration has definitely changed my outlook. Yes I still like he ocean and green hills (well, amber hills until the raining season) – but I have to say Phoenix can actually be an easier and cheaper place to live (I didn’t notice the high grocery prices, restaurants and bars can be Socal expensive but often are not, and gas is more like 20% cheaper).[/quote]
Thanks for your post, Want_to_Retire. If you don’t mind my asking, are you planning on retiring in AZ? :=]
And if you don’t mind indulging me, I have several questions about these “theoretical” 4/3 2500 sf homes for ~$350K in PHX:
Are they typically a ranch-style or two-story?
How big is their average lot?
Is RV access available on any of these lots?
What would you say is the average utility bill (gas & elec) for the month of August for a 2500 sf home in PHX?
What percentage of the subject neighborhood has been “in distress” (read: “underwater”) since 2008?
Would you consider this area to be “established, with many long-term owners” or “not well established, with many (past and present) distressed properties?”
How much per month will a typical 2500 sf SFR in this area rent for?
How many miles away from the intersection of I-10 and I-17 is this area?
Would you personally consider these homes to be “well-built?”
And, how much does a ~2500 sf ranch-style SFR with a pool-sized lot and located within 15 miles of downtown PHX sell for today?
Thanks again for any insight you can lend us here.
