Mexstan

Just received a call from another head hunter and they are trying to pull me out of retirement and are suggesting three places for me to consider. The only two that are of interest to me are Seattle or Mesa, Arizona. I have lived in the Seattle area for a few years, so know that part of the world, but know nothing abut Mesa. What can you folks tell me about Mesa? Cost of living, good/ bad things about the area, best parts to live in, the climate etc etc. I know for sure that it has a lot more sunny days and is considerably dryer than Seattle.

Baja

I lived in Mesa years ago, and I am sure that some local 'zonies will respond. Weather, come sometime in June expect the first 100 degree day. Believe it or not, it is still comfortable up to 103, after that, plan on wilting. In fact, plan on doing a LOT of wilting as the summer temps will often go over 110+, and when it does, the thought of Hell will come to mind. You are just West of the Superstition Wilderness, which is a amazing playground for both offroading or backpacking in Winter. I found AZ to be a great state for outdoor activity, so if you like that sort of stuff, there is a ton to do in wildly different environments. Go North in the Summer, stay South or Central in Winter. It is very open, about 70% is Federal, so it is not fenced off. For me, and everyone is different, I found the heat too much and I had to move. My wife is from the Phx area, so I often go there for visits.

newriverSpecon

Don't let the heat scare you. Just make sure the A/C in your truck is fully functional. Housing market has been going nuts the last couple of years. Prices are pretty inflated right now, but will probably hold and continue barring a total colaspe of the economy. Just because the job is in Mesa doesn't mean you have to live there. The Phoenix metro area is pretty large. Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Queen Creek, ect... are all easy drives to any of the others. Personally I would go Gilbert, Queen Creek, or Chandler in that order. Mesa has the highest (i think) car theft of the Valley. Which is already pretty high. Insurance rates are $30-40 a month higher for each auto. There are lots of things in town and out to do. If you like driving there is some very pretty (and ugly) places to go through.

If you have any questions PM me.
Randy

Patrick Campbell

I don't know anything about Mexico but given my stereotypical images I wouldn't think the weather is much different there. Mesa is part of the Phoenix suburban sprawl. So you wouldn't have to live in Mesa... you could live in Tempe, Phoenix, etc.

I lived in Mesa for a few months with a friend until I got my own place and liked it a lot, but parts of Mesa are not nice at all. I am partial to the north east Mesa (zip code 85215) which backs up to an indian reservation and a national forest so you know there can only be a limited amount of development and building in that area.

crobtex

OH NO! Not another Mexstan coming north!

Just kidding, Bud. Seattle and Mesa are truely opposites as far as climate and culture. One wet...one dry...one hot...one mild.

Why in the world would you want o come OUT of retirement? Most people are trying to get there.

Mexstan

Thanks guys for the answers so far. Any more?
Patrick, you are right about your stereotype image of Mexico. Have you been watching too much TV. This is a huge country with varied weather much as you have in the US. Where I live is very temperate, which is why we call it Paradise (better than where FiverBob lives). OK we don't have the water like he does but we also do not have high humidity, no earthquakes, no hurricanes/tornados and no extremes in temps. A really hot day in my city where everybody is 'dying' may reach 90 degrees.
Crobtex, yup, you may just have another one heading north. The difference between this one and the others is that I would be legal AND pay taxes - lots of taxes!!! As to why I would come out of retirement to do this. A one word answer - money. If they make me an offer I can't refuse it will just be a one year contract, so that's not too bad.

crobtex

I understand "too good to turn down.". Good luck and thanks in advance for the tax $$$.

newriverSpecon

It is usually a good thing when they put to many zero's to ignore on the table.


If you don't have anything better to do, visit both. Crobtex, it snows in seattle. That is not mild! That white stuff is good every few years. anyomre then that is just plain nuts. That is why I live here.

Randy

Jambbii

Mexstan, the cost of housing has about doubled in the past 2 years. Its starting to slow down now. There are many nice housing commuinities in Mesa too. Like others have stated there are some crappy parts of mesa but not many. Well what the others have not mentioned is the monsoon season we get in the summer time. Once in a while we get dust storms but most of the time just high humidity, or higher than normal for us and occasional evening showers/storms. But if you can handle that for a month or the weather is not too bad. If you like a cloudy sky then dont move up here, we rarely get them I just moved to gilbert and I love it. We have a cummins center about 20 minutes away from us too!

Josh