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Possibly Moving to Arizona! NERVOUS

Posted February 15th, 2008 by njmommoving

family

Hello all! My name is Helen and my family and I are thinking about moving to Arizona from New Jersey. I am really scared and don't know what to expect! If there is anyone out there with advice I would appreciate it! I have 2 children, Irene 4 and Stavros 2 1/2 and would like to move to an area where the school system is AMAZING!
thanks.

Helen

You'll find some good ones,

On February 15th, 2008 momto1lil1 says:

You'll find some good ones, but "amazing" will probably be hard to come by considering Arizona ranks 48th in the nation when it comes to education so it's going to be a little difficult to find something that will compare to amazing......

Hi Helen~ Well, amazing is

On February 15th, 2008 decthmpsn says:

Hi Helen~

Well, amazing is relative. Yes, school districts are important but it has to be coupled with the child's willingness to learn. When I first moved to PHX, I lived in the east valley: tempe, gilbert, chandler, mesa area. PHX has really grown over the past decade.

The internet will definately aid in your search to locate a school for your children. The first step is to research west valley versus east valley, etc to determine where you want to live. It also depends on where your job is located. But overall, with a little time and research, you should find an area that is safe, family oriented, with the schools you feel meet the standard you have for your children.
Happy searching!

"The Lord is great and greatly to be praised." Ps 96:4

You can go to

On February 15th, 2008 flyerg says:

You can go to www.greatschools.com and find out everything you need to know about any school, anywhere. I live in Tempe and my kids have gone through Broadmor Elementary. It is an excelling school and the number of Broadmor alumns who are honor students in high school is very high. I know parents who bring their kids from all parts of the valley to go to this school. And about the 48th ranking, I personally don't believe it. Those rankings are skewed in so many ways. I went to elementary school and jr high school in the Fairfax County schools in Virginia (supposedly the #1 school district in the country) and I think my kids education in the Tempe Elementary School District and on into the Tempe Union High School district has been outstanding. Hope this helps.

sure, fine, whatever

Actually, it's

On February 18th, 2008 Optimist says:

Actually, it's greatschools.net

Gilbert is VERY family oriented...Tempe too, I think.

I hear many moms who have moved from out of state comment that Gilbert is so family friendly, that they feel like reconsidering the number of children that they first settled on and having more.

We came from NY and really like it here.

"Only a life lived for others, is the life worthwhile" - Albert Einstein

Hi Helen: We moved to

On February 16th, 2008 mgriggs says:

Hi Helen:

We moved to Fountain Hills from NJ almost two years ago and just love the lifestyle out here. Fountain hills has a great school district and is so family friendly.. I have 2 boys (5 and 1)---

Take the leap-- we did and have no regrets.

We still visit my husband's family in NJ--
Good luck with moving---

Wow Ladies, Thank you so

On February 16th, 2008 njmommoving says:

Wow Ladies, Thank you so much for the responses. They make me feel better. I am just nervous for the move. My entire family is here in NJ and we are moving all the way to the other side of the country. But it's for the best. How is the life style different than NJ? The homes are amazing! I am excited about that..:)

Helen

It is always scary to move.

On February 16th, 2008 hobbymommy says:

It is always scary to move. I moved here 4 years ago from South Dakota and my entire family is still there. My children are still little Alexa (3) and Cade (1) so I haven't checked out a lot of schools yet, but we are in the east valley and love it. I got involved in a MOPS group, a playgroup, plus activities like Gymboree classes, etc. In a very short time, this felt like home and have made some great friends. The trick is getting yourself out there and meeting people! There are a lot of transplants here, so I thought making friends was easy, and of course, you can't beat the weather!

Hobbymommy, 38, is a discussion leader from Mesa. She is a happy stay-at-home mommy to a 3-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son.

Ultimately you have to

On February 16th, 2008 cmilczarek says:

Ultimately you have to decide, but here are my opinions...

I went to High School in Scottsdale and the north valley is a bit pretentious, not something I'm interested in. I don't care to get all dolled up to take my kids to school or go to the grocery store!

We live in the Chandler/Gilbert area and love it! It's family oriented, great schools (the public schools have great scores and there are several charter school options and even some public school alternatives), great recreation programs (preschool classes, tumbling, art, etc.).

Also, just one other opinion... I've never lived on the west side, but the crime rate seems to be higher over there.

Good luck!

I think a lot depends on

On February 18th, 2008 Ericka says:

I think a lot depends on what you are looking for in an area as well.

As people said the east valley areas like Gilbert and Mesa are very family oriented, but they are also very "suburb" in comparison to some areas.

Scottsdale is more upptiy but I think the city has a lot to offer for adults (museums, cultural events and venues etc.) and they do tend to put a lot of money in to their city. Awahtukee is similar also but more on the south end of Phoenix.

Central Phoenix has some nice areas such as what is called the "central corridor" and a few nice historic districts but they are also among some not so nice areas.

The far west side seems to be developing a lot like the east side and you see it geared more towards family living as well.

Where you are working should be a big part as well because traffic here can be horrible, so you might want to have your "essentials" close by.

Maybe when you guys start finding some places you could drop them here and we can tell you pros and cons of the areas you've narrowed it down to.