Wow..lots of responses to read through. I am in Western PA currently. I have a couple acres, stream across the road; easy gardening. My reasons for moving are purely social (i.e., getting away from undesirables who won’t leave me alone). I grew up in very southern CA. I was exposed to 108+ degree days most of my life. The problems I am facing now are very high costs to keep my home warm across long winters, (again) escaping a family of crazies, and possibly increasing my wealth. The down side is it sounds like I will have to be very choosy about location in order to grow anything and I have LOTS to read about the water and water table out there (here, 30 inches down is natural shallow springs).
One plus living in Phoenix is the close proximity to southern CA and the beaches etc. We go to San Diego every summer.
Air conditioning costs are considerable. Our 1200 sq ft house highest summer bill is $200. We have a single level ranch though. Watch out for 2 story homes, summer utilities can be much higher.
The valley is sonoran desert. Lots of sun but nothing grows without irrigation other than desert plants.
If you buy horse property or some acreage in the fringes you can grow citrus and other items but be prepared for a lot of work and little profit unless you quit your day job. Gardening is okay for showy stuff, but other than a few citrus trees that is all you are likely to do. Roses do better than you would expect.
Find a job first and then rent in an area you like in that segment of town. Be prepared to not understand that all the little cookie cutter subdivisions all look the same but some may have a lot of problems while others don’t.
I have guys that work for me that love the east valley, or Cave Creek, or Chandler, Surprise, Peoria or Buckeye but they are all 35 miles apart.
WOW! I’ve been looking for someone to catch me up on Western PA! I haven’t been there in a few years...I’m very familiar with P’burgh, Washington, and points South. Almost forgot Port Vue-never saw so many fat (and very friendly) chicks in my life!
Grand-daughter lived in Monessen-what a s**thole! Is it still that way? BTW, Frances McDormand grew up there...
I’d appreciate any updates!
You did not tell us where your prospective employment was to be. That can make all the difference. We moved to Phoenix 40 years ago. When we bought our second house, my primary requirement be that it was within 15 drive of work. My wife managed to find a place and we have lived in Glendale in the same home for over 33 years.
You also did not talk about kids. School quality varies in the valley. For instance, on the west side I would suggest Peoria over Phoenix for school districts.
A lot of coworkers grow tomatoes. We grew okra for a couple of years. One of my friends kept a compost heap and did normal truck gardening. You might have to spend some effort on the soil composition. It can be pretty lousy.