What I WISH I Knew BEFORE Moving to Arizona from Illinois

What I WISH I Knew BEFORE Moving to Arizona from Illinois.

A few years ago, our family moved to Gilbert, AZ without really knowing much of anything about the area. Here are the 7 things I wish we knew BEFORE making that move.

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Rich Brecklin
The Brecklin Group
Arizona Life
ΓEA⅃ Broker LLC

#relocatingtoarizona #movingtoarizona #movingfromillinois #phoenixarizona #arizonacostofliving #housingmarket #banking #mortgagerates #arizonarealestate #phoenixarizonarealestate

[TortShort]

i moved to arizona 50+ years ago from illinois and never went back...no regrets whatsoever...i love this state and its beauty and diversity never ceases to amaze me...at 71, i consider myself a native...it takes a special person to make arizona their forever home🌵🌵🌵

[RandomGreymane]

I currently live in IL and frankly I’ve has this discussion with my friends in Flagstaff - AZ cold is usually not the same as Northern Illinois cold. I’m damn tired of -37F to -50F winters _without_ wind chill. I can handle 32F. Also, if you’re going to move to a state embrace that state. Don’t be a Wisconsin person living in Arizona for example. Move to Arizona, then you learn to BE in Arizona not where you came from.

[BirdDogOffRoadAdventures]

In the process of moving there from Chicago, glad I came across this video.

[trumpshare]

I made the move from the NW suburbs of Chicago over twenty years ago and never looked back and quite frankly never going back to that corrupt, crime infested, high tax $h1780le . AZ is Property tax friendly, better weather and best of all no White Sox fans!!! It's always been a "mild" winter...not a warm Rick tame your expectations!

[lcpdwife]

Love AZ, we're gonna move there someday soon when hubby retires. Gilbert or Chandler are at the top of our list!!

[robertf]

After covid traffic anywhere in the valley traffic is very bad. You are exactly right about the winter and the cold, I’m from NY and I wasn’t expecting that but I kinda like it. Everyone thinks there’s no change in seasons. Come visit in December. People don’t realize the humidity here is practically zero. That’s why the it gets so hot in summer and way too cold in winter. You’re spot on with drivers. People drive like there’s no speed limit on any road.

[cashstore]

Don't ever think that all of Arizona has the same climate of Phoenix. If you are thinking about Arizona it's not a city, it is vast. For example Flagstaff has nearly the same climate as Michigan being 7000 feet up. Flagstaff however is dry, but can get a lot of snow (Flagstaff got 13 feet of snow last winter). Here in Prescott we are much cooler than Phoenix being over 5000 feet up. Phoenix is Phoenix, then you have the rest of the state. Elevation is everything. Thanks for pointing that out.

[bchristian]

The cold is pretty nice. Back east, I enjoyed autumn but not winter. The coldest days here are like a crisp fall day back east.

[SonoraSlinger]

Moved here from the Adirondacks. A stones throw from the Canada boarder.
Got an acre ranch for 1800 a month to start out.
Ill be damned if i ever shovel that old, rocky, 300 foot incline driveway again.

[micahpage]

The winter you mentioned was one of the coldest in recent history. The prior winter was in the mid 60's to high 70's all winter.

[retirementbootcampoff-grid]

Grew up in Midwest, retired to NORTHWEST AZ last year. Oh my goodness binge watching myself into a stupor great content. 🙂

[jeanouellette]

Moved to Phoenix from Rockford, IL in 1986 to go to ASU. The plan was to move to California in 4 years. By the time I graduated, I had no interest in moving to California after multiple visits. And realized I love Arizona. I have no plans to leave.

[tonymontana]

Moved here from So Cal 2 months ago --- wife and I love it here. We moved to boarder of Queen Creek/San Tan Valley. Never felt more at home.

The 'hottest city in the country' reputation is TRUE but also not true.

Yes its the hottest --- but also its not miserable

Like you said the dry heat is a GIANT difference.

When its 114 here its 106 in Austin and Austin in freakin humid.

The south, houston, FL --- go outside for 5 minutes and you legit need to take a shower afterwards.

Yes its the hottest place but its not even close to the most miserable

like you said 90 degrees here is NOTHING like 90 degrees in those places. 90 degrees here when its dry is comfortable --- super weird but I'll take it!

[morphergaming]

Also from Illinois I had moved to Mesa in 98 then moved to Arkansas in 16 to be closer to family in Illinois. I long to go back to AZ and what I miss the most is everything feels shiny and new, no rust belt views with a sense of hopelessness. Runner up is the desert which I never would thought I would like the landscape but hiking it is so tranquil, breathtaking, awe inspiring, and colorful in person. Frankly it was a mistake to leave, I so regret it.

[angelicasingh]

Chicagoan here moved to AZ short-term for school. Differences: dry heat as opposed to humidity, more spread out towns, lots of highways with higher speed limits, no tolls, cheaper gas, more portholes on roads, more homeless people, for me my skin darkened as a person of color bc I didn’t wear sunscreen

[susangetz]

I have a home in Payson, AZ. I love the summers there. Live in Peoria for about 5 months a year and the rest in Payson. I can escape the heat in the valley. 😊

[hankmoody]

I'm over the heat. I can't do another summer here.

[rockpadstudios]

I was driving my RV from San Diego to MN and I mis-calculated and hit Phoenix as it was getting dark. I had no idea how much traffic and how big it was. I was pulling a jeep so couldn't change lanes easy and this one guy hit his horn pissed. They were driving crazy fast, finally got out of it all after hours. I really had no idea how big it was.

[manilamartin]

Made me laugh as soon as you said Gilbert. That ain't phoenix. That's a tough commute from the badlands. I'm watching from the philippines and new to your channel. Great video and great advice.

[mikesharp]

Go on vacation here at different times of the year if you can before you move here. Most deserts have wide temperature swings between summer and winter. It doesn't matter where you live it's a universal truth. If you can't handle that stay where you are and deal with it. Do you your homework first. The Phoenix Metro area is a big place with big city problems like any other big city. If you want to get to someplace cooler in the summer you have to travel far to get there. Gas is expensive here. Not as expensive as California but it's getting there. I've lived in the Phoenix area since I was in high school. I've seen Phoenix go from a relatively nice place to live to getting crazy place to live and people are still moving here. One of the problems we will have is water shortages. Phoenix is in a desert so we don't get a lot of rain on average. Also we're in the middle of a drought and haven't had consistent precipitation in a long time. Remember water is life and if you don't have enough to sustain your population you will die. Each of our cities may say they are different but we all have the same problems.