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Post by tenacious on May 24, 2016 3:32:00 GMT
Black widows?!? No one told me about those!! :-( Ugh. We have had several tarantulas in our backyard, and those scare me less than black widows. Okay, I am allowing myself a moment of spider/scorpion anxiety, then I am bucking up. *whoooooo* Glad to know about the trails. I just can't imagine not be being able to get my hiking in during the week. It is the only thing that keeps me sane!! Thanks! Erin ETA-the potential job is in Gilbert, so, hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with much commuter traffic. I hate to freak you out, but we had black widow issues in Utah. I live North of you, so maybe there's less where you live. No, I know that. :-) I had one in my mailbox once, but, not such a big problem in our neighborhood. It's just that I thought you traded the really scary spiders for scorpions in AZ, not that you had BOTH! That is just cruel and unfair. Erin
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Post by orangepretzels on May 24, 2016 4:01:27 GMT
I am in QC on the edge of Gilbert. Lots of pros, heat is the only con and traffic to Sky Harbor Airport. Honestly, it is very nice and lots of things for your kids to do. Here is a great site to find out all you want to know about the valley. www.city-data.com/forum/phoenix-area/index4.htmlJust do a search for Gilbert.
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Post by jengels999 on May 24, 2016 6:18:24 GMT
I hate to freak you out, but we had black widow issues in Utah. I live North of you, so maybe there's less where you live. No, I know that. :-) I had one in my mailbox once, but, not such a big problem in our neighborhood. It's just that I thought you traded the really scary spiders for scorpions in AZ, not that you had BOTH! That is just cruel and unfair. Erin I think I live really close to you here, and we have had a few black widows at our house. Probably would not have to deal with the voles in AZ though. Janell
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on May 24, 2016 11:48:58 GMT
I am a native, so take my views for what they are worth. I love it here. Gilbert is a nice part of the valley although I live on the west side of town. Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the nation. Driving from one end of town to the other can take 90 minutes or more. Crazy.
Schools are good in Gilbert as well. Summer. Is. Hot. No sugar coating it - the heat is just hitting right now and will last through Sept. You learn to deal with it. In the summer, that means time indoors, at the mall or at the movies between 1 and 7. However, be forewarned - it can easily still be 100 degrees at 10 or 11 p.m. Easily. If you have a pool, you can't really swim in the middle of the day - it's too hot. People love swimming in the evening and at night. Lisa ^^^ that! I've lived in the Phx area for about 11 years now and have gotten used to the heat-- but around the end of September I'm so over it and it's still a month or two before it really gets nice again. (it's like waiting for spring in Illinois...) And the traffic is CRAZY. Be prepared for that, when it comes to looking for a place to live / work, etc. I drive 35 miles one way to work on the I-10 (4 lanes of traffic each direction) and depending on the time of day it can take me anywhere from 45 min - 1 1/4 hour, and that's only if there ISN'T an accident. Afternoon rush hour traffic levels start ramping up at around 2 - 2:30 pm and it doesn't wind down again until probably close to 7 pm. Just something to be aware of. Don't get me wrong, we do like living here, lol!! We live in Maricopa, a town about 35 miles southwest of Phoenix-- we drive thru miles of Indian reservation to get to the Valley-proper, and it's gorgeous-- sunrise or sunset over the mountains, sometimes seeing the wild horses that live on the Reservation, etc. Occasionally we hear the coyotes in the golf course that goes thru our subdivision. But the crazy traffic and summer heat is starting to wear on us a bit as we get older. How long did it take you to get used to the smell there? Ugh. You do have an impressive water treatment facility there.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on May 26, 2016 18:11:31 GMT
raindancer : haven't been here for a while, so missed this thread-- yeah, the smell-- lol!! It depends on where you live in town and what the wind is doing. We used to live out on the eastern edge of town very close to a Hickman's egg-processing facility... Growing up in small-town Illinois, I'll take cows over chickens any day!! Where we live (the north edge of town) we only smell the dairy every once in a while, and sometimes the ethanol plant. But there are plenty of places around the Valley where you have to deal with agricultural smells. As for the water-treatment plant?!? HA!! Don't get me started!! We have some of the most expensive water in the Valley and it sucks donkey balls!! It may be a nice facility but we're paying dearly for it and we hate it. ($90 a month just for the privilege of having water service, before you ever turn on a faucet or flush a toilet!! )
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on May 26, 2016 18:49:38 GMT
raindancer : haven't been here for a while, so missed this thread-- yeah, the smell-- lol!! It depends on where you live in town and what the wind is doing. We used to live out on the eastern edge of town very close to a Hickman's egg-processing facility... Growing up in small-town Illinois, I'll take cows over chickens any day!! Where we live (the north edge of town) we only smell the dairy every once in a while, and sometimes the ethanol plant. But there are plenty of places around the Valley where you have to deal with agricultural smells. As for the water-treatment plant?!? HA!! Don't get me started!! We have some of the most expensive water in the Valley and it sucks donkey balls!! It may be a nice facility but we're paying dearly for it and we hate it. ($90 a month just for the privilege of having water service, before you ever turn on a faucet or flush a toilet!! ) That's insane. But truthfully the state is going to be forced into a ghost state if water isn't conserved via some means. Tucson has only 50 years left barring the any further growth and only if California doesn't divert all of the Colorado River (which they have the right to do). It's just not sustainable to have people living there doing what they have always done. If water is something that costs so much it makes it less likely to be wasted and it makes it less attractive to people moving into the state...which is good and bad.
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stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,589
Location: In the leaves and rain.
Jun 25, 2014 19:57:33 GMT
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Post by stittsygirl on May 26, 2016 19:45:44 GMT
We lived in a newish development down further south in AZ, and had freaking scorpions in our house all the time, even with pest control. Maybe it has something to do with the general area and age of the housing development.
The big pro for me was monsoon season though. Loved it! We enjoyed our five years in AZ overall, but the heat can be a deal breaker.
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