Hubby and I are thinking about moving to Arizona and have been looking at some luxury homes in the area. Granted, we know that we can’t afford a $500,000, but it is nice to look at them and dream. In actuality, we can only afford $200,000 dollar homes, but the nice thing about moving to Arizona is that for $200,000 we can buy a house that sort of resembles a luxury home.
So, why Arizona? Well, for one thing it is hot. We both hate the cold and love the heat. Also, I love teaching HS English and would like to teach a more ESL population and Arizona, while not the best educational state in the country, there are some pretty nice schools with growing ESL programs. And, the cost of living is cheaper. Yes, I know, the salaries will be lower, but as a teacher making 40,000 out in Az. opposed to 45,000 in NY, we will actually be able to afford a house.
So, if you live in Az, drop me a comment and let me know a little about the place.
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December 11th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Hi - I’m in Tucson and have been (in denial) for about 14 years. I’m the mother of a five-year-old…. I’d be happy to answer whatever questions you might have. I’d say yes, you can have a decent living at $40k a year, if your other half is making more than that. Things here aren’t nearly as cheap as they once were and salaries still lag behind. That said, $200,000 will still buy you a decent house and neither of us have an hour-long commute or work more than a 40 hour week (and this is true for most of our friends). We have time together to spend as a family and nine good months spent out of doors.