Finally moving to Scottsdale, Arizona!

[Eskil]

Howdy partners…
Since moving back to the states from Norway in 2010, our plan all along was to get settled somewhere else than WA state (where we have lived now for 4 years).

Our plan for years was to get back to California, but after hearing the constant praise of Arizona from the likes of MJ and several of my forum friends here, I started thinking more and more that maybe Scottsdale, AZ would be the right place to be after all! Then this past February, at B&P, I was really sold. Knowing how many people from the forum here who calls the place home – it just felt right to be closer to my fellow entrepreneurs. And besides – the more I told the wife and kids about the place (and the more they researched it themselves) – the more eager they were to move there too!

And now I’m excited to say that we are only 10 days away from making our big move to Scottsdale.
Can’t wait to soak up the sun in our new backyard while I think up new ways to grow my businesses!!

Thanks a ton to @Red for helping us with the relocation!

So of course I have some questions for y’all too:

Best ______ service?
Instead of Googling this, I prefer asking you guys here.
- What fast/reliable/good ISP service do you recommend in Scottsdale?
- How about cable / phone companies? Same as above, bundled? Or best to keep separate?

Now... who here lives in the general area?
Off the top of my head:
@MJ DeMarco
@Genium
@AllenCrawley
@Red
@biophase
@bensonj
@VinceT
@Catalyst
@SteveO
Did I forget anybody?

Others, like RealOG, JasonR, AndrewNC, and TheTruth are on temporary leaves away from the area but might come back Now we just need to talk even more people to going, so we can build a small commune, lol.

Will all the rest of you who live in the general Scottsdale/Phoenix/surrounding areas here please raise your hands? If anyone wants to meet up some time after we get settled in, I’m all for it!

Bonus question - what lesser known fact might pleasantly surprise me about Scottsdale after moving there?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Vigilante]

A word of caution. I may say what people there might be too polite to say.

Eskil, this post is not directed towards you or have anything to do with you moving there. It's for people curious as to the perception that people are flocking to Scottsdale faster than a 80 year old Minnesotan after winning the lottery.

DON'T MOVE THERE BECAUSE YOU THINK IT MIGHT GET YOU A GOLDEN TICKET TO BE PART OF THE CLUB.

Why? Because there is no club. Read that again. There IS no club. There's no commune. There's no regular meet up. There's no expectations. There's no guaranteed network. There's no friendship base just waiting for you to complete the clique.

You might have a chance to meet a few more people from the forum as a few more are concentrated there than anywhere else. As is the case in any major city, there are forum members who live there. You might on occasion meet some of them.

However, don't move there thinking that there's a great social club that you will join. You're not likely to be come MJ's (or Allens, or Biophases, or...) new BFF. Hell, Biophase spends more time on the back of an elephant in Africa than he does wishing you would join him in Scottsdale.

There are stories of the opposite happening. There are stories of people moving there with the expectation that Fast Lane members hang out together 24-7 in a commune, and get there disillusioned to find out that there's no Fast Lane Welcoming Committee at the airport.

Select it for the same reasons you pick to live anywhere. Scottsdale is AWESOME 9 months out of the year, and more tolerable than other climates even in the bad months. The area is beautiful, the city is cool, and the climate is pretty great.

Do NOT move to Scottsdale because a lot of Fast Lane Forum members live there. The same could be said about Dallas, areas of California, and eventually multiple islands on Hawaii.

There's no club for you to join when you get there. You're not likely going to get invited over to Jason's apartment for a bar-b-que pool party every Sunday (unless you are an extremely hot and extremely rich chick, then you probably will.)

Just wanted to throw a reasonably cold blanket over the momentum so that people don't get the wrong impression.

Carry on and buy your plane tickets, kids. Just do it for the right reasons.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Eskil]

YAY! We made it here safe! After a grueling long, trecherous drive in a P.O.S. Uhaul truck that leaked oil all the way across 1800 miles (over mountains, deserts, and storms) - we effin' made it to Scottsdale! I am now officially a Scottsdaler too! Will write more soon as I'm just typing this on my phone..

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[JasonR]

We're thinking about setting up a small office in Scottsdale, mainly for @TheTruth and I, but we be open to sharing it with some other entrepreneurs in the area.

Ideally, we'd have some extra space and a few desks if some Fastlaners/Entrepreneurs wanted to drop by and hang out for a few days, or something.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[AllenCrawley]

Maybe I missed it somewhere in the thread but... What is it about Scottsdale/Phoenix? I've heard of a few other entrepreneurs choosing Arizona before joining The Fastlane Forum and now I see it consistently while reading post on here. What's the deal?!?

The #1 reason I moved here is because of the weather and beautiful southwest scenery. I lived in Yuma for a short period when I was young and had vacationed here a couple times so I knew I wanted to live here. 320+ days a year of sunshine is amazing.

The cost of living here is about the same as living in Indiana (where I moved from). In some aspects is even cheaper living here.

From what I understand Arizona is small business friendly and they are taking steps to appeal to more startups and entrepreneurs. It's a possibility that google fiber will be available here in the near future.

I'll just leave these here...

http://www.experiencescottsdale.com/


For the exotic car lovers out there...

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Congrats! Hope you like heat!

what lesser known fact might pleasantly surprise me about Scottsdale after moving there?

I love the area based on what it doesn't have... graffiti, mosquitoes, litter, and an overzealous police force. Coming from the Chicago suburbs, you'd find a cop on every corner waiting to bust you for speeding. Just look out for the speed cams.

 

[Darius]

Now we just need to talk even more people to going, so we can build a small commune, lol.

I'll be moving to scottsdale soon as well.

 

[Vigilante]

For me, the best part of the beach culture / surf culture is nobody gives a shit who you are, where you are from, or even what you drive. It is one of the few places in the world where the only thing that is important is the size of the waves, the strength of the sun, and the pull of the undertow. A beach bum and a billionaire share the same sunset. Labels disappear.

 

[biophase]

There are a bunch of things that you just cannot quantify once you find a place that you like to live. I do like to escape the summers here, so I go back to Chicago in the summer. There are a few things that are immediate to me, things that I don't notice until there aren't there.

For example:
1) The gym is 2 miles away and there's always parking in AZ. In Chicago the gym is 6 miles away but takes 3x as long to get there. Then, the parking lot is so small. When I live in AZ I go almost everyday. When I'm in Chicago, maybe once a week. It's just a convenience thing to do.
2) Traffic. Virtually no traffic where I live. Chicago, traffic all times of the day. I notice alot of horn honking in Chicago. It's virtually nonexistent in AZ. Once you begin to value your time, traffic will just irritate the f&ck out of you.
3) Abundance of healthy restaurants in AZ. Chicago, tons of burger and steak places. Just more accessible in AZ, so I make better choices.
4) 20 minutes away from being in the mountains. Makes me enjoy biking and hiking.
5) LLCs cost pretty much nothing here. Good for me cause I start new businesses every year.
6) Real estate taxes are super low. $1.5m house, $5k taxes. So are rent rates. Yes, you can get a nice 1br condo for $90k in a GREAT neighborhood.

I don't think many of you realize how much weather affects everything. I did not realize it until I moved here. Weather is a huge influence on your life. Weather is just one component of your surroundings, but it's very important. If it wasn't, why do people go beach destinations for vacation? Why do people want great views out of their office, home or hotel rooms?

I had a friend come live with me for 3 weeks during winter earlier this year. In the 2 weeks he was here, he lost 5 lbs. We biked and ate healthy nearly every day. He went back to Chicago and gained it all back. His environment in Chicago was just not conducive to exercising or eating healthy.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

He could have done just as well in Dead-horse Alaska with his mindset.

I'm not sure about that. I'm powered by the sun.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

For example, I give you...Austin:

Deception. I don't see mosquito netting. I haven't been bitten by a mosquito in 10 years. In Austin, I think it happens every 10 seconds.

On a realistic note, I think today is the hottest day of the year so far in Phoenix .... 115 and I even heard 118. in some places. Right about now @Eskil should be saying "WTF was I thinking????"

 

[Eskil]

On a realistic note, I think today is the hottest day of the year so far in Phoenix .... 115 and I even heard 118. in some places. Right about now @Eskil should be saying "WTF was I thinking????"

Haha... I'm honestly totally fine with it. When you've grown up like me, in a place where single and double digits below zero are common for months out of the year - or not seeing the sun for like 2-3 months straight like here in WA... I am looking forward to 115F! Bring it on!

Besides, a thermometer only tells half the story. Humidity, dew point, and "feels like" temperatures is really what matters more if we're gonna compare AZ to other places. Summers in Norway (and WA) can get SUPER super muggy, sticky, and humid as heck - even at like 80-85F. That to me is way worse than a dry, dry 110.

 

[JasonR]

See you there in October!

 

[SteveO]

Some of us do some things together. That is because we are friends. Some of us also meet occasionally for lunch or coffee. I enjoy talking about business with people that understand my language. It is not frequent, but we do meet-up sometimes.

Most people that I know DO NOT GIVE A F*ck about what I am doing. Nor would they care about what other people are working on. That is the reason that I am on this forum.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Eskil]

@Vigilante - Yes that is a good thing to point out for people who might think moving here is an instant ticket to daily dinners with MJ, a secret TMF freemason style club house, weekly mastermind sessions, and a guaranteed boost in your business because of all that. (lol).

No for me like I've said weather/climate plays a major role, but I do also know that I will in fact get to meet some of my friends there from time to time. Be it once a month or sporadically, I don't care. At least I will have the option to go hang out with my friends there now, and they can come hang out with me. Whether we'll talk business, play a game of poker, or just have lunch together doesn't matter. It's about friendships - and not forever being limited to interacting with the same people only through Skype and emails.

 

[Eskil]

What didnt you like about WA state? I have so many friends who are moving there from Southern California and Arizona I lost count...

Lol... well, what DID I like here?
No I mean, just like Norway (where I'm from), Washington's summers CAN sometimes be very nice. And I did like being so close to the ocean, and always seeing beautiful snowcapped mountains in the horizon everywhere. They do have some amazing walking trails here, with lush, moss-covered trees that are centuries old, and BIG.

But... again like Norway, Washington's fall and winter leaves less to be desired. Come October, you can pretty much forget about spending time outside again until like March/April. 6 months of the year you're stuck indoors, looking out the window at grey skies, rain, fog, and more rain. And temps in the 40's and 50's (at best). And even the spring and summer time isn't always that nice either. I like predictable weather. And you don't get that here. You can't plan shit more than a few days ahead because you never know when the next downpour will come, OR sunshine for that matter. It's all a roll of the dice. So that's another thing that wasn't for me.

My favorite places that I have been to are: Southern California, Hawaii, and Arizona. They all have in common that they pretty much have an eternal summer, predictable and constant sun and heat. Perfect! Oh and palm trees. Lots of palm trees. None of that in WA, lol.

Now ideally, I would prefer a place like Santa Barbara, CA or Maui, HI over Scottsdale - simply because of the ocean and beaches they give access to. That's one sacrifice of going to AZ. But we can always travel and see those places. Maybe get a vacation home at some point and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Now my counter question when I hear people moving TO a place like Washington is: What made those people leave a nicer climate to go to a worse one? (other than work or perhaps family, which was our original reason).

 

[biophase]

Eskil, that backyard looks alot like mine! Cox internet is super fast where I live. I have Directv for cable. I think what will surprise you is how much it's going to rain in August. And when it rains, it really rains!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[biophase]

Our yards are practically twins... except mine is messy.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Eskil]

You can eventually navigate yourself into having the best of both worlds. We will spend seven months on Maui in late 2015 and into 2016, completely skipping the worst of the seasonality on the mainland.

Yep! This is basically my entire Fastlane lifestyle 'game plan'. Have a home base in sunny, entrepreneurial Scottsdale. Then maybe go visit family in Norway when Norwegian summers are at their peak, then X months of the year stay in places like Maui and elsewhere

 

[AndrewNC]

I'm not sure about that. I'm powered by the sun.

I have a feeling that the sun that powers Arizona is not the same sun as the one that rises and sets in the rest of the world...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[JasonR]

For me, the best part of the beach culture / surf culture is nobody gives a shit who you are, where you are from, or even what you drive. It is one of the few places in the world where the only thing that is important is the size of the waves, the strength of the sun, and the pull of the undertow. A beach bum and a billionaire share the same sunset. Labels disappear.

Yep - this is going to be me one day, not sure where yet.

And - there is a ton of greenery in Scottsdale. Scottsdale SUCKS all the water out from the rest of the Phoenix area.

For real, though, you just won't understand until you move there. Of course, Scottsdale is where I threw my printer off the balcony, quit my job, and started building a real business. It holds much more than just a place to live, for me.

We ran the heater twice last year. Once to see if it actually works, and another because we left our windows open on a "chilly" 45 degree night. We left our windows and patio door open all winter long, and were swimming in October and February.

And, to echo what @Vigilante said, don't expect to hop right in and be surrounded by a ton of entrepreneurs. Building a network takes hard work and time.

 

[AllenCrawley]

I like green too BUT blue is my favorite color.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[SteveO]

Thank god we all have our personal preferences. Otherwise we would all live in one gigantic city.

 

[bensonj]

I love this thread - I moved 3 months ago from Atlanta and other than missing the HECK out of my g-kids - I haven't looked back. It's hot as hades right now but environment is at the top of my list for success.

I'm officially going back to Scottsdale next week and I can't get there fast enough. I'm moving back to the same area - where even the Walmart is cheery and people are friendly…not chewing gum with no teeth and or eye contact. The Walmart in scottsdale has vases (pronounced with a short "a") of silk flowers in the bathroom - art on the walls - the one here in Phx barely has a seat that is fit to sit on...You ride by a fast food place in Scottsdale and you can barely recognize it because it blends in with the landscape… in phoenix it's prominent along with the title loans and pawn shops… and I'm in a nice section of Phoenix…arcadia area - a few blocks from Biltmore area.

I thrive when I surround myself with successful people and can see it wherever I look. Environment is huge!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Eskil]

You made it! I was going to invite you to Cars and Coffee today if you're into that sort of thing, but I figured you might have other priorities at the moment

Oh yeah I definitely want to check that out. Looking at the map, it's only like 3.7 miles from our house so next 1st Sat of September I'll be there.

Went to the grocery store late last night (Fry's)...
Maan... that is the nicest grocery store I've ever seen! Lol.. covered parking, fountains at the door, a nice library-style bookstore in the middle, and more. Lovin' this place!

AND... everyone's SO friendly around here

No wonder people can thrive so well in these surroundings for both personal life and business.

 

[SteveO]

You are jumping right in to the frying pan! It is like a desert here...

Seriously though, I spent a lot of time outside in the heat. It has helped me to get used to it.

Let us know when you are settled in. We can gather up a group and go to lunch.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Eskil]

@Darius and @twdavis - very cool that you're coming to the area as well!

@AllenCrawley and @SteveO - yes we'll have to meet up for sure.

Eskil, that backyard looks alot like mine!

Nice. Looks like we're also just around 5 miles away from where you live. We should definitely meet up once you're back from your travels (or maybe you're back already)

I would replace those palms around the pool with a different type of palm or other trees. Those Mexican Fan Palms drop little furry seeds by the thousands in June. They will make a mess and plug up filters. You can just pay to have them trim off the seeds every year but it is a hassle.

Thanks for the tip, but that's a price I'm willing to pay for having palm trees. LOVE palm trees. Even if that meant cleaning filters on a daily basis, they'd be worth it to me, lol...

Oh and I meant to ask a couple more things:
- I'm looking to switch banks too. Any recommendations for a good credit union or bank well suited for business in the area? I would prefer a credit union though.

- Also looking for a good CPA. Personal recommendations are welcome (pm me). Thanks a lot!

 

[SteveO]

any of you ever worry about AZ running out of water due to drought?

I choose not to live in fear...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[twdavis]

I REALLY truly strongly believe your environment has a lot to do with your motivation/mood/energy/productivity.

I honestly have no PLANNED interest in meeting anyone on this forum, although I do find it pretty cool a lot of people from this forum live there. However, I've always wanted to live someplace in the southwest/desert region and it seems like a lot of people on this forum have a reason for living there so obviously there must be a good reason to do so.

A friend recently visited there a few days ago and sent me some pictures and boy is it beautiful!


Now I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't MIND meeting some of y'all but I wouldn't expect anyone to form friendships with me or go out on a regular basis or have cookouts or whatever lol you've got your own lives to live and I've got mine.

 

[Iwokeup]

What do you call that green stuff under those palm trees?

Well, I've seen what passes for lawns in Arizona and Nevada and it doesn't look green to me. The overarching color scheme was "Variations on Brown."

For example, I give you...Austin:

and

and

and finally,

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.