BettyGee

Understand why you are thinking of making the move;however, my sis lives in AZ and says the economy there is really depressed. She moved from Chicago to AZ 13 years ago. She is a trained micro-biology technician with 20 plus years of experience. She is 62 years old. She works in a large grocery store to keep insurance for her husband who no longer works. She says their house is worth less than what they owe on it. They live in a very nice area and it is beautiful there. Please think about the financial aspects first and foremost.

MaggieLou

Go for it! We moved from FL to NC 2 years ago. I hate the winters but love the other seasons. The hardest part is my daughter and GC are still in FL. They would move here in a heartbeat but my daughter has a great job and doesn't want to leave it. (Can't blame her, I wouldn't either.)

If you have 2 years of savings and can manage until your house sells I wouldn't hesitate. Check out the job situation and city where you're thinking of moving first. Decide what's important for you the have close by, ie., shopping, hospitals, etc. then make your decision. How many years do you have before retirement? It may be harder for older workers to find a job in some areas. Good luck.

OrangeSherbet

Maybe you could research the job opportunities in AZ before you move there. Subscribe to a newspaper for a month or so. It could be that a prospective employer would even pay your expenses for moving out there.

QuiltnCowgirl

What would be crazy would be to live on the sunny, warm, west coast & move to the cold, snow covered east coast. If you can swing it, and it will mean being closer to family as you enter this next season of life, go for it!

My husband actually thinks that we are going to move out of California when we retire (like to Washington, Oregon or back east. My "ok dear" = "only if you go alone dear" :)

mrs theo

I wholeheartedly agree! I spent the first 12 years of my life in AZ and the past almost 40 years in NEPA, I'd go back to AZ in a heartbeat if my grandkids were going to be there!!!

catrancher

No, i don't think it's crazy at all. I live in Oregon, and it gets cold here. Also, i have chronic pain. My husband and I go south in the winter, and we love Tucson. My pain all but disappears in the warmer climate. I'd hate leaving my kids, but that warmth looks better with each passing year.

kellen46

I did something very much like this nearly 30 years ago. Left Western Colorado for my home here with only what I could pack in my 20year old car, and a small cash cushion. The kids were gone, off to the service and lives of their own and I wanted to live by the ocean. It was risky and I had no guaranty that I would find what I was looking for. I did however and I never regret that leap into the unknown. Now I am happy in my little cozy home, retired with a pension I can live on and enough of a stash of fabric, books and music to last me the rest of my life. I really can not ask for more than that. I don't know if you will find what you want in Arizona, but you will never know unless you try. Who knows where this path will lead you but if you are as lucky as me you will find a place where your roots go so deep that even time it's self can not dislodge you.

Deborah2009

I have lived in Phoenix Arizona since 1976, just about 2 years after graduating high school in Maryland. A friend was driving to Phoenix and I went along for the drive across the entire US.

It feels like a different world out here in Phoenix. Yes, the summers are super hot, but at least you don't have to shovel show or drive in sleet, slush or hail with zero visibility. During the winter months it is chilly in Phoenix, but nothing what the northeast states have.

Its currently about 40 degrees outside, and its cold, but the bright sun is out and it will get up to 70 today.
The job market isn't perfect out here, but there are temp agencies that tend to have jobs in the Phoenix metro area. You can start there. Garden style (3 apartment levels high) apartments here are readily available, smaller is cheaper,
some even come furnished. Good luck to you whatever you do. from, Debbie, North Phoenix, AZ

Dragonfly Nana

in a word....NO

IBQLTN

Many of us 'over 50' folks are finding it is very difficult to find a job. We're no longer considered valuable.

Perhaps you could take a long vacation and look for work before you move? Just a thought.