[Mystify79]

I'm just wondering if there are any SM members in the Phoenix area or any that have lived there. My husband just got transferred to Phoenix so we'll be moving there sometime in the next few months and we don't know a soul out there. If anyone is out there I'd love to get some recommendations on some vets in the area, good apartments and what areas of the city to avoid. Thanks!

 

[MalteseJane]

I love your signature too.

My daughter lives in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix. They had a window broken on both their cars almost at the same time. Now for the grocery cards, they are not only in Phoenix. We have them in Houston too. I have a Kroger and a Randall's (bought up by Safeway) card. We hope to move to Phoenix in about 4 years. If you like upscale grocery stores go to AJ's and there is also a Whole Foods Market.

 

[joe]

i thought everywhere had grocery cards, hmmm, learn something everyday

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Originally posted by Joe@Oct 24 2005, 04:35 PM
i thought everywhere had grocery cards, hmmm, learn something everyday
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113093

[/QUOTE]


Me too....LOL...
Around here we have to drive to get to a Kroger to use one, but it can be a good deal when you hit good specials. We also use it when their gas is much cheaper that way. Sometimes it is not such a great deal though. In the bigger cities there are Food Lion's...but that and Kroger are all I know about. Well, I have a Petsmart and Petco card too.

 

[Mystify79]

Thanks for the advice! I had no idea about the windows thing! I always thought it got hot here when we'd hit 100 but apparently I don't know hot yet.

We've got the grocery cards around here.. it's kind of a recent thing here but when I lived in Houston and Waco they had them at almost all the stores.

Thanks for the compliments on the sig! It's Tuffy's costume from last year and since we've been so caught up in this potential move he's going to be Tuffy Bond again this year..

 

[Scoobydoo]

We have the grocery cards here in Illinois too and they are great.

We never had anything like it in Australia that I know of.
In the summer in Australia it can get very hot too and we were always told to leave a window about an inch down to avoid the pressure build up inside the vehicle, that usually stops the windows popping out.

 

[Scoobydoo]

Msloke we have the Sam's Club card as well, but thankfully we don't go there too often because we spend too much, it is so tempting in there. We actually went there the other week and spent over 700

but I will say even though we spent a lot we did buy things that will last for a long time and in the long run it is a saving. It just seems a lot at the time.

Our grocery card is with Jewels' here in town, and I save around 20 dollars each time I use it, so that is excellent.

 

[MalteseJane]

I don't agree with those grocery cards. They should have the same price for everybody. It's not because I have a Kroger card I will shop more there. The card is good only for some items anyway. Since Safeway bought the Randall's stores, I barely go shopping there even tho I have a card. Randall's used to be such a nice store but since they are owned by Safeway they have been going down the drain. A week ago Safeway announced that they are closing 15 Randall's stores in Houston because they are not performing. Well it's THEIR fault they are not performing. It's only since THEY owned them that they are not performing. We have HEB who does NOT have a card and they are performing very well.

 

[mimi2]

I have a lot of extended family in the Phoenix area, the nicest areas are Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. I would probably stay away from Tempe, it has some seedy areas, plus all of the college students! It has made improvements in the last few years though, Tempe's downtown is very cute and lively, I guess you would just have to find out what parts are nice.

If you like to shop (who doesn't!) Biltmore Fashion Park is fabulous, as is Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall.

It's a great city with tons of stuff to do, you'll love it! Good luck with your move!

 

[Mystify79]

Originally posted by mimi2@Oct 24 2005, 09:29 PM
I have a lot of extended family in the Phoenix area, the nicest areas are Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.  I would probably stay away from Tempe, it has some seedy areas, plus all of the college students!  It has made improvements in the last few years though, Tempe's downtown is very cute and lively, I guess you would just have to find out what parts are nice. 

If you like to shop (who doesn't!) Biltmore Fashion Park is fabulous, as is Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall. 

It's a great city with tons of stuff to do, you'll love it!  Good luck with your move!

<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113177

[/QUOTE]
Thanks so much!! I noticed the Biltmore Fashion Park on a Google map and I got pretty excited about checking that out!

My husband will actually be working really close to it.

 

[LexiAndNikkisMom]

Originally posted by Mystify79+Oct 24 2005, 10:30 PM-->

<!--QuoteBegin-mimi2

@Oct 24 2005, 09:29 PM
I have a lot of extended family in the Phoenix area, the nicest areas are Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.  I would probably stay away from Tempe, it has some seedy areas, plus all of the college students!  It has made improvements in the last few years though, Tempe's downtown is very cute and lively, I guess you would just have to find out what parts are nice. 

If you like to shop (who doesn't!) Biltmore Fashion Park is fabulous, as is Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall. 

It's a great city with tons of stuff to do, you'll love it!  Good luck with your move!

<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113177

Thanks so much!! I noticed the Biltmore Fashion Park on a Google map and I got pretty excited about checking that out!

My husband will actually be working really close to it.
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113191
[/B][/QUOTE]
One of my childhood friends lives in Scottsdale. I know she really likes it. I would ask her for more info but we really don't talk anymore. I just remember hearing a couple years ago that she was working for some architecture place down there and that she had built a house in Scottsdale.

 

[Scoobydoo]

Originally posted by Msloke@Oct 24 2005, 09:05 PM
Hi Janet.  I know what you mean about Sam's club.  Did yours have that gardening shed/greenhouse thing?  I had to stay away from Sam's for a while, it was too tempting ($1800 bucks was a lot too! 

)  I really was trying to figure out where I could put it 

  But I finally decided I didn't need it nor had the room, let alone right location to put it. 

  It kept calling me every time I was there. 

I guess we don't have grocery cards cause two of our three chains are local family owned (Schnucks and Dierbergs, think they're only in eastern MO and western IL) and the other is a Shop N' Save, which is discounted anyway. 

  But hey, lately they've been putting a coupon in paper, spend 50 bucks on certain Thursdays and get 10 bucks off, not bad. 

<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113152

[/QUOTE]

Jewel's send us bonus cards in the mail once a month because we have a card with them. If we spend 50 we get 5 off and if we spend 100 we get 7 off and we can use these coupons for a week, they send us enough to shop for the month twice a week so if we spend 150 in any week we get 15 off, and also we can use our grocery card as well so that is an extra saving. We also get coupons in the Sunday paper which enables us yet another saving on items if we buy the item on the coupon.
I don't think I have seen the greenhouse, but then we rarely go into the gardening section at Sam's. My main purchase there is their frozen vegies. I buy the big bags of broccoli, stir fry, mixed veg etc and the quality is fantastic. We also stock up on items that we use a lot like shower gels, shampoos, vitamins, breakfast foods, washing liquid and fabric softeners etc. Buying these items at Sam's saves us huge bucks because they are in larger containers and last us at least 6 months, and I am sure if we sat down a figured it all up the saving is great.
I did buy something different last time we were there though. Well hubby bought it for me, it was the Roomba robot vac. They had it out for 199 with all the accessories and I saw that for 399 elsewhere so that was a good saving, and I have to say I love it too, so does Scooby, he follows it everywhere, so cute and really funny when it goes under the bed because he can't get under there, so he sits there and waits for it to come out then off he goes walking around behind it again.

 

[MalteseJane]

Scottsdale is beautiful but also expensive (for housing). My son in law is Chef in one of the Flemings Steakhouse & Wine Bar located in North Scottsdale DC Ranch. We love Phoenix and the surrounding areas. It's hot during the summer months but at least it's dry.

We have plenty of Sam's Club here but don't shop there. I use specific products and they don't carry most of them. So for me it's not worth paying for their card. And also as a principle, why should I have to pay in order to buy something at their store ? They should pay ME to go there. Same with Costco. When they opened we received a free card through American Express good for one year. We visited the store at their opening and came out having bought strictly nothing.

 

[Scoobydoo]

We have plenty of Sam's Club here but don't shop there. I use specific products and they don't carry most of them. So for me it's not worth paying for their card. And also as a principle, why should I have to pay in order to buy something at their store ? They should pay ME to go there. Same with Costco. When they opened we received a free card through American Express good for one year. We visited the store at their opening and came out having bought strictly nothing.
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113249
[/QUOTE]

Yes you are absolutely right if you have specific brands that they don't carry, it would be a waste to buy the card, but then there are a great many brands there that we do use and the cost of the membership has been far outweighed in the savings we have made. I guess it is all a matter of taste, and not everyone uses the same items, but the bathroom and laundry products are so much cheaper for us so we are very happy to make the savings.

 

[a2z]

ANOTHER QUESTION:

What can a tourist do for one week in the Phoenix area? I was thinking of going there but, looking on the internet, I couldn't find anything to do!

 

[bellasmommy]

My brother lives in Phoenix, but he's only there for school (MMI) and he's coming home in two weeks. He never complained about the heat and he was there for almost two years, but he likes hot weather, so I can't help much there either. I can tell you to avoid Presidio North Apartments, they don't allow pets

 

[mimi2]

Originally posted by a2z@Oct 25 2005, 09:18 AM
ANOTHER QUESTION:

What can a tourist do for one week in the Phoenix area? I was thinking of going there but, looking on the internet, I couldn't find anything to do!
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113276

[/QUOTE]

They have a wonderful zoo, and the desert botanic garden is beautiful. If your into hiking, there are plenty of mountains. There's always shopping and there are some world class hotel spas you could go to after hiking and shopping all day!! We have always stayed at The Biltmore which is a really neat place. The Grand Canyon is a few hours away, as well as the Painted Desert which are both amazing. If you're a golfer you'll have tons of courses to choose from. Have fun!

 

[MalteseJane]

Originally posted by mimi2+Oct 25 2005, 08:49 PM-->

<!--QuoteBegin-a2z

@Oct 25 2005, 09:18 AM
ANOTHER QUESTION:

What can a tourist do for one week in the Phoenix area? I was thinking of going there but, looking on the internet, I couldn't find anything to do!
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113276

They have a wonderful zoo, and the desert botanic garden is beautiful. If your into hiking, there are plenty of mountains. There's always shopping and there are some world class hotel spas you could go to after hiking and shopping all day!! We have always stayed at The Biltmore which is a really neat place. The Grand Canyon is a few hours away, as well as the Painted Desert which are both amazing. If you're a golfer you'll have tons of courses to choose from. Have fun!
<div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=113486
[/B][/QUOTE]

You can add to that Sedona (Oak creek canyon, Red Rock State Park), Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest, Sunset Crater Volcano, Montezuma Castle, Casa Grande Ruins, Jerome..
Go to a AAA office and ask for the Tour Book of Arizona & New Mexico. If you are a member of AAA it's free. If not, you probably will have to pay for it.

 

[a2z]

The reason I asked is these friends in Mesa AZ invited me to come and visit. But they live in a senior bldg with a no pets policy. And, of course, they think I'm crazy because I told them I take Zoey with me everywhere. (As a matter of fact, lots of people think I'm crazy!). Thanks for the info. I will think about it...and, if I decide to go, stay in a motel!!!