Safe in Phoenix?
 

Help please! I am a worrying mum in Canada, whose 21 year old daughter wants to take a year off University to travel and work. After lots of thought she thinks Phoenix, Arizona would be a good place. <BR>Advice please! Are there plenty of jobs for her - she has been a waitress for many years through school and University? Places to live? Safety of the city? (given the normal common-sense rules) Any good web sites to check things out? Thanks for any help to this worrying mum!

Phoenix is a reasonably safe city, esp for its size. Like all cities it has its better and worse territories. If she move there, have her stay away from western and southern Phoenix. in fact, she'd be best off looking for work and housing in Scottsdale (or very eastern PHX). Parts of Tempe are fine (Arizona State University with its 40,000 students is located there). For someone her age, I don't think she'd enjoy Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert (suburbs) as much. <BR>Jobs? Depends on what she wants to do. Service workers are in very short supply and Phoenix is growing extremely rapidly. She'll have no trouble finding something on short notice to tide her over while she looks around. <BR>PHX is a great place to spend some time whether you're just starting out or are retiring, as long as the heat doesn't bother you. Be aware that 110 degree days are not at all unusual during summer. The 100 degree days first appear in early May and disappear early October, so summer is a very long season.

Also, if she goes to Phoenix, a car is just about a necesssity.

I used to live in Phoenix. It is not a particularly dangerous city. As others suggested, I would probably opt to live in Scottsdale or Tempe though there are other suitable areas. <BR> <BR>The only problem that I would see is how she intnds to work without a work permit. She could always get a job fairly easily without any papers but it will definitely limit her options.

Like all cities Phoenix has good and bad sections. Without a work permit tho she is going to be restricted in what she can do workwise so I would think that would be a major problem. I imagine you can work without a permit (illegally) but as someone else said you limit your options a lot. Assuming she can get a permit I'm sure there are tons of waitress jobs in Phoenix, there are scads of resorts in the Scottsdale area which would be better than waitressing around the University area I would imagine,but I doubt if she'd make any fortune. Living expenses can be high, you do need a car, there is little public transportation in Phoenix. It also gets incredibly hot in the summer, 110 or so ... something to think about. I live in AZ so I know what I'm talking about, the heat is not pleasant. Scottsdale is a very nice (upscale) area but is she is working illegally she will not make enough money to live there.

Thanks for the advice to all who wrote - I am wondering whether she has really considered the heat factor (living up here in chilly Canada!) All the living area tips are great, thanks! How difficult is it to get a work permit for the US?

Phoenix is a very safe city to live by American standards. I hope she is not allergic to spray paint. Spray paint is very popular with the MexicaAmerican community in Phoenix. They spray it everywhere.

Hi, <BR> <BR>Perhaps she should consider Tucson. Smaller city, a little bit cooler in the summer, and the cost of living is much less expensive. The bus system is extensive, so getting around is not a problem. Safety varies from area to area like any place. <BR> <BR>Plus, since the U. of A. is here, there would be lots of opportunity for a young person to meet people and find an interesting job. <BR> <BR>Good luck to her! <BR>