Travel nurse with job offer in Phoenix (Goodyear) (Glendale, Peoria: apartment, skateboarding)
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Hi all! I'm a nurse from the east coast who is about to jump into the exciting world of travel nursing. I live in coastal NC now and I really want to travel out west. I flew to Albuquerque once and fell in love with the desert and "big sky", but other than than I've never been west of the Mississippi River. I have a job offer at West Valley Hospital in Goodyear. If I choose to accept it (which I probably will), I will be driving across the country in a Honda Civic with two teenage boys and a black lab.
I'm very excited to explore the greater Phoenix area, and as much of the rest of the southwest as I can squeeze in to my three month assignment! I'm looking for information on whether Goodyear is a good fit for us. Here are the things I would like:
Safe area, my teens will be home alone (company-provided apartment, hopefully near hospital) while I'm working 3 nights a week.
Farmer's market.
A good coffee shop, preferably where they roast in-house (I'm a home coffee roaster, but I don't think I'm going to have room for my coffee equipment, so would love to have access to fresh roasted coffee beans).
A handful of really good authentic (non-chain) casual restaurants, including a few who deliver to Goodyear (in case my boys get hungry while I'm not home).
Dog-friendly parks and hiking.
Easy commute to downtown Phoenix (say, less than 30 minutes).
We're also planning to take some road trips on my days off, to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, maybe Vegas, and maybe even Southern California (San Diego). Can these sight-seeing trips realistically be done in three days or so? Speaking of road trips, how about Mexico? I've heard horror stories about border towns, should we stay away or would a trip to Nogales be unreasonable? Do we need a passport to cross the border?
Anything you can tell me about the culture of the area, or the hospital, or anything you can think of, will be appreciated!
West Valley is located in a nice part of the metro - with new homes, new shopping etc, very safe. You will find a number of apartment choices in the immediate area that will suit your needs. If I were you, I would try to find one that is in the Millenium High school attendance zone. That is a very highly ranked public high school. You could make it downtown within 1/2 hour from most of the area in non rush hour traffic. You will find nice apts 5-10 minutes from work, if that.
As for restaurants, keep in mind that Goodyear is among the most recent of the Phoenix burbs to see massive growth and that kind of thing takes time. There are a few, but every chain you can imagine is within a couple miles of West Valley Hosp. There is a place called Ground Control that has specialty coffees etc about 2 miles north of West Valley.
S. California is about 6 hours away, so it is doable in a three day weekend for sure.
You need a passport to get back from Mexico, but not to enter. The risk of visiting is grossly overstated. Just stay in the tortisty areas adjacent to the border and you will be fine.
" I will be driving across the country in a Honda Civic with two teenage boys and a black lab".....and where will you put 3 months worth of personal effects for three ? Shipping it ?
DW is a Travel Nurse...we have been to some very special places...love the lifestyle, hope it works for you. But even with just the 2 of us and a Maltese, seems we can fill a large bed, 4 door pickup for a 3-5 month contract. Going to Puerto Rico was a real challenge on packing for her...but it was all shorts and flip flops for me.
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" I will be driving across the country in a Honda Civic with two teenage boys and a black lab".....and where will you put 3 months worth of personal effects for three ? Shipping it ?
Haha, in the trunk, and in a luggage carrier on top of the car! We will be packing light. Any household things that aren't provided in my furnished apartment, I plan on buying secondhand at a thrift store when I get there, then re-donating when I leave. Some things I will buy when I get there, or have shipped. It's going to be a challenge, for sure.
When would your assignment start? With all the sunshine we get out here that three months is going to zoom by! In any event, good luck! The Southwest is a magical place!
Welcome to the SW Valley - I live in Goodyear and really like it - should give you a nice chance to explore the area as well - get passports for a trip down to Mexico - from goodyear you can be on the beach at Rocky Point in short order - a little quicker from Goodyear to CA, a little longer to points north and a lot longer to points east - but pretty connected into the city
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Originally Posted by obxjenjen
Safe area, my teens will be home alone (company-provided apartment, hopefully near hospital) while I'm working 3 nights a week.
Goodyear is very safe and your teenagers will be fine as far as safety is concerned - the rest of teenage related stuff is out of our control
If they are into skateboarding there is a nice skate park in the area - there are a lot of parks if they are into basketball, tennis, etc .... also a YMCA in the immediate area and a good amount of city recreation programs for everything from sports, to music to dance .... also the adjacent city of avondale has a pretty large program, just costs an extra little bit if you aren't a resident
I'd focus to stay north of I-10, mainly east of Dysart and south of Camelback .... a lot of good apartment options in probably the best pocket of the city ..... it's hard to really go wrong, but on a short stint that is where I'd target
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Originally Posted by obxjenjen
Farmer's market.
This is a little more variable as the markets are seasonal
the city of goodyear had their city market at the ballpark - although i'm not sure if that's still going on
the lakeside farmers market up at estrella can be nice - if only to be up in estrella Estrella
plus you can always jaunt down to downtown phoenix for the city farmers market - about 20-30 minutes on the weekend
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Originally Posted by obxjenjen
A good coffee shop, preferably where they roast in-house (I'm a home coffee roaster, but I don't think I'm going to have room for my coffee equipment, so would love to have access to fresh roasted coffee beans).
Ground Control is pretty good and they also have beer/wine/sodas/gellato, etc Welcome to Ground Control
For other indulgences there is Express Donuts (their standard black coffee is pretty good), Sugar N Spice (really good baked items) and Kreative Kupcakes in the area as well as some other places
Quote:
Originally Posted by obxjenjen
A handful of really good authentic (non-chain) casual restaurants, including a few who deliver to Goodyear (in case my boys get hungry while I'm not home).
There should be enough to keep you satisfied for a few months at least in the goodyear/litchfield park/avondale area and even more if you stretch just as far as Glendale ..... I also love the central corridor/midtown area in phoenix
In the SW Valley a nice variety of specialty casual (fry bread, thai, sushi, cajun, italian/pizza, greek, etc) as well as mexican, breakfast, etc
As for delivery, this service loops into a lot of restaurants - can add a bit to the bill, but they are really friendly, prompt and the food has always been warm ..... we don't use them too much as it's just as easy for us to pick up a to go order, but we have gotten gift certificates and such for their service and have always been very satisfied
There are 3 dog parks that I know of in the area - one as a part of the main goodyear community park, one down past the ballpark off Estrella and one in friendship park in avondale ....... really good pet store (Petz Place) across from the Reds practice facility on Estrella Parkway ...... you'll be able to walk your dogs on leash in pretty much any park and many communities have good walking paths
Plus you'll have easy access to the White Tanks and Estrella mountain parks - some good hiking in there and some of which is dog friendly - we've taken ours out a couple of times and it's been fine - those parks do have an entry fee though ($6 per car)
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Originally Posted by obxjenjen
Easy commute to downtown Phoenix (say, less than 30 minutes).
If it's during "commute hours" you are looking 45min to 1hr depending the circumstances - there is also a park and ride bus that serves downtown on a limited commuter schedule ........ if you just want to head down town anytime outside of rush it's 20-30 minutes ..... keep in mind though that Phoenix isn't a city where everything is concentrated downtown
As for the rest of it - overall the area is fairly laid back, the SW Valley is generally solid middle class in nature, WV hospital doesn't have the best reputation but definitely does serve the community (I know many who'd rather go the extra 10 minuts to banner estrella)
Plenty of weekend trips available and many little community events that you can be a part of both locally and with travel - some decent train opportunities and a whole bunch of activities to suit what you want to do ...... 3 months will fly by
As mentioned, you'll need a passport for Mexico ....... personally I could live without border towns as I've never really enjoyed places like Nogales - but I wouldn't find going across to the border to be a scary proposition if that's what called you
Safe area, my teens will be home alone (company-provided apartment, hopefully near hospital) while I'm working 3 nights a week.
I live in Goodyear in the Canyon Trails area and have never felt unsafe. My husband is a physician and often works overnights, and I have never been worried. I've gone for walks around our neighborhood with my dogs or with a friend at night and have no problems. My #1 priority was safety when we were house hunting due to how often I am alone at night, and our realtor said she thought I would love Goodyear for that reason, among others, and she was absolutely right.
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Farmer's market.
Fingerlaker gave good resources for Farmer's Markets, so I won't repeat those, but there is also Sprouts, which is kind of like a Farmer's Market grocery store. It has a lot of local stuff and natural foods. It is a good option if you need something and don't want to wait until the next Farmer's Market day.
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A good coffee shop, preferably where they roast in-house (I'm a home coffee roaster, but I don't think I'm going to have room for my coffee equipment, so would love to have access to fresh roasted coffee beans).
I've also heard great things about Ground Control and Sugar and Spice, but haven't tried either. We do have our fair share of Starbucks (who doesn't), but there is one on Litchfield and I-10 that has a really nice outdoor seating area with very comfortable couches. Again, not really a resource for amazing fresh-roasted beans, but whenever my husband and I are wanting to just hang out and drink coffee, that's where we tend to go if it is a nice day.
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A handful of really good authentic (non-chain) casual restaurants, including a few who deliver to Goodyear (in case my boys get hungry while I'm not home).
Since we are a newer city, local fun restaurants aren't too abundant yet, but we have an awesome Indian Place (India Garden), fantastic Thai food (Sala Thai), several decent options for sushi, a couple okay options for Mexican (Raul & Theresa's and Arriba's aren't bad), and a few Italian places. If you live in Goodyear, Avondale and Litchfield pretty much blend into one big suburb area, so definitely look in those towns, as well. Glendale is 20-30 minutes, depending on what part you are going to, and there are awesome options for restaurants up there, as well.
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Dog-friendly parks and hiking.
Not a problem. Lot's of actual dog parks where they can run off-leash, and many neighborhoods here have green spaces with walking trails. I live in Canyon Trails and it is fantastic for that. There is a dog park that is south on Estrella Parkway that has a really good group of people who go there on a regular basis. If your lab ever can't go somewhere with you, there is also an excellent boarding facility here (Pete & Mac's).
There are several trailheads in a very reasonable distance. You can buy a pass that lets you get into any of the state park areas all year (I don't remember how much it is, but isn't too expensive at all). You should be fine hiking most of those with your dog, I have seen lots of people with their dogs when I've been up there. Every once in awhile they will have warnings posted if a large amounts of rattlesnakes (or sometimes even larger predators) have been seen in the area, but as long as you are out during the day and your dog is on a leash you should be okay.
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Easy commute to downtown Phoenix (say, less than 30 minutes).
Totally depends on time of day. My husband works at a hospital in the downtown area and during non-rush hour he easily makes it in 30 minutes. I've had to do it in rush hour and it has taken me an hour. It completely depends on the time. You won't be under 30 minutes, but as long as you aren't during high traffic times you shouldn't be much over, either.
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We're also planning to take some road trips on my days off, to the Grand Canyon, Sedona, maybe Vegas, and maybe even Southern California (San Diego). Can these sight-seeing trips realistically be done in three days or so? Speaking of road trips, how about Mexico? I've heard horror stories about border towns, should we stay away or would a trip to Nogales be unreasonable? Do we need a passport to cross the border?
If you had a 3 day weekend, there are many places you could go. Grand Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff, a few different lake areas, and San Diego would all be very doable. You will hear both sides about Mexico. The most popular place from Phoenix is Puerto Penasco, aka Rocky Point. It is in a region of Mexico that is currently on the travel advisory list (in the don't-go-there category), but many people swear it is safe. It is only about 3 hours away, but I have heard horror stories about people getting stuck for a couple hours or more getting across the border. Factoring that in, you could potentially make it to San Diego in the same amount of time. But yes, you will need a passport. Not to get there, but to get back.
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Anything you can tell me about the culture of the area, or the hospital, or anything you can think of, will be appreciated!
I love living in Goodyear. I know that isn't too detailed, but I think it is a great community and I am glad we made the decision to live in the area.
Wow! Thanks for all the info, you guys! goolbyjazz, my assignment is from Jan 7 - April 6.
You guys have given me lots to be excited about, and lots of ideas to explore. Jessrscott, thanks for recommending a dog boarding facility, I forgot to ask about that but I'm sure I'll need it at some point.
I really appreciate all the information. I'll be leaving here the weekend after Christmas and taking a week to drive out. Did I mention I'm excited?
Wow! Thanks for all the info, you guys! goolbyjazz, my assignment is from Jan 7 - April 6.
You guys have given me lots to be excited about, and lots of ideas to explore. Jessrscott, thanks for recommending a dog boarding facility, I forgot to ask about that but I'm sure I'll need it at some point.
I really appreciate all the information. I'll be leaving here the weekend after Christmas and taking a week to drive out. Did I mention I'm excited?
That is about the perfect time to be in Phoenix - will have all of spring training (and some world baseball classic games this year as well)
I've used Pete & Macs for my cat and liked them .... for my dog(s) I use camp bow wow in avondale ..... there is a good emergency pet hospital in the area as well
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