August 7 - day one in AZ

The purpose of this trip was to find housing and move Scott in. I had spent months researching apartment communities (as they are called around here). We had narrowed them down to about 6 locations.

Originally we felt Mesa would be the place to settle -- lower cost of living, and close proximity to Mesa Community College, where Scott would be doing his pre-med, and ASU/Tempe, where he would graduate from his undergrad. We found a place called Genoa Lakes, with nicely landscaped grounds and lakes (actually, ponds). I even put a deposit down on a 2 bedroom 2 bath unit and was even approved -- stopping (thankfully) short of signing the lease.

Peg's brother Dan and sister Mary both live in Scottsdale. This area is a little more upscale and a lot of the apartments were out of our price range. But a couple weeks ago, I noticed the prices were coming down. So, today we set out to visit a few units I had picked out online.

San Marcos was our first choice. Very neat and clean, nice amenities, etc. What attracted us was the availability of garages. But when we got there, no garages were left, but I put a deposit on a unit with a nice view of Thunderbird Road. Dan (Malene) went with us. We met up with his boys for lunch, then went to see another complex nearby -- Scottsdale Meadows. This community wasn't too bad, but it was just off a busy road near a mall. We told Crystal, who gave us the tour, that we just weren't good with this. Then she told us about about where she, and a lot of other Equity Management staff members lived -- Crown Court. We stopped at Mission Springs, which was just up the road. No one was there, so we wandered around. It too, was a nice community, but the amenities were lacking, for the price. So we said, what the heck, and went over to Crown Court.

If you've ever stayed at a condo at a resort area, this is what the place is like. In fact, it's right next to Princess Resort (a well-known resort were celebs hang out), and the pro golf course where they play the PGA golf tournaments. We looked at several units and settled in on a second story 2 BR 2BA. I guess what appealed to us was that it had vaulted ceilings very similar to where we are living now. But as we took the tour, we were so impressed with the immense clubhouse with padded leather seating and an enormous stone fireplace. There was also a business center with computers, printer, and fax. But what blew us away was the movie theatre. They have a Redbox-type vending machine where you can rent dvds (or play your own) and show them on the big screen. Outside, there were several patio seating areas with BBQ grills, two pools, hot tubs, tennis courts ... also a dance room (where they give lessons & teach Yoga), and a fitness room (with tvs on every piece of equipment), plus the sauna and steam room.

We went through a grueling application process, which took almost all afternoon. At this point we are waiting to hear back. Later, we met up with Dan, Lori, Dominick and Lewis and went to Oreganos for pizza.