Hey everyone, I'm currently living in Indianapolis but will be moving to Phoenix in a few years for school (Motorcycle Mechanics Institute). I'm starting to save my money now that way I can afford to move out there. I do have a few questions, though.

1. The school I'm going to be going to is located on West Deer Valley Rd. Is this in a decent part of Phoenix or is it in a bad part?

2. I'm going to be looking at getting a job at a motorcycle shop while I'm going to school so I can gain some shop experience while getting an education, are there quite a few shops around the Phoenix area?

3. Is the cost of living pretty high in the Phoenix area?

4. Currently on my truck I'm running no muffler. Are mufflers required in Arizona?

Any and all information that you guys can provide to me to help me make the decision to move to Phoenix (MMI also has a campus in Orlando) an easy one would be very much appreciated.

 

Define "west Deer valley Road" I drove it almost daily and don't remember a school there but than I wasn't looking either.
Most everything up there is good neighborhood just stay away from the freeway, crime seems to stay closer to it
The one shop I can think of is on 59th Ave and Bell Road. 6161 W. Bell rd. Metro Motor sports 602-843-5000
The cost of living in Arizona in general is high try going to mortgage calculator . com to compare to where you are at.
Maricopa County is regulated by Kaliforinia Emission Laws so you might need a muffler to register in Maricopa, I always registered in another County to avoid emission testing.
P.S if you are looking for a house I just put mine on the market. It is at 63rd. Ave and Greenway

http://www.forsalebyowner.com/show-l...ingID=20674390

PM me or E mail me if I can answer any other questions
Bart

 

MMI is in a bad part of town, there are several shops you can work for but will be a parts person most likley as thats what all mmi students do. rent can be cheap anywhere from a trailer for 500 a month to a apartment for 600+ to a small apartemt 1 story with studio for 400-500 a month. there is somthing for every budget. renew your tags and tell the cops you a student in arizona, keep your old plates. dont get az license either. the im testing is a bytch there as you need a visual inspection also and is state run not private run inspecters. jobs dont pay hardly anything, so i suggest if you need money to survive get on homedepot as a night stocker. as several mmi guys work as nite stockers on bell road and 67th ave. you MMI will have a job list, most them are crap jobs though, you can make more then they offer at HD at nite.


Ray

 

2844 W Deer Valley Road is the exact address of the school. I'll make sure to have a muffler put on my truck before I move out that way, just to be on the safe side. Not only that but I'm kinda getting tired of the whole no muffler thing. Sounds nice but I want something different.

As far as only being a parts person, that's fine with me. The way I look at it, is I'd still be in the motorcycle field and working around something I enjoy (motorcycles) so I wouldn't mind just being in the parts department. Plus it'd give me an opportunity to see what each part looks like so I can tell them all apart easier.

As far as the plates, you're suggesting I keep my Indiana plates, continue to renew them with Indiana, and therefore never register my vehicle in Arizona? Can I actually do that?

 

I don't think that will work for very long, but it might if you have school ID. I have a home in Prescott (Yavapai County) which is north of Phoenix and there are no emission laws here.
2844 is very close to I 17. if you go further west you get into better neighborhoods also I wouldn't go any further south than Thunderbird.

 

as far as w deer valley rd goes i don't think it is a bad part of town. it may have a lot of crime because it's close to the freeway as far as stolen cars go. but the "BAD PART OF TOWN" is south phoenix down by baseline. i should know i deliver mail down there. TONS of crack heads and gangbangers. shootings all the time. north phx is WAY safer then south phx.

 

There are a lot of apartment buildings along Bell road which isn't a bad part of town. I would think that with the lack of help in this area it should be easy to find a flexible job with a construction company, especially if you have a mechanical aptitude. Some of the bigger ones have lube men that work nights and make pretty good money but I don't know how flexible they are to work around your schedule.

 

Yeah I'll probably take a few weeks next summer and go out there and just browse around the city and look at some apartments and see about jobs. Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated.