My name is James Linic I instruct at LionKill Jiu Jitsu in upstate NY. www.LionKillbjj.com . I am a purple belt under Helio "Soneca" Moreira and have been training bjj and sub grappling for about seven years. I am planning a trip to Arizona and New Mexico around the beginning of August. I am doing this to prepare to move to the area. I have visited in the past but I want to really check it out before deciding to move there and to see where I would like to live. My major requirement is of course Jiu Jitsu. The questions I have that I hope could be answered are as follows: first is there a larger community that is lacking bjj where something could be started up....is there a need for a bjj instructor. Secondly and slightly less important is where are the nicer places to live. What is the cost of living, job situations, what is the weather like? Any and all info on your state would be great. I have looked up as much info as I can but really want the opinion of people who are in the area.
I live in Scottsdale now, it's definately a nice area to live but it's a little pricey. Still, there are a lot of nice areas in and around the Phoenix area. The cost of housing has gone way up the past couple of years due to the housing boom, but good deals can still be had if you look for them.
The job market is ok, not spectacular, not crappy. I'm sure you could find what you're looking for.
As far as BJJ, AZ has a decent amount of BJJ places to train at. However, I've noticed that Scottsdale in particular really doesn't have a place. I've been saying for a long time that if an MMA/BJJ gym started up in Scottsdale it would really have the potential to make quite a bit of money.
i have a couple of things in the works. i loved the area when i visited. my only worry is to find a place to train out there or to start something up. dont know who is in az.
I would say the far west side of the valley. Litchfield, 1-10 & 101 area. That area is bloqing up with houses and there is no one there. I've even considered moving out there to open up shop. I would look into it. The east valley is over saturated.
hey...I'm from NYC livin in Az.. You might as well demote yourself when you get here BJJ is light years ahead of the east coast game. trust me.. my honest opinion u will see shit u never thought existed. train at ACS w/ Gustavo Dantas. have fun
I don't know if this thread is dead or not but the Bullhead City area still has no BJJ. If there were a school in BHC, the potential drawing area would be BHC, Kingman,Golden Valley,Fort Mohave,Mohave Valley,Laughlin NV, and Needles CA. I personally know of at least 4 guys who are more than interested in training but we don't have the time to travel back and forth to Vegas. Hopefully someday someone opens a place here. The area has grown quite a bit in the past few years.